I've read many books by John Sanford and have enjoyed them all. This one is no different. I don't know how he comes up with some of this stuff. Fast paced easy to read book. I highly recommend it.

Once again a sure fire hit for this ever brilliant storyteller. Always an eagerly anticipated occasion to hear of a new work by him, and he never misses!

I still remember the very first Prey novel I read. Can it really have been 30 books ago? My, how the time does fly, and so many things have changed. Of course, some things remain the same. Lucas is still one of my favorite detectives with his love of the hunt and determination. He has mellowed a bit over the years, or I thought he had, but Masked Prey gives a new look at the Lucas Davenport who doesn't always follow the rules and who's willing to sometimes do the wrong thing for the right reasons. I won't go into all the details so I don't spoil anything, but I really enjoyed seeing the darker side of Davenport again, and it was interesting to see the contrast between that guy and the family man he's become. And no, that doesn't mean I would be okay with some things in reality, but this is fiction, so I could just enjoy the ride. We do get some page time with Bob and Rae, which is perfect for some witty banter as the investigation moved along. To sum it up, this newest Prey novel is everything I expect from Sandford, and I'll be looking forward to whatever's next for Lucas and company. I've been recommending this series since the beginning, and this 30th book is just one more reason to continue with that recommendation.

A US Marshall and the FBI team up against homegrown terrorists. Lucas Davenport must figure out the source of the murder of innocent children. It’s steadily paced to keep your heart racing. Lots of twists and turns ! Perhaps the most interesting is the POV of the villain pitted against the POV of the hero’. Wonderful insight into the character of each! I’ve read every John Sanford novel and this one is equally entertaining!

I'm getting used to Davenport's new Marshall job but, coming from the Midwest, I still kind of miss the Minnesota/Iowa based books. I also missed (maybe I just overlooked it) the usual reference to "that f**king Flowers". That being said I enjoyed this book. I was a little bit befuddled by all the splinter groups investigated in the first half of the book. Fortunately, it all came together for me in the second half. I get a real kick out of his new cohorts, Bob and Rae, and the presentation of politics outside the Midwest. I wouldn't recommend this as a stand alone first Sandford read book...there is too much back story referred to but not really explained. For a seasoned reader of Sandford's Lucas Davenport books, there is just the right amount of back story. If you're a Davenport fan, you'll like this book!

Another great addition to the Lucas Davenport saga. Once again displaying remarkable insights into the criminal mind and the capacity to use those skills to fearlessly track down and ruthlessly confront those who live without regard for human life and social order. Davenport, his family, and those law enforcement folks he regularly works with are well developed by Sanford and can be relied upon to both entertain and educate his readers. Each Prey book somehow seems to be even more enjoyable than the last.

MASKED PREY: A Lucas Davenport Novel
John Sandford
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
ISBN-13: 978-0525539520
Hardcover
Thriller

I am not entirely sure how one makes a fictional protagonist who has been the primary character in thirty novels (and a secondary one in several others) unpredictable, but John Sandford has done it with Lucas Davenport in MASKED PREY. There were times --- not many but a few --- in MASKED PREY where I thought to myself, “Well, if Davenport is going to do that, then we are parting company at this point in the journey.” As it happens, there are many, many twists and turns in MASKED PREY, including one that leaves the reader hungry for what will hopefully be coming next.

Sandford has put Davenport through occasional changes over the course of the shelf or three that he has written (and of which MASKED PREY is, indeed, the thirtieth). There is no question in my mind that Davenport’s latest incarnation as a semi-autonomous U.S. Marshal is the most interesting to date. It frees Davenport from being restricted to Minnesota (and the occasional contiguous state) as he was in his prior careers as a Minneapolis police detective and with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. That does not mean, however, that he doesn’t jump when a U.S. senator from Minnesota senator calls (and sends a plane to pick him up). Jump he does, and for good reason. The daughter of another U.S. senator, while tooling around on the internet using facial recognition software, has reported finding her image on a more or less hidden website containing the photos of the children of some other elected politicians as well as a number of political articles, editorials, and blogs from various sources. The printed matter, juxtaposed with the photos, is considered to possibly be threatening. Davenport is tasked with finding out who is responsible for putting up the website and shutting the threat down before it causes any grievous harm. Lucas is joined in this endeavor by FBI Agent Jane Chase, who readers of the series have met before, as well as Bob and Rae, being Bob Matees and Rae Givens (not that Ray Givens) of the U. S. Marshals Special Operation Group (who we have also met before). Meanwhile, Sandford demonstrates the effect that the website is having when a lone wolf is exposed to it and concocts a plan to shoot one of the children pictured. Davenport and his co-workers have no idea what is going on, of course, and chase a slender evidentiary thread which ultimately puts them onto the plot. They catch a break along the way and discover who created the website, which indirectly leads to the satisfactory conclusion of MASKED PREY, though not in the manner in which one might expect or predict. Additionally, Sandford gives his legion of readers a hint at what may be Davenport’s port of service, and it’s a fun one. It will be more so when and if Davenport gets there.

Part of the fun of MASKED PREY is watching Davenport march off in well-intended and well-reasoned by occasionally wrong directions when hunting his prey, if you will. Sandford is a master of this technique and shows his talent off to good effect here. While MASKED PREY is not one of Sandford’s best books, it certainly is in the upper echelons and worth your while, particularly for seasoned readers of the series. Don’t miss it.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2020, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

I received this book free for my unbiased review.

I always look forward to reading a book written by John Sandford. "Masked Prey" certainly delivered another Davenport story. As usual there are twists and turns, some humor, action and everything I have learned to expect in a John Sandford book. Davenport continues to evolve through his varied career moves.

I look forward to the next Sandford offering!

When I requested this book I didn’t realize it was part of a series but decided to try it out anyways. Who knows? I may become a Lucas fan and start from the beginning, right?

Well I am not sure after reading the story. I may try the next book that comes out to see if it is better. I do understand I won’t have a bond with Lucas since I haven’t been around to watch him evolve but I just thought it was a little too political for me. I read to escape the constant negativity so it was hard getting past that. Other than that, I enjoyed the book.

Thank you Netgalley for approving my request for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Hard to believe there have been 30 prey novels! I've really enjoyed all of the books in the series- this one? not so much- but still a 4 star rating. Maybe it was the "time of corona" and I had a hard time concentrating, but I found this story a bit underwhelming, with the exception of the last third where the action picked up and really held my interest. Lucas is called to DC by the FBI when the daughter of a senator finds a picture of herself and other children of senators on a dark website. No one knows who is behind the website and if it's a blueprint for killing children to manipulate their high powered parents. Lucas investigated with the help of Bob and Ray.

I enjoyed this book, like all the Prey books. I love Lucas Davenport! This was not the most exciting of his books, in fact it had very few exciting moments, even the end was rather a let down. Still I enjoyed the book and found it interesting if not very exiting. Step up the excitement John!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Putnam/Penquin books for the ARC of Masked Prey. Especially need to thank John Sandford for writing this great series, This is #30!!!! I have read them all! I will read them as long as John Sandford writes them. (Please don't stop) For whatever reason (might be what is going on in the world right now) it was a tad harder for me to get into this book. However, once it did grab me off I went. My only complaint is I love Lucas's family and there wasn't as much but hey this is suppose to be a mystery and that is what it is. I just love all the characters so I do enjoy when they are in the story. This is one of those mysteries that you could see happening right now. Which in itself is a scary thing. I do think you could read this as a stand alone, my opinion is read them all!! Worth it! I don't rewrite the book's description, so many do so well with it. This is what I like about this book. Great main character, Lucas Davenport US Martial, not perfect...it's why I like him!!! Mystery, are far right targeting children of Senators etc? Nope not telling you..read it. The story moves (except the start for me) and off you go...love that about a book!

I have been a huge John Sandford/Lucas Davenport fan since Cold Prey! I then went back and read the previous entries in the Prey series and each one since. This includes the excellent Virgil Flowers series. I do prefer Davenport though and was so excited to receive this ARC! This one has a corrupt government (is there any other kind) storyline, which is not my favorite thing to read about, but Sandford does such a great job of building suspense and keeping things zipping along that I still loved it! I can also see something like this actually happening in today's times. Another outstanding Prey entry! I highly recommend this, but do feel it is more enjoyed as part of the series just because Davenport is such a complex character and I like knowing histories, but it can still work as a standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley, John Sandford and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC!

I have also provided a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and KOBO.

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on April 14, 2020

Readers who believe that the Deep State exists and is a threat to their way of life will probably want to bypass Masked Prey. Amazon reviews of an earlier John Sandford novel proclaimed Sandford to be a left wing propogandist because Lucas Davenport, who is pretty far from left wing, prevented the assassination of a female Democrat who was running for president. Those readers will be apoplectic if they read Masked Prey, notwithstanding that Davenport’s motivations are never political. The reality is that Sandford is just as likely to skewer politicians from both parties as he is to mock the extremists who ramp up hatred over the Deep State.

A hidden website called 1919 has posted grainy photos of the children of politicians. One of those children, the daughter of a Democratic senator, is a teenager who blogs about being hot in D.C. Her boyfriend is trying to see whether other sites have picked up the pictures she posted when he stumbles on 1919. The website takes its name from a doubling of the 19th letter, or SS. Viewing the site as an invitation to make political statements by killing kids, the FBI becomes involved. And since the case has a political slant, Minnesota’s Democratic senator calls Davenport, a federal Marshal who is on the senator’s speed dial.

Davenport enlists the help of Bob and Rae, two Marshals who have become recurring characters in the series. Their light-hearted banter balances the darkness of the plot as Davenport pokes his nose into the various rightwing groups that might have created or taken an interest in the 1919 website. Some of those groups, of course, blame the left for planting a false flag. The truth about the site comes as a surprise.

The novel’s creepy entertainment value comes from Davenport's encounters with white supremacists, militia groups, and members of other fringe organizations, each with a different take on how government is a force for evil and why their own insular group holds the secret to human salvation. Sandford plays fair, making it clear that however whacky most of these folk might be, and however much they love their guns, most of them aren’t interested in carrying out acts of violence (if only because they fear arrest or being killed). They may be repulsive but killers tend to be lone wolves, not the sort who seek out validation in packs of like-minded screwballs. Sandford nevertheless recognizes the unfortunate reality that some people who hold beliefs far removed from objective reality are both deranged and dangerous.

Like all Sandford novels, Masked Prey moves quickly. Davenport makes a couple of morally questionable decisions, the kind of decisions that prove he is motivated by a desire to be effective rather than poltical or self-righteous beliefs. Davenport isn’t always admirable but he’s always interesting. That’s one of the reasons I keep coming back to the series. The larger reason is that Sandford is a born storyteller. He peppers the text with wit, clever observations, and sudden plot twists. If it were possible to go to the beach in the age of COVID-19, this would be the kind of fun, fast read that makes a good beach novel.

RECOMMENDED

I am being honest before you read this book you should go and start on some of his first books and see how he doesn't slow down in any of his books! He is funny, exciting, action packed, just enjoyable. He is like a dear friend who your always glad to hear from! My favorite is Virgil Flowers but I also love Lucas Davenport. He is always on the fast track to catch the bad guy. Trust me and you will be glad you did. Thanks to publisher for letting me read.

I have been a huge fan of Sanford's since the first Prey book, MASKED PREY hits all the buttons for me.

Lucas Davenport has been asked by Washington insiders to find the person behind a website that appears to threaten the children of DC politicians. Loaded with clip and paste articles from NeoNazi, White Supremacist and other groups, it also contains photos of several kids. No call to action; the threat is all the more chilling for its possible (probable?) influence on lone wolves.

As usual, this novel is filled with action and cop humor. When one child (not a politician's kid, but attending the same school) is killed by a sniper, Marshalls Bob and Rae join the hunt. The denouement came as a surprise, but given Davenport's history, maybe it shouldn't have. Highly recommended.

I’m a big fan of Mr. Sandford’s having read all of the Virgil Flowers and Kidd books and almost all of the Prey series. Having said that, this wasn’t my favorite Lucas Davenport story and not quite sure why. It could be that there was very little to no interaction with his family. I remember when he met Weather and their various relationship struggles then later married and had children. The story when he adopted Letty was especially poignant due to the hard life she had led. I miss the old gang from MN as there were a lot of fun times with Del and others. I know it’s been several years, but I feel nostalgic about the past. Lucas is still struggling to get past his shooting and I’m used to him going full speed but changes from getting older are expected.


The change to the Marshall’s service is a little different in that he travels often and longer distances than in previous stories. One thing I do like in this change is Bob and Rae. When all three are together, they are just so funny with their joking or their deadpan humor. Bob and Rae are always ready to jump when Lucas calls with a new job and it’s funny to see how excited they get. I love Rae as she is a well-trained Marshall, doesn’t leave home without her guns and is a ‘ready to rumble’ type. As a black female, she’s had her share of people underestimating her, but she doesn’t take anything from anyone and will tell it like it is. They all really enjoy the puzzle of figuring out how to locate the criminals and the reasons behind the various crimes.


Since the main storyline was about various groups against the government, I didn’t really care that much for the majority of the secondary characters as they weren’t very likeable, but I was sad over a couple of deaths.


As I write this, it sounds like I didn’t care for the story. To me anytime Mr. Sandford writes a book, I’m going to read it, enjoy it and want more. I enjoy reading his FaceBook posts and his take on various subjects and he never fails to entertain. Mr. Sandford is one of my favorite authors and I look forward to reading more of his stories.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this new work.

John Sandford and the Prey series are the best you can find out there for police suspense thrillers. This is #30 in the series, but MASKED PREY could easily stand on it’s own to any newcomer looking for some excitement. Every time I pick up one of these books I know I’m in for a fantastic ride.

Lucas Davenport started out as a Minnesota detective and made a name for himself. He has worked his way up over the years to his current role as a US Marshall. He likes to hunt killers, he’s made money in software over the years and dresses well. He likes smart women and is married to a surgeon. He talks like a tough guy and never lacks in sarcastic dialogue.

MASKED PREY puts Lucas in the middle of what could be a political fiasco when the teenage daughter of a US senator find a website on the dark web with photos of US politicians’ kids. Someone is targeting these kids and Lucas joins the FBI in the hunt. His interviews with alt-right organizations throughout the country are very interesting. I had quite a few laugh-out-loud moments with their dialogue.

Lucas Davenport is one of my favorite characters. If you like them smart and tough, you can’t go wrong with picking up this book or any of the earlier Prey novels when Lucas was a detective.

5 out of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Publishing for the ARC of MASKED PREY in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date - April 14, 2020
Posted to Goodreads on April 12, 2020

You can't beat Lucas Davenport, a real-life cop chasing bad guys! I own every one of John Sandford's books as ebook and audio book because I find them so entertaining. And, the move to US Marshal means Lucas has no boundaries anymore and gets help from Bob and Rae. Lucas's journey from Minneapolis cop to Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to US Marshall has been tremendously enjoyable.
John Sandford, please keep writing books with the characters you have introduced so far.

I received a free advance copy of this for review from NetGalley.

Wait a minute. This is the THIRTIETH Prey novel?!? That can’t be right because I remember buying the first Prey book when I was about twenty so that would make me….

Damn.

I better get this review done before I drop dead of old age.

The teenage daughter of a US senator is running some internet photo searches to see if any pics from her Instagram account have been shared when she stumbles across a chilling discovery. Someone has posted secretly taken photos and of her and other children of prominent politicians on a web site featuring racist propaganda as well as providing personal details on the kids. While there are no overt threats the implications are clear, and the fear is that some nutjob with a rifle will take the hint.

Deputy US Marshal Lucas Davenport is brought in by some of his political pals to quickly and quietly try to pin down the source of the pictures. With few clues to go on Lucas has to start talking to members of organized alt-right groups, but since most them are armed and make no secret about their hatred of the government it’s hard to whittle down the list of suspects. As Davenport tries to figure out who was behind the whole thing, a quietly angry man inspired by the site starts to make plans including committing his first murders.

This one starts with an intriguing and timely premise, and for most of the book its John Sandford delivering as usual so I had no complaints. However, some serious cracks show up in the third act that undermined the foundation of the book for me.

First off is the political angle. Sandford has long been carefully walking through the minefield of having his lead character linked to prominent politicians without Lucas being particularly political himself. That’s served the series well because it provides the story logic as to why this one cop/federal agent keeps being involved in all these high profile cases without Sandford alienating readers from one side or the other.

However, these days it’s getting increasingly hard to believe that Lucas can continue to dance between the raindrops while having powerful friends from both sides of the left/right divide. The idea that he doesn’t have any real political enemies coming after him while being able to solve the problems of other highly prominent people is getting increasingly hard to buy, especially because his cases usually make national news. Somebody would be trying to tar and feather him these days.

The other problem I had with this one is due to a shift in the ending. When the series started Lucas was more of a lone wolf who was more than willing to do some highly illegal stuff to get what he considered justice. That’s faded over time, and since he’s become a federal agent he’s much more of a team player so that we haven’t seen Davenport running a shady solo operation for a while now.

Without giving anything anyway… It seems like Sandford made a conscious decision to bring back some of the old Lucas for the climax of this one, and we once again see Davenport pulling sneaky and underhanded moves to get the outcome he wants. The difference this time is that in the previous books Lucas was always very careful about covering his tracks, and his manipulations were generally subtle. This time his scheme is glaringly obvious with none of the cleverness or caution that we’ve seen him use in the past in similar situations.

None of the shortcomings ruined the book for me. It’s still Sandford doing a Prey novel so it’s highly enjoyable to read, but tight plotting and thinking through ramifications of actions have long been a hallmark of this series so it’s jarring to feel like the ending of one was a little sloppy