on the prowl

bac

A serial killer eludes an FBI profiler and a smalltown Nebraska sheriff in Kava's engaging debut, which manages to remain entertaining despite a fairly conventional plot line. As the story opens, recently appointed Sheriff Nick Morelli is as relieved as the rest of the citizens of Platte City that his predecessor, who also happens to be his father, has captured the child killer who plagued the town. But after the killer is executed, another child is discovered dead, and Morelli realizes that the convicted man was in fact a copycat killer, leaving the original criminal still on the prowl. Morelli gets some much-needed help in the investigation from FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell, but the hunt gets complicated when Morelli's sister, a journalist, leaks info to the media. Things become even stickier when O'Dell unearths a couple of unlikely suspects who've been dismissed by the police, and the search takes on a new level of urgency when Morelli's nephew is abducted and appears to be the next victim. Kava keeps her prose simple, but she does a nice job of setting up the chemistry between O'Dell and Morelli while balancing the various family issues Morelli faces in the investigation. She also makes good use of the smalltown milieu, tightening the tension by establishing that the killer is part of the fabric of the community. The result is a well-crafted page-turner involving the reader in the specter of murder in an intimate and disturbing fashion, with a plausible setup for a sequel.

单词注解：
prowl¹ / praul ; praʊl /
◙verb [I,T]
1. if an animal prowls, it moves around an area quietly, especially because it is hunting another animal
• 〔尤指捕猎的动物〕潜行（于某处）
2. if someone prowls, they move around an area slowly and quietly, especially because they are involved in a criminal activity or because they are looking for something
• 〔尤指罪犯或正在寻找某物的人〕秘密（悄悄）来回游走（于某处）:
»gangs of teenagers prowling the streets
  在大街上鬼鬼祟祟四处游荡的少年团伙
▪ [+ around / about ] BrE :
»Irene prowled restlessly around the room.
  艾琳不安地在房间里来回踱步。

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prowl²
◙noun
1. be / go on the prowl (for sth / sb)
a. if an animal is on the prowl, it is hunting
• 〔动物〕出动捕猎
b. if someone is on the prowl, they are moving around different places, looking for an opportunity to do something
• 四处搜寻〔干某事的机会〕:
»local men out on the prowl (=looking for people to have a sexual relationship with) in the city's bars and nightclubs
  在城里的酒吧和夜总会四处游荡伺机寻找性伴侣的当地男子
»She's always on the prowl for bargains.
  她总是到处搜寻便宜货。


prowl
prowl / praul /
verb
1. (of an animal 动物) to move quietly and carefully around an area, especially when hunting
   潜行(为捕猎等)
  ▪ [V , usually +adv. / prep.]
   The tiger prowled through the undergrowth.
   老虎悄然穿过矮树丛。
  ▪ [also VN]
2. to move quietly and carefully around an area, especially with the intention of committing a crime
   潜行(图谋不轨等)
  ▪ [V , usually +adv. / prep.]
   A man was seen prowling around outside the factory just before the fire started.
   就在起火之前,有人看到一个男子在工厂外踱来踱去。
  ▪ [also VN]
3. to walk around a room, an area, etc., especially because you are bored, anxious, etc., and cannot relax
   (因无聊、焦躁等)徘徊,走来走去:
  ▪ [VN]
   He prowled the empty rooms of the house at night.
   夜里,他在家中的空屋子里踱来踱去。
  ▪ [also V +adv. / prep.]

noun
IDIOMS
▪ (be / go) on the 'prowl
(of an animal or a person 人或动物) moving quietly and carefully, hunting or looking for sth
   悄然潜行(以捕猎或寻找):
   There was a fox on the prowl near the chickens.
   有一只狐狸在鸡群附近徘徊。
   an intruder on the prowl
   一个蹑足闯入的人

prowl
I
/ˈprawəl/ verb , prowls, prowled, prowl·ing
  1 of an animal : to move quietly through an area while hunting
   [  no obj  ] a tiger prowling in the jungle
    wolves prowling in packs
   [  + obj  ] He moved like a tiger prowling the jungle.
  2 : to move through a place or area especially while searching for something often in a quiet or secret way
   [  + obj  ] The police were prowling the streets in their patrol cars.
    He liked to prowl the streets late at night.
    I prowled the store looking for sales.
   [  no obj  ] I prowled through the store looking for sales.
————————
II
noun   [  singular  ]
  : an act of moving through a place while searching for something : an act of prowling
   a prowl through the bookshop
  on the prowl
   : searching for something often in a quiet or secret way
    My cat was on the prowl. [=my cat was prowling]
    reporters on the prowl for a good story

prowl
[praʊl]
   (verb 动词)
悄悄行走；徘徊
    to prowl about in the dark.
     在暗处蹑足行走。
   SYNONYM 同义词:creep,roam, slink, sneak, steal, SEE参阅 walk verb 动词.