• Silken Prey

  • Lucas Davenport, Book 23
  • By: John Sandford
  • Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
  • Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (3,385 ratings)

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Silken Prey  By  cover art

Silken Prey

By: John Sandford
Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
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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)

What listeners say about Silken Prey

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Still my favorite combo of author and reader

If you could sum up Silken Prey in three words, what would they be?

Classic Lucas Davenport.

What other book might you compare Silken Prey to and why?

Silken Prey harks back to the early books in the Prey series when Davenport was beginning to emerge as a master blender of political 'management' and police procedure. This particular book actually calls to mind the recent Netflix TV series "House of Cards." In a world where unscrupulous-ness is a high art, Lucas seems rather angelic. :-)

What about Richard Ferrone’s performance did you like?

He IS Lucas Davenport for me. In fact (maybe I shouldn't say this) I try to avoid other books read by Ferrone so I can preserve this illusion.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Lucas Davenport Is Not Mark Harmon!

Any additional comments?

Thanks to John (Camp) Sandford for continuing to write this series, in tandem with Virgil Flowers in the fall. I hope you never get bored. And outlive me.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

one of the better Prey's

I like the PREY novels for several reasons. I like, for example, the companionable ways in which the police work together -- as distinct from the angst-ridden, loner-detective at odds with all fellow cops and especially his superiors. And this is one of my favorite PREY novels. The villains are more nearly recognizably human than are some of Sandford's villains.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Really more like a 3.5ish

Another Prey series from Sanford and this one really delivers overall. This book has everything a reader/listener of the series would want. There is of course our beloved Davenport and his family, bad guys that play political dirty tricks and of course murder,a less than honorable billionaire politician, expensive one of a kind jewels in a safe, a safe cracker, computer hackers, 2 very loyal scary non-barking guard dog German Shepherds, and more. You know not the best deep read ever, but just what one wants from a Prey series. Enjoy!

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

SO incredibly good!

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

This could easily hook someone on audio books AND John Sandford's series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It was very cool to have Lucas, Virgil, Kidd and others all together.

Which character – as performed by Richard Ferrone – was your favorite?

Richard Ferrone IS Lucas Davenport AND as with George Guidall and a few others, I don't find myself thinking about who's doing it as much as I do the story...except when I pause to admire that aspect of the performance.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

All of it...it was like watching a movie in my head while I was on a 1000 mile trip.

Any additional comments?

See also my "Prayer Review" on other titles. It applies here too.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Worked for me

Richard Ferrone makes me happy to be human. I'd send aliens to listen to his voice: This is what the male of our species sounds like when talking. Silk embedded with gravel, never showing off, getting the job done.

And John Sandford is a reliable treasure. His characters are lean and lovely, burrowing into the stories created for them. This one needs a sequel, as the main villain is still standing. I don't listen to books like these to see evil-doers get away with it. Life requires that kind of patience. In mystery novels, I pay for closure.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Ed
  • 08-19-13

Abrupt ending loses it a star

I really enjoyed this book. The characters, especially the evil Taryn Grant, were well developed and, in her case, especially dislikable. The political maneuvering, although extreme, was believable in this age of dirty politics. Lucas was leaning in the right direction but it took him a while to move there. My only beef with this otherwise well-written story was the number of major loose ends that remained at the book's closing. Can't tell you what they were without providing spoilers but I think most readers will similarly be disappointed at the manner in which the tale ended so abruptly. Maybe the next Prey book will pick up where this one left off, but that hasn't been Sandford's style. Don't know if the author ran out of ideas or ended it this way purposely. Either way, I would have preferred a more conclusive ending. All that aside, worth a credit and worth a listen.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Too true for comfort, too good to put down

Exquisite timing, in releasing this book. As the US is torn apart by political scandals, here's a fictional take on the political process that exposes any number of the problems, but offering none of the solutions -- assuming there are any. This is politics in America today. Are you happy with the system? How it works?

A week before a tight election the family-values Republican candidate becomes the target of dirty tricks by Democrat operatives, loading his personal campaign office computer with child porn, suggesting that he had been viewing the material, was called away from the computer, and had forgotten to hide it, A young female staffer uncovered the computer screen by accident -- and then all hell broke loose.

A sociopathic, self-obsessed, nothing-I-could-ever-do-is-wrong, the-end-justify-the-means totally ruthless Democrat candidate, a wealthy photogenic woman who's recently taken a fancy to politics, is the obvious beneficiary.

Watch how all the players in this tightly-contested US Senate race are -- as Lucas Davenport observes -- wealthy. In fact, everyone involved is loaded -- including Davenport himself, of course, although that isn't a part of the plot. Nonetheless, watch all these wealthy people fight to the death (literally) over a job that pays $174,000 annually -- probably about half what any of them spend on clothes in any given year.

Watch the press assume the high moral ground, taking exquisite delight in the Republican's likely downfall. When, after Davenport reveals information showing that the Republican hadn't done it -- watch the press continue to beat up on him, saying that after all, nothing is ever proved with absolute certainty (shades of the OJ jury), and anyway, even if he hadn't done it, he COULD have, so therefore their obsession with his "child porn habit" is fair commentary.

Watch a whole bunch of innocents -- well meaning, idealistic campaign workers on both sides -- get taken to the cleaners. Watch corrupt schemers, campaign managers, lobbyists, other elected officials all go into high gear to protect each other, all with the blissful complicity of the press.

Watch the voters of the United States get turned off, wondering why it is they even bother to vote anymore. There's no honor out there, no bright shining candidates, no one with integrity who could ever win. When year after year, decade after decade, voters find themselves relegated to voting for the lesser of the evils, watch them tune out -- leaving the playing field completely open to all these Machiavellian operatives seeking absolute power over their subjects, the American public.

A painful book, but a great one. Sandford joins my short list of mega-popular authors who keep getting better and better as time goes by, and who never seem to run out of interesting plot ideas. As usual, narrator Richard Ferrone outdoes himself in excellence.

All this makes Silken Prey one of my favorite books of the year -- I will definitely listen again. And for those of you who've already read it, let me join your ranks and say I too am desperately hoping for a sequel. You'll know what I mean.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Politically complex and exciting murder mystery

Where does Silken Prey rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Well, it's not at the top of all audiobooks I've read but nearly so. You get hooked with the emergence of a political scandal in which a senatorial candidate for Minnesota is accused of watching kiddie porn on his computer. The Governor asks Lucas Davenport to find out if the porn was planted and, if so, by whom. The investigation leads to several murders by body guards of the sociopathic contender for the Senate seat. So, it's both a police procedural and a novel about corruption in politics. There are many characters and at times it's hard to keep track of them, but Lucas Davenport keeps them all in line. It's an exciting and satisfying read.

What other book might you compare Silken Prey to and why?

I've read other Prey novels by Sandford and I think I like this one the best.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but it's too long for that.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The gang's all together again!

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

Yes. If you like the Prey series, this is one of the best.

What did you like best about this story?

The incorporation of all of Sandford's characters...from Davenport and the BCS gang to Kidd, who we haven't heard from in a while.

Which character – as performed by Richard Ferrone – was your favorite?

Richard Ferrone is Lucas Davenport...I couldn't imagine any other voice as Lucas.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Lucas figured out that Kidd and Lauren were involved and let them know that he knew.

Any additional comments?

Great writing and performance by Richard Ferrone. Could be my favorite Prey book.

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