This time, there's a storm brewing...Very early, 4:45, on a bitterly cold Minnesota morning, three big men burst through the door of a hospital pharmacy, duct-tape the hands, feet, mouth, and eyes of two pharmacy workers, and clean the place out. But... The first is a detailed examination of the life and art of John Stuart Ingle, which went on to win him the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism. Porsche-driving Lucas Davenport, who has just returned to duty after recovering from a serious gunshot wound, is charged with saving the political life of Rose Marie Roux, the ambitious police chief who has her eye on a Senate seat. He's given the as... John Sandford’s Righteous Prey is due to be published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in North America on October 4th, 2022. (At the time of writing, I couldn’t find any information about a UK edition, but previous novels by the author are published by Simon & Schuster, so I expect the same will be true for this one.)

Righteous Prey by John Sandford | Goodreads Righteous Prey by John Sandford | Goodreads

After the events in Gathering Prey, Lucas Davenport finds himself in a very unusual situation -- no longer employed by the Minnesota BCA. His friend the governor is just cranking up a presidential campaign, though, and he invites Lucas to come along ... In 1978, he left the Herald to work as a reporter and columnist at St. Paul Pioneer Press, a job he stayed in for twelve years. Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are up against a powerful vigilante group with an eye on vengeance in this thrilling novel in the beloved series by the #1 New York Times bestselling author. So begins a press release from a mysterious group known only as “The Five,” shortly after a vicious predator is murdered in San Francisco. The Five is made up of vigilante killers who are very bored…and very rich. They target the worst of society—rapists, murderers, and thieves—and then use their unlimited resources to offset the damage done by those who they’ve killed, donating untraceable Bitcoin to charities and victims via the dark net. The Five soon become popular figures in the media …though their motives may not be entirely pure. Things changed slightly when he decided to team up Lucas Davenport with Virgil Flowers – some I have liked better than others. This one has merit.

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But before we explore his impressive bibliography, let’s learn a little more about his life and career so far. Who is John Sandford? So why did I give it 4/5 for the first time in the entire series? Two reasons. One, I’m a little worried about the anti-police bent, mostly in Flowers. He is a clever detective I've respected because he does his job based on justice and fair play. He eschews guns, will do whatever possible to spare a life, but understands their part in police work. In this book, he seems to be losing his perspective on where the line is between a nation of laws and taking care of people (admittedly a difficult balance). Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up again to go after a bunch of crazies. This time it is a little complicated because the bad guys are killing worse guys. So who are we suppose to root for? Lucas Davenport confronts an old nemesis, now a powerful U.S. senator, in this thrilling #1 New York Times-bestselling new novel in the Prey series. With bodies dropping across the country followed by press releases from The Five bragging about what they’re doing, the inevitable media shitstorm has started. When the latest victim is killed in Minnesota, our favorite Sandford heroes, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers, get called in to help the FBI, and the two cops end up following twisted trails across the US as they start running down The Five.

Righteous Prey (A Prey Novel Book 32) Kindle Edition

OMG this book was so funny in parts - the scene with Lucas and Virgil in the produce isle is worth the read alone. A mysterious group known only as "The Five" releases a press statement claiming "We're going to murder people who need to be murdered." The Five is made up of vigilante killers who are very rich ... and bored. They target those they believe are the worst of society and then use their wealth to make a donation in untraceable bitcoin to charities via the dark net.I confess, I've been a John Sandford fan for years. I've enjoyed all his books, especially the Prey and Virgil Flowers series. Again in this book, Sandford wove Virgil into a Prey story with excellent results.

Lucas Davenport / Prey Series in Order by John Sandford Lucas Davenport / Prey Series in Order by John Sandford

Thankfully, Lucas is not alone, he has Virgil Flowers with him. I haven't read Virgil's series but he has been in enough of the Prey series, that I already know I like him. John Sandford's acclaimed Prey novels have plunged readers into the darkest recesses of the criminal mind. Now his brilliant detective, Lucas Davenport, knows he has met his ma...John Sandford is an excellent writer. In all thirty-two books of the Prey series, he has spun tales like no one else. His iconic characters--Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers--have changed and grown over time--as you'd expect--which has kept this series always at the top of my read list. After a woman is murdered in the Twin Cities, Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport are sent to investigate. The killings are smart and carefully choreographed, and with no apparent direct connection to the victims, The Five are virtually untraceable. Lucas Davenport’s first case as a U.S. Marshal sends him into uncharted territory in the thrilling new novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series. Lucas Davenport's old boss, Rose Marie Roux, has moved up to the state level and taken Lucas with her, creating a special troubleshooter job for him for the cases that are too complicated or politically touchy for others to handle. In addition, Lucas...

Righteous Prey by John Sandford - Publishers Weekly Righteous Prey by John Sandford - Publishers Weekly

Sandford’s books are always enjoyable because they are mostly based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota where I have lived for almost all my life. We read about local locations. In this case Lucas and Virgil have breakfast at a well-known delicatessen in St Paul. I was planning on going there to have breakfast while I wrote this review. I wanted to ask them if I could sit in the same booth as Lucas and Virgil did. There didn't seem to be a lot of investigating on Lucas and Virgil's part. Everything seemed to be handed to them or fell into place a little to easily. This was about to be a 5-star read until a totally implausible scenario takes place in a Ralph Lauren store in a mall and I just had to take off half a star for that. (Sorry Mr. Sandford). For me, the magic in this one their great interactions together throughout the entire book. From beginning to end they constant banter made me laugh out loud in fun and easy enjoyment. It didn’t matter whether it was amongst themselves or while interacting with others like FBI agents Orish and Mallard, their thoughts and comments were worth the price of admission.John Camp found great success as a journalist, and in 1986, his outstanding reporting work earned him the coveted Pulitzer Prize. Many thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and to NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Righteous Prey. A widow comes home to her large house in a wealthy, exclusive suburb to find blood everywhere, no body--and her collegeaged daughter missing. She's always known that her daughter ran with a bad bunch. What did she call them "Goths"? Freaks is more li... Now, for the bad news. Although Sandford’s writing is fast-paced, fluid, and full of the sharp sarcastic style he’s known for, his villains are not as captivating and dangerous as they used to be. At least not in this one, anyway. In my opinion, none of the members of “The Five” are on the same level of Davenport and Flowers. They are interesting to some degree and the Bitcoin angle had some potential, although it was rather weakly developed throughout the book. They just weren’t strong enough adversaries to bring any kind of a serious challenge to either Davenport or Flowers. From the first two chapters, I was already trying to figure out how Davenport was going to get his first lead to “The Five”. As soon as the dynamic duo made a connection to the vigilante group, the hunt be on, and it would only be a matter of time before they stopped the bad guys. We’re going to murder people who need to be murdered.” So begins a press release from a mysterious group known only as “The Five,” shortly after a vicious predator is murdered in San Francisco. The Five is believed to be made up of vigilante killers who are very bored… and very rich. They target the worst of society — rapists, murderers, and thieves — and then use their unlimited resources to offset the damage done by those who they’ve killed, donating untraceable Bitcoin to charities and victims via the dark net. The Five soon become the most popular figures on social media, a modern-day Batman…though their motives may not be entirely pure.