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Overall Summary

Winter Prey is a suspense novel by John Sandford. It takes place in the remote north woods of rural Wisconsin, where the protagonist goes for a little rest and relaxation. However, crime comes knocking at his door soon enough.

In a cold winter night, the main character, The Iceman, is out to kill anyone who might have information that would lead police to him. He arrives at the home of Claudia and Frank LaCourt, where he thinks he will find a photograph of himself with someone else’s child. If this photo were in the wrong hands it could destroy his life because he killed that little boy and if police saw it they might try to pin the death on him. So determined to get his hands on that picture, he approached their house. While Claudia was inside getting more firewood she spotted The Iceman outside and immediately ran back into her garage where she got trapped by him as well as her husband Frank who had just arrived from work. She screamed for help but no one came so The Iceman killed them both while they tried escaping through an open window before setting their house ablaze after killing them both.

Lucas arrives at his cabin, which is not what he expected. He notes its ominous look and rank smell. Not long after trying to settle in, a sheriff’s deputy comes to the door asking for help with solving the LaCourt murder case. Lucas agrees and soon finds out that his reputation precedes him; he’s known as being an excellent homicide investigator. This small-town sheriff department needs someone like him to help them solve this crime, so they call on him because of his reputation from previous cases.

Lucas arrives at the site of the LaCourt house and meets with Dr. Weather Karkinnen, who is a coroner for the state. They have some friction when they first meet because Lucas has killed many people in his line of work as a police officer, while Weather has heard that he’s good at his job.

The Iceman is a cold-blooded killer. He likes to murder people and use their bodies as props in his photo shoots. One of his victims was the boy who lived next door, although he didn’t kill him directly—he just used him for a prop in one of his pictures. The boy’s father was part of this sex ring that prostituted children; when he got too big for his britches, they killed him and framed The Iceman for it. A girl from the group lives with The Iceman now and appears to be infatuated with him because he grooms her like an animal.

The Iceman never found the incriminating photo before he burned down the LaCourt house. He now knows that Weather has resources to find it, so she must die. However, she is difficult to kill and eludes all of his attempts on her life. Since Father Bergen was near the LaCourt’s on the night of the fire, The Iceman has to eliminate any possibility that Bergen saw what happened and who started the fire. So, he kills Father Bergen.

Lucas suspects that the sex ring might be connected to the LaCourt murders. He attempts to draw out a confession by having one of its members arrested, but his plan backfires when The Iceman kills another member and then prepares to leave town.

Investigators find the remains of a photo at the scene of the fire. They show it to Weather, who identifies The Iceman as Duane Helper from his leg scar. This discovery shocks authorities because they thought he was dead.

As The Iceman/Duane Helper and the girl escape on snowmobiles, Lucas and Weather are in hot pursuit. They both take cover behind trees to shoot at each other. The Iceman and the girl escape into the woods, but Lucas shoots him in the back. The Iceman keeps running despite his injuries because he’s determined to save himself and his hostage by escaping from their pursuers. However, Weather performs an impromptu tracheotomy on Lucas to save his life when it looks like he might die from bleeding out if they don’t act fast enough.