Silken Prey

Lucas Davenport, Book 23

By: John Sandford

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Murder. Scandal. Politics. And one billionaire heiress so dangerous in so many ways. An explosive Lucas Davenport thriller from number one New York Times best-selling author John Sandford.

All hell has broken loose in the capital. An influential state senator has been caught with something very, very nasty on his office computer. The governor can’t believe it - the senator’s way too smart for that, even if he is from the other party. Something’s not right. As Davenport investigates, the trail leads to a political fixer who has disappeared, then - troublingly - to the Minneapolis police department itself, and most unsettling of all, to a woman who could give Machiavelli lessons in manipulation. She has very definite ideas about the way the world should work - along with the money, ruthlessness, and cold-blooded will to make it happen.

©2013 John Sandford (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"If you haven’t read Sandford yet, you have been missing one of the great summer-read novelists of all time." (Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly)

An exceptional gathering of characters

This book has an excellent political-based villain and fast moving plot. Prey novels anyways contain chapters in the murderer's point of view. Sometimes I find some of these chapters to be skippable in my mind due to being boring in comparison to Lucas or because the character is so cruel and disgusting that I don't want to hear it. This one isn't something I would want to skip, the character is interesting and not overly vulgar. In addition, you never really know which beloved characters will show up in a Sandford book. As far as I can remember, this one has the biggest collection of characters I'm aware of. We get Del, Jenkins, Shrake, Virgil, Letty, Weather, Rose-Marie, the governor, Elle, ICE, and Kidd from his other series! Now if we had Johnson-Johnson, Marcy, Sandy, Bob and Ray everyone likeable would be present! It's delightful when you can hear everyone! I'm looking forward to more down the line!!! Thanks so much Sandford!

Best story in the series so far.

I have listened to several of the Prey books years ago and thought that they were interesting. I’ve recently decided to listen to them all in order and I like this one the most. Silken Prey has a great storyline that is intricate yet believable. Overall it is a very fast & enjoyable listen.

Excellent Political Crime Novel

Love John Sanford’s great sense of humor, his writing’s humanity, and his portrayals of characters.

Politics, Pornography, and Murder

The Prey series continues with another solid Lucas Davenport "mystery"--although it's not really a mystery as we know from the beginning who did it, what was done, and why they did it. The fun part is riding along with Lucas and the gang while they figure it out and get the culprits.

The author has lightened up on his gruesome, bloody, murder scenes which I remember so vividly in his early novels. However, the witty banter and close relationships shared by Lucas and his fellow detectives and cops are still a big part of his stories. These guys really seem to like their jobs, and truly like each other, which is part of their appeal.

This one is set on the political stage as Lucas is called in to find out if there are dirty tricks being played in a new Senate race. It starts out with allegations of pornography and develops into murder. This isn't the best John Sandford, but it did have enough intrigue and interesting characters to keep me listening. As with any series, there is a chance of becoming tired of the same type of storyline unless the author steps it up somehow, and I would like to see something new in his next one.

Recommended for any long time Davenport fans, as well as new readers. If you're new to this series, starting from the beginning will introduce you to family members and friends as they developed over the years, however, this is fine as a stand alone novel.

An Enjoyable Story of Politics and Murder...

This is one of the best prey stories that I've read. I like the interplay between the members of the Davenport family, especially their teen daughter.

There are the usual bad guys, and in this story the bad guys play political dirty tricks with accusations of child porn, and, of course, there are two or three murders. The killers are real, their motives are obvious but catching them becomes life threatening for those who knew too much . I found the story entertaining as I watched what the criminals were doing and what Davenport was doing all of which helped provide the story's much needed tension building as both sides makes their moves. The bad guys are trying to protect their secrets as Davenport tries to find and expose them.

Ferrone is one of audible's best narrators. He is certainly at the top of my list for this series.

Entertaining, typical Sandford

Great narrator, and if you've read any Sandford you pretty much know what to expect: good story that moves along quickly with decent character development. My 3 stars (for the story) aren't meant to be a reason for anyone not to listen to it. I'm usually quite generous with my stars, but this was just an enjoyable Sandford book that in a few years you will be able to listen to again. Lucas is Lucas. Lame review that I know won't urge anyone to buy or not buy, but I blew it and finished it a week ago, so am having difficulty making it very detailed. This is a fine commuter listen - not too much detail or confusion with keeping the characters straight and Lucas (as always) is an enjoyable main character.

replace ferrone

The publisher should seriously consider replacing Richard Ferrone. His voices are indistinguishable from one another. Dick Hill who narrates the Harry Bosch novels is much better.

Silken Prey - Enjoyed

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes - Richard Ferrone gives you a seamless narration from character to character. Enjoyed listening to him.

Any additional comments?

This is my first Lucas Davenport book, I'm a Virgil Flowers fan. I'll have to say that I will stick with Virgil. This was a good book and I enjoyed the plot and the outcome, but I like the antics of Virgil better.

Twists And Turns

Any additional comments?

Most of Sanford's books have a lot of twists and turns, but this has an eliment nthat adds a few more. It's based around an election and candidates rather than some out and out serial killer. That makes the investigation a bit tricky because there's also political lives that could be ruined if there's wrong accusations that become public.

Although murder is dark....This tale isn't quite as dark as a lot of Standford's tales are. It is quite interesting to see how Lucas Davenport works around all these people involved with an election to get to the truth. Not as dark, but plenty of layers to peel back to get to the truth.

I really enjoyed the book, but then again I basically enjoy all of John Sanfords books. I live in ND and have been all over MN, IA and WI where all his books take place so besides very good stories I can relate to everywhere the characters go to and or live. Makes it much more fun that way.

Another Good Lucas Davenport Story

What did you love best about Silken Prey?

I always like the characters that Lucas Davenport has for friends. This story is entangled as usual but the second story with Kidd has drawing power of its own. The drama is written in such a way that you really want to find out how Lucas untangles the situation.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lucas is always a favorite because he is highly intelligent and driven to succeed. His family and friends make him a caring and loving person even in his pursuit of the evil of others.

What does Richard Ferrone bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Richard Ferrone needs to learn to pronounce the names of cities and towns in Minnesota. He takes away from the story by mispronouncing these names for those of us who know how to say them.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, it didn't although I did worry about the outcome for some of the characters as they made bad decisions.