Righteous Prey

Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers, two of the best investigators in Minnesota (and sometimes Wisconsin) team up again to bring a dangerous, exceedingly well-funded group of self-styled vigilantes to justice. As with all Sandford novels, I was quickly swept up by the story, and was gripped from start to finish. One of the most reliable crime authors writing today.

In Righteous Prey, Sandford does a very good job of showing how even the best intentions/politics can be twisted by psychopathy into something deadly. The group of vigilantes at the heart of the novel are a bunch of bored, wealthy self-identifying “lefties” — sort of. It’s “left” in a very American way, in that they are against much of what the Republicans are for (guns, in particular). However, each of them is clearly messed up in their own ways, and decide to take it upon themselves to use that which they oppose to make their political points. It’s an intriguing premise, and one that Sandford pulls off rather well. It also takes us into the world of bitcoin millionaires — Sandford’s always been good at tapping into something contemporary that’s making waves/news, and injecting it into his novels in some way, while also passing comment on it.

It’s not entirely clear what one can say or write about Righteous Prey that I haven’t written and said about many of Sandford’s previous novels: his prose and plotting is excellent, tightly composed and engaging throughout. His characters are well-drawn and realistic. The story has some good twists, and the antagonists are an appropriately objectionable bunch. In many ways, Righteous Prey is the typical Sandford novel — gripping, well-written, and near-impossible to put down once you’ve started. This is all to be cheered, of course, but damn if it doesn’t make it tricky coming up with something original to write in a review…

The novel has a very good conclusion, but one that leaves the door open for a directly-connected follow-up (something Sandford has done a few times over the course of this series, but is not the norm). I’m certainly looking forward to that book, whenever it happens to surface.

I started reading John Sandford’s novels about 20 years ago. It is really quite something that he continues to write crime thrillers that not only grab one’s attention, but also never feel like they’re treading water or repeating themselves. The police work is always interesting to read, the “action” scenes are well-composed and not excessive (even if there is a rather intense, Heat-like shoot-out in this book). His characters continue to grow and be affected by what they experience with each new novel, which is one of the best things about the series. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series.

This series remains very highly recommended to all fans of crime fiction.

I couldn't put this book down - it grabbed my attention from the very first page and kept it until the very end. This is a fast paced thriller that's a bit unusual in that we know who did it, but not how the chase will unfold.

The author has crafted a tight woven story that fans of the genre will love. He has a unique way of combining an engaging thriller with humor. Despite the murders, there were moments where I laughed out loud. I love the characters and especially love when Davenport and Flowers are paired together....while they always seem to win in the end, it's seldom without mayhem along the way.

Fans of the genre will want to put this one at the top of their TBR list. While this is part of a series, this is a stand alone novel. The author is on my must read authors' list.

Free ARC from NETGALLEY

#32 books, sounds impossible doesn't it? Normally it is 'ala the Reacher series that has such a mind numbing format but not so here.

Yes, Lucas continues in the end but each story is unique and rich with detail.

He keeps writing and WE ALL should keep reading. Love the book

Righteous Prey is a stellar effort by author John Sandford. I give him a gold star- right on his forehead. In the novel, a number on your forehead means that you are dead, but a gold star should signify merit! Lukas Davenport and Virgil Flowers work well together and are interesting characters. Flowers is an aspiring novelist, and the inside jokes here are fun.
But it is the murders that make the story. Sandford has them well thought out and paces his story well. There is no honor among murderers it seems, and that makes the novel even more interesting.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

As a loyal fan of John Sandford, I was thrilled that Righteous Prey featured both Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers equally. Each characters has his own series, and they often crossover, but usually one is featured more than the other. I immediately started reading as soon as I received this book, and it did not disappoint! Lucas and Virgil team up to track down a self proclaimed vigilante group who publicly take responsibility for serial killings around the country. They're extremely rich, and they're killing some of society's worst. They're not quite as altruistic as they'd like one to believe, though. After each killing, they donate an obscene amount to a related charity. Will the charities take the money? Since these murders are taking place, seemingly randomly, across the country, Lucas and Virgil are recruited to help with the investigations. Can they figure out who is behind it, and stop them before they strike again?
Lucas' sarcastic humor comes out resulting in more fun banter than in a normal Davenport book. While the case, the investigation and the hunt are intriguing, my favorite part of this book is the interactions between Lucas and Virgil. We've gotten to know Lucas very well throughout his series, and this book really delves deeper into Virgil.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Group for providing me with a copy of this book for my review.