A different mystery not in ?Prey? series. Still a good read.

The second try but still cannot develop enough interest to finish.

Pretty average on all dimensions; just another shoot-em-up ending ( )

I had heard good things about John Sandford’s fiction from a friend, and picked up The Night Crew at a used bookstore to try the author out. I now realize that this book wasn’t the best introduction to the author; it ranks lowest at LT of all of his works, and is (of course) not in any of his popular series.

I found The Night Crew to be rather a disappointment. The premise was promising. The “night crew” is a small group of free-lancers -- headed by Anna Batory-- who roam the streets of Los Angeles in search of news they can videotape. They make a living by selling what they film to local TV stations and the big networks. Robberies, suicides, accidents, and political demonstrations all are fair game for their cameras. The particular night that opens the story is a busy one. They are filming an animal rights demonstration with activists releasing animals from a university lab when they get word of an impending suicide; and they make it just in time to capture it on film as a man (“Jacob”) jumps from five stories up. A few hours later, the body of a member of the night crew (Jason) is found; he’s been murdered. The perpetrator is a serial killer who proceeds to stalk Anna herself.

Unfortunately, the plot and the killer’s motives are far from credible. The perpetrator’s identity and motives make no sense. Further, the characters engage in unbelievable actions. Jake Harper, an ex-cop who is the late Jacob’s father, joins their investigation, and starts falling in love/lust with Anna even before his son’s funeral. (Apparently his son’s fatal impact with the pavement had no real impact on dad). Jake finds a connection between Jacob and Jason (yes, the names are confusing) – they had shared a drug dealer, and the dealer is next found dead, with Anna’s name carved on his body. Readers may be disgusted to find that the serial killer has barely been mentioned earlier in the book; for my part, I still don’t understand what the connection was (if any) between him and the drug dealer. And frankly, I don’t care enough to try rereading the book to find out whether it is mentioned.

The Night Crew has moments of excitement, especially at the end. Thus, it’s not without its merits, but its flaws are significant. Given that readers rank the book as relatively low in Sanderson’s oeuvre (albeit with 3.4 stars), I will give the author’s work another try or two. ( )

This books doesn't feature any of the wellknown characters of the author, such as Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers. Too bad. I thought the plot was a bit erratic, rushed at the end, and the characters and places did not have the usual detail and familiarity to the author. I much prefer the Minnesota-based novels by the same author. ( )