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Lucas Davenport #35
Lethal Prey
Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces to track down a ruthless killer who will do whatever it takes to keep the past buried.
Doris Grandfelt, an employee at an accounting firm, was brutally stabbed to death . . . but nobody knew exactly where the crime took place. Her body was found the next night, dumped among a dense thicket of trees along the edge of an urban park, eight miles east of St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite her twin sister Lara Grandfelt’s persistent calls to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the killer was never found.
Twenty years later, Lara has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Confronted with the possibility of her own death, she’s determined to find Doris’s killer once and for all. Finally taking matters into her own hands, she dumps the entire investigative file on every true-crime site in the world and offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. Dozens of true-crime bloggers show up looking for both new evidence and “clicks,� and Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to review anything that might be a new lead.
When one of the bloggers locates the murder weapon, Lucas and Virgil begin to uncover vital details about the killer’s identity. But what they don’t know is the killer lurks in plain sight, and with the true-crime bloggers blasting every clue online, the killer can keep one step ahead. As the nation maneuvers the detectives closer to the truth, Lucas and Virgil will find that digging up Doris’s harrowing past might just get them buried instead.
Doris Grandfelt, an employee at an accounting firm, was brutally stabbed to death . . . but nobody knew exactly where the crime took place. Her body was found the next night, dumped among a dense thicket of trees along the edge of an urban park, eight miles east of St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite her twin sister Lara Grandfelt’s persistent calls to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the killer was never found.
Twenty years later, Lara has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Confronted with the possibility of her own death, she’s determined to find Doris’s killer once and for all. Finally taking matters into her own hands, she dumps the entire investigative file on every true-crime site in the world and offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. Dozens of true-crime bloggers show up looking for both new evidence and “clicks,� and Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to review anything that might be a new lead.
When one of the bloggers locates the murder weapon, Lucas and Virgil begin to uncover vital details about the killer’s identity. But what they don’t know is the killer lurks in plain sight, and with the true-crime bloggers blasting every clue online, the killer can keep one step ahead. As the nation maneuvers the detectives closer to the truth, Lucas and Virgil will find that digging up Doris’s harrowing past might just get them buried instead.
391 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 25, 2025
2,629 people are currently reading
1,745 people want to read
About the author
John Sandford
196books9,311followersJohn Sandford was born John Roswell Camp on February 23, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the public schools in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School in 1962. He then spent four years at the University of Iowa, graduating with a bachelor's degree in American Studies in 1966. In 1966, he married Susan Lee Jones of Cedar Rapids, a fellow student at the University of Iowa. He was in the U.S. Army from 1966-68, worked as a reporter for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian from 1968-1970, and went back to the University of Iowa from 1970-1971, where he received a master's degree in journalism. He was a reporter for The Miami Herald from 1971-78, and then a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press from 1978-1990; in 1980, he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, and he won the Pulitzer in 1986 for a series of stories about a midwestern farm crisis. From 1990 to the present he has written thriller novels. He's also the author of two non-fiction books, one on plastic surgery and one on art. He is the principal financial backer of a major archeological project in the Jordan Valley of Israel, with a website at In addition to archaeology, he is deeply interested in art (painting) and photography. He both hunts and fishes. He has two children, Roswell and Emily, and one grandson, Benjamin. His wife, Susan, died of metastasized breast cancer in May, 2007, and is greatly missed.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 577 reviews
February 1, 2025
My thanks to Penguin Group/Putnam, John Sandford and Netgalley.
It's an odd thing, but in all the years of reading Davenport and Flowers I've never been bored. Yet, this damned book was toothless. I kept waiting for someone "Virgil or Lucas" to kill these arseholes. That did not happen. The laughs? A few, but really? Also, can we just get some Johnson Johnson? He and Virgil are a hoot!
I've been reading Sandford since the 1990's and this book is the one and only book that was very, very bland and kind of "dare I say?" boring.
I know you're getting old, as are we all, but shit or get off the pot. This story was not up to its usual standards.
It's an odd thing, but in all the years of reading Davenport and Flowers I've never been bored. Yet, this damned book was toothless. I kept waiting for someone "Virgil or Lucas" to kill these arseholes. That did not happen. The laughs? A few, but really? Also, can we just get some Johnson Johnson? He and Virgil are a hoot!
I've been reading Sandford since the 1990's and this book is the one and only book that was very, very bland and kind of "dare I say?" boring.
I know you're getting old, as are we all, but shit or get off the pot. This story was not up to its usual standards.
December 14, 2024
Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up again in this latest page-turning thriller and I really loved the storyline in this one! Without giving anything away, the story is centered around solving a 20-year old cold-case murder. The victim's sister manages to revive interest in the case by releasing the investigation file online and offering a $5 million reward to identify the murderer. When the true-crime bloggers show up en masse, Lucas and Virgil are tasked with managing the case.
You need not have read any of the prior books in the Davenport Prey or Virgil Flowers series to enjoy this one, it really does stand on its own. And if you have read all the other books leading up to this one you will appreciate the continuing evolution of both Lucas and Virgil over their long careers.
I was also intrigued by the new characters introduced in this novel, especially the murderer. The book ends a bit abruptly without the usual wrap-up so I am hoping this isn't the last we will be hearing about this vile character.
Disclosure: Received an uncorrected ARC of this book from NetGalley and GP Putnam's Sons/Penguin Random House LLC (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.
You need not have read any of the prior books in the Davenport Prey or Virgil Flowers series to enjoy this one, it really does stand on its own. And if you have read all the other books leading up to this one you will appreciate the continuing evolution of both Lucas and Virgil over their long careers.
I was also intrigued by the new characters introduced in this novel, especially the murderer. The book ends a bit abruptly without the usual wrap-up so I am hoping this isn't the last we will be hearing about this vile character.
Disclosure: Received an uncorrected ARC of this book from NetGalley and GP Putnam's Sons/Penguin Random House LLC (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.
April 10, 2025
Sandford gets better and better with every book. I just love his novels...and this one is no exception. I've heard that some people have a problem with the ending, but I guess that they haven't read a Sandford book before. He's had similar endings in the past, and they haven't dimmed my appreciation or enjoyment. If anything, its increased it...because he's willing to break with convention and with formula and go rely on his storytelling instincts instead.
April 5, 2025
Cliffhanger Prey
A review of the Penguin Audio audiobook (March 25, 2025) narrated by and released simultaneously with the G.P. Putnam's Sons hardcover & eBook.
Can a book be 5-stars and still earn an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert�? If the book is Lethal Prey, then yes it can!
For its police procedural details, for its cop banter, for the return of both U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport and Minnesota BCA Agent Virgil Flowers, for its family scenes, for its subplot of Flowers fretting about his budding novelist career and finally for its diabolical serial killer villain, this was the best Prey in years.
But as the minutes counted down on the audio I kept thinking how can Sandford possibly wrap this up in the time remaining. And the answer is that he doesn't. There is that sense of deflation when you realize you will have to wait a year or more to find out how it all plays out.
Sandford has of course done this before, with (Lucas Davenport #10 - 1999) and then its delayed follow-up (Lucas Davenport #13 - 2002). Still at this stage in his career it was surprising that the fans had to be baited again. But it is still a 5-star read up until the final few seconds 😅. If that is a spoiler, then sorry about that!
Soundtrack
"They had the satellite radio station tuned to an Americana station playing low and Ray Wylie Hubbard came on singing . Virgil turned up the sound and sang along for a couple of verses in a grainy baritone."
A review of the Penguin Audio audiobook (March 25, 2025) narrated by and released simultaneously with the G.P. Putnam's Sons hardcover & eBook.
Can a book be 5-stars and still earn an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert�? If the book is Lethal Prey, then yes it can!
For its police procedural details, for its cop banter, for the return of both U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport and Minnesota BCA Agent Virgil Flowers, for its family scenes, for its subplot of Flowers fretting about his budding novelist career and finally for its diabolical serial killer villain, this was the best Prey in years.
But as the minutes counted down on the audio I kept thinking how can Sandford possibly wrap this up in the time remaining. And the answer is that he doesn't. There is that sense of deflation when you realize you will have to wait a year or more to find out how it all plays out.
Sandford has of course done this before, with (Lucas Davenport #10 - 1999) and then its delayed follow-up (Lucas Davenport #13 - 2002). Still at this stage in his career it was surprising that the fans had to be baited again. But it is still a 5-star read up until the final few seconds 😅. If that is a spoiler, then sorry about that!
Soundtrack
"They had the satellite radio station tuned to an Americana station playing low and Ray Wylie Hubbard came on singing . Virgil turned up the sound and sang along for a couple of verses in a grainy baritone."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lethal Prey was a near perfect crime thriller except that it ended on a cliffhanger which is always a disappointment for me.
The plot was tight and action packed with likable and interesting characters.
The story follows Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers as they investigate a long-unsolved murder. Years ago, Doris Grandfelt was brutally killed, but the killer was never found. Her twin sister Lara, now facing her own cancer diagnosis, is determined to uncover the truth.
This was my first time reading a John Sandford book. I enjoyed Lethal Prey enough to start at the beginning of the Prey series.
I received an uncorrected ARC of this book from Netgalley and GP Putnam's Sons/Penguin Random House LLC (Thank you) in exchange for an honest review.
Lethal Prey was a near perfect crime thriller except that it ended on a cliffhanger which is always a disappointment for me.
The plot was tight and action packed with likable and interesting characters.
The story follows Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers as they investigate a long-unsolved murder. Years ago, Doris Grandfelt was brutally killed, but the killer was never found. Her twin sister Lara, now facing her own cancer diagnosis, is determined to uncover the truth.
This was my first time reading a John Sandford book. I enjoyed Lethal Prey enough to start at the beginning of the Prey series.
I received an uncorrected ARC of this book from Netgalley and GP Putnam's Sons/Penguin Random House LLC (Thank you) in exchange for an honest review.
March 27, 2025
The prior entry Toxic Prey was one of the best Sandford books in years (my opinion), but Lethal prey is one of the worst in the entire series. How can you expect your readers to care about the mystery if your MC investigators don’t care for 80% of the book? The choice to have Virgil repeatedly whining about wanting to work on his novel instead of catching a killer seems almost like deliberate self sabotage on the part of Sanderson.
Not nearly enough of the side characters that make Sanderson books fun- needed more Shrake and Jenkins especially, with their original tie to the case.
I listened to the audiobook (not a fan of the new narrator,) and when the book abruptly ended without a resolution I honestly thought there had been a launch-day mistake. This killer doesn’t have any of the complexities of previous antagonists that earned multiple books, and honestly I wouldn’t be excited to read another book with this particular killer.
Not nearly enough of the side characters that make Sanderson books fun- needed more Shrake and Jenkins especially, with their original tie to the case.
I listened to the audiobook (not a fan of the new narrator,) and when the book abruptly ended without a resolution I honestly thought there had been a launch-day mistake. This killer doesn’t have any of the complexities of previous antagonists that earned multiple books, and honestly I wouldn’t be excited to read another book with this particular killer.
April 11, 2025
It’s become an annual tradition for me to dive into a new Lucas Davenport novel, and once again, Lethal Prey did not disappoint. As always, I was swept away by another thrilling mystery that kept me hooked from start to finish. What I love about this series, especially after so many books, is how the main and supporting characters have become familiar friends. The character development over the years has made the story feel like a comfortable reunion with old favorites.
In the past couple of novels, the addition of Virgil Flowers to the mix has been a real treat. The dynamic between Lucas and Virgil is just gold. These two are incredibly entertaining together, and their banter adds such a fun layer to the story while still keeping the tension high. I love that the series has evolved to feature their partnership more, and their chemistry is truly one of the highlights.
This case is especially intriguing because the cops are using crowdsourcing to gather ideas and data from true crime enthusiasts and bloggers, helping solve a case that’s been cold for 20 years. I absolutely love it when authors incorporate modern-day technology and trends into their stories, and this was a great way to tie in the current obsession with true crime. It adds a fresh and relevant layer to the investigation that feels so timely.
I’ve always felt that jumping into this series is easy, even if you haven’t read every book. It does take time to get to know the characters, but the individual cases that Lucas and Virgil tackle can be enjoyed on their own. I actually started listening to this series on audiobook CDs long before Audible and other streaming services became mainstream. I remember picking up a random book from the library without realizing it was part of a series—and, of course, it wasn’t the first book! I ended up backtracking over the years, but the great thing about the Prey series is that each book can stand alone, making it easy for new readers to jump in at any point. Of course, following the official timeline is always the best way to experience the full arc of the characters� development, no doubt about it.
Lethal Prey continues the tradition of gripping, edge-of-your-seat storytelling that fans of Sandford's work have come to expect. Highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrilling mysteries with well-developed characters, a dash of humor, and a touch of contemporary relevance!
In the past couple of novels, the addition of Virgil Flowers to the mix has been a real treat. The dynamic between Lucas and Virgil is just gold. These two are incredibly entertaining together, and their banter adds such a fun layer to the story while still keeping the tension high. I love that the series has evolved to feature their partnership more, and their chemistry is truly one of the highlights.
This case is especially intriguing because the cops are using crowdsourcing to gather ideas and data from true crime enthusiasts and bloggers, helping solve a case that’s been cold for 20 years. I absolutely love it when authors incorporate modern-day technology and trends into their stories, and this was a great way to tie in the current obsession with true crime. It adds a fresh and relevant layer to the investigation that feels so timely.
I’ve always felt that jumping into this series is easy, even if you haven’t read every book. It does take time to get to know the characters, but the individual cases that Lucas and Virgil tackle can be enjoyed on their own. I actually started listening to this series on audiobook CDs long before Audible and other streaming services became mainstream. I remember picking up a random book from the library without realizing it was part of a series—and, of course, it wasn’t the first book! I ended up backtracking over the years, but the great thing about the Prey series is that each book can stand alone, making it easy for new readers to jump in at any point. Of course, following the official timeline is always the best way to experience the full arc of the characters� development, no doubt about it.
Lethal Prey continues the tradition of gripping, edge-of-your-seat storytelling that fans of Sandford's work have come to expect. Highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrilling mysteries with well-developed characters, a dash of humor, and a touch of contemporary relevance!
January 8, 2025
Where’s the ending? Are there chapters missing in this ARC? It’ll be interesting to see when the actual book comes out if there was a mistake because the end is abrupt and not resolved.
Okay. Besides the fact that this book feels like it's missing the ending, the rest of the book was actually good. I liked the format - very small and quick chapters. It really helped the pacing and made it seem like things were happening rapidly. I don't really remember his books unfolding like this in the past - but it might just be me. It HAS been a while (and many, many books in between) since I've read the last book.
This book starts off by telling us about a murder that occurred 20 years ago. Then we jump to the present and are told that the victim's sister has terminal cancer and wants to find out and punish her sister's killer before she dies. So, she offered a $5 million dollar reward - specifically aimed at a lot of the new "True Crime" podcasters that seemed to have popped up everywhere. And boy oh boy does it create activity. These people truly do pop out of the woodwork.
Unfortunately, the killer is also paying close attention to the investigation and is a crazy psychopath so guess what that means? Yep. More murders.
I really enjoyed this new edition to the series - well, with the exception of the end. Hopefully, this was just an error and will be fixed before publication.
Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and only my own. This book will be out for publication on Mar 25, 2025.
Okay. Besides the fact that this book feels like it's missing the ending, the rest of the book was actually good. I liked the format - very small and quick chapters. It really helped the pacing and made it seem like things were happening rapidly. I don't really remember his books unfolding like this in the past - but it might just be me. It HAS been a while (and many, many books in between) since I've read the last book.
This book starts off by telling us about a murder that occurred 20 years ago. Then we jump to the present and are told that the victim's sister has terminal cancer and wants to find out and punish her sister's killer before she dies. So, she offered a $5 million dollar reward - specifically aimed at a lot of the new "True Crime" podcasters that seemed to have popped up everywhere. And boy oh boy does it create activity. These people truly do pop out of the woodwork.
Unfortunately, the killer is also paying close attention to the investigation and is a crazy psychopath so guess what that means? Yep. More murders.
I really enjoyed this new edition to the series - well, with the exception of the end. Hopefully, this was just an error and will be fixed before publication.
Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and only my own. This book will be out for publication on Mar 25, 2025.
April 23, 2025
After a bit slow of a beginning, Sanford revs up and produces another winner. The only fault is an incomplete end.
February 5, 2025
My usual 5-star rating has dropped a notch on this one, almost entirely because of just one thing: the gobsmacking cliffhanger ending. I'll not explain further, of course, but after I kept flipping through the acknowedgements to see if the last few pages of the last chapter somehow got buried there, I got really, really annoyed - leaving readers hanging is one of one of the biggest no-nos an author can do, in my book.
But it is what it is. I guess I'll console myself with the thought that resolution may become the impetus for the next book in the series - this is the 35th - so I'll be watching. Other than that, I always look forward to the adventures of Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers - two of my all-time favorite characters. They meet up this time during the reinvestigation of a cold case: the murder of accounting firm employee Doris Grandfelt two decades earlier. It's been reopened because her surviving twin, Lara, is determined to find her sister's killer before she, too, dies - she's been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She's sweetened the pot with a $5 million reward for information that leads to the killer
One of those bloggers, in fact, somehow manages to dig up the murder weapon, which does provide some clues. Lucas gets the call when the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul gets the case. Shortly thereafter, Bureau agent Virgil gets a similar call while he's out playing golf. Despite needing to work on his latest novel (plus spend time with his partner Frankie and their twins), he figures Lucas will be involved and agrees to be part of the investigation.
As Lucas and Virgil hone their investigative skills, they also must run interference to keep at bay the proliferation of true-crime bloggers who didn't exist back then and would kill each other for a scoop - or, failing that, turn their enthusiasm into an asset. Fairly early on, readers learn who the killer is, making it even more fun to watch Lucas and Virgil go from spinning their wheels to closing in. All told, another one well done. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.
But it is what it is. I guess I'll console myself with the thought that resolution may become the impetus for the next book in the series - this is the 35th - so I'll be watching. Other than that, I always look forward to the adventures of Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers - two of my all-time favorite characters. They meet up this time during the reinvestigation of a cold case: the murder of accounting firm employee Doris Grandfelt two decades earlier. It's been reopened because her surviving twin, Lara, is determined to find her sister's killer before she, too, dies - she's been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She's sweetened the pot with a $5 million reward for information that leads to the killer
One of those bloggers, in fact, somehow manages to dig up the murder weapon, which does provide some clues. Lucas gets the call when the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul gets the case. Shortly thereafter, Bureau agent Virgil gets a similar call while he's out playing golf. Despite needing to work on his latest novel (plus spend time with his partner Frankie and their twins), he figures Lucas will be involved and agrees to be part of the investigation.
As Lucas and Virgil hone their investigative skills, they also must run interference to keep at bay the proliferation of true-crime bloggers who didn't exist back then and would kill each other for a scoop - or, failing that, turn their enthusiasm into an asset. Fairly early on, readers learn who the killer is, making it even more fun to watch Lucas and Virgil go from spinning their wheels to closing in. All told, another one well done. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.
April 23, 2025
In this latest episode in the long-running ‘Prey� series, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers � a pair of Minnesota based law officers � get to chase down a killer who’s be operating for decades. The unsolved murder of Doris Grandfelt, some twenty years back, is brought to the public’s attention when her sister � recently diagnosed with breast cancer - offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. Very quickly, an army of true-crime bloggers descend on the spot where Grandfelt’s body was found all those years ago, complete with phones, cameras (and at least one metal detector) to record and post online their attempts to solve the crime, and thereby earn the reward.
Davenport and Flowers are asked to wade into this circus in an attempt to save some face for the authorities in a situation that’s increasingly becoming an embarrassing re-living of an earlier investigative failure. As always, there’s plenty of banter between the two leading players, as they take the interesting (and controversial) step of engaging with the true-crimers in what is to become a mass joint effort. As is Sandford’s way, we also get to meet the killer very early on and bear witness to the motivations and actions surrounding this act, as well as the steps being taken to thwart this latest threat of discovery. This person is most definitely a stone cold murderer. There may be other victims.
In truth, I found that it all started a bit slowly and took quite a while to warm up. But I feel it got there in the end, about a third of the way through. From this point, I was forever champing at the bit to get back to the story, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride from this point through to the end. I listened to an audio version, competently narrated by the excellent Robert Petkoff.
As a footnote: Sandford includes in this tale a couple of characters from the early books in this series. Jenkins and Shrake have cameo roles here in the playback of the original investigation into Grandfelt’s murder, these guys being colleagues of Davenport and Flowers. The author mentioned in an online post that this pair is based on a couple of his old mates: Dan Jenkins and Bud Shrake. He said he'd deliberately conceived the characters as opposite in many ways to their real-life counterparts - simply as a bit of fun. Sadly, both of Sandford’s friends passed away some years back, so won’t be able to enjoy their re-inclusion.
My thanks to W.F. Howes Ltd for supplying a copy of this audiobook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Davenport and Flowers are asked to wade into this circus in an attempt to save some face for the authorities in a situation that’s increasingly becoming an embarrassing re-living of an earlier investigative failure. As always, there’s plenty of banter between the two leading players, as they take the interesting (and controversial) step of engaging with the true-crimers in what is to become a mass joint effort. As is Sandford’s way, we also get to meet the killer very early on and bear witness to the motivations and actions surrounding this act, as well as the steps being taken to thwart this latest threat of discovery. This person is most definitely a stone cold murderer. There may be other victims.
In truth, I found that it all started a bit slowly and took quite a while to warm up. But I feel it got there in the end, about a third of the way through. From this point, I was forever champing at the bit to get back to the story, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride from this point through to the end. I listened to an audio version, competently narrated by the excellent Robert Petkoff.
As a footnote: Sandford includes in this tale a couple of characters from the early books in this series. Jenkins and Shrake have cameo roles here in the playback of the original investigation into Grandfelt’s murder, these guys being colleagues of Davenport and Flowers. The author mentioned in an online post that this pair is based on a couple of his old mates: Dan Jenkins and Bud Shrake. He said he'd deliberately conceived the characters as opposite in many ways to their real-life counterparts - simply as a bit of fun. Sadly, both of Sandford’s friends passed away some years back, so won’t be able to enjoy their re-inclusion.
My thanks to W.F. Howes Ltd for supplying a copy of this audiobook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 8, 2025
Happy publication day 🎧🎉🥳
Book number 35 is probably not the best place to start a series, but I didn’t notice this fact when I downloaded it. I don’t know if fans of the series would agree, but I’m pleased to say that while there were a few moments that I was aware I’d missed some back story it really didn’t seem to impact my enjoyment of the title, and it worked for me as a stand alone.
I really enjoyed the fact that this instalment really brought us to the present day, when the sister of a cold case murder opens up a 5 million dollar reward for information to find her twins murderer, Lucas and Virgil are enlisted, but with support thin in the ground they actually provide the true crime buffs with information to help. It doesn’t take long for a piece of evidence to be found and the case is well underway.
I really enjoyed this. I’d be keen to read more of the series, and the narration was great.
Huge thanks to W.F Howes Ltd and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧
Book number 35 is probably not the best place to start a series, but I didn’t notice this fact when I downloaded it. I don’t know if fans of the series would agree, but I’m pleased to say that while there were a few moments that I was aware I’d missed some back story it really didn’t seem to impact my enjoyment of the title, and it worked for me as a stand alone.
I really enjoyed the fact that this instalment really brought us to the present day, when the sister of a cold case murder opens up a 5 million dollar reward for information to find her twins murderer, Lucas and Virgil are enlisted, but with support thin in the ground they actually provide the true crime buffs with information to help. It doesn’t take long for a piece of evidence to be found and the case is well underway.
I really enjoyed this. I’d be keen to read more of the series, and the narration was great.
Huge thanks to W.F Howes Ltd and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧
March 27, 2025
This was just ok. The first third was really good, I was really looking forward to the rest of the book. Then it just fizzled. Not that exciting. Lots of slow moments. And the end is just weird.
April 15, 2025
As I have stated in previous reviews, I am a fairly avid reader of John Sandford over the years, especially a fan of his Lucas Davenport “Prey� series. A pretty big fan to be honest, even though honesty requires me to admit the books have been spotty over the last several years. It seems like every other book is a really good one and the other less than stellar. My fear is that Sanford may be losing some steam when it comes to creating interesting storylines and complex bad guys. Several of his more recent books have had less than worthy bad guys and relied heavily on long-winded chase scenes that lasted for hundreds of pages.
In the current and 35th Prey novel by Sandford - “Lethal Prey� � Sanford teams up his two most popular detectives - Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers � to work on a 20 plus year-old murder cold case. Why? Because those in political power in Minnesota have a donor with lots of money and a passion for finding the truth before she passes on.
Lara Grandfelt has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is determined to find out who brutally stabbed her twin sister, Doris, when she was 21 years old and working at an accounting firm. Her body was dumped among a stand of trees in an urban park outside of St. Paul. For over 20 years, Lara has been making personal calls and requested to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but there have been no clues or results. The trail appears to be dead.
Lara’s patience has worn out and she’s decided to take matters into her own hands. She puts her financial success to good use, calling in her political favors and offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. To add fuel to the fire she dumps the entire investigative file on most of the true crime websites, hoping to spur true crime bloggers into discovering new evidence to get the cold case reenergized.
Enter Davenport and Flowers, who are recruited to coordinate the new investigation, reviewing the bloggers research and working with the state law enforcement agencies. Lucas is interested in seeing how things could turn out and Virgil is hoping that taking this assignment on will allow him more time to work on this third novel, one that will make or break his chances of getting the multi-book publishing deal that will provide for his family’s future.
However, neither truly understand what they are getting themselves into, which is an investigation like no other that they have ever been involved in. This time they are facing a killer who has been able to stay in the background for their whole life while living in plain sight. A killer that works within the legal system and has built a network of resources. A killer that may be hiding bigger and deadlier secrets than just one murder...
As much as I have enjoyed reading John Sanford novels over the years and have an endearing love for his characters � Lucas, Virgil, and Letty � I have mixed feelings about this book. Unfortunately, it was not one of my favorites. It was an interesting read, but more like a predictable and safe dinner at a restaurant with a friend than that of a dangerous heart pounding thriller that Sanford used to be capable of. Let me elaborate further.
The good things include Lucas and Virgil working together. Although Letty didn’t make an appearance this time, which was really sad since the banter between her and Virgil is awesome, anytime you get Lucas and Virgil working together, it comes in as a close second for sarcasm and pure entertainment. They had some of the best back and forth conversations that I can remember from any of the books in the series. I especially loved Lucas telling Virgil that writing a book was easy, basically just start typing. I found myself literally laughing out loud more with this book than any of the others. Their delivery and wisecracking were downright classic, especially when interacting with the true crime bloggers. Poor Virgil just couldn’t help himself�
I was also drawn to the development of Virgil and his family in this one. Virgil’s progress as a professional writer was good to see, although it appears his interest in his daytime crime fighting job is starting to dwindle. It will be interesting to see how Sanford continues down this road for Virgil and whether he transitions into writing full-time, or Lucas will find ways to continue pulling him back into investigations for a while. Either that or Sanford could focus more on Letty and Lucas while Virgil moves into more of a backseat role
On the other hand, the bad things were primarily related to two crucial elements � the execution of the plotting and the ending.
As much fun as it was to read this book, the plotting was a little disappointing for me from an execution standpoint. I’ve usually enjoyed how Sanford has Lucas and/or Virgil investigate a murder or crime, working through one clue at a time, until things start to unravel and build to some kind of a climactic confrontation and capture moment that usually involves some kind of violent chase.
However, this mystery was more like reading an investigative crime article in a Sunday newspaper. Lucas and Virgil spent all of their time running around talking to people or conducting interviews. I mean it. ALL of their time was going back and forth between bloggers, interviewees, law enforcement focals, and politicians. It was interesting, but not exciting. They were never in front of anything until the very end. There were no chase scenes, no action scenes that involved fighting, shooting, or any kind of direct law enforcement action with the killer. It ended being all legal procedure activity, a lot of which took place off screen. For me, it actually felt a little disappointing not to have any real sense of danger or risk for our heroes. I would even dare to call it somewhat bland. Yes, I know that a barn burned down, but come one, nobody was in real danger and that turned out to be the most personal risk of danger for any of the good guys in the entire book.
Also, I want to be careful about what I say about the ending so as not to spoil the read for anyone else. You may want to finish the book before reading my next paragraph.
*** Warning � reviewer is dancing around a spoiler below ***
The other problem I had with this book is the ending. There is no ending. There is no climax. There is no outcome. Really. It’s like the last chapter is missing or left out. It builds towards a conclusion and then just ends abruptly without any kind of closure. It’s worse than a cliffhanger, because at least then you would know that the author is planning for more. But we aren’t left with any resolution or information about whether Sanford plans on continuing this story in his next “Prey� novel or not. I am sorry to say that this was really disappointing. A seriously frustrating letdown that I never expected from him.
It also made me wonder what the heck the editor and publisher were thinking. If they knew that Sanford was planning on a follow-up novel, they could have at least got him to add something that helped the reader know there was more to come or done something in their promotion of the book to let the reader know the same. Either way, they dropped the ball on this one.
And last, on a personal note, I was glad to see Virgil and Frankie finally get hitched, but again I feel robbed because it took place offscreen. What an important moment to not include in the book. Seriously? We, the fans, have been waiting for this moment for years, and with Lucas serving as Virgil’s best man, how could it only be included as a reference to the event taking place felt like a major letdown. Yep, that’s how I feel about that�
*** End of dancing around a spoiler above ***
Overall, there was some really good moments (even some classic ones), mostly between Davenport and Flowers, and their interactions with others. But the overall casual investigative approach by the two without much action on their part, and the in unexplained lack of an ending really left me with a bit of a disappointing sour taste in my mouth.
I’m giving this one a 3-star rating, and I feel like that’s more than generous. I’ve said enough. Hopefully, you enjoyed this one more than I did.
In the current and 35th Prey novel by Sandford - “Lethal Prey� � Sanford teams up his two most popular detectives - Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers � to work on a 20 plus year-old murder cold case. Why? Because those in political power in Minnesota have a donor with lots of money and a passion for finding the truth before she passes on.
Lara Grandfelt has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is determined to find out who brutally stabbed her twin sister, Doris, when she was 21 years old and working at an accounting firm. Her body was dumped among a stand of trees in an urban park outside of St. Paul. For over 20 years, Lara has been making personal calls and requested to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but there have been no clues or results. The trail appears to be dead.
Lara’s patience has worn out and she’s decided to take matters into her own hands. She puts her financial success to good use, calling in her political favors and offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. To add fuel to the fire she dumps the entire investigative file on most of the true crime websites, hoping to spur true crime bloggers into discovering new evidence to get the cold case reenergized.
Enter Davenport and Flowers, who are recruited to coordinate the new investigation, reviewing the bloggers research and working with the state law enforcement agencies. Lucas is interested in seeing how things could turn out and Virgil is hoping that taking this assignment on will allow him more time to work on this third novel, one that will make or break his chances of getting the multi-book publishing deal that will provide for his family’s future.
However, neither truly understand what they are getting themselves into, which is an investigation like no other that they have ever been involved in. This time they are facing a killer who has been able to stay in the background for their whole life while living in plain sight. A killer that works within the legal system and has built a network of resources. A killer that may be hiding bigger and deadlier secrets than just one murder...
As much as I have enjoyed reading John Sanford novels over the years and have an endearing love for his characters � Lucas, Virgil, and Letty � I have mixed feelings about this book. Unfortunately, it was not one of my favorites. It was an interesting read, but more like a predictable and safe dinner at a restaurant with a friend than that of a dangerous heart pounding thriller that Sanford used to be capable of. Let me elaborate further.
The good things include Lucas and Virgil working together. Although Letty didn’t make an appearance this time, which was really sad since the banter between her and Virgil is awesome, anytime you get Lucas and Virgil working together, it comes in as a close second for sarcasm and pure entertainment. They had some of the best back and forth conversations that I can remember from any of the books in the series. I especially loved Lucas telling Virgil that writing a book was easy, basically just start typing. I found myself literally laughing out loud more with this book than any of the others. Their delivery and wisecracking were downright classic, especially when interacting with the true crime bloggers. Poor Virgil just couldn’t help himself�
I was also drawn to the development of Virgil and his family in this one. Virgil’s progress as a professional writer was good to see, although it appears his interest in his daytime crime fighting job is starting to dwindle. It will be interesting to see how Sanford continues down this road for Virgil and whether he transitions into writing full-time, or Lucas will find ways to continue pulling him back into investigations for a while. Either that or Sanford could focus more on Letty and Lucas while Virgil moves into more of a backseat role
On the other hand, the bad things were primarily related to two crucial elements � the execution of the plotting and the ending.
As much fun as it was to read this book, the plotting was a little disappointing for me from an execution standpoint. I’ve usually enjoyed how Sanford has Lucas and/or Virgil investigate a murder or crime, working through one clue at a time, until things start to unravel and build to some kind of a climactic confrontation and capture moment that usually involves some kind of violent chase.
However, this mystery was more like reading an investigative crime article in a Sunday newspaper. Lucas and Virgil spent all of their time running around talking to people or conducting interviews. I mean it. ALL of their time was going back and forth between bloggers, interviewees, law enforcement focals, and politicians. It was interesting, but not exciting. They were never in front of anything until the very end. There were no chase scenes, no action scenes that involved fighting, shooting, or any kind of direct law enforcement action with the killer. It ended being all legal procedure activity, a lot of which took place off screen. For me, it actually felt a little disappointing not to have any real sense of danger or risk for our heroes. I would even dare to call it somewhat bland. Yes, I know that a barn burned down, but come one, nobody was in real danger and that turned out to be the most personal risk of danger for any of the good guys in the entire book.
Also, I want to be careful about what I say about the ending so as not to spoil the read for anyone else. You may want to finish the book before reading my next paragraph.
*** Warning � reviewer is dancing around a spoiler below ***
The other problem I had with this book is the ending. There is no ending. There is no climax. There is no outcome. Really. It’s like the last chapter is missing or left out. It builds towards a conclusion and then just ends abruptly without any kind of closure. It’s worse than a cliffhanger, because at least then you would know that the author is planning for more. But we aren’t left with any resolution or information about whether Sanford plans on continuing this story in his next “Prey� novel or not. I am sorry to say that this was really disappointing. A seriously frustrating letdown that I never expected from him.
It also made me wonder what the heck the editor and publisher were thinking. If they knew that Sanford was planning on a follow-up novel, they could have at least got him to add something that helped the reader know there was more to come or done something in their promotion of the book to let the reader know the same. Either way, they dropped the ball on this one.
And last, on a personal note, I was glad to see Virgil and Frankie finally get hitched, but again I feel robbed because it took place offscreen. What an important moment to not include in the book. Seriously? We, the fans, have been waiting for this moment for years, and with Lucas serving as Virgil’s best man, how could it only be included as a reference to the event taking place felt like a major letdown. Yep, that’s how I feel about that�
*** End of dancing around a spoiler above ***
Overall, there was some really good moments (even some classic ones), mostly between Davenport and Flowers, and their interactions with others. But the overall casual investigative approach by the two without much action on their part, and the in unexplained lack of an ending really left me with a bit of a disappointing sour taste in my mouth.
I’m giving this one a 3-star rating, and I feel like that’s more than generous. I’ve said enough. Hopefully, you enjoyed this one more than I did.
March 3, 2025
3.5⭐️
This was a mixed thoughts read for me. I always enjoy the friendship between Lucas and Virgil, though I did miss some of the side characters we used to have in their individual books. He does a great job of mixing in new technology and real world variables, such as the true crime community, while still matching the series overall vibe.
This was focused on a cold case, so there was a lot of backstory which made for a slow build up. There also seemed to be a lot of filler about food, character descriptions (including overly detailed body descriptions for female characters) and locations. Flowers whines about not want to do his job anymore and talking about writing his book. In other words it was familiar but watered down compared to earlier books in the series.
There were some strange phrases that stood out. Everyone rang off or clicked off a phone call instead of hanging up or ending it. Also everyone from the police, to politicians, to the true crime community talked about making movies instead of videos or content.
Once things get moving finally in the actual mystery part of the plot, I did enjoy watching it all come together. It’s a fun balance of old characters with new locations, and the true crime community and cold case aspect made for a fun mix. Unfortunately, it had a super abrupt cliffhanger style ending with no real resolution which was very unsatisfying. I’m not sure if this is something he intends to pick up in the next book or if it’s just done as-is, but I was extremely frustrated with the way it ends.
Thanks Putnam and NetGalley for the DRC!
This was a mixed thoughts read for me. I always enjoy the friendship between Lucas and Virgil, though I did miss some of the side characters we used to have in their individual books. He does a great job of mixing in new technology and real world variables, such as the true crime community, while still matching the series overall vibe.
This was focused on a cold case, so there was a lot of backstory which made for a slow build up. There also seemed to be a lot of filler about food, character descriptions (including overly detailed body descriptions for female characters) and locations. Flowers whines about not want to do his job anymore and talking about writing his book. In other words it was familiar but watered down compared to earlier books in the series.
There were some strange phrases that stood out. Everyone rang off or clicked off a phone call instead of hanging up or ending it. Also everyone from the police, to politicians, to the true crime community talked about making movies instead of videos or content.
Once things get moving finally in the actual mystery part of the plot, I did enjoy watching it all come together. It’s a fun balance of old characters with new locations, and the true crime community and cold case aspect made for a fun mix. Unfortunately, it had a super abrupt cliffhanger style ending with no real resolution which was very unsatisfying. I’m not sure if this is something he intends to pick up in the next book or if it’s just done as-is, but I was extremely frustrated with the way it ends.
Thanks Putnam and NetGalley for the DRC!
April 6, 2025
My first Sanford book- I read it cause my dad had a cameo appearance as the lawyer for the defense. It was fun to see him in the book in character. What a great idea to add a real person to a fiction book! He fit in smoothly.
Fast paced action and some fun surprises throughout- (too much swearing for me, though)
Fast paced action and some fun surprises throughout- (too much swearing for me, though)
March 17, 2025
Okay, first a confession: I finally must admit it - Virgil Flowers is my literary crush. And Virgil, thank you very much, is very much a part of this one!
The book is a blast. I loved our mystery, very much wanted everything to end up okay, and actually loved the true crime blogger thing - and this is a plot device I often hate!
Expect a fast moving read, complex without being overly complicated, and just pure, plain fun.
Ready for the next one!
The book is a blast. I loved our mystery, very much wanted everything to end up okay, and actually loved the true crime blogger thing - and this is a plot device I often hate!
Expect a fast moving read, complex without being overly complicated, and just pure, plain fun.
Ready for the next one!
April 3, 2025
As often happens in the "Prey" novels the murder in question is written in the first chapter, leaving no doubt who the murderer is. Jump ahead roughly 20 years.
This story is about a cold case. I figured it was going to be dry, but should have given Sandford more credit. The victim's sister is wealthy and thinks she's dying. She posted a $5 million reward, which draws a group of True Crime bloggers and Lucas and Flowers are assigned to wrangle the evidence.
The ending wasn't very satisfying, but the road there was enjoyable.
This story is about a cold case. I figured it was going to be dry, but should have given Sandford more credit. The victim's sister is wealthy and thinks she's dying. She posted a $5 million reward, which draws a group of True Crime bloggers and Lucas and Flowers are assigned to wrangle the evidence.
The ending wasn't very satisfying, but the road there was enjoyable.
April 3, 2025
Quite a letdown
I've read Sanford since the first Davenport Prey book. I have liked most, some more,some less. I took a break for a few years but started up again. The Letty Davenport books were a great surprise. They are bangers. The Virgil Flowers books weren't fun for me so I stopped reading them.
Toxic Prey, the previous entry in this series, was a thrill ride that hit on all cylinders and was unputdownable.
So I was looking forward to this one, even though I don't think Flowers adds much to the team.
Sadly, this one is a snoozefest and not particularly well written. Lucas and Virgil stumble around, not really doing much investigating, scratching their heads. Time passes and they don't do much more, then bring in a flock of amateurs and expect them to do all the work for them. Eventually a suspect is identified and they do a lot of theorizing but gather very little evidence. As they plod along toward building some sort case, the author apparently tires of this thousand mile journey as much as I did and abruptly "ends" the story.
A thrill ride this wasn't.
There just wasn't much to like about this book. Lucas just seemed tired and lacking wit and perception. The only time I cared about Flowers was when I wondered (and hoped) if he was going to be killed off. Why do authors have characters become authors, then tell us all about the boring details of The Novelist's struggle? I think I will skip any further books that have Virgil Flowers in them. He was tiresome.
I hope next time we can get back to what this series has been. A thriller.
I've read Sanford since the first Davenport Prey book. I have liked most, some more,some less. I took a break for a few years but started up again. The Letty Davenport books were a great surprise. They are bangers. The Virgil Flowers books weren't fun for me so I stopped reading them.
Toxic Prey, the previous entry in this series, was a thrill ride that hit on all cylinders and was unputdownable.
So I was looking forward to this one, even though I don't think Flowers adds much to the team.
Sadly, this one is a snoozefest and not particularly well written. Lucas and Virgil stumble around, not really doing much investigating, scratching their heads. Time passes and they don't do much more, then bring in a flock of amateurs and expect them to do all the work for them. Eventually a suspect is identified and they do a lot of theorizing but gather very little evidence. As they plod along toward building some sort case, the author apparently tires of this thousand mile journey as much as I did and abruptly "ends" the story.
A thrill ride this wasn't.
There just wasn't much to like about this book. Lucas just seemed tired and lacking wit and perception. The only time I cared about Flowers was when I wondered (and hoped) if he was going to be killed off. Why do authors have characters become authors, then tell us all about the boring details of The Novelist's struggle? I think I will skip any further books that have Virgil Flowers in them. He was tiresome.
I hope next time we can get back to what this series has been. A thriller.
April 14, 2025
Disappointed
I have read every prey book and never given less than a 4 when reviewing them. This book is dull and boring. Lucas seems to be tired and no longer at the top of his sleuthing game. Virgil is more interested in writing his novel. Maybe Sandford has run out of creative ideas or is just tired of writing good prey novels. He was too tired to write an ending for this one. I don't pay good money for cliffhangers in any genre and especially not mysteries.
I have read every prey book and never given less than a 4 when reviewing them. This book is dull and boring. Lucas seems to be tired and no longer at the top of his sleuthing game. Virgil is more interested in writing his novel. Maybe Sandford has run out of creative ideas or is just tired of writing good prey novels. He was too tired to write an ending for this one. I don't pay good money for cliffhangers in any genre and especially not mysteries.
March 29, 2025
Where’s the ending? I’m a big Lucas/Sanford fan. This book was great and kept me hooked & entertained, and then�.i feel like there was no ending. I felt the same thing happened with the book prior to this one. I would prefer a great ending to such a great story.
March 30, 2025
Not finished!
I read the whole book and was completely frustrated when there was no conclusion! Bad writing when you leave your readers without letting them know if she was found guilty or not!
I read the whole book and was completely frustrated when there was no conclusion! Bad writing when you leave your readers without letting them know if she was found guilty or not!
March 29, 2025
I have read all of the Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers stories. Uniformly 4-5 star ratings from me. And this book, which cost me $32, was of the same quality right up until the very last page. I am a reader who likes a resolution. I want to know not only whodunit, but I want, I need, to know what happens at the end. What happens to the perp? This book did not provide that. Not remotely. I want my money back and in the future I will read his books at the bookstore with a nice cup of coffee. For free.
Pissed off.
Pissed off.
March 31, 2025
I've been a devoted fan of John Sandford's crime novels ever since I first discovered his Virgil Flowers series in college. Sandford’s signature blend of sharp humor and breakneck plotting instantly hooked me, making Flowers one of my favorite protagonists in the genre. Back then, he was releasing a Virgil Flowers novel annually, alongside a new installment in his more famous, and arguably more popular, Prey series, featuring Lucas Davenport.
In recent years, as Sandford continues writing into his 80s, he’s shifted to a single yearly release that brings both heroes together in the same book. After taking a break from this approach last year, Lethal Prey marks the return of Davenport and Flowers as a duo, so I was eager to get my hands on it. Fortunately, Sandford’s publisher sent me a copy, meaning I didn’t have to wait long to dive in.
In an age obsessed with internet sleuthing and true crime, Lara Grandfelt is wagering $5 million that someone can finally solve her twin sister Doris’s decades-old murder. Brutally stabbed over 20 years ago, Doris’s body was found in a dense thicket at the edge of an urban park, but her killer was never caught. Now, facing her own mortality after a cancer diagnosis, Lara is determined to uncover the truth, offering a fortune to anyone who can bring the murderer to justice.
Lara knows the flood of online sleuths chasing her $5 million reward will need oversight. Enter Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers, reluctantly called in to verify leads as a favor to a politician Lara generously supports. Skeptical of crowdsourced crime-solving, they dismiss the frenzy as internet noise. That is until a blogger uncovers the murder weapon. As real clues emerge, so does a chilling truth: the killer is watching, adapting, and staying one step ahead. With every new revelation broadcast online, Lucas and Virgil must race to solve the case before the killer claims more victims—including themselves.
I've come to take great comfort in the familiarity of John Sandford's writing, and Lethal Prey, the 35th installment in his longest-running series, delivers plenty of what I love. Once again, Sandford pairs his best characters to solve a decades-old case, using his signature approach—giving readers insight into the killer’s perspective while letting his heroes race to uncover the truth. It’s a formula he’s mastered and one I always enjoy.
That said, this installment didn’t hit quite as hard as previous ones. The sharp, witty banter between Davenport and Flowers felt sparser, and the investigation's momentum stalled in places. But what really lessened the impact for me was the abrupt ending. The story simply stopped, leaving a major cliffhanger rather than a satisfying resolution. Even so, I’ll be first in line for the next book. Sandford has a proven track record in crime fiction, and a few missteps won’t keep me from diving into whatever he writes next.
In recent years, as Sandford continues writing into his 80s, he’s shifted to a single yearly release that brings both heroes together in the same book. After taking a break from this approach last year, Lethal Prey marks the return of Davenport and Flowers as a duo, so I was eager to get my hands on it. Fortunately, Sandford’s publisher sent me a copy, meaning I didn’t have to wait long to dive in.
In an age obsessed with internet sleuthing and true crime, Lara Grandfelt is wagering $5 million that someone can finally solve her twin sister Doris’s decades-old murder. Brutally stabbed over 20 years ago, Doris’s body was found in a dense thicket at the edge of an urban park, but her killer was never caught. Now, facing her own mortality after a cancer diagnosis, Lara is determined to uncover the truth, offering a fortune to anyone who can bring the murderer to justice.
Lara knows the flood of online sleuths chasing her $5 million reward will need oversight. Enter Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers, reluctantly called in to verify leads as a favor to a politician Lara generously supports. Skeptical of crowdsourced crime-solving, they dismiss the frenzy as internet noise. That is until a blogger uncovers the murder weapon. As real clues emerge, so does a chilling truth: the killer is watching, adapting, and staying one step ahead. With every new revelation broadcast online, Lucas and Virgil must race to solve the case before the killer claims more victims—including themselves.
I've come to take great comfort in the familiarity of John Sandford's writing, and Lethal Prey, the 35th installment in his longest-running series, delivers plenty of what I love. Once again, Sandford pairs his best characters to solve a decades-old case, using his signature approach—giving readers insight into the killer’s perspective while letting his heroes race to uncover the truth. It’s a formula he’s mastered and one I always enjoy.
That said, this installment didn’t hit quite as hard as previous ones. The sharp, witty banter between Davenport and Flowers felt sparser, and the investigation's momentum stalled in places. But what really lessened the impact for me was the abrupt ending. The story simply stopped, leaving a major cliffhanger rather than a satisfying resolution. Even so, I’ll be first in line for the next book. Sandford has a proven track record in crime fiction, and a few missteps won’t keep me from diving into whatever he writes next.
April 2, 2025
This entry is peculiar in several ways. Both Davenport and Flowers lack enthusiasm for the case, especially the latter, despite the story focusing more on his involvement. Flowers has been threatening to quit for a few books now and really comes to the fore here. I don't know if it can be sustained for another book with him as the lead with this attitude. With Davenport nearing 60 years old, the question does have to be asked how much more he can realistically do in terms of action heavy and life threatening scenes.
The characterization of the killer, who basically everything is revealed about in the opening pages, so there's no mystery, or all that much thrills either, is the typical sort. Her biggest problem is her own self-destructive actions, though without them, there would be almost no action at all. The strange part it that seemed like Sandford originally had an entirely different story planned, but then changed directions without altering the opening.
As for the investigation, there's a $5 million bounty on the killer, and much of the research is crowdsourced to the true crime community. Davenport and Flowers still do leg work and consider their information, though in this case they're more like managers than investigators.
The ending is very much a cliffhanger, as stated by many others. What Sandford meant by it can only be speculated at. I'm withholding judgment about it for now, as it could go either way for better or worse.
All of the above could be taken at face value, which is probably a stronger argument than the alternative, that this is Sandford's book with the heaviest metacommentary by far, and much social commentary in general. Lethal Prey takes place in August 2024, which considering relatively how close it follows the real world, the next book may be contentious, especially if it focuses on Letty.
Despite what I've written, while I was reading it, I wasn't thinking about any of this. It was only after when I considered what I had read that I began take issue, though not as much as it would seem from what I've written. It's a solidly readable story that maintains a steady pace. Piece by piece it's all put together in straightforward manner. Probably it shouldn't work as well as it does.
Rating: 3.5/5
The characterization of the killer, who basically everything is revealed about in the opening pages, so there's no mystery, or all that much thrills either, is the typical sort. Her biggest problem is her own self-destructive actions, though without them, there would be almost no action at all. The strange part it that seemed like Sandford originally had an entirely different story planned, but then changed directions without altering the opening.
As for the investigation, there's a $5 million bounty on the killer, and much of the research is crowdsourced to the true crime community. Davenport and Flowers still do leg work and consider their information, though in this case they're more like managers than investigators.
The ending is very much a cliffhanger, as stated by many others. What Sandford meant by it can only be speculated at. I'm withholding judgment about it for now, as it could go either way for better or worse.
All of the above could be taken at face value, which is probably a stronger argument than the alternative, that this is Sandford's book with the heaviest metacommentary by far, and much social commentary in general. Lethal Prey takes place in August 2024, which considering relatively how close it follows the real world, the next book may be contentious, especially if it focuses on Letty.
Despite what I've written, while I was reading it, I wasn't thinking about any of this. It was only after when I considered what I had read that I began take issue, though not as much as it would seem from what I've written. It's a solidly readable story that maintains a steady pace. Piece by piece it's all put together in straightforward manner. Probably it shouldn't work as well as it does.
Rating: 3.5/5
March 29, 2025
Another fast paced thriller by John Sandford. Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up to solve a 20 year old murder. The victim’s sister has offered a 5 million dollar reward for the arrest and conviction of her sister’s killer. Complicating their investigation are a bevy of true crime fanatics who are trying to scoop each other so as to be the first to post updates on their websites. Of course the reader knows from the start who the killer is and the killer works hard to stay one step ahead of the investigation, putting people in danger, including those close to Lucas and Virgil.
Lucas and Virgil are two of my favorite characters and this book does not disappoint in depicting their interactions. Where the book does disappoint, for me anyway, is the ending. I found it to be very unsatisfying and out of character for the author, whose endings are usually a slam dunk. Hence the 4 stars instead of 5 stars. But it won’t deter me from continuing to read all the Lucas Davenport/ Virgil Flowers/Letty Davenport books in these series.
Lucas and Virgil are two of my favorite characters and this book does not disappoint in depicting their interactions. Where the book does disappoint, for me anyway, is the ending. I found it to be very unsatisfying and out of character for the author, whose endings are usually a slam dunk. Hence the 4 stars instead of 5 stars. But it won’t deter me from continuing to read all the Lucas Davenport/ Virgil Flowers/Letty Davenport books in these series.
March 29, 2025
Would have rated it a 4.5 if not for how it ends!
Didn't like it much, there's no closure and I'm not sure if the author's gonna come back to it!
Disappointed....
Didn't like it much, there's no closure and I'm not sure if the author's gonna come back to it!
Disappointed....
March 31, 2025
Strong 4 Stars
RTC
RTC
March 30, 2025
Not what I expected. I usually love the books with Lucas and Virgil and the was the first one that I didn’t. The last part of the book seemed rushed and definitely didn’t have a good flow to it. Hoping the next one is better
April 11, 2025
Very unsatisfying ending.
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