"Phantom Prey", by John Sandford (Simon & Schuster)

Volume 18 in the ever-excellent Lucas Davenport series

This latest novel from John Sandford finds Lucas a little older but no less active in his mission to discover the whereabouts of a wealthy friend's daughter.

Slower than some of the previous Davenport thrillers, the story nevertheless proceeds at a fair clip, with Sandford's impeccable prose and plotting pulling us willingly along with him.

Delving into Goth culture in the Twin Cities, Phantom Prey travels into new territory for Davenport, complete with close-shaves and a fiendish killer "Fairy" on the loose. Complete with Sandford's usual attention to grisly detail, and plenty of red-herrings and twists to keep you guessing until he reveals the baddies (sort of - you'll just have to read it to see what I mean), Phantom Prey fits perfectly into the series.

One question, though - why do cops always go for Porsches? (James Patterson's Alex Cross has one, too...)