You may notice that this review has a bit of a different look to it!  I’m participating in TLC Book Tours “Days of Preys” Tour to celebrate the release of John Sandford’s newest book, Storm Prey.  Each blogger participating in the tour reviews one of Sanford’s 20 books in the Lucas Davenport series!   Great idea, right? It gets even better!  Instead of writing reviews, we will each answer a series of 20 questions about the book.  Have no fear; I’ll still be inserting my own thoughts about the book! So, without further ado:

Title and series number of the book you read: Eyes of Prey, the third book in the series

Year published:First published in 1991

Tell us about Lucas Davenport:

• What is Lucas doing when he first appears in the book? Set up the scene.

Lucas has hit rock bottom.  In the previous book, some sort of disagreement takes place between him and his ex-girlfriend and his daughter has been taken from him. He’s angry and not afraid to show it.

He and his partner, Del, are sitting in a bar waiting for Randy, a young pimp, to make an appearance.  Randy severely cut up the face of one of Lucas’ snitches, and Lucas wants payback.

• Give us a sense of time and place.

The setting is Minneapolis, near the end of winter.

• Lucas’s occupation or professional role?

Lucas is a Detective for the Minneapolis Police Department

• Lucas’s personal status (single, dating, married):

Lucas recently (last book!) separated from his girlfriend.

• Lucas Davenport is a known clothes-horse; did you notice any special fashion references?

At the beginning of the book, Lucas is wearing a leather bomber jacket, cashmere sweater, khanki slacks & cowboy boots.  I don’t think I’ve ever known a detective to wear cashmere 🙂

Let’s talk about the mystery:

• Avoiding spoilers, what was the crime/case being solved?
  

Initially, the murder of Stephanie Bekker.  She was found mutilated in her home.

• Does the title of your book relate to the crime?

Yes: Stephanie’s eyes were gouged out.  This was a trademark of the killings that took place within this book. The eyes were nearly always removed.

Who was your favorite supporting character, good or evil?

Cassie, a theatre actress, friend of another murder victim.  She had a lot of life in her. It was obvious she’d been through a lot, but overall she was very optimistic. She had a great outlook on life.

What was your favorite scene or quote?

*Spoiler*-near the end of the book, Lucas dresses up as the killer’s accomplice. The killer has recently killed this man, but he’s haunted by him.  He didn’t remove his eyes, the windows to his soul, so he sees him everywhere. Lucas, as this man, drives up right next to the killer and looks him straight in the eyes.  I was laughing out loud, just trying to picture the look on the killer’s face when he sees his accomplice, once dead, but now alive!

Finally, how do you envision Lucas Davenport?  If he were to be portrayed in a movie, what celebrity would play him?

Lucas is a very hard, tough guy.  He’s been dealt a difficult life so it’s surprising to see he still has a soft side.  He’s going through a lot mentally and emotionally, it’s obvious that without some sort of intervention, he’s going to burst.   Physical appearance: he’s attractive, fairly physically fit.  He loves to wear expensive, quality clothing.

What celebrity would play him?  Hmm…obviously, someone very attractive, yet a bit on the rough side.  I’d say Hugh Jackman

Ok, enough of the drooling over the eye-candy! Back to the book!

This is my first experience with Sandford’s writing.  Within the first few pages, I was hooked and I immediately bought the first two books in the series.  While this is a series, I don’t think they have to be read in order.  There was obviously a bit of back story going on with Lucas and his ex-girlfriend, as well as something that happened in the recent past that gave Lucas his bad reputation, but the storyline carried my attention throughout and I don’t feel as though I lost anything by not knowing Lucas’ history.

This is one of those thrillers/crime fiction novels in which the killer(s) are known up front and it’s up to the authorities to pull the case together.  Usually, I’m not a fan of these sort of novels, I like to attempt to solve a case on my own.  However, Eyes of Prey didn’t fail to keep my attention!  There were plenty of twists and turns in the plot;  I was floored a number of times. I also can’t wait to read more about Davenport’s character. I’m interested in seeing where Sandford takes him!

This is definitely a series I plan on continuing with!  Thank you one again to TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to participate in this tour.

Be sure to check out the other stops on this tour:

Monday, May 3rd:

Rules of Prey:  Rundpinne

Shadow Prey:  Boarding in my Forties

Tuesday, May 4th:

Silent Prey:  Chick with Books

Wednesday, May 5th:

Winter Prey:  The Bluestocking Guide

Night Prey:  Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books

Thursday, May 6th:

Mind Prey:  Jen’s Book Thoughts

Sudden Prey:  Starting Fresh

Friday, May 7th:

Secret Prey:  Fantasy & SciFi Loving News & Reviews

Certain Prey:  My Two Blessings

Monday, May 10th:

Easy Prey:  Lesa’s Book Critiques

Chosen Prey:  Reading with Monie

Tuesday, May 11th:

Mortal Prey:  Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Naked Prey:  Dan’s Journal

Wednesday, May 12th

Hidden Prey:  Novel Whore

Broken Prey:  You’ve GOTTA read this!

Thursday, May 13th:

Invisible Prey:  Booktumbling.com

Friday, May 14th:

Phantom Prey:  The Novel Bookworm

Monday, May 17th:

Wicked Prey: A Bookworm’s World

Tuesday, May 18th:

Storm Prey:  Bermuda Onion

Thanks to the publisher, I have two great books to give away!  For those new to Sanford’s work, enter to win a copy of Eyes of Prey.  For long time fans of Sanford’s writing, enter to win an ARC of his latest book, Storm Prey.  To enter, please fill out the form below.  Winners will be announced Tuesday, May 18th. US & Canadian residents only, please.  No PO Boxes.

The grand prize winner, winner of the entire Chelsea Cain series is:

The winner of the Heatsick audiobook is:

Congratulations to both of the winners! Your packages will be mailed in the next several days.

Today my family and I put to rest my dear Grandma.  She played such an important role in my love of reading, so I thought it would be appropriate to honor her here on my blog.

Mary Casto was born in 1926, one of nine children. Her family, the Boswell’s, were pioneers who decided to settle and farm in Western Virginia in the late 1700s.  The family home was in a hollow and she had to walk several miles a day to get to school, but this never hindered her.  She seldom missed school.

She met my grandfather, Arnold Casto, at a church function. Grandpa was in the service and knew one of her brothers.  He wrote her under the pretense of finding where her brother was stationed. They began writing to one another every day.  They eventually began courting, and were married after my grandfather returned from service.  Arnold and Mary Casto had three children: Judith (my mother), Mary Ellen, & David.  David preceded my grandmother in death; he died just a few years ago of prostate cancer.

Grandma started working at the public library in 1972. At that time, the library was housed in the basement of the town hall, with a collection of 2,000 books.  While the collection was small, my grandmother brought so much love and enthusiasm about books and reading to the children and families of the small town.  To many, this was the only access they had to books and she did her best to instill a love of reading and respect for literature in each and every one of them.

The library moved in 1989 to a new location. Grandma worked at the library until she retired in 1995. The libraries collection grew by leaps and bounds in this time, it now houses more than 26,000 books, CDs, & DVDs.  I spent many a summer with my grandparents, and I distinctly remember spending countless hours in this library. It was here I discovered the work of Stephen King, read Gone with the Wind and other pieces of fiction that impacted my life.

Grandma & Grandpa’s home was also always full of books. Their den is lined with built-in bookshelves.  It is here that I discovered Nancy Drew and the Boxcar Children. I could grab a book of the shelf, curl up and lose myself in another world.

As I grew into adulthood, my grandmother continued to play an important role in my life. When I met my husband, Grandma and Grandpa both accepted him as part of our family immediately, although interracial marriages weren’t something that was necessarily accepted in their small town. When we were blessed with children, they loved and spoiled them like only grandparents can.

It saddens me to know that my boys won’t get the opportunity to know Grandma as I did, but we can keep her memory alive through the stories we tell of her.

It is hard to put into words just how much my grandmother impacted my life, but I do hope this post does justice to a woman who impacted the world so dramatically.