I always look forward to a new John Sandford book, but I do love the tried and true Lucas Davenport. He has moved on and is now a US Marshall and his cases are still as interesting, but I do have to admit I miss the whole gang. They are all in here briefly, but it's not quite the same with out Del and Virgil. Will be looking forward to the next one.

Disclosure: I am a BIG fan of Lucas Davenport, the protagonist of Minnesota author John Sandford’s Prey series. Twisted pray is the 28th book about the dangerous missions of Davenport, Minneapolis PD lieutenant turned MPD deputy chief turned BCA agent turned US Marshall, and this time he is up against an old opponent with whom he has unfinished business. She is a fabulously wealthy US Senator (is there any other variety?), but Lucas is also convinced that she is also a malignant, narcissistic, sociopathic murderer. This time he plans to get her.

As all of Sandford’s Davenport (Prey) books, this one is a masterful blend of thrills and humor, especially Minnesota humor - for me it actually took a few years living in Minnesota to appreciate Sandford’s self-deprecating humor about the natives (Sandford was born in Iowa but moved to Minnesota in 1978). A lot of it naturally has to do with the weather (nasty and cold and nasty and hot), the food (really bad), and the state bird (mosquitoes).

I don’t want to ruin the story for you, so I won’t get into the storyline much further here; suffice it to say if you are a crime fiction fan and don’t take yourself too seriously, you will enjoy this series. And if you are starting out, you are in for a treat, 28 books, no less! I devoured the first 11 books is a couple of weeks the year I moved to Minnesota, and ever since, a new Prey book is like getting an annual visit from Lucas Davenport. Who, by the way, is an extremely likable guy. He’s smart, witty, strong, good-looking, sexy, and rich. He’s also a major clothes-horse, an interest to which he devotes considerable time, money, and effort. In short, a perfect guy. What’s not to like?

Sandford and Lucas Davenport never fail to deliver a good story and some twists and turns!

The one that got away is back with a vengeance. We first saw Taryn Grant in Silken Prey, and considering the circumstances in that one, Lucas is more than happy to be on her trail again - this time as a US Marshall.
In addition to Lucas, we get to revisit with some favorites from the series, both old and new. Naturally, we get some time with the family, including Lettie. Bob and Rae, the Marshall's version of Jenkins and Shrake, are back and we even get a bit of Kidd when Lucas is need of internet help. Add in a couple of peeks at Del and Virgil and a lot of the gang is covered.
Twisted Prey takes off pretty quickly with a not so accidental car crash that has Lucas sniffing around Washington DC. The tension rapidly builds from there with political intrigue, murder, and some shady deals from our bad guys and as the body count rises, so does the danger. With lots of action and plenty of twists to keep a reader guessing, along with a conclusion that is classic Lucas Davenport, this one is absolutely unputdownable.

Slow start to a big finish, and one nasty lady. Thanks netgalley, you are the best.

Lucas Davenport as a U.S. Marshall has been a great career move and also a new story line that is really entertaining. The twin cities and Minnesota still play a part but Lucas has now spread his wings to more parts of the U.S. it is hard to believe how many books have been built around his character but John Sandford continues to develop different and realistic storylines. Thanks again for a great read.

Can this possibly be the 28th book in the "Prey" series? I know I haven't missed many, so guess that makes me an oldie (but goodie. And so is the series; even if "star" character Lucas Davenport, now a federal marshal, seems to be a bit more laid back these days, there's plenty of action here that kept me reading until my Kindle battery insisted it needed a recharge.

Happily - and in one case, unhappily - a few other characters make return appearances in this one. There's Weather, Lucas's surgeon wife, Letty, his daughter, some former professional colleagues and the even more lovable (to me, at least) Virgil Flowers, upon whom Mr. Sandford has bestowed a series all his own.

Still another blast from the past is Taryn Grant, a psychopath who's now a U.S. Senator. Lucas is certain she's up to her old tricks (and being a billionaire, she's able to grease wheels till the Minnesota cows come home). One of her other enemies, Sen. Porter Smalls, knows firsthand how dangerous the woman is. In fact, he's convinced that a recent auto accident that nearly killed him - and did kill the driver - was all her doing. Proving that, though, just isn't in his skill set.

So, he calls in Lucas - who turns to local law enforcement, the FBI and others to help with the investigation. All heck breaks loose in the process, with suspicions turning into twists and turns that threaten the well-being of everyone involved, including Lucas's own family. And in the end, getting to the truth doesn't necessarily mean justice will be done. Or does it?

Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Thank you Netgalley and the Penguin Group/G P Putman & Sons for this ARC.

I love Lucas as a US Marshall. He seems to really enjoy it as well. Seems like there's less bureaucratic red tape for him (no employee overtime sheets to approve) yet he still has the autonomy to work a case as he sees fit and the ability to get the resources he needs. Twisted Prey was the usual fast wild ride one expects from John Sandford with the usual suspects and supporting characters. I'm still giggling at the thought of Bob with the tailor.

Me in 2013: “I love John Sandford novels, but this Silken Prey seems a bit outlandish. Could a rich person with a narcissistic personality disorder who engages in criminal behavior really hope to win an election to an important position in the US government? That seems highly unlikely.”

Me on Election Night 2016: “Why didn’t we heed John Sandford’s warning?!?”

Back in Silken Prey Lucas Davenport tangled with a crazy woman named Taryn Grant who was running for the Senate. She was capable of framing a rival for child pornography and then forming a conspiracy to commit murder to cover it all up. Since she was rich and this is America, she gets away with it.

Now a rival of Grant’s is almost killed in a car accident which he is positive was an attempt to murder him, and Lucas Davenport is asked to check into the case. Davenport is off to D.C. and is quickly convinced that the accident was indeed a professional attempted hit, and he suspects that Grant’s friends at a military contractor filled with ex-special forces members were responsible for it on her orders. Getting evidence on trained killers who know how to cover their tracks and are backed by a powerful rich woman with her eye on the White House won’t be easy though.

Despite the DC setting and Davenport facing off against a crew of bad ass ex-soldiers this all feels like pretty standard stuff for Sandford. Not that it’s a bad thing. Sandford at his worst can write circles around most of the thriller writers on the best seller list, and this is has a lot of intriguing elements like figuring out how the bad guys could have rigged the car accident without leaving a trace. Davenport joined the US Marshals in the last book, and that change has enabled the series to do some interesting new stuff like this.

However, I think this one fell a little short of high potential in a few areas. For starters, even though this is set in DC and involves members of Congress it just doesn’t seem like the circus it would be. I also thought that Grant's response to being investigated would be more politically vicious and involve her trying to do more to smear Davenport in the media rather than going after him with more direct methods. It all just seems a little naïve and optimistic in that the system pretty much works and Davenport is free to investigate without having to worry about the press or the politics of it much at all.

And bear in mind that what I’m essentially saying here is the biggest problem with a plot that involves a member of the US Congress trying to assassinate a political rival and cover it up with the help of shady intelligence connections is that IT'S NOT CYNICAL ENOUGH!

Welcome to America 2018.

There’s a few other issues too, but most of them fall into the category of spoilers.

While I was a little let down by some of this it was still a solid page turner, and I very much enjoyed the ending which went a long way towards making me forget about some of my quibbles.

Twisted Prey is the twenty-eighth book in John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport series. In this book, Davenport continues his work as a U.S. Marshal.

U.S. Senator Porter Smalls was in a car accident in which his companion died. Investigators concluded it was an accident; Smalls insists it was attempted murder. So, Smalls calls the one investigator he trusts, Lucas Davenport. Marshal Davenport travels to Washington D.C. to investigate. Both Smalls and Davenport suspect that Senator Taryn Grant was once again behind the plot against Smalls. In addition to the appearance of Davenport’s nemesis, some old friends also appear in the book, such as Rae and Bob, the marshals we met in Golden Prey.

Anyone who may have followed my reviews of Sandford’s books knows of my ambivalence toward them. Although some of the more recent books in the series have been decent, there were a few books before those that were mediocre. I love Davenport and Virgil Flowers, so I continue to read those series – but then I am faced with this frustration when I attempt to review the books.

And, that frustration continues with Twisted Prey. The writing leaves a lot to be desired. For example, the dialogue is choppy – it feels rushed, as if it is in outline form and needs to be fleshed out. As I was reading Twisted Prey, I kept thinking “if only Sandford would hire me to help with the writing….” Twisted Prey is decent, but it could be great. While reading this book (only 28 books into this series), I started to suspect that Sandford does not care. He has some good characters, and his plots are usually solid – I get the feeling that the writing itself is not that important to him.

So, once again, my opinion is mixed. Davenport is a great character, and Twisted Prey contains a solid Sandford plot; the writing is mediocre. I will continue to read the Davenport series – though I think it is a shame that he is publishing decent, mediocre books when they could be great.

John Sanford always writes an enthralling and unique story. Twisted Prey is no exception. For those of us who have followed Lucas Davenport since his first outing, reading another installment is like hanging out with a friend who happens to be a cop. In this instance Lucas is not working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the B.C.A. but for the U.S. Marshall Service.
He is on the track of a doer who has attempted to assassinate a U.S. Senator. What happens next is why the book is entitled what it is. The reader is taken through a maze of twists and turns, meeting various bad dudes who are selling weapons off the books, plotting killings, robbery, and fraud on a massive scale. All of this is thrown at Lucas as he tries to decipher what is going on and who is responsible for the attempted killing.
My advice is to buy Twisted Prey as soon as it is available. If you have never read Sanford, read his entire backlist of Prey novels and then hit the equally entertaining Virgil Flowers books. You will have a great time.

Lucas Davenport is still going strong and so is the writing of John Sandford. Thoroughly enjoyed this book and love the Lucas as the U.S. Marshal.

Exciting, fast paced, unpredictable, hard to stop reading! What else can you ask for? John Sandford does not disappoint in his latest Lucas Davenport novel.

“this story, full of political intrigue and murderous ambition might be his best in a while.”

I have always believed that old friends are the best friends. Lucas Davenport and I have been close friends for too many years to mention. He’s one of my favorite characters, and I have followed his career with dedication. He’s 50 years old now and still one of the hottest guys in fiction...he just would rather avoid a fight these days, when he can, but if forced, he can still deliver a nasty punch. In his younger days, he loved a brawl!

Some great characters are back in this book, Rae and Bob. I love these two to pieces! Rae is a tall, capable black woman who was a starter for the UConn basketball team, and Bob was a college wrestler...a good one. These two bring a little more light-hearted fun to the story with their witty banter and teasing of each other and Lucas.

Mr. Sandford introduces two new characters as well. Jane Chase, an FBI agent who plays a major role in this story. She’s a good bit more cooperative with Lucas than most agents have been and he likes her. So do I. Maybe she will get another book one day. I hope so. Then there is Suzie/Carol/Wendy. Yeah, we don’t really know what her name is, but she’s tiny, speaks fluent Arabic and even better machine gun! She is Betty-Bad-A$$ to the core, and she might be just a little miffed at Lucas...and maybe not. I expect we’ll see more of her one day, she’s a brilliant character.

I could go on and on about this book, but I won’t say anymore. I expect all of John Sandford’s books to be brilliant, and this one did not disappoint. In fact, this story, full of political intrigue and murderous ambition might be his best in a while. It’s definately one of my favorites. Grab a copy now, and...

Enjoy!

2shay

ARC graciously provided by Penguin and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

Short Take: NANANANA NANANANA DAVENPORT!!!


*Note: I received an advance copy of this book for review.*

Twisted Prey is the 28th (holy crap) entry in the Prey Series, and let me be right up front in saying that I have read and loved every single one of them, and I will also be the first to say that they are pretty darn ridiculous. In a fantastic way.

Our hero, Lucas Davenport is a cop. No, more than a cop, he’s smarter, tougher, richer, handsomer, and better dressed than you. He’s a millionaire a couple of dozen times over, drives a Porsche, wears fancy Italian suits and shoes, but what he loves more than anything in the world is catching bad guys. So what I’m saying is, he’s Batman. Unlike Bruce Wayne, however, Davenport has worked his way up from the bottom, starting as a lowly detective in Minneapolis. Through a couple of decades of solid police work, a massive body count, and a whole lotta dirt dug up on bigwig political types, he’s risen through the ranks and is now a US Marshall, with all of this great nation as his jurisdiction.

So when United States Senator Porter Smalls is involved in a car crash just outside of Washington DC that just might be an assassination attempt, Davenport is the guy to call. It doesn’t take long for Taryn Grant, Smalls’ biggest rival, and Davenport’s One Bad Guy That Got Away to become the number one suspect. Taryn is a sociopath, but she’s also very, very smart, and super wealthy, and is probably one of the few people who could be Davenport’s Joker….er, his equal.

Davenport knows that Taryn is behind the attempted murder. Taryn knows that Davenport knows that she’s behind it. Davenport knows that Taryn knows that he knows that she’s the mastermind, and that he’ll have to work this case with a large target on his back.

It’s a fun, fast, utterly delicious cat-and-mouse game. Twisted Prey follows the standard Prey template: a crazy crime, Lucas being summoned, Lucas rounding up his posse of bad-guy-catchers, a few more bodies thrown on the pile, some super-smart detectiving and some kind of resolution that may or may not be completely above-board, but is extremely satisfying nonetheless.

For all that, Sandford manages to keep it fresh. Even though Davenport is a man’s man fantasy of masculinity and over-the-top testosterone, the women are just as smart, tough, and wisecracking as the guys. Sandford’s dialogue is some of the best in the game, and every time I pick up a new Prey book (did I mention there are 28 of them so far???), I feel like I’m hanging out with old friends.

As great as that is, it’s also kind of problematic for the author, in terms of moving the series forward. Because Lucas is now a Marshall, he’s not tied to Minnesota. Which is a necessary step (how many psycho serial killers can one small-ish state hold?), but the usual cast of characters wasn’t around, and I found myself missing them. There wasn’t enough banter with his wife Weather, who was back in Minneapolis while Davenport was kickin hineys and takin names in Washington DC. I missed the oh-so-cleverly named Del Capslock, and Sherrill, and Sister Elle, and the rest of the regulars.

But who am I kidding, I’m going to keep reading, because even when new people come in, the cars are still fast, the women are still gorgeous, the mysteries are still smart, and Lucas is still a teensy bit psycho (in other words, just my type).



The Nerd’s Rating: FOUR HAPPY NEURONS (and a Range Rover Evoque. Because this winter is never-ending, and I’m ready to let my hair blow in the breeze).

Financially, Lucas Davenport doesn’t need to work. He gained wealth early in his career by successfully starting a computer game company then selling it for a ridiculous profit. Plus his wife, Weather is a well-respected surgeon. Lucas’ law enforcement career could have ended with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension where he solved many of the toughest cases. But with his political connections Lucas was able to land a job as a U.S. Marshall with the luxury of working only the cases he finds interesting… a way of scratching his itch for the thrill of the hunt. Lucas didn’t know when he took the job, however, he’d get pulled into a dangerous fight between the two Minnesota U.S. Senators that would threaten his reputation and his life as well as the lives of his family.
Senator Porter Smalls is injured when his vehicle driven by a female aide is forced off the road near his remote cabin in the mountains of West Virginia. His aide is killed and the senator is convinced the murderers were hired by his nemesis Senator Taryn Grant and intended to kill him. Senator Grant has aspirations to be president and knows Smalls will stand in her way. Years earlier she had anonymously planted kiddie porn on Smalls’ computer to defeat him in a senatorial election. Smalls has since proven his innocence and subsequently was elected to the second seat for Minnesota senators. But Grant is careful and sneaky. She has connections to some ex-military special ops guys who are professionals in covert operations and in covering their tracks… an apparent mismatch for a former state cop now U.S. Marshall Davenport.
Lucas does what he does best… collaborates with and uses the resources of several law enforcement agencies to gather evidence… this time about the accident. But as Lucas closes in, he and his wife become targets. Lucas must put his life on the line to find evidence that leads through these professionally trained mercenaries to the twisted Senator Grant.
Twisted Prey is number 28 in John Sandford’s prey series and is just more of what his fans love… Lucas Davenport chasing the bad guys and charming everyone else along the way. I wouldn’t categorize this one as a page turner but a solid, enjoyable read… pretty much what we expect from John Sandford.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Lucas, you dirty dirty dog, you...I love you so much! Another Prey book that I started one day and finished the next, finding it very easy to want to pick up where I left off and harder still to put down. I found the 'S' sink thing a bit far fetched, but at the end of the day I don't really give a crap.

I was so happy to see more of Rae and Bob.

I really worried about having Davenport in the middle of politics, not that Sandford has ever been quiet in that regards, but having Davenport as a US Marshal just seemed to be pushing it a bit far, however, although it's clear that politics play a part in these novels, in Sandford's minds and yes, in Davenport's mind, it's still clear that at the end of the day Lucas doesn't really care about much except the adrenaline rush he gets from winning against these 'bad' guys and girls. Lucas seems to have cooled his hot head a bit in his older years and doesn't quite act so rashly...or maybe I should say, he's gained enough patience to think through his plans and the long term consequences. He also seems more and more willing to manipulate others to see that justice is served as it should be at the end of the day. In the past, he would have just flown off the handle and cleaned up best he could afterwards. Now he lines up the players and patiently sits back until justice is done.

As always, the dialogue is there, the action is there, and my love for Sandford is ALWAYS there...

ARC provided by Netgallery for an honest review

It's always fun to pick up a book with Lucas Davenport. While I miss him working in MN, he has built up a crew to support him that are just as fun to read about. The other Marshalls, Rae and Bob fit in well with Lucas, they can talk about common things and are just as blood thristy, but not quite as sneaky as Lucas.

I liked that this book brought about some familiar faces in the case they worked, the 2 Minnesota Senators from a case that Lucas worked on in the past. I know it bothered Lucas that he knew what happened in the past, but couldn't prove it, allowing the bad guy to go free. With that knowledge you knew that Lucas wasn't about to let that happen again. Lucas and his crew slowly started to unravel things, each lead found something bigger. Soon it seems like so much was going on, so many alphabet groups were in on things, so much bigger than the original crime of a car being run off the road.

Towards the end it seemed to me that Lucas wasn't going to get his bad guy himself, but he might be letting someone else do the work for him. It was only on the last page that I realized I was right and more than just me knew it.

Seriously, #28 in John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport/Prey series? Wow – I am pretty sure I have read them all. Some of them knocked me out, while others were more in the better-than-average-and-sufficiently-entertaining vein. Twisted Prey, which I received from Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review, falls into the second category.

Lucas Davenport is the protagonist in all Sandford’s “Prey” books. Formerly part of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, he is now part of the U.S. Marshal’s Service, still living with his physician wife Weather while their daughter Letty is at school at Stanford.

Senator Porter Smalls of Minnesota is on his way back from a “meeting” (illicit rendezvous) at a cabin in the woods, when his vehicle is run off a cliff, down a ravine into the woods, and slams into a tree. His female “aide,” who is driving, is killed. Senator Smalls, fearing he was the intended target, calls on Lucas to investigate (he suspects Senator Taryn Grant), She beat him in a prior election after planting kiddie porn on his computer) and is now a powerful member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, eyeing a run for the White House. Lucas and Taryn have met before, and once he becomes convinced that she is behind the “accident,” he is determined to see this investigation through to the end. It’s an entertaining ride, and along the way, we get a glimpse of Virgil Flowers and quite a lot of Ray and Bob, two other associates of Lucas’s.

Despite knowing who the bad guys are, there are a couple of good twists at the end, and the sharp dialogue combines with the action to keep the reader’s interest.

Fans of Lucas and the Prey series will LOVE this one Although it is the 28th Prey book, it can be enjoyed as a standalone, and will likely send the reader in search of earlier books in the series. I give it four stars because it didn’t knock my socks off, but it is a good, solid, and enjoyable read.

Another winner for John Sandford. Political corruption taken to the extreme has Lucas Davenport tracking down murderers. Rae and Bob are a welcome return from previous Prey novels. Wonderful characters, a fast moving plot and plenty of action. Highly recommended.