Publication Date March 25, 2025
There are a few reliable authors whose books barely hit my Kindle before I dive into them. (Elizabeth George, Scott Turow, Robert Crais, Jane Harper, and Michael Robotham come to mind). For years, John Sandford’s books were on that list, but there have been a few recent hiccups along the way. Despite that, I was happy to be able to learn there was a new Sandford book coming out, especially when I read it was in the “Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers” series.
In Lethal Prey, Senator Elmer Henderson wants Virgil and Lucas to help one of his mega-donors, Lara Grandfelt, solve the mystery surrounding the murder of Lara’s twin sister Doris some twenty or more years ago. Lara offers a five million dollar reward (Tod you it was a mega-donor!) and wants Lucas and Virgil to oversee and leads that come as a result of the announcement of the reward.
Lara’s idea is to essentially crowdsource the investigation by working with several amateur sleuths in the true crme arena, with the focus on podcasts. Despite some misgivings, they agree and the search is on. I wasn’t fond of many of the characters, and I’m growing weary of Flowers threatening that each case is his last as he wants to focus full time on his writing. I’m happy to say this one caused me to think (I’m sure glad Sandford, Virgil, and Lucas are back!” Yes, I’m a fan of true crime, including podcasts, and love the way people with a common goal can work together in the pursuit of justice. With thanks to Penguin Group/Putnam and NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review, and the admission that I tend to be an easy grader for my favorites, this one is five stars.