Field Of Prey by John Sandford

A happenstance find brings Lucas Davenport to one of his most chilling cases ever.  A teenage couple stumble on a burial plot and by the time Lucas is called in, there are fifteen bodies and counting.  Fifteen women who have been murdered, apparently one or two a year, meaning the predator has been at it for years.  All in a tiny town where everyone knows everyone else.  Someone has been hiding a murderous mind behind a smiling face for years. 

He will have to work with local police without his usual team with him.  All of them are working other cases that have them out of touch or out of the state entirely.  Lucas meets the local sheriff's representative, a tough woman named Matteson.  She works with Lucas to solve the murders.  When one of the state police is killed himself, the entire case rackets up another notch.  Is there anyway to stop this killer?

This is the twenty-four novel in the Lucas Davenport series.  This one was particularly good with a chilling villain and a new character who is believable.  Davenport leans on his co-workers more in this novel, which is more lifelike as a murder case is almost always a job of teamwork.  But Lucas' intuition and flashes of knowledge come through along with his toughness and willingness to do anything to bring the killer to justice.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.