Tag: Lucas Davenport

RIGHTEOUS PREY by John Sandford

October 4, 2022 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Beloved heroes Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are up against a powerful vigilante group with an eye on vengeance in a stunning new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford. “We’re going to murder people who need to be murdered.” So begins a press release from a mysterious group known only as “The Five,” shortly after a vicious predator is murdered in San Francisco. The Five is believed to be made up of vigilante killers who are very bored…and very rich. They target the worst of society—rapists, murderers, and thieves—and then use their unlimited resources to offset the damage done by those who they’ve killed, donating untraceable Bitcoin to charities and victims via the dark net. The Five soon become the most popular figures on social media, a modern-day Batman…though their motives may not be entirely pure.

After a woman is murdered in the Twin Cities, Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport are sent in to investigate. And they soon have their hands full–the killings are smart and carefully choreographed, and with no apparent direct connection to the victims, The Five are virtually untraceable. But if anyone can destroy this group, it will be the dynamic team of Davenport and Flowers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this review copy!

RIGHTEOUS PREY is the 32^nd Prey book by John Sandford, and this is one of the better ones. Both Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are in this, working together to solve a murder spree. A group calling themselves “The Five” are slaughtering people that they (and many others) consider detrimental to society. The victims are considered to be a**holes and consist of rapists, thugs, etc. This twist makes The Five sympathetic characters, despite their murderous impulses.

It seemed there was slightly more Virgil content than Lucas. The banter between the two is as good as it ever was, with lots of ribbing about Lucas’ clothes and Virgil’s burgeoning career as an author. The characters are aging, yes, but also growing, and adding layers to both of their career paths. I hope they continue in law enforcement, because I feel that a lot of their appeal would be lost if Virgil were a full-time author and Lucas decided to retire (the horror!).

There is a new character introduced in the novel; her name is Jasmine Green and she is a cop assigned to help the duo out once they reach a certain point in the investigation. She starts out as a character that I wasn’t sure I was going to like, but as the plot progressed, I was happy she was added to the novel. Sandford does tend to drop new characters in here and there, and I hope we see Green again in the future.

Sandford’s ability to create a gripping plot is legendary. He never runs out of new ideas, and he puts his own special twist out there so you never know how things are going to end. I read through this book quickly and slowly at the same time (is this even possible?) because I wanted to find out what was going to happen to The Five, yet I didn’t want the book to end. Sandford takes too much time between books, if you ask me. This sentiment among his immense following proves what a fantastic writer he is.

I felt that there were no slow portions of the book. As each member of The Five is introduced to the reader, they emerge as intelligent, sardonic, and Type-A people. We get a brief background on them and learn their motivation, which turns out to be a good reason for the murder spree. The reader is invited to think about whether this murky “reasoning” is a good or a bad thing. Not that murder should be condoned – but we have all pictured someone famous and thought Gee, the world would be much better off without him”. This unique spin is another detail that made RIGHTEOUS PREY a bonafide thriller.

Sandford fans should be raving about this book! Lucas and Virgil are beloved characters, and this latest installation is a sure winner. I cannot choose what I liked best about this book – the always funny conversation between the two, or the fast-paced plot that gripped my interest from the first page. Which did you like best?

Want your own copy? You can pick it up here.

Masked Prey by John Sandford

May 26, 2020 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Lucas Davenport investigates a vitriolic blog that seems to be targeting the children of U.S. politicians in the latest thriller by #1 New York Times-bestselling author John Sandford.

The daughter of a U.S. Senator is monitoring her social media presence when she finds a picture of herself on a strange blog. And there are other pictures . . . of the children of other influential Washington politicians, walking or standing outside their schools, each identified by name. Surrounding the photos are texts of vicious political rants from a motley variety of radical groups.

It’s obviously alarming–is there an unstable extremist tracking the loved ones of powerful politicians with deadly intent? But when the FBI is called in, there isn’t much the feds can do. The anonymous photographer can’t be pinned down to one location or IP address, and more importantly, at least to the paper-processing bureaucrats, no crime has actually been committed. With nowhere else to turn, influential Senators decide to call in someone who can operate outside the FBI’s constraints: Lucas Davenport.

Thanks to NetGalley for this review copy!

Lots of politicking and Nazi alt-right groups in this Davenport outing. Lucas is still smarting from the bullet he took a few months ago, so when he gets a call from Washington demanding his presence, he is not all that eager to go. What he finds when he gets there is a twisted plot that takes nearly the entire book to resolve.

In the meantime, we have favorite characters Bob and Rae, lots of dialogue which moves the book along, and more information about alt-right groups that you never wanted to know. The book shifts back and forth between multiple subplots, which makes the book a bit draggy in places. Towards the end the action ramps up so that the pages are turning a lot quicker.

Bob and Rae are solid as usual, cracking wise and kicking ass. The scenes in which they help Davenport are some of the most entertaining ones in the book. However, it seems that Lucas was affected by the shooting in which he was wounded, and it shows. He is more thoughtful and less raw. He’s not happy about dealing with the Washington crowd, but handles it with diplomatic aplomb. Is this the start of an older, wiser Lucas Davenport? According to Goodreads at the time of this writing, MASKED PREY was a solid 4 stars. I’m not sure why this book didn’t get that fifth star, unless it was the “new” Lucas.

I enjoyed the book well enough, but I’m going to give it four stars as well. There was a bit too much politics. 20% into the book, when Davenport meets alt-right expert Charles Lang and his assistant Stephen Gibson, Lang reminded me a tiny bit of Hannibal Lecter, but without the shock factor and the gore. Lang seemed to thrive on information, and he was hungry for some all throughout the book. I found those interactions a bit creepy. Now that I think about it, both Lang and Gibson did need to be in the book under the guise of plot thickening, but I still don’t like Lang.

Davenport fans should enjoy this albeit a bit mildly. Hardcore readers will gobble this up and look for more, while first time readers may find it a bit dry. I fall between those groups…that said there is nothing like a good Prey novel to while away the hours. MASKED PREY filled a few hours for me, and I enjoyed it more than mildly….yet not 5 stars worth.

You can pick up your copy here.

Neon Prey by John Sandford (Davenport #29)

May 21, 2019 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Lucas Davenport pursues a prolific serial killer who has gone undetected for years in the newest nail-biter by #1 NewYork Times bestselling author John Sandford.

It was a relatively minor criminal matter, all things considered, but enough that the US Marshals obtained a warrant to enter the home. They didn’t expect to unearth trophies from a score of killings.

Now Davenport is on the trail of a serial murderer, one who was able to operate for years without notice or suspicion. But there’s even more to this killer than meets the eye…

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

It’s hard to believe that this is Davenport’s 29^th adventure. He’s gotten shot, stabbed, punched numerous times, and suffered various other indignities. In NEON PREY he and his fellow Marshals Bob and Rae are hot on the heels of a cannibal. Multiple bodies have been found in the yard of Clayton Deese, and the Marshals want to ask him some questions. Deese, however, is not cooperating.

When Lucas and Co. discover that the livers from the bodies are missing, and the barbeque grill from Deese’s house has been used, they realize that they are not looking for a typical run-of-the-mill killer. Bob, Rae, and Lucas share the spotlight equally, which is different from previous books. It almost seems as though Lucas is part of the supporting cast rather than the main character. Even his “cop talk” is secondary to that of Bob and Rae.

Las Vegas is a quirky setting that provides both sparkle and squalor. There is a section of the book where Deese and his crew hang out at a friend’s ramshackle trailer. As I read on, I could hear the banjos from “Deliverance” in the background – it was that eerie!

My thoughts on this one is that it’s a firm middle-of-the-road Prey novel. What stood out for me was that Davenport seems to be feeling his age (both mentally and physically) here. No spoilers; but I was not ready for some of the plot twists. Kudos to the author for keeping his characters human with relevant emotions.

I’d love to know what you think of #29 – leave me a comment with your thoughts. You can pick up your copy here.

Twisted Prey by John Sandford

June 12, 2018 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Lucas Davenport confronts an old nemesis, now more powerful than ever as a U.S. senator, in the thrilling new novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling Prey series
Lucas Davenport had crossed paths with her before. A rich psychopath, Taryn Grant had run successfully for the U.S. Senate, where Lucas had predicted she’d fit right in. He was also convinced that she’d been responsible for three murders, though he’d never been able to prove it. Once a psychopath had gotten that kind of rush, though, he or she often needed another fix, so he figured he might be seeing her again.
He was right. A federal marshal now, with a very wide scope of investigation, he’s heard rumors that Grant has found her seat on the Senate intelligence committee, and the contacts she’s made from it, to be very…useful. Pinning those rumors down was likely to be just as difficult as before, and considerably more dangerous.
But they had unfinished business, he and Grant. One way or the other, he was going to see it through to the end.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Twisted Prey is the 28^th book in the bestselling series by John Sandford. The teaser here is that Federal Marshal Lucas Davenport may finally be able to put paid to the evil Taryn Grant, who got away a few books back (see Silken Prey). An “accident” involving a US Senator is brought to Davenport’s attention, and soon enough, all the wonderful characters of Sandford’s imagination come out to play. I especially enjoyed reading the pithy cop talk between officers Bob and Rae; the scene with the donuts was spot-on!

Taryn Grant is quite the narcissist in this book, as she manipulates others to do her bidding. Despite Davenport’s more-than-a-hunch feelings that she is the bad guy, there is no clear evidence linking her to the accident in the beginning of the book. She’s got plenty to hide, though, and does it well. Shame that such a smart female character has to be so evil. She is not my favorite bad character – despite her ambition she seems too flat for my liking.

There was a bit too much politics in this installment to be perfect; all the discussion of defense contracts and the like bogged the story down a bit. This was a middle-of-the-road book; familiar characters doing familiar things, yet it took just a touch too long to wrap up. This may be due to the setting being Washington, DC – when the stories take place in Minnesota there is something oddly comforting about the location. I wonder how much of the story was written out of inspiration vs having to wrap up the Taryn Grant situation?

However, no Prey book is truly heinous. We also find that Davenport isn’t untouchable, as an encounter with some bad guys leaves him screaming like a little girl (one of the funniest vignettes in the book). He is getting older and feeling it, which is a refreshing touch.

Twisted Prey is an enjoyable way to spend a few hours of your time, however, long time Sandford fans may feel a little let down with the heavy concentration on the politics. Let’s see what happens in the next installment – maybe Lucas will be back on his home turf again.

Want your own copy? You can pick it up on Amazon.