Wicked Prey (The Prey Series Book 19)

I’ve read all of John Sandford’s books two or three times (silly of me, I know: I could be reading new stuff).I think this is one of his best. I love the one where he meets Weather, and — especially — the one where he meets Letty. This is not on that level, but is just really well paced, well crafted. No false notes. I like the cop humor in most of the books, but sometimes it seems forced or hokey. Not here.And, it *clearly* says Letty is blond (Sandford messes that up in later books).Now… if only we could find out what happened with Del and the pinking shears.

John Sandford has been writing the Prey novels for so long that I don't think anyone, at this point, even wonders what the titles mean anymore. At best they have a little bit to do with the plot; often, they just sound cool. They're fairly interchangeable, at this point. Thankfully, the books themselves aren't: they're distinctive, intelligent, and interesting. Wicked Prey (the title could have applied to any of the books in the series) is one of the better entries that Sandford's penned, an amusing look at the Republican Convention and the things that might (could) happen while it occurs.First, Lucas Davenport has to deal with a group of thieves. They have, in the past, specialized in armored car robberies, but the guards are getting more sophisticated, the cops are getting better at catching the people who rob them, and they killed two guards in New York, so the robbers decide to change targets. They have a woman who organizes the jobs for them, and she's devised an interesting way to get money from people, without anyone the wiser. It involves things going on at the Republican Convention (the author makes it clear that the Republicans were chosen only because that's who they got the info on; it also helps that the author sets his books in the Twin Cities), and the people being robbed will have reason to conceal what's occurred.Simultaneous with this, a pimp who blames Lucas Davenport for all of his troubles has decided to stalk him, and see whether he can do something, presumably involving Davenport's foster daughter. And piled on top of that there's a crazy with a .50 caliber rifle wandering around town. He's apparently sighting the gun in for a shot that looks to be almost half a mile, which (if he can make the shot) would be almost impossible to prevent, in terms of assassinating a prominent person; remember, John McCain is going to be at the convention, so everyone's nervous.This was an amusing Prey novel, with an interesting bad guy, one who's not all bad. He's a bit like Robert DeNiro's character in the movie Heat, a working class guy who is generally moral and upstanding, it's just that he robs people, and occasionally kills them. I enjoyed the story and would recommend it.

For me this was a continuation from the last Prey book. I rarely read them in sequence. The last book talked about security problems at the Republican Convention coming "soon" to St Paul. This book presents one of the main security problems at that convention. Lucas is in the middle of it. So is his foster daughter, Letty (age 14). To start with, a rough international team of criminals comes to the Twin Cities. They set up at a somewhat remote motel just across the St Croix river from St Paul in Wisconsin. One of the team members was invited for the sole purpose of being killed to get him out of the way. At their first meeting, the leader kills him suddenly with a hard hammer strike to the head. His body is left in the Wisconsin woods. The remaining team members pay a little more attention.To make things a little more interesting, a guy with a screw slightly loose has a .50 cal Marine sniper rifle and moves into an apartment in a suburb of St Paul. He happens to be aware of Lucas Davenport's reputation and gives some thought to terminating Lucas but has a bigger target in mind.Another Bad Guy shows up witha chip on his shoulder intending harm to Lucas or his family (Letty, wife Weather and baby). Letty hears about this guy on her job as TV news intern working under a news anchor who bore Lucas' first baby girl. Letty is very concerned that if Lucas found out this BG is around, he'll go after the guy and kill him without official cause. To protect Lucas, Letty sets up a complicated side plot that places herself in danger.There is a lot of action and some interaction between these subplots - enough continued suspense to keep you avidly turning the pages. In the end two of the minor Bad Guys walk away with a fair amount of money for risking their lives. Lucas and Weather make Letty their officially adopted daughter.This is a good one.Now I have to find the book where Lucas first meets Letty. Somehow I missed that.

I have never been disappointed in one of Stanford’s books, and this was no exception. I love the suspense, the action, and all the regular characters we have watched evolve and grow with each book.

Really enjoy these books. There's always a lot going on but it's done so well it's easy to follow. The way Davenport has progressed through his career has been interesting.

I'm sure I'd have loved it, if only I had been able to read it !! Appeared on my Kindle Fire with an 'x' across it. Couldn't read it ! Told it was in the process of downloading. Must have been coming from Mars as 'x' was still there after two weeks!! Just disappeared after that. 99p lost withoutExplanation ! I guess that's an Amazon problem but it would be easier to talk to Martians than to have a conversation with Amazon. 😏👎👎👎

Another first class story in the Lucas Davenport series from John Sandford.As per usual Sandford novels keep you wide awake with great story and better action, thieves are looking to rob the Republican convention , Lucas is out to stop them.Excellent

John Sandford is the master story teller and there’s the problem! Directly you start reading one of his books you cant put it down so yo stay up half the night.

Sandford is recommended by authors such as Stephen King and Lee Child and they know what they are talking about. Great characters and action with a storyline that has you running to keep up. Pure class

Just in case you can't remember if you have read this one- it is the one with Lucas' daughter Letty and the pimp in a wheelchair. There I don't think I gave away any spoilers in that description. As usual this is an excellent read with some twists and turns of the plot. One of the things Sandford does well is show us glimpses from both sides of the crime, the criminals and the detectives without spoiling the thread of the story.