The Big 3-0!

Not me, silly. I'm about hjkashsk years past that.

John Sandford's new Lucas Davenport book is out and it's the 30th in the series. How is this even possible? I mean, Davenport has aged, sure, but he's still one of the best characters out there. I will admit, I was worried since the last few books that the Davenport we knew and loved was gone and a new, post-gunshot Davenport was here to stay.

Masked Prey brings back Davenport. Where the law is the law, until it isn't.

I can't imagine where Sandford picked up his neo-Nazi, white supremacist plot line (plucked straight from the headlines of 2019?) but it was something we're familiar with, unfortunately, now in this new realm.  Someone has created a 1919 website showing photos of senator's children with neo-Nazi articles. The implication? Go out and kill the kids.

Lucas is brought in by Henderson and Smalls to work with Jane Chase of the FBI to get this figured out before any kids get killed. Once again, Davenport's thought process, his leaps of intuition, brings us to a unlikely culprit that causes a angry, white man to get up his guns and start hunting kids.

At first, I thought the ending was anti-climatic and wasn't very happy. But the thrill is in the chase, and the chase took us on some crazy-ass roads that led us to a showdown. Was Lucas outside the law? Yeah. But I can't fault him.

You can't go wrong with John Sandford's novels. I consider him a GD National Treasure!

Video interview with John Sandford

Neon Prey by John Sandford

I love real books. Dead tree type books. But I also like my Kindle because when I hear the ding on Prey release day, I know I have instant happiness. And like that *snapping fingers*, the new Lucas Davenport book was in my hot little hands.

This is the 29th Davenport book and it really doesn't show it's age at all. Don't get me wrong, Lucas is aging. When his description said he was 52, for some reason, I was really surprised. But, I'm 43 and now 50s really don't seem that old. Maybe his chases are slowing a bit but his mind is still whirring at top speed, intelligence and humor were always his best points.

Deese is a killer. Not only that, he's a cannibal (the opening BBQ scenes take on a totally different feel when you know this fact). Not only is he a killer cannibal, he's out on the loose and Davenport, along with Rae and Bob, are brought in to find him. They start off in New Orleans, but tips lead them out to LA and Las Vegas. Sandford can write excellent characters. Rae and Bob are ideal sidekicks to Lucas and they stand up fully in their own right, much like Virgil Flowers.

Deese ends up with his brother, Marion, and his home invasion gang. He's surrounded by some nasty folks and it would seem they are brought down pretty quick. Honestly, it felt really easy in the beginning, good tips, cooperative cops, happening upon the right house, etc. Even Bob and Rae felt this was easy.

It was too easy.

A gunfight between cops and gang leads to some perilous results.

In the end, I'm going to say we're at a "typical" Prey ending but dammit, they are all GOOD. I only meant to read this a bit at a time but devoured it in 2 nights. I love Davenport. I love who he is, I love what he does, I love his complexities. He's not perfect, he can royally screw things up, but his intelligence brings him back to the top.

Twisted Prey by John Sandford

Seriously, we're already at 28 Lucas Davenport books? Seems like only yesterday.....

After 28 damn books, I've come to a realization. Davenport is sly. I mean, I knew this. You can watch him work people to his advantage (really, to the case and victim's advantage - he's not a total asshole) and you know he's sly. He thinks things through and he works people in a way that most people wouldn't. I didn't really think about how sly he is without us knowing, until the end of this book. Sneaky, sneaky Davenport.

That might be one of the things I really love about Sandford's writing. He lays a lot out for you to absorb and process but holds certain things back. When the reveal happens, you flip back to the passage and realize, "Damn. He did do that.' Or maybe I'm just slow and I don't catch things anymore. Po-TAY-to. Po-TAH-to.

A rich psychopath is in the Senate and aiming for the White House (*cough cough*). We've met Taryn Grant before, and she just escaped Davenport's grip back in MN. Now, another Senator is nearly assassinated, and his companion (not his wife), is killed. He's pissed and pointing at Grant as the one pulling the trigger. Porter Smalls gets Davenport, now a U.S. Marshal, into DC to start investigating.

Things get hairy. Military gets involved. Arms deals, murders, etc. Everything that DC can throw at Davenport is being thrown. He doesn't so much solve the case as follow the trail of bodies piling up, but in the end, he finished what he came to DC to finish. God love this man.

Golden Prey by John Sandford

Twenty-seventh in the Prey series and I'm still loving Lucas Davenport! I can't say that about to many series. I tore through this one and, towards the end, was reading at break-neck speed and ignoring all adult responsibilities. Thank goodness I don't have children.

Davenport is now a US Marshal, thanks to his actions in the previous book. He saved the life of Presidential candidate, Michaela Bowden, and she re-paid him with a cush job and no one to answer to. Naturally, his fellow Marshals don't care for him much but, Davenport himself is starting to feel at loose ends. He's a small fish in a giant pond and he needs someone to chase.

Enter Garvin Poole. A redneck hick with a mean killer streak, he's on the most wanted list and, with the help of his friend Sturgill Darling, just knocked over a drug cartel's counting house. After killing everyone inside, including a 6 year old girl, Poole and Darling walked away with millions in cash. The Federal Government isn't happy and neither is the cartel. Davenport takes on the case of hunting down Poole but he's competing with cartel killers, Soto and Kort. Davenport picks up two US Marshals, Bob and Rae, to assist after a near deadly shootout with Soto and Kort. We're flying, literally, over the southern and southwestern US with Davenport and co. and it's truly at mind-boggling speed.

There are a few moments when Davenport has an "ah ha" moment that speeds us along and you have to question his ability to consistently come up with these things. But then again, you don't, because it's Davenport, dammit! And he's just that good.

Gathering Prey by John Sandford

I notice that I start some series, read a bit, then get bored because it becomes very formulaic. You can basically pick up any Stephanie Plum book or any Anita Blake book and just start because, to me, they are nearly all the same.

The Prey series doesn't feel that way. Gathering Prey is book #25 of the Lucas Davenport series and I'm still sucked in to each one. I remember starting these WAY back in the day and thought it had promise. Davenport, as a character, is complex and can be unpredictable, as in this book. The cast of characters that he surrounds himself with - Shrake, Jenkins, Del, Flowers, Letty - are always good for a side plot that never really takes away from Davenport. I even really love the Virgil Flowers series just as much.

In this book, there is a gang of "disciples" (think Manson) who follow Pilate, a frickin' insane biker guy, into torturing and killing people. Travelers, folks who just travel the country, are targets, but not always. Skye and Henry are two travelers who meet up with Letty, Lucas' daughter, and they tell her about Pilate (or Pilot). They part ways and eventually Henry becomes prey to Pilate and his gang. Skye contacts Letty and Lucas for help and we're off to the races.

My main problem with this book is that the characters seemed.... stupid? I guess that is the word I want because the disciples were all morons, Skye herself acted completely naive (you get kidnapped once, you're saved, don't go back to the people who kidnapped you in the first place - really?) that I wasn't surprised at what happened to her. The cops, Letty and BCA investigators all were top notch so I'm just sorry the people they were trying to catch and/or save were so dumb.

Overall though, this was another great Davenport book and, based on the ending, I'm not sure where the next one will take us. But I'm happy to keep following along.

Field of Prey by John Sandford

Book 24 of the Lucas Davenport series....

I won't mention names but there are some series I just stopped reading because the author was churning out the same thing, over and over. Then there are series that I dread will end. Sandford's books are the ones I don't want to ever stop because even though we have had the same characters for 24 books now, it's not old. New people are introduced into each book, make you like them and they go away only to pop up in another book or series.

Davenport is in charge again with the usual round of characters in the background: Flowers, Del, etc. In Field of Prey, we meet Catrin Mattsson, a detective who is part of the investigation for the Black Hole Killer. Multiple skulls and body pieces are found in a cistern out in the middle of nowhere, all pointing to a serial killer, spanning over a decade of killings. The case is lukewarm turning cold for a bit, as per usual, then speeds up into a fairly horrifying conclusion.

I did yell at Davenport once when he got the name of the killer, in a batch of 3 possible names, and only investigated two... obviously not the killer. D'oh! There were same strange twists and turns in this one and one complete WTF moment where I had to go back and re-read some sections (applauding Sandford for that one) and still never picked up on that plot twist!

My only complaint isn't really a complaint. I get that this is part of the story of the sexual deviancy of the killer bothered me. I KNOW there are people like this IRL but, towards the end, it was rough to read.

Silken Prey by John Sandford

Funny story with this book. I've been trying to budget and pay off some debt so I grabbed this one from the library. It was a nice night out so I grabbed some wine, my book, and my dog and went outside. Long story short.....red wine spilled all over the book. It cost me $33 to replace at the library but the book is mine to keep, wine and all. (Apparently me going in and showing the book and offering to pay right then was unheard of.....everyone behind the desk kinda gaped at me).

Onwards....

This is one of the better Preys. Lucas Davenport seems to have a bit of the old magic back. He's called in by the Governor to quietly investigate a politician who has been accused of appreciating child pornography, but the Governor doesn't believe this is true. Lucas agrees and goes head first into dirty dirty politics. Yowza.....but politics is ugly.

Taryn Grant is Porter Smalls' opponent and losing but when Smalls is framed with the porn, she starts gaining points in the districts. She is quite the woman....and I don't mean that in a good way.

I'm thrilled that Kidd showed up in this one, as did that Fuckin' Flowers. I'm not disappointed at the ending because I can see this leading elsewhere (at least I hope so).