Phantom Prey

By: John Sandford

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Lucas Davenport has had disturbing cases before - but never one quite like this, in the shocking new Prey work from the #1 New York Times best-selling author.

©2008 John Sandford (P)2008 Penguin Audiobooks

First of all, I love listening to Richard Ferrone.

He, along with Eric Conger, Dick Hill, Scott Brick, Luke Daniels, George Guidall and a few other notables, are my favorite narrators in the house of Audible. And I have, in my library, every one of John Sandford's works. Now, having said that, his rendition of the women in this book, specifically the fairie, was not one of my favorites. Yes, he is a baritone, and you wouldn't expect him to sound like a woman, and he doesn't. However, his voice inflections soften a bit when he's reading Weather or any other female character, as you would expect. (The best male/female narration team comes from Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy reading David Baldacci's King and Maxwell series.....but I digress). His rendition of the fairie, or whatever the character name was so over the top that it made me cringe thoughout the listening experience. Toward the end, I wanted to puch out my eardrums. The whine in the voice was just so unnatural. I've heard plenty of women whine in my lifetime.... sadly, I was the cause for most of them, but I've never heard any woman sound like this. This is the only book I've ever heard him make such a drastic change in the way he narrated a female character. I really hope to not hear that again.

Weakest story so far

Yes, the narration of Fairy was painful to listen to, but honestly, so are some women’s (and men’s) voices in real life ;-)

Ferrone has been solid this far, so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt. I’ve never had a problem with his acting on any other female
Voices in the whole series.

My issue was the story. I hope this isn’t a sign that the author is running out of ideas for killers. I’m actually going to try the first Virgil Flowers books next to give myself a break from 18 straight Prey novels.

Another great "Prey"

I'm a big fan of the this series. I find time just flies when I"m listening to a good detective novel. I like Sandford's characters and Lucas seems like an old pal by now.
I don't really get the negative comments about Ferrone's reading. I like his voice and his characterizations. Those saying that he can't do women's voices....seriously? The guy has a deep baritone so I don't know what you expect. His interpretation of the women in this book are spot on if you ask me, so I guess it's all a matter of opinion. If you like Sandford and the Prey serious, don't let negatives about Ferrone put you off. I think he is the perfect voice for the character.

Lucas and the Valley Girl

This book was not my favorite of the Prey novels, but more because the story felt too outrageous, than for any other reason. I love Lucas... in fact, I think I have a crush on him and this book did not change that. Ferrone's performance is right on as always. I really hated hearing the one female character speak... it grated on me, but that was exactly what it was supposed to do. Even in the novel, her voice was described as "high and younger, like a valley girl" and that's exactly what Ferrone gave us. Admittedly, it made the story frustrating to listen to at times, but I think the listener is supposed to be annoyed with that character and it was not enough for me to give up on the novel.

Ok, but not as good as others in series....

Good story, but not great. Contrived.

Female voices are really awful in the performance. Wow annoying and totally unbelievable. It was a distraction. I will just chalk it up since Ferrone's performances are usually very good.

great but a little off.

the book was great but the characters where off the the beaten path for his normal character types which made it hard for me to connect with.

Fairy....

I am a long time fan of Sandford's Prey series, having read all of the books and now working through the audio series. Mr. Ferrone has been perfect for this series...until now. The voice for the fairy is the one blotch on an otherwise beautiful body of work. The Fairy voice made me want to stab my ear drums out. OK, maybe I am exaggerating a bit... but, I did not care for that particular voice. :-) Luckily the Fairy didn't have a significant amount of lines until late in the book.
Moving past that pont, the rest is typical Davenport adventure. Good stuff!

Candy

I enjoy the Sanford Prey series and find Ferrone's narration perfect for Davinport. While not highbrow, Sanford's Prey series are completely entertaining - Candy.

Great story, not so great listen

I love the Prey series and have listened to almost all of them. I haven't heard Invisible Prey which maybe would have alerted me to this narrator. His narration is great, Lucas' voice is great but why would every woman in the story sound like a whiney dingbat? I think Sandford writes strong female characters and even our buddy, Dell, sounded like a whiney dope. I would recommend reading this one yourself. Great story as they always are, the narrator missed the boat.

Love the series, but not this book

I really felt that the author was going through his paces with this one. But it may be that what made it less than enjoyable was one of the voices the narrator used. It was just annoying.