Golden Prey

By: John Sandford

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

The man was smart, and he didn't mind killing people. Welcome to the big leagues, Davenport.

Lucas Davenport's first case as a US marshal sends him into uncharted territory in the thrilling new novel in the number one New York Times best-selling series.

Thanks to some very influential people whose lives he saved, Lucas is no longer working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension but for the US Marshals Service, and with unusual scope. He gets to pick his own cases, whatever they are, wherever they lead him.

And where they've led him this time is into real trouble. A Biloxi, Mississippi, drug-cartel counting house gets robbed, and suitcases full of cash disappear, leaving behind five bodies, including that of a six-year-old girl. Davenport takes the case, which quickly spirals out of control as cartel assassins, including a torturer known as the "queen of home-improvement tools", compete with Davenport to find the Dixie Hicks shooters who knocked over the counting house. Things get ugly real fast, and neither the cartel killers nor the holdup men give a damn about whose lives Davenport might have saved; to them he's just another large target.

Filled with his trademark razor-sharp plotting and some of the best characters in suspense fiction, Golden Prey is further reason why "Sandford has always been at the top of any list of great mystery writers" (The Huffington Post).

©2017 John Sandford (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“Sandford’s trademark blend of rough humor and deadly action keeps the pages turning until the smile-inducing wrap-up, which reveals the fates of a number of his quirky, memorable characters.” (Publishers Weekly)

“The twenty-ninth Prey novel is a very good, straightforward chase thriller, laced with gallows humor throughout.” (Booklist)

“Buckle up, grab a cold drink, and settle in for another splendid entry in a stellar series.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

If you're not a Davenport OG don't start with this

You are going to read this book if you are a fan, like I me, but definitely not one of his better ones. Story seemed very pedestrian and only meh (shrug the shoulders and say it). Got my credit of entertainment but super disappointed in the story BUT super thankful the same narrator is still reading...that alone is worth the credit. NEW FANS please don't start with this book...you need to work up to this mediocrity.

Ferrone is the reason I was able to finish.

I have eagerly waited for every new Sanford book, but find that knowing who done it from the beginning did not keep me interested..the characters were not interesting...Ferones narration was the best...but story hard to follow, boring. I love Sanfords early books, but find the past few were not interesting...sorry John.

Davenport as US Marshall But Without the Old Gang

Davenport's first assignment as a US Marshall sends him south on the trail of a trio involved in the murder of five people and the theft of millions in drug money. At the same time, the drug cartel has sent two assassins after the trio, making it a race to see who will catch up to the killers first. I confess to missing the old gang of fellow police officers and friends from Davenport's years in Minnesota as the two federal marshals that end up as quasi-sidekicks don't yet have the depth of character to be very interesting. On the other hand, though, the 'bad guys', from the trio involved in the murder and robbery to the two then four thugs hired by the cartel are fully fleshed out and really interesting characters with complicated motives and unique relationships. Smart, fascinating and driven villains always make a story like this better and Sandford's Davenport books have always been better when the bad guys were fully realized like they are here. Not quite as good as the best Prey novels, but Golden Prey is a pretty good addition to the series.
As always, Richard Ferrone's narration is amazing. I can't imagine listening to any other reader of the Prey novels. In fact, when I read, rather than listen to any of this series, it is Richard Ferrone's voice in my head as I read.

Reader beware.

Graphic descriptions of violent deaths. All Lucus Davenport books have violence but this was over the top. In other books there was more humor and interaction of the good guys. This book lacked that as it concentrated more on the chase and the horrific actions of the hunted. Unless you can deal with and enjoy that level of depravity this may not be the book for you.

Sandford is good again

Any additional comments?

Sandford is a very entertaining writer. For me the pleasure comes not from the plot or story but from the background. No one is as capable of producing more compelling and witty dialog than Sandford. It doesn't seem artificial either. Each character, even a momentary one, is named and given a strong visual image. Ferrone's narration is superb.

Hunting lesson from Lucas

This book is very different. His family and Virgil are mentioned very little. It's all Lucas.This book is a very personal look at Lucas the Hunter. Lucas and his sidekicks vs Evil and his sidekicks. Probably one of his grittiest books I can remember. The mostly all new characters made it a little hard for me to follow. I am going to listen again since the series appears to be going off in a new direction. Good job Mr Sandford. Thanks.

Not as interesting

The problem with the book is that it's a whole new cast of characters outside of Minnesota. Not nearly as interesting and compelling.
It also drones on too long.
Overall, pretty stale which is surprising as you would think that the change in venue would switch things up a bit.

John Sanford is writing to a different audience.

His last three books have have been progressively more and more about chasing the bad guys, with no intelligent dialogue, no character development, no real detective work, no plot twists, and certainly no mystery. This is only an action book. As far as I am concerned he has lost a huge percentage of his talent.

Back to being good

I think this was a good move to shake up the prey novels. Added some new characters while giving shout outs to old ones. Great story flow and the reading of it was excellent

One of the best pairs.

John Sandford and Richard Ferrone are one of best pairs in the business. Sandford's new story plot for Davenport works great and opens it up for future stories just as good. I love this team. Just keep them coming please.