Lethal Prey is Book 35 in the Lucas Davenport series from John Davenport.

"Twenty years after the unsolved murder of her sister, Doris, Lara Grandfelt has dumped all of the case files onto every true crime blog she can find. And she offering a $5 million reward to find the killer. Dozens of true-crime bloggers show up looking for evidence and clicks. Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to review anything that looks like a new lead. When a blogger finds the murder weapon, Lucas and Virgil start finding out more about the killer's identity. As they get closer to the truth, they become targets when the killer feels threatened."

Sandford doesn't write who-done-its? You know who the killer is right away and Sandford lets you inside their psychopathic head. This is a typical Sandford fast-paced story. I flew through it. Sandford has both good and bad comments on the true-crime blogger community.

A big no-no for me is that the story ends in a bit of a cliff hanger - maybe more that part of the story is not resolved. I want a book's story to have a definite ending.

Still a great story from Sandford. Amazing that he can still find ways to keep a character fresh after 35 books.

Review: This is NOT a mystery. This follows Flowers and Davenport around while they make snarky social commentary. The process is mainly characterization coupled with narrowing the field as a psychopath gets more and more agitated.

I like a good whodunnit, yet sadly most novels are going the procedural route as they are less complicated to develop. I still really enjoyed this novel, as I found myself laughing throughout. Davenports clinging perspectives doused in mild depression are really pointed. The "should I masturbate or kill a fly" to the mysoginystic gains that Flowers makes, is epic.

I hope Fisk returns as an arch nemisis.

I received this ARC for an honest review.

4.7/5

Thanks to John Sandford, Penguin Group Putnam, and NetGalley for access to the Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 35th book in the Prey series and it is a worthy addition to the canon. In this story Lucas and Virgil Are called in on a cold case where they encounter a smart and challenging murderer who turns out to be a serial killer.

For fans of the series, the killer in this book brought Clara Rinker of Certain Prey and Mortal Prey to mind as they encounter this new deadly opponent. Like Clara Rinker, Amanda Fisk is a ruthless killer who is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants and to avoid prison.

As with all the Prey books, this is a well written and fast paced story that will leave you anxious for the next one in the series. The dialog and the relationships between the characters are top notch. Recommended.

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.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the advanced reader copy, all opinions are my own.

Hard to believe I've been reading the Prey books since the mid 1990s. 35 books in, and Lucas Davenport has never lost his place as my favorite fictional character. John Sandford has a winning combination here with Lucas and Virgil Flowers, as they get pulled into tracking down the murderer of Doris Grandfelt 20 years ago. The victim's twin sister hasn't been able to rest not knowing who killed her sister, and so she offers a $5 million dollar reward for leads to the killer. Lucas and Virgil decide to utilize the services of the true crime junkies, who have followed the case for years.

People who love true crime shows/podcasts will LOVE this book, as those personalities feature prominently in a majority of the book, highlighting how that whole industry - as well as social media - has really forced law enforcement to adapt. As usual the pairing of Lucas/Virgil is seamless, although Virgil's life definitely features more prominently in this episode.

I think, without a doubt, Sandford's greatest strength in the series is the female perpetrator..his female villains have been the most memorable (and enjoyable) and certainly that remains the case with this book and Amanda Fiske may be the best one yet.

Thank you John Sandford for making me pull another all nighters with this book.♡

John Sanford is one of my top 3 favorite authors. I loved this "Prey" book. When Davenport and Virgil work together you never know what will happen

Thank you netgalley and the publishers or this ARC of this book. This was a thriller that had me hooked with plot twists that I didn’t see coming. The character development was what hooked me, and the story’s plot kept me engaged. The pacing and themes throughout the story were well developed and I definitely will be recommending this to my book club in 2025.

The “Prey” series is the first set of books that began my love for thriller novels, so needless to say, John Sandford has done it again with another fantastic instillation to the series.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces to track down a ruthless killer who will do whatever it takes to keep the past buried!! Fantastic read!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Wow! What a thriller!! Lots of crazy twists and turns! It also had great suspense, intriguing, brutal murder, mystery, serial killers, arson, and a great who done it! The story was very interesting! I highly recommend reading this book! It was well worth reading! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!