Righteous Prey: A Lucas Davenport & Virgil Flowers thriller

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Virgil is writing a mystery novel and so a couple of mystery writers are mentioned: John D. MacDonald, C.J.Box and Carl Hiaasen. Sandford also makes a veiled reference to another Twin Cities mystery writer that most people will identify as him. Virgil mentions that the cop in those mysteries never has to do paperwork. I love Virgil Flowers. I love Lucas Davenport less, but only a titch. Put 'em together and my heart is all a-flutter; tie the action to the timely topic of cybercurrency and well, you've hooked me from the git-go.

Lucas Davenport / Prey Series in Order by John Sandford Lucas Davenport / Prey Series in Order by John 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. The story is filled with John Sandford's trademark dark humor. There is plenty of violence. The victims are not likeable ... a violent street person, a corrupt right wing congressman, a woman who got richer by putting people out of work. No one you can feel any sympathy for. The Five are getting a lot of attention and are gaining popularity. Soon there will be copycats. Someone decides a politician or businessperson needs to be eliminated. 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. 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. His first two books, The Fool’s Run and Rules of Prey, sparked two of his most popular series and brought him instant fame in the literary world.

Davenport begins the series as a detective with the Minnesota Police Department. Still, when a scandal forces him to resign, he becomes a government deputy chief in charge of his intelligence unit.

Righteous Prey by John Sandford: 9780593422502

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. Since those early days, John Sandford has become a household name, thanks to his three hugely successful crime thriller series and standalone novels. It's about, you see, a group of uber-wealthy Bitcoin investors dubbed the "Five" who have concluded that it's their responsibility to rid the world of deplorables. The first one to go down gets a "1" on his forehead, a hint that there may be more to come. An anonymously issued press release makes that a certainty by announcing the group's intentions as well as their huge Bitcoin donation to a charitable organization (should they choose to accept it) that's related to how the victim earned his deplorable status.Five millionaires meet at a Bitcoin conference and decide it might be a fun challenge to personally get rid of a few people who they think do not deserve to live for various reasons. What could go wrong?

Lucas Davenport Series by John Sandford - Goodreads Lucas Davenport Series by John Sandford - Goodreads

A group of Bitcoin billionaires calling themselves The Five have appointed themselves to clean up America by personally killing people they think are ruining the country. Their first victims include a violent street criminal, a corrupt right wing congressman, and a rich woman who made herself richer by putting people out of work. It starts in San Francisco followed by Houston. Each victim has a number on their forehead. When a woman is murdered in the Twin Cities Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers enter the investigation. The killings are well planned, carefully choreographed and there is no apparent connection to the victims. Lucas and Virgil have their work cut out for them.

Table of Contents

We get familiar characters in this one, Jennifer (mother of Lucas's first kid we rarely head about) newscaster, Jason Kidd (also mention of his wife), Frankie, and some characters from the last book. 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.