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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
Lucas Davenport has to deal with craziness. The Republican National Convention is in town. One of the candidates may be targeted for a sniper attack. There is a murder gang robbing conventioneers. And, he doesn't realize, his ward, Letty, is the target of a psycho trying to get even with Davenport. Will Davenport be able to neutralize the sniper threat? Will he find the very prepared murder gang? Letty may or may not let Lucas know that she has become a target or she may continue with her plan to take care of it on her own. (which includes befriending the teen prostitute working for the psycho)
Meh. Felt like he wrote it just to make some money off the Republican convention. It would be nice if someone did.
The series is getting a little slow, but I still enjoy them. I think because Lucas is getting older and has a family his "zing" is fading.
This is a thriller/crime drama novel in a series, of which I have not read the previous, but it doesn't seem to matter much. Set in Minneapolis during the 2008 Republican Convention a possible assassination attempt on John McCain actually takes a back seat to a ring of criminals who are targeting "money men" who are in town with millions in cash to grease the wheels of our political system. Interesting writing where the reader knows who the bad guys are but the protagonist (Lucas Davenport) doesn't. The author is from Iowa and uses a lot of Iowa names in his writing (Davenport, Dubuque, Des Moines, etc.). There are actually three story lines in the novel which sometimes overlap. Hard to keep track unless you read in one sitting - which is doable as an easy summer beach read.
I don't even know what to say. You have Lucas's ward (Letty) trying to justifying killing someone because if she does it that means Lucas won't be involved with it. It makes zero sense and it turned me off the character. She also has a couple of disgusting comments about using people that made me dance the whole way towards she's a psychopath. Between that story-line and the other one Sandford was too all over the place in this one. I didn't care about the criminals trying to shake people down for money. I also don't want to read about the Republican National Convention across two books again. I hope this mess is wrapped up in the 20th book.
In "Wicked Prey" we have a couple of story-lines going on. We have Lucas dealing with a potential sharp shooter looking to take someone out at the Republican National Convention, a group of criminals that his old lover Lily is looking for, and Randy Whitcomb back again looking to get payback against Lucas. Lucas only knows about the first two issues, and is in the dark on the last one. For reasons only known to him, Sandford decides to follow the Letty as we get to see her realizing that Whitcomb is following her and going through an elaborate charade in order to see him taken down. She's worried that if Lucas finds out that Whitcomb was going to hurt or rape her, that Lucas would murder him. I maybe just shook my head at this line of thought. Only teenagers would jump from point A to point Z in an alternate universe this fast.
There is very little Lucas and what we get isn't a lot. I was happy about Del expecting his new baby since it will be nice to see if his character changes or what.
We have some of the other characters we have known for a long time like Weather, Rose Marie, Jennifer (the woman he had his first child with), etc.
But this book focuses mostly on Letty. Her justifications were crap and because of her someone was hurt and I just felt nothing but disgust for her. Due to her actions someone is beaten and raped. I felt my whole body shrink away in disgust. I hope we don't see anymore of this character in the series. Or if she is in it, she's just mentioned vaguely.
The writing was typical Sandford, but the flow was wrong. Mostly because Sandford tried to juggle three stories and told none of them well. He should have decided what he wanted to focus on. And there are plot holes galore in this one.
Yeah cause cops everywhere are totally justified for killing someone. This is talking about Lucas grabbing Whitcomb and murdering him outright. I just...sigh.
Irony?
The ending was a hard shrug. Definitely not one of the best Davenport stories.
In "Wicked Prey" we have a couple of story-lines going on. We have Lucas dealing with a potential sharp shooter looking to take someone out at the Republican National Convention, a group of criminals that his old lover Lily is looking for, and Randy Whitcomb back again looking to get payback against Lucas. Lucas only knows about the first two issues, and is in the dark on the last one. For reasons only known to him, Sandford decides to follow the Letty as we get to see her realizing that Whitcomb is following her and going through an elaborate charade in order to see him taken down. She's worried that if Lucas finds out that Whitcomb was going to hurt or rape her, that Lucas would murder him. I maybe just shook my head at this line of thought. Only teenagers would jump from point A to point Z in an alternate universe this fast.
There is very little Lucas and what we get isn't a lot. I was happy about Del expecting his new baby since it will be nice to see if his character changes or what.
We have some of the other characters we have known for a long time like Weather, Rose Marie, Jennifer (the woman he had his first child with), etc.
But this book focuses mostly on Letty. Her justifications were crap and because of her someone was hurt and I just felt nothing but disgust for her. Due to her actions someone is beaten and raped. I felt my whole body shrink away in disgust. I hope we don't see anymore of this character in the series. Or if she is in it, she's just mentioned vaguely.
The writing was typical Sandford, but the flow was wrong. Mostly because Sandford tried to juggle three stories and told none of them well. He should have decided what he wanted to focus on. And there are plot holes galore in this one.
"Jennifer Carey was no longer to be trusted. I don’t think cops should kill people. Bullshit, Letty thought"
Yeah cause cops everywhere are totally justified for killing someone. This is talking about Lucas grabbing Whitcomb and murdering him outright. I just...sigh.
"Letty had been right about that. If he’d known Whitcomb was stalking her, or anyone else in the family, Whitcomb would have died, one way or another. The problem with a psychotic was, there is no way to deflect them, once they’ve fixed on a course. You can’t talk to them, because they’re nuts."
Irony?
The ending was a hard shrug. Definitely not one of the best Davenport stories.
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't like anything about this book, even skipped a couple of chapters and I don't like Letty
Hoping everything is better in next book and I'm glad I have another Virgil book
This one was just awful
Hoping everything is better in next book and I'm glad I have another Virgil book
This one was just awful
Once again John Sandford leaves me wanting more. I really enjoy the fact that at the end he was kind of leaving the story open for another possible series. This one featuring the protagonist of the Prey series adopted daughter Letty. Now Letty may be adopted but she is truly Davenports daughter. If he should happen to decide to finally write a series with a female lead character I am so there.
Mr Sandford develops all of the characters in his novels including the transient one so much that by the time the novel is done you feel that you know them. Lucas Davenport is a tough talking no nonsense police officer that doesn't deal well with idiots or bad guys. And Lord help you if ou hurt someone he loves.
I can only say that no matter how many Lucas Davenport novels I read I always am ready for the next one.
Mr Sandford develops all of the characters in his novels including the transient one so much that by the time the novel is done you feel that you know them. Lucas Davenport is a tough talking no nonsense police officer that doesn't deal well with idiots or bad guys. And Lord help you if ou hurt someone he loves.
I can only say that no matter how many Lucas Davenport novels I read I always am ready for the next one.
What I think about series changes far more than I thought it could with every book. When I like or dislike the most recent book, I tend to forget what I thought of the most recent books. Overall, each one is different enough from what came before that it doesn't make for easy comparisons.
This entry is one that I've liked more than most in the series. It focuses a lot on the antagonists, which I seem to prefer, and their goal is to carry out a series of heists of lobbyist valuables and stashes of illegal campaign cash at the 2008 Republican National Convention. McCain, Palin, Obama and others are mentioned.
For most of the book I had been thinking that over the course of the series the sharp edges that defined the early books in terms of transgression had been smoothed out and that the overall tone had become more mellow. By the end of the book, I was proven wrong. I don't mind either way.
A criminal that was first introduced in #3 has a role in this book as well #19. I think that's the longest anyone who has opposed the protagonist, Lucas Davenport, has survived. Most end up dead some way or another by the end of the book. I continue to enjoy all the references to past books.
Letty West has her biggest role yet since being introduced in #14. 5 years have passed in the real word and two in the series. I recently saw that Letty is getting her own spin-off series next year (2022), which should be interesting. Based on the summary though which mentions her age, I have to wonder about the chronological pacing of the series from here on out. 19 years and almost as many books later is a long time for a character, though she does enter the series at 12 years old.
I hadn't planned on reading it the day after I read the Virgil Flowers entry, but since it so smoothly transitioned from one book to another, I felt compelled to do so. It's even stated in the text that this one takes place two weeks after the previous Flowers book. Maybe the interconnection is a just a marketing strategy to have people buy both series, but I'm fine with that. This one previews the next Flowers book as well, so he certainly plans ahead for the books, seemingly a few in advance at times.
This entry is one that I've liked more than most in the series. It focuses a lot on the antagonists, which I seem to prefer, and their goal is to carry out a series of heists of lobbyist valuables and stashes of illegal campaign cash at the 2008 Republican National Convention. McCain, Palin, Obama and others are mentioned.
For most of the book I had been thinking that over the course of the series the sharp edges that defined the early books in terms of transgression had been smoothed out and that the overall tone had become more mellow. By the end of the book, I was proven wrong. I don't mind either way.
A criminal that was first introduced in #3 has a role in this book as well #19. I think that's the longest anyone who has opposed the protagonist, Lucas Davenport, has survived. Most end up dead some way or another by the end of the book. I continue to enjoy all the references to past books.
Letty West has her biggest role yet since being introduced in #14. 5 years have passed in the real word and two in the series. I recently saw that Letty is getting her own spin-off series next year (2022), which should be interesting. Based on the summary though which mentions her age, I have to wonder about the chronological pacing of the series from here on out. 19 years and almost as many books later is a long time for a character, though she does enter the series at 12 years old.
I hadn't planned on reading it the day after I read the Virgil Flowers entry, but since it so smoothly transitioned from one book to another, I felt compelled to do so. It's even stated in the text that this one takes place two weeks after the previous Flowers book. Maybe the interconnection is a just a marketing strategy to have people buy both series, but I'm fine with that. This one previews the next Flowers book as well, so he certainly plans ahead for the books, seemingly a few in advance at times.