Pavel Federov is the head of Metro Investigations and a member of the Russian Blue werecat clan of shapeshifters. His most recent client is Vivian Roussel, a dealer of Russian art and antiques, who contacts Metro after she and her brother, Marc, become targets for a bizarre series of break-ins and attempted kidnappings. Vivian insists that she and Marc have no idea why they are being attacked since they have no enemies and their business dealings are all completely legitimate. However, Pavel soon learns that the Roussels are high-ranking members of the American Maine Coon werecat clan, and they recently had dealings with, Bella, the wife of the Russian Blue hierarch. Coincidentally, a very precious relic of the Russian people, the Virgin of Saratov, went missing three months earlier, and there is some question as to whether the attacks are connected to the missing painting. When Vivian discovers that the painting has been smuggled into her shop in the back of a mirror sent by Bella, she must put her trust in Pavel and his men to protect both the sacred painting and her life. PREY was a difficult story for me. From the very beginning, the pacing seemed rushed, and almost all of the scenes are only two or three pages and read like sound bites. I kept yearning for greater story development, and I quickly tired of jumping from location to location and character to character, often without a logical transition. It also bothered me that many of the scenes suddenly turned gruesome and violent, sometimes without cause. In fact, in one scene where the villain kills an innocent feral kitten, I almost put the book down for good. The character development also seemed uneven, especially for Vivian, who often acted against logic and with an inconsistency that made me question who she really is. Is she a tough, take charge leader who fights injustice and fears no one, or is she a timid woman who cannot defend herself even when she knows danger is near? Sometimes she acts with complete authority and command, and other times she doesn't seem capable of simple good sense. I never really understood her character, which was unfortunate since it would have given depth to the conflict and invested me in Pavel and Vivian's struggles. Pavel, on the other hand, is pretty well defined, but the actions of his team at Metro were often baffling. At the beginning of the story, Metro is described as the best at what they do, but throughout the book, they commit errors which place the main characters in danger (most of which only seemed necessary as plot devices). I found myself comparing their actions to those of a heroine in a classic B horror movie, who goes outside to investigate a suspicious noise at night in a flimsy nightgown with no shoes and a broken flashlight. You just know it won't turn out well because she's not taking any precautions. However, fans of DEVOUR, the first book in this series, will be delighted to see the return of Ian and Catherine, who agree to help Pavel and Vivian return the Virgin of Saratov back to Russia. While this book was definitely not for me, if you're looking for a dark and gritty plot, and villains you will love to hate, then you may want to give PREY a try.