Golden Prey

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I hate waiting for the next Lucas story but this was worth the wait, outstanding.

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.

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.

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

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.