Because law enforcement authorities recognize the high profile nature of the case, Lucas Davenport, the Deputy Chief of Police, is called to investigate the murders. Although the hostess denies that any drugs were used at the party, the investigation soon reveals that there was ample drug use going on. Further investigation will uncover an array of possible suspects, family secrets and perversions worthy of the Jerry Springer Show, and a spreading web of various criminal activities. Before the murderer can be identified, however, other persons associated with Alie’e will become victims.

Through the first few Lucas Davenport books (all with Prey in the title), I was a devoted follower -- I appreciated the distinctive hero and the tight mysteries. After about five or six books in the series, however, my interest waned, and I haven’t read the last few. Reading Easy Prey, the eleventh in the series, reminded me of why I lost interest.

For a middle-aged man, Lucas has all the emotional maturity of an adolescent -- he races his Porsche at high-speed on public highways outdistancing pursuing police, he is romantically involved in one way or another with three women, he scarcely has a passing about his own child leaving all the responsibility to the mother.

And if my growing aversion to the main character weren’t enough, the mystery is all over the place. After wading through the detritus of Lucas’s arrested development and a super-abundance of dysfunctional family dynamics, even the most astute armchair detective isn’t going to be able to finger the culprit in Easy Prey.

The primary reason I can’t recommend this book is that I never felt any emotional involvement in the story. Numerous characters are introduced over the course of the narrative -- each with his or her own messy family and personal history. No one character aroused my sympathies, and I didn’t find myself grieving over the demise of any of them. Similarly, Lucas Davenport’s behavior seems less than commendable as he enters a relationship with one of the central figures in the case. Until Davenport finally starts acting his age and the focus returns to solving the mystery, my interest in this series is unlikely to revive.

Readers who have avidly followed Lucas Davenport’s various adventures are likely to want to read this most recent book, too. I would advise readers who are new to the series to start with an earlier title.

--Lesley Dunlap