Critical Mick

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Mind Prey Cool stuff!!! .mp3 (15.6 MB)
John Sandford
Pocket Books, 2005

Cops & Killers vs. Seagulls

John Sandford's seventh Prey serial, Mind Prey, kidnaps the attention with a psycho as clever as he is bad. But can he outsmart millionaire game developer / Deputy Chief Lucas Davenport? It is a battle of traps and countertraps, as well as a race against the fastest clock in the Twin Cities. With stakes this tense, it's only a matter of time until one man breaks.

In the spirit of Mind Prey, this unruly review will challenge your powers of observation in a devious little game. Will you wager all on your Porsche-quick decision making ability? Decide whether the following passages describe Mind Prey or Eileen Casey's recent poetry collection, Seagulls and click the appropriate book cover.

"That's easy! I can tell a John Sandford thriller from a bunch of poems!" do I hear you dismiss?

Be careful! Making a bad call will cause horrible Mind Prey-related consequences to appear. (No, not about the passage in question- about the progression of the case.) Deputy Chief Davenport correctly navigated Mind Prey's tension tightrope without disaster. Can you?

Mind Prey vs. Seagulls

"I imagine them lined up like carcasses, row upon row..." (pg. 6)
A mother / daughter pair crave escape.
A diamond engagement ring, deep in a hidden nook, throws dark sparkles in the night.
Biblical references loaded with double meanings.
Intimate description of duck feces, compared to goose feces.
Ex-pimp openly urinates in a doorway.
A symbolic child drowned.
A man burns down his house for the insurance money.
Boat rental shack callously burnt down.
A psychiatric patient, assigned therapy, just watches his doctor's breasts and daydreams.
A mysterious woman haunts all, betraying the most secret confidences at the worst of possible times.
Appearance of a nameless heavily tattoed man at a crucial moment.

 

Critical Mick Says: Mind Prey is quite a good read, well worth its current paperback re-issue. This Davenport novel maintains its high tension, and does feature a dirty joke and the fowl feces comparison in well-balanced counterpoint. And, yes, certain elements and passages did strike me as poetic enough to merit comparison with Eileen Casey. Check it out!

This is Critical Mick's weirdest way yet of getting across information about a book. John Sandford would probably be pissed off.

Yo! This review and all content on the DFA Guide site are copyright 2006 Mick Halpin. All links to other sites and documents are copyright to whatever source wrote something cool enough for Mick to give it a referral. Try to claim them as your own work and bad karma will catch up with you, baby. Believe it.

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This Page Was Last Updated On 23 July, 2006.