Silken Prey. Finished 11-8-13, 4.25/5 stars, fiction, 406 pages, pub. 2013

#23 in the Lucan Davenport series.

Murder, scandal, political espionage, and an extremely dangerous woman. Lucas Davenport’s going to be lucky to get out of this one alive.

Very early one morning, a Minnesota political fixer answers his doorbell. The next thing he knows, he’s waking up on the floor of a moving car, lying on a plastic sheet, his body wet with blood. When the car stops, a voice says, “Hey, I think he’s breathing,” and another voice says, “Yeah? Give me the bat.” And that’s the last thing he knows.    
 
Davenport is investigating another case when the trail leads to the man’s disappearance, then—very troublingly—to the Minneapolis police department, then—most troublingly of all—to a woman who could give Machiavelli lessons. She has very definite ideas about the way the world should work, and the money, ruthlessness, and sheer will to make it happen.

No matter who gets in the way.

from Goodreads

I have a few series men that make me read them and continue to read them even when they might have an off book or two and Lucas Davenport is one of the them.  I’m not sure when I first discovered him but I am a loyal fan.  His last few have been hit or miss for me so I was happy to see a return to a Lucas story I loved.  It was was political, even more so than the regular politics of Lucas’ job, and just like real-life politics it was dirty and true justice illusive.

I love this series and how Lucas ages and grows.  He is not the same womanizer detective we met in the first book, but he is a man who has found his happiness.  I think to truly appreciate the series you have to start at the beginning with Rules of Prey.