John Sandford is an excellent writer. In all thirty-two books of the Prey series, he has spun tales like no one else. His iconic characters--Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers--have changed and grown over time--as you'd expect--which has kept this series always at the top of my read list.

In Righteous Prey (G.P. Putnam 2022), a group of six bored wealthy brilliant leaders of industry decide to kill other wealthy people this group deems contrary to the country’s values. They place a number on their forehead to count up to five (to account for one kill from each, not including the organizer) and issue a press release explaining the murder. Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport work together on this one, braving the frigid Minnesota winter temperatures to stop the killers before they finish. The story includes the usual blend of clever wit that makes this series a page turner and always on my list to grab as soon as a new book is published.

So why did I give it 4/5 for the first time in the entire series? Two reasons. One, I’m a little worried about the anti-police bent, mostly in Flowers. He is a clever detective I've respected because he does his job based on justice and fair play. He eschews guns, will do whatever possible to spare a life, but understands their part in police work. In this book, he seems to be losing his perspective on where the line is between a nation of laws and taking care of people (admittedly a difficult balance).

Possible spoiler:

This comes to a head at one point when he’s trying to gain the cooperation of suspected illegals, trying to assure them he isn’t ICE and won’t depart them, is just looking for information. I understand that, but he crosses a line I don't think he should at one point. As he’s talking with Lucas, trying to unravel his feelings about this, when he's talking about ICE and the part they play in handling border issues, he says F*** those a**h****". That wasn't necessary to the plot and seemed out of character in a law enforcement official I had to this point admired.

End of spoiler

The second annoyance: The growing anti-Conservative trend that seems to becoming acceptable in otherwise great fiction stories. Why is it that writers can't say conservative or republican without appending something derogatory? Half their readers--or more--are bound to be insulted. I just don’t get it.

Righteous Prey is Book 32 in the Lucas Davenport series from John Sandford.

"A group known as the Five release an ominous message to the press. They are fed up with certain people and will kill the people to be killed. The first victim is found with a 1 on his forehead and the promise from the group of more killings. When one happens in Minnesota, Lucas joins the search for the killers - thought to be Bitcoin billionaires. Lucas and Virgil start looking at the clues and figure out who might be next. And now they wait..."

Davenport is an iconic fictional detective. Even after 30+ years writing this character, Sandford still makes him come alive on the pages. Sandford always has scary bad guys. Sandford looks at the morally gray aspect here - what happens when the victim is someone that no one really liked or cared for? Is vigilante justice sometimes okay? The final gunfight is intense and you're never sure who's going to make it.

Glad to see Kidd back. And long-time Sandford fans will appreciate a reference to the "pinking shears" incident.

This is part of a series but can be read as a stand-alone.

This novel does not slow down from the first page. Another gripping, fast-paced narrative from Sandford. Book is out in October

This is a sometimes funny sometimes sad book that will hook you on the Lucas Davenport series.

When a group decides to be judge and jury people start dying and it's up to Lucas and Virgil to stop these people along with the FBI. Can they do it?

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Righteous Prey will be the second John Sandford book out this year. April saw the release of The Investigator, Letty Davenport's first starring role in a thriller of her own and one of my favorite books this year. Righteous Prey on the other hand is the new Lucas Davenport/Virgil Flowers book and while it was a solid enough installment of Sandford's writing it also has me concerned moving forward.

The killers in this book are the Five, a group of sorta-vigilante thrill killers and their mysterious leader, Six. Honestly these are solid antagonists and they feel more memorable than the enemies in the previous Davenport/Flowers adventure Ocean Prey. Unfortunately there is six of them and at times it seems there is a struggle to balance them all effectively so while as a whole they are really interesting, some of the individual pieces of it fall short in comparison to others. The ringleader is an interesting female antagonist but while the Investigator's antagonist will go down as one of the best in Sandford's long list, I don't think Righteous Prey's will. She's never given as much time to shine as some of Sandford's best antagonists are and the book doesn't ever seem to take her as seriously as other antagonists.

Flowers and Davenport are great as always. Virgil, my favorite of Sandford's characters, is on the verge of success in his writing career and is not sure whether the future holds more adventures like this for him. This is a solid progression to his character arc and I wish more would have been done with it. Davenport on the other hand doesn't really have much an arc beyond the events of the book. This feels like the first time in awhile where something wasn't going on on the family side of things for him and it just felt weird compared to Virgil's personal arc. I think this leads into my biggest concern. Davenport and Flowers are both great characters on their own but when they are together it seems that only one of them ever really gets to shine. In Ocean Prey it felt it was Davenport that got to shine while in this book it feels that Flowers is the only one. I'm not sure that's a good thing and it feels as if the series could get watered down by trying to fit both of them in one book for the foreseeable future. It feels though that the book is hinting that Davenport/Flowers could be a permanent pairing and unfortunately, I'm not sure that's a good a thing.

Honestly, this is a solid but probably middle ranking installment in both the Davenport and Flowers series and despite it's interesting plot leaves me more concerned for the future of the series than not. Either way, I'll still pick up whatever the next adventure is from Mr. Sandford.

I am a fan of the separate Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers novels, so it was a treat to have them together for the entire book. This was a twisty mystery with timely ties to Bitcoin, Covid, and politics so there was a lot going on, but also a lot of action. A couple of the "bad guy" characters were interesting which was good because I really didn't care for the main one. Good setup at the end for the next book and hopefully Lucas and Virgil will be together again!

Love that Lucas and Virgil were partners again. This novel could be in today's headlines. a total interesting concept

This is another Sandford book featuring both Lucas Davenport and that f@%cking Flowers. I do prefer them together for the banter. I read it in a day and love both series.

Book Review: "Righteous Prey" by John Sandford



Righteous Prey is the latest release in the Prey series by John Sandford. Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up on their most challenging case to date. They are tracking "The Five", a coalition of the bored wealthy who have decided to seek the ultimate thrill of killing individuals they deem undesirable and avoiding the FBI and police who seek them. After each murder, a Bitcoin worth the going price of the day is donated anonymously to a worthwhile cause leaving the charity in a dilemma. Do they profit from murder?
U.S. Marshall Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers face one of their toughest cases yet. They have to identify the killers who have no connection to their victims. The crimes have been well planned with little in the way of clues. Will Davenport and Flowers ability to think outside the box be enough to solve be enough to apprehend "The Five" before more bodies fall. You'll have to read the book to find out.

I found this book to be a very satisfying read. There was plenty of action. It might not have been quite as gory as some of past "Prey" books given the body count. However, I found that to be a welcome change.

I would rate this as five stars.



In the spirit of full disclosure, I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Not bad, a long, at times slow book. Lucas and Virgil travel around the country trying to find and stop THE FIVE, a group who want to eliminate the rich Bitcoin traders who are not at all nice. Lots of shoot outs and dead people. But it’s Lucas and Flowers, how can you not enjoy. Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity to read this new book.