Silken Prey by John Sandford, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Lucas Davenport, a detective with Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, is asked by the Governor to investigate a claim that Republican Senator Porter Smalls, who is in a tight race for re-election, is in possession of child pornography, a claim that, if proved, would certainly derail his political career … and possibly by extension that of the Governor, too. But it could all be a political stunt by his opponent, something Davenport strongly suspects may be the case, in Silken Prey, the 23rd mystery in this series by John Sandford.

Smalls's opponent is billionaire Taryn Grant, an ambitious, ruthless Democratic newcomer, who will do almost anything to win. She clearly has the resources — and connections — to discredit Smalls. Davenport knows that tracking the pornography back to Grant is going to be a difficult task at best, so he calls on fellow BCA officer Virgil Flowers, computer genius ICE ("Ingrid Caroline Eccols"), and Kidd, an artist and computer database expert. Their investigation brings Davenport face to face with far more than just political wrongdoing, including theft, blackmail, and murder.

Silken Prey is a very suspenseful entry in this long-running series. The question for Davenport may seem simple to ask — How did the pornography get on Smalls's computer? — but it is exceptionally difficult to answer. Indeed, this isn't so much a who-, why-, or how-dunit as much as a "how is Davenport going to solve"-it story. There are a great many characters involved, most of whom have a significant role to play at one point or another. Filled with credible action sequences and a smartly crafted, if also rather complex, plot, this is one of the better books in the series to date.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Silken Prey.

Storm Front
Putnam (Hardcover), October 2013
ISBN-13: 9780399159305; ISBN-10: 0399159304

Silken Prey

A Lucas Davenport Mystery by John Sandford