Lethal Prey by John Sandford - Book Review

A Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers Novel

I have been a fan of John Sandford’s books since his first one (Rules of Prey) published in 1989.  Sandford has written 35 books in the ‘Prey’ series, featuring Lucas Davenport as the main character. In 2007, Sandford began the Virgil Flowers series ~ now totaling 12 books. 

Both series are police procedurals in the mystery/thriller genre, with the main characters being in law enforcement. By the time we meet Virgil Flowers (in Book #1 - Dark of the Moon), both Virgil and Lucas work for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigations, and Davenport is nominally Virgil’s boss.

By Book 31 in the Prey series, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers have begun handling difficult cases together. Lethal Prey is the 4th novel starring this pair of investigators, providing, as always, a very interesting mystery to solve, plus giving the reader an extremely amusing time with their delightful ongoing ‘cop’ humor. 

Synopsis of Lethal Prey

Lethal Prey (A Prey Novel)

In Lethal Prey, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers have once again joined forces, this time to try and solve a 20 year old cold case crime and track down a ruthless killer who will do whatever it takes to keep the past buried. 

The crime was the murder of Doris Grandfelt, an employee at an accounting firm who was brutally stabbed to death.  Despite her twin sister Lara Grandfelt’s persistent calls to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the killer was never found.

Now Lara, diagnosed with breast cancer and confronted with the possibility of her own death, is determined to find Doris’ killer. She offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. To this end, she releases the entire investigative file online onto true crime sites. Dozens of true crime bloggers show up looking for new evidence and leads (toward a share of the reward). The problem is, all discoveries have to be reviewed and followed up by Lucas and Virgil. 

The crime bloggers DO end up providing new clues and leads, which is helpful to the detectives. But they also blast every clue online, allowing the killer, whose identity the reader knows in Chapter One, to keep one step ahead. As the killer eliminates more people to prevent the detectives from discovering the identity of the murderer, Lucas and Virgil find the whole case not only frustrating, but deadly. 

Summary

The ending leaves some things unresolved, thus leaving the reader to decide how things work out both for the killer and with Virgil's future plans. Or, perhaps Sandford is just leaving it open for a future follow-up book). 

This non-standard Sandford ending has caused readers’ reviews to be mixed, with some finding this lack of conclusion disappointing. Others, such as myself, found the story very interesting, and the witty banter between Virgil and Lucas highly entertaining. I am never disappointed with any John Sandford novel and enjoyed Lethal Prey very much. 

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*Book Review of Lethal Prey is written by Wednesday Elf

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Neon Prey by John Sandford – Book Review

 

Neon Prey, a mystery suspense thriller in John Sandford's Lucus Davenport series. 

Main Character

Lucus Davenport is a former Minneapolis homicide detective and later worked as an investigator with the Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension.  He is now with the U.S. Marshall's Service. In Neon Prey he is given the assignment of finding a small-time criminal (Clayton Deese) who skipped out on bail after being arrested.

Plot Synopsis

Deese worked as a muscle-for-hire for a loan-shark. The Marshalls are looking for him mainly because they think he might be their best chance to bring down his boss and the whole illegal loan-sharking operation. 

Lucus and his team, Rae and Bob, track Deese to his home in rural Louisiana where they discover he has disappeared.  When they check out a dirt path behind Deese's cabin, they find a jungle full of graves. Now Deese is no longer a simple crook who beats people up for his loan-shark boss; he is a serial killer who has been operating for years without notice. 

Tracking a serial killer instead of just a low-level criminal who skipped bail, the Marshall's office teams up with the FBI. The search takes them to Los Angeles where Deese has a brother who may be harboring him. It is soon discovered that the brother is also a crook and has a gang of thieves who rob wealthy people in home invasions.  A Los Angeles police detective is extremely anxious to catch up with the brother and his gang. Deese and his brother are finally located in L.A., but a planned swat team attack fails to catch all of the gang members.  Deese and his brother, along with two other gang members, manage to escape. 

Through evidence found in the quarry's house, they figure out the four remaining criminals have gone to Las Vegas.  

Now, not only are Lucus Davenport, Bob and Rae from the U.S. Marshall's Office looking for them, but also the FBI, the L.A. Detective and the Las Vegas police. 

Except - the quarry is ruthless and – as Davenport will come to find – full of surprises. 

Summary

Available on Amazon

Neon Prey is #29 of 31 in the Lucas Davenport 'Prey' series. As with all of Sandford's books, this one has clever plotting, is genuinely suspenseful, and is interspersed with cop-type humor. 

Neon Prey Book Review written by

Wednesday Elf

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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