My copy of this is a reprint paperback in it's 43 printing. I can see why it's sold so well. This is the first of the Lucas Davenport novels and he's quite a character - a cop that's independently wealthy from a second job as a game designer, he plays outside of the normal command structure and has no qualms about breaking the law to bring down the bad guy. I think that would be "unlawful good" but I'm not up on my D&D. In any case he definitely treats his cases like a game and it makes for a great narrative.

I don't particularly like the playboy aspect of his character. He's a guy sleeping with multiple women that he seems to care about, but using another woman as a pawn, targeting his games solely to 15 year old computer geeks via female as object mechanisms and choosing the winners and losers in his media manipulation with comments like "@#$% radio." He's violent, even with victims. It all adds up to a character almost as repellent as the monster he's tracking. In spite of all of that I like the way his mind works and he's written very sympathetic.

I enjoyed seeing the story unfold from both the killer and the detective's frame of reference, but the omniscient 3rd person felt sloppy. It makes for quick reading. As much as we followed the killer, it felt like we should know him more. The ending was a let down.

There were some high points for me which will bring me back to read the other John Sanford titles on my shelf. I liked the civil war game played over the course of the novel with a bunch of adults that break the traditional gamer mold. I liked the random bits of police work (like the strip club bust) that establish Davenport's methods without bothering to tie too directly to the plot. Both of these added life that was a bit lacking in the main narrative.