Shadow Prey by John Sandford

 

Because it occurred in the midst of the American Civil War, you don’t hear much about it, compared to the later Indian Wars in the West. The Sioux Uprising in Minnesota, however, may have been the deadliest of them all.

There were at least 447 deaths among white settlers, and probably more that weren't documented, almost twice as many as in the Custer fight. The number of Sioux casualties is unknown, but directly and indirectly, was very large. During the hostilities, captured Indians were held in a concentration camp less than a mile from what is now Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, in the heart of the Twin Cities, and like later concentration camps, it was a place of terror, rape, and death.

After the uprising, Mankato, Minnesota, became the scene of the largest mass execution in American history, when 38 Sioux were hanged in a single drop from a huge scaffold, with the approval of President Lincoln.

This novel, the second in Sandford’s long-running Lucas Davenport police-procedural series, was based on a series of articles he and fellow reporter Nick Coleman did for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

I am an unabashed Sandford fan [along with Bernard Cornwell who sings his praises] and was looking forward to this novel that deals with some 20^th-century vengeance for the 1867 Sioux Uprising.

Sandford’s story is, as usual, brisk. The procedure seems right but…there is far more “soap opera” elements within than I am used to from this usually streamlined craftsman.

While not a bad novel by any stretch, with an intriguing subject at that—I found this to be the least of all my Sandford reads—a rare “Feel free to skip this one” is issued.

A skilled storyteller at the beginning of his game.