Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up again to help solve the case of a murdered judge and his two teenage sons. Things seem to be going slow which frustrates the investigation teams, there are plenty of people with a motive, and Lucas and Virgil don’t always follow the rules to get the information they want. The judge’s distraught widow is out for revenge, but things don’t go quite as she planned.

I love the humorous, sometimes sarcastic, banter between Lucas and Virgil throughout the book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book opens with the murder of a federal judge and his two sons in their home in Minneapolis. Lucas Davenport, a federal marshal, and Virgil Flowers, one of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s most successful detectives, are called in when the case is going nowhere. Margaret Cooper, the judge’s wife/widow, has visions of retribution, and aided by her best friend, Ann Melton, go about the business of building such a plan, but unknown to Lucas and Virgil is the fact that they are being watched electronically and any information they gather is being seen. The Davenport/Flowers relationship as always is full of funny dialogue, the “bad guys” are most unlikeable, the story moves along at a fast pace, and there are enough twists and turns to keep you from putting down the book until a satisfying ending.

This is the 33rd book in the Prey series - and I have read them all. And have consistently rated them 4 stars since I began reviewing books 14 years ago (I did rate a couple 5 stars but none lower than 4). Sandford has created 2 great characters in Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers (and there are at least 12 books in the separate Flowers series). He continues to be a very good storyteller-another author who probably will never win any literary awards but writes entertaining stories that grab you from chapter 1. My thanks to G. P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.

I love reading the Lucas series and I'm always giddy when Virgil makes a surprise appearance. Now that I know I can expect to see Virgil, part of that excitement is missing but hey I'm not gonna complain, I love when they team up. Lucas and Virgil are my favorite "cop" characters and I can count on them cracking jokes and playing off one another while they investigate the murders.

After being shot multiple times in the previous novel, US Marshal Lucas is still recovering when his boss calls late at night about the murder of a respectable federal judge and his two teenage boys at their home.

St. Paul PD, FBI, and BCA are on this high-priority case, but inevitably Lucas and Virgil join the hunt for the killer. I enjoyed this plotline a bit more than the other related mystery with the charity projects.

Although, pretty unrealistic, Cooper and her pal are bonkers and their own investigation is very entertaining to witness. Imagine combing through their search history, huh?

Still, the very best part is Lucas and Virgil's sarcastic banter in Lucas' hybrid Cayenne while on the road from one suspect to the next. Great and fluid dialogs. And Virgil the novelist or is it Sandford's in the book? 🤩 I'm glad the author left politics out for the most part. What I'm uncertain about is the MOTIVE. It was never really explained, I can only assume... 4.5⭐

Really miss Richard Farrone, RIP.💔

Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons for the DRC

Two of the best characters in the world of literary crime-fighting are back together again and the reading world rejoices!

Lucas Davenport has been with us for decades and Virgil Flowers, the yin to his yang, has been around for almost as long. John Sandford’s decision to combine these two characters again, to have them work together as they did in the beginning, was an inspired choice. Probably done for practical reasons due to the new Letty Davenport series (which is fantastic!), having Lucas and Virgil applying their complimentary skills to solve cases brings this reader so much joy.

Judgment Prey brings them a case that sits close to home and which plays out on a smaller stage than recent books. I, for one, was thrilled to be back in Minneapolis/St Paul and all of the local flavor and on a “smaller” (compared to their national cases) stage. And it is, as always, a wonderfully and intricately plotted story with an ending that left me staring at the page.

The book description from the publisher sets up the tale for you so I won’t repeat it here. I write this review not for newcomers to the Prey series (if you are new you should start with Eyes of Prey and get to know Lucas Davenport - he is well worth the effort of reading all the books in order and I encourage you to do that) but rather to reassure existing fans that the book is as good as you hope it will be.

Go ahead, and one click that order and spend a few more enjoyable hours with Lucas and Virgil and the cities of Minneapolis/St Paul.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

Once again, John Sanford has delivered another fantastic thriller!

I always look forward to the next Sanford novel with anticipation, and he rarely disappoints my expectations. This is the 33rd Lucas Davenport novel. (It is also Virgil Flowers number 15.) Usually, a series that lasts this long grows stale, but Sanford is still writing solid mystery thrillers. The key to his success is twofold. The plot is a tightly woven web of clues that are available to the sleuth. However, unlike the case with many authors, I rarely arrive at the correct conclusion before the protagonist. Being able to string along an avid mystery or thriller reader is a mark of an author at the top of his form. Thrillers often reveal the killer ahead of time, but n my opinion this takes away some of the reader’s fun. Sanford switches between five different points of view in this novel, reaching into the minds of Sleuths, killers, and a victim alike. All the characters are carefully drawn. The readers know Davenport and Flowers well already, but we get to relish their friendly banter. The various people involved in the cases are all fully fleshed out characters that lead the reader to be fully invested in the action.

Although this book would be most enjoyable to the life long fans, it is not necessary to have read any other Sanford books to enjoy this one. It works quite well as a standalone novel. I recommend this book to any reader who enjoys the thriller genre.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced reader copy of this book. This in ono way had any influence on my review of this novel.

It seems that Sanford has discovered the winning formula. Davenport and Flowers together is just better. Starting with 2021's Ocean Prey, and 2022's Righteous Prey we now have Judgement Prey. These last few books have the feel and pacing of the Davenport books before his Marshall career began.
JP begins with the murder of a Alex Sand, a federal judge and his two young sons. Speculation immediately abounds that it must be someone he sent to jail and has a vendetta, but the more the case is looked at that motive doesn't fit.
Enter Lucas and Virgil to do what they do best. Find answers. In the meantime, the judge's former actress wife, has ideas of revenge herself. After an out of the box idea occurs to Lucas, it becomes apparent that this idea that maybe the boys were the target and not the father becomes more real. Sand's wife has an idea of who it may be but refuses to tell, wanting to kill the killer herself with the help of a friend.
Throw into the mix a dodgy charity with an eccentric and possibly crazy caretaker and you have the making of a very good and satisfying novel.
Long live this series!

Nothing is as luscious as Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport on the hunt. It’s delicious to have them hunting together again with bright crisp interplay of personalities and sparkling language even as the reader appreciates that differences are cropping up as the men have diverging goals for their futures. The plot fairly glistens with complexity and a plethora of villains whose mottoes are generally guided by the principle that if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again. And still things may not go as planned. The characters are vibrantly represented in this comedy of errors and deadly plans. A spankingly good read.

Judgment Prey(Prey #33) by John Sandford- A Federal Judge and his two sons are gunned down in their home. No witnesses, no obvious evidence, and no help for law enforcement. The thirty-third book in this long running series starts off with a bang and never lets up. Once again U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport is paired with Investigator Virgil Flowers, both compelled to seek justice. I like the addition of Flowers to these outings. It adds some humor and perspective to the proceedings. As with most of these books the case goes through multiple zigs n’ zags before answers start to make sense. Thanks NetGalley for this entertaining ARC!

Another great Lucas Davenport story. A local judge and his two sons have been killed in their home.
As Lucas recovers from his own injuries he’s called in to take a look at the case. There are a lot a players to weed through but the judges’ wife has figured it out and she’s out for her own revenge.
This is a great read but I’ll say the end left me dangling.

Don’t miss this

Thank you #NetGalley #JudgementPrey for this ARC

In JUDGMENT PREY John Sandford Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are tasked with solving the murder of a federal judge and his two sons who have been brutally killed in their home for seemingly no reason.
The Prey books are always interesting, and I still like Lucas Davenport, but he seems to have lost a little something off his fastball.
The ending was a disappointment. I feel it did not sufficiently tie up the disparate stories.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5 rounded up

John Sandford is one of the few authors that writes an amazing book even with the series lasting as many years as it has.This one has Virgil back as wingman as they work to solve the murder of a judge and his sons. The judges wife is very much part of the story in some interesting ways.

I found the abruptness of the ending a bit jarring but it fits here also.

I was given a copy by Netgalley. Opinions are my own.

Lucas and Virgil are teamed up to find the murderer of a father and his children. You can’t go wrong with this series, altho each book could be read as a stand alone. I have been reading Sandford for years and he never disappoints. There is always a good story and the back and forth between Lucas and Virgil is always entertaining. Thank you to net galley for allowing me to enjoy another great book.

John Sanford hooks me with every book and Judgment is no exception. Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers continue to make a great team solving cases that stump others.

I’ve been reading the Prey novels since my early teen years and it’s one of the few series I’ve actually kept up with. I love that the Virgil and Lucas books are combined now - I like the two of them together a lot! This wasn’t my favorite in the series though, the plot wasn’t quite as interesting and the past books have been. There is a lot of thriller filler - talk about food, what everyone is wearing, Virgil’s novel, etc which slowed the pace down at times.

I found Maggie Cooper’s vibe off with her surviving baby daughter. For most of the book her friend is the one taking care of her or the nanny. Her name is Chelsea but mostly is just referred to as “the baby and is put in harms way by her mom without a second thought. There also wasn’t an official reason given for the death of her family - just speculation about why they thought they might have done it, which was very odd given we actually had chapters from the killer’s POV. The ending was also VERY abrupt - I actually switched to the audiobook to relisten to the last chapter thinking maybe my ARC was missing pages but nope, that was the ending.

I split time between the audio and ebook - the narration was well done and I found myself doing most of the book on audio. This was an entertaining read but definitely not my fav by the author. I’ll still be looking forward to reading the next installment when it comes out! Thanks @putnambooks @netgalley and @prhaudio for the DRC/ALC!

I spent many years reading John Sanford novels. Then I grew a bit tired of his work for a reason, or reasons, that I cannot recall. So, thanks to NetGalley, I just read Jim’s latest work entitled “Judgement Prey.” Perhaps the time away refreshed my attitude for I enjoyed catching up with Lucas Davenport, and his sidekick Virgil Flowers, as they investigate the brutal murders of a St.Paul Minnesota father and his children.
Judgement Prey moves along quickly, and although the mystery surrounding the murders does not remain mysterious to the reader for very long the tension builds nicely right up to the end. As it stands, the story was strong enough that I will be returning to Sanford’s “Prey” series and catch up with the previous 8-10 that I skipped.

Judgment Prey is the 33rd Davenport novel and the 15th Flowers novel, though since the series were combined it's more often Davenport in the leading role. This could be the last with Flowers in an active role, as Sandford typically follows through on their statements of intent, but not always. I had written about the previous book this would be the last one with Flowers, but those were only my thoughts rather than the character's. What I've written says very little about the plot, because I don't believe that's what distinguishes them. These aren't twisty books, or even mystery usually. They're far more about the execution and the character interactions. The interpersonal, and at times intrapersonal, dynamics of the characters are a joy to read. As for the plot, I did like how it sprawled out and showed the consequences of their investigations. For some that may be a distraction from the primary investigation, but for me it provides an additional layer of enjoyment.

There are two dominant perspectives, Luca Davenport and Margaret Cooper, the latter being a surviving member of the family the killer murdered. There are other briefer perspectives though, including from the killer, as there tends to be. Usually the criminal's perspective is one of my favorite parts of this series, though in case the opening criminal is underdeveloped. His purpose seemed to be give the reader foreknowledge so that there wouldn't be as much mystery or moral ambiguity regarding the actions certain characters take. The criminal of the secondary plotline was more developed, but I took issue with his characterization as well. Instead, the focus this time was on Cooper. Sandford has written female duos before and to great effect. I don't think this pair is as good, though it's still good. I enjoyed the rapid perspective changes that occurred at one point and thought it was done rather well.

Compared to the recent entries in the series, this one relatively takes a step back and goes for a smaller scale and resets a few things. The investigation has Davenport and Flowers take an active role and and they're critical to its progress and resolution. Somehow they're acting on their own separate from anyone else, so there's little to impede them. Davenport has considerably calmed down and relaxed compared to how he sometimes is, but he also ignores statements made at the opening of the book about himself. Truly the power of working a case salves all mental and physical issues, as Davenport himself mentions. Unfortunately for others though, Davenport continues to be dangerous to those involved, mostly indirectly this time, which is again mentioned as well. As almost always though, the worst enemy of the criminals is themselves. That almost seems like something that's inherent to the antagonists of this series.

It took me a little while to warm up to this one, but after I got into it, I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. There isn't anything that particularly stands out, it just seems to have worked really well for me. It could be that how it's written was simply what was right for me at this time. I do have some concerns about how the book ended. It was abrupt, though not unexpected, and I have to wonder if it's the lead-in for a future book or something that's briefly mentioned later in passing. I reserve judgment on it until something is done with it or not. Lastly, I remain amazed at the staying power of this series. May it continue for as it's able to maintain an acceptable level of quality.

I received this DRC from G.P. Putnam's Sons through NetGalley.

Another winner

I have enjoyed John Sanford's books for decades, and not just because I am from Minnesota and love to recognize the settings His books are intelligent, well-written and the characters, especially Lucas and his family, have gotten to feel like friends. This episode has both Lucas and Virgil Flowers trying to find out who killed a federal judge and his two young sons.

It did not disappoint.

I appreciate that both Lucas and Virgil like and respect their partners and the partners are competent women. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is nice to see functional relationships. especially when they are trying to solve crimes that involve a whole lot of dysfunctional people.

This has a side story concerning Virgil and his blossoming career as a novelist. As someone who has always had the luxury of reading instead of producing great books, I appreciate a little insight.

I started and finished this in one day. My only regret is that now it is done and I don't have it in my virtual pile of books to look forward to.

Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up to solve the murder of a wealthy judge and his two children. As they investigate, things don't add up and the plot twists and turns and the ending is very unexpected. I prefer stories where Virgil Flowers works alone but this was a good story and it kept me interested and guessing. It's a good addition to the Lucas/Virgil series and I look forward to the next one. I give this four and a half stars. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for my honest review.

Any book that includes either Lucas Davenport or Virgil Flowers, Minnesota law officers and pretty good buddies, is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit with me. Put the dynamic duo together for an entire book, then, and the ball has a tendency to fly all the way out of the park.

This time out, Lucas is still struggling both physically and mentally with injuries from a previous case (Virgil was injured, too, but he's mostly back to normal (if it's possible to use the word "normal" in any description of the guy). Lucas gets called out to an horrific crime scene in St. Paul; federal judge Alex Sand and his two sons have been fatally shot in their home. The bodies are found by the judge's wife Margaret Cooper, a local college professor and some-time actress, who is so distraught that she can't think straight (although I strongly suspect she was a few bricks shy of a chimney even before the murders).

After three weeks or so, the case remains unsolved; at that point, Virgil - a regional agent for the Bureau of Criminal Investigation - gets called in to review the case and calls Lucas to tag along. As is almost inevitable with murders, the spouse is a suspect; but while they don't trust her as far as they can throw her, neither Lucas nor Virgil think the wife did it this time around. Also inevitably, they look at past rulings by the judge that might have generated plans for payback; also at issue is the judge's planned donation - a whopper - to a local charity that's now in limbo.

Much of the fun, as usual, centers on the banter between Lucas and Virgil, bolstered by looks into their personal lives and characters readers have come to know and love like Weather (Lucas' wife). And as the investigation moves along, readers also become privvy to clues that will take Virgil and Lucas a little longer to figure out (while we cheer them on). The end was a titch disappointing just because a couple of unsavory characters don't quite get the comeuppance I'd have preferred (nope, not gonna, don't ask).

So back to that aforementioned home run: If I'm honest, this one came darned close but didn't quite make it over the fence. A couple of gaps in the story - like what the details of what the killer really did that triggered (so to speak) his need to go on that shooting spree - and some very unlikable characters made this story simmer instead of sizzle and not be my favorite book in the long series (this is the 33rd of the Davenport books). Still, it's enjoyable and held my attention from beginning to end, and in no way dampened my enthusiasm for future books with either or both of the guys who have become all-time favorite characters in them. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me once again to read and review a pre-release copy.

One of my absolute favorite protagonists in the realm of crime fiction has to be Virgil Flowers, a creation of John Sandford. I first encountered this character during college, and I've eagerly devoured every new installment in his adventures ever since. While Sandford's pace of releasing new books has somewhat slowed recently, he now teams up this character with his other immensely popular creation, Lucas Davenport. Their latest collaboration, Judgment Prey, marks the third book where both characters appear together. I've been fortunate enough to receive copies of Sandford's latest works directly from his publisher, and this newest one was no exception. Staying true to his distinctive style, Judgment Prey is a riveting murder mystery enriched by the witty banter and dynamic between Flowers and Davenport.

The book begins with a harrowing scene: the ruthless execution of a federal judge and his two young sons. The killer shadowed the family back to their home following a basketball game and in a chilling act, shot them in cold blood. When the judge's wife arrived just moments later, she was met with the devastating sight of her husband and sons lying lifeless on the floor while her infant baby cried in the background. The heinousness of the murder sends shockwaves through the community. Given the high-profile nature of the crime and its victim, authorities are determined to bring the perpetrator to justice.

Here enters Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers. Both men are still recovering from the harrowing conclusion of their previous case, an ordeal that almost cost them their lives. Davenport, in particular, is taking an extended break to mend his wounds. Meanwhile, Flowers is engrossed in writing his second novel. The last thing either of them needs is a new case. Fate, however, has other plans. Davenport's proximity to the crime scene leads him to offer his insights, and before long, the irresistible urge to uncover the truth takes hold. He quickly summons his good friend Flowers to join him in the investigation. Together, they will delve into the lives of criminals, the leaders of dubious charities, and even the judge's grieving widow. They will spare no effort in uncovering the perpetrator's identity behind this brutal and heart-wrenching crime.

Returning to Sandford's characters is always a delightful experience. The dynamic duo of Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport consistently delivers a thrilling and unexpectedly comedic reading adventure. Some of the witty exchanges between these two had me in stitches. "Judgment Prey," as the 33rd installment in the long-standing Prey series, successfully hits all the essential marks. Sandford's writing exudes a sense of pure enjoyment, resulting in an engaging page-turner.

Could the mystery's plot have been more tightly woven? Undoubtedly. In fact, this particular installment seemed to struggle with occasional plot meandering, as if Sandford himself was uncertain about the story's direction. Nevertheless, the narrative remains firmly anchored by its charismatic protagonists, rendering even the most implausible plot twists relatively inconsequential. This is top-notch popcorn thriller writing at its finest. I'll gladly continue immersing myself in these narratives for as long as Sandford continues to craft them.