Extreme Prey

A few years ago, there was word that John Sandford was going to, not necessarily retire, but he was no longer going to be putting out a Prey novel or Virgil Flowers novel every year. I, once again, re read every single Prey novel as I mourned the imminent loss of my Favorite tough, smart, law enforcement officer. Turns out, Mr. Sandford's almost retirement, turned into a young readers series, a sci fi venture, oh, an a Flowers and Prey novel every year! And that is such a joy for me!
At the end of the last Prey novel, Lucas Davenport was at a crossroads in his career. He knew he'd have to leave the BCI, but what would he do? Well we get an answer in the new novel. He does what he is good at, he hunts down bad guys. This time as a favor show more to the Governor, his old boss, as he fears two of his campaign supporters are planning something nefarious for the candidate beating him on the trail.
And Lucas does what he does, he hunts them down and not only uncovers that conspiracy, but manages to solve a decades old crime, too.
None of this would work, of course, if not for Sandford's canny ability to keep Lucas moving forward and growing as a character. Almost 30 novels and Lucas' character evolves bit by bit. You never get the feeling that Mr.Sandford is churning these novels out by rote. Never is he complacent. I think this puts him head and shoulders above so many established authors.( even though he's criminally underrated! ) I can only hope he'll never give in to the urge to truly retire, because I haven't a clue what I'd do if I didn't have his novels to look forward to every year! show less

Checked out because 1) it was in large print, 2) I'm looking for non-torture-porn detective series for the mom, and she seems to not mind some of these factory mill books, and (sigh) 3) the exciting colors of the cover. I needed something brainless while I recovered from [b:The Trees|27507117|The Trees|Ali Shaw|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1446825691s/27507117.jpg|46010298] so I decided to preview it for her last night. Don't take that personally if you love this series.

Well-written for the genre but troubled by with several 'um, what?' moments, particularly the multiple extreme reactions of Iowans of Baby Boomer age, a detective who is temporarily duped by a new hairstyle and the strange 'wtf?' of the police not considering show more bombing as part of their assassin scenario. I checked to see what year this was written--2016, so no excuses there, and it's set post 9-11, so it seems a startling blind spot. That said, I appreciated its pace. Has a gay police officer who stood out in characterization from the others, so I'm a bit ambivalent about that. And was strangely not surprised when he was shot, perhaps because he was the only Iowan police character Sandford bothered to develop?

Still, not bad for my generally low expectations of the genre. I look to these types of books (Lee Child's Reacher, Robert Parker's Spencer, Connelley) for mindless entertainment and tend to read more as palate cleansers or when I'm so busy that I want something undemanding. Worth trying the beginning of the series.

Two and a half guns. show less

I'm a longtime fan of John Sandford's writing, and a bit of a Lucas Davenport groupie. Lucas is a badass who constantly challenges the status quo, and also happens to be an intellectual who likes to dress classy. What's not to love?

This book is #26 in The Prey series, and character development is a challenge for any author with this many books behind him. Extreme Prey reads perfectly as a stand-alone but, if you're just meeting Lucas Davenport, you might miss some of the nuances in his personality and relationships. I think at some point in a series, an author has to rely on readers to know the character. Giving 25 books worth of backstory would be dull, if not impossible. Still, new readers are given enough to understand the basics of show more what drives Davenport's character.

The focus here is a complex plot that Sandford and Davenport unravel for us a little at a time. Certain aspects have strong parallels with our current political situation. I enjoyed this, as it made the story less of an abstract political thriller. Even though certain characters weren't necessarily well developed, I still had a clear sense of who they were and what they stood for.

As with all of Sandford's writing, this one is nonstop action. The scenes are short and to the point, emphasizing the quick pace. We follow Davenport at breakneck speed as he rushes to stop something he's not even sure will happen. In the process, we meet a cast of memorable characters that add much realism to the plot.

This book is highly entertaining, but also a scary statement on the undercurrents of our society.

*I was provided with an ebook copy by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.* show less

Fed up with turf-protecting bureaucratic meddling, Lucas Davenport has resigned from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and is building a cabin in Wisconsin when a call comes in from the Minnesota Governor's "weasel." Governor Henderson is campaigning for President in Iowa and he has picked up hints that some "crazies" are plotting some action against one of the competing candidates. He asks Lucas to investigate. Lucas sets off on what is essentially a police investigation without any official status other than that of campaign consultant: no badge, no gun, and not even a license to carry a gun in Iowa. Alice Green, a member of the Governor's security detail, states the situation siccintly. "My question is, since you aren't a show more cop anymore, where are you going to start on this? You've got no resources. You got nothing."

This premise sets up what turns out to be a solid addition to the Lucas Davenport series of police procedurals. The story features many of the hallmark features of this series including driving back and forth, helter-skelter, all over rural Minnesota and Iowa, and an unrealistically welcoming degree of cooperation among law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately missing are two of Davenport's more colorful supporting characters, detectives Jensen and Shrake (the thugs). Others like Del Clapslock, Joe Kidd, and Virgil Flowers make only cameo appearances.

I found this to be one of the more enjoyable entries in the series. It is especially welcomed since the previous novel, Gathering Prey, was somewhat disappointing, as was Sandford's foray into Science Fiction (Saturn Run). Sandford manages to build suspense by skillfully camouflaging the means the "crazies" plan to assassinate the candidate. I don't think it is too much of a spoiler to reveal that the climax unfolds at the Iowa State Fair and it involves a well-choreographed chase through the crowded fairground. show less

Sandford is in top form and Ferrone again reads magnificently in this politically-based story. No longer a police procedural, Lucas has resigned as the top BCI cop and is working on his cabin when he is called by the governor’s staff to come help out with a thorny problem. Henderson, womanizer that he is, is running for Veep and has been approached by several weird people all conveying the message that he needs to move to the center in case something happens to Bowdin (the woman running for president whose VP he would like to be.) As with many thrillers, some suspension of reality is required, as Lucas, hyper-observant as usual, is soon on the track of some old radicals with an agenda that’s not quite clear and may be related to an show more older unsolved crime.

Many of the other Sandford series protagonists make cameo appearances in the book: Virgil Flowers (my favorite series) and Kidd (also a great series but very dated now) to name but a couple. The last chapter portends an interesting new track for Lucas Davenport. I think it has promise. show less

think that this was one of the strongest offerings in the Prey series. I still could not give it five stars though since there seems to be some ridiculousness with Lucas and his next job I think will get discussed further in the next book. At this point, they should have just retired Lucas and switched to someone else to focus on in this series. How he is running around in his late 50s, I think is a question. I did like the different mysteries going on and how the book ended though. And Sandford must by psychic because he talks about small farms and how broke they have become which has led to bankruptcy and other things.

"Extreme Prey" follows Lucas now that he has quit his job at the BCA. He is renovating his cabin and driving the show more carpenter nuts. When the governor's lackey calls him up, Lucas is intrigued enough to visit them in Iowa. Apparently the governor (Elmer Henderson) is hoping to get the Democratic nomination for President. However, he's concerned since he has come across a strange woman who has been threatening towards another candidate, Michaela Bowden. At first the Bowden camp doesn't believe in the threat, but Lucas is able to do enough investigating to show that something is going on. This leads him back to a former bombing in the 1970s and a fringe group of disaffected farmers.

Lucas was pretty funny in this one I thought. He seems to be eh about most politicians, but is okay with the Democrats cause the Republicans cause his head to shake. Since he's so rich he doesn't need to work, him being involved in this case is just for his own curiosity. We have Lucas relying on his friends to help him piece things together, but hre realizes he is more hamstrung these days with no badge or gun.

We get another look at the governor who I swear sounds like a mash-up of current and former politicians. Sandford does an Obama shout-out so I guess that the Prey series takes place during our time period.

I thought the writing was interesting in this one since we got so many other POVs besides Lucas in this one. We have his, several criminals, and then even Jason Kidd who lends his expertise to Lucas in this one. I think that Sandford taps into some of the anger that a lot of farmers felt or feel about being pushed out of their homes and land. There's even discussion of how the large farms are owned by big conglomerates in other countries. And I thought there was an interesting discussion about police brutality, the ends justifying the means, and purity in politics.

The ending was just another set-up to follow Lucas on another career path. I can't even wrap my head around how this would one, be legal, and two, no one would be crying foul over it. show less

think that this was one of the strongest offerings in the Prey series. I still could not give it five stars though since there seems to be some ridiculousness with Lucas and his next job I think will get discussed further in the next book. At this point, they should have just retired Lucas and switched to someone else to focus on in this series. How he is running around in his late 50s, I think is a question. I did like the different mysteries going on and how the book ended though. And Sandford must by psychic because he talks about small farms and how broke they have become which has led to bankruptcy and other things.

"Extreme Prey" follows Lucas now that he has quit his job at the BCA. He is renovating his cabin and driving the show more carpenter nuts. When the governor's lackey calls him up, Lucas is intrigued enough to visit them in Iowa. Apparently the governor (Elmer Henderson) is hoping to get the Democratic nomination for President. However, he's concerned since he has come across a strange woman who has been threatening towards another candidate, Michaela Bowden. At first the Bowden camp doesn't believe in the threat, but Lucas is able to do enough investigating to show that something is going on. This leads him back to a former bombing in the 1970s and a fringe group of disaffected farmers.

Lucas was pretty funny in this one I thought. He seems to be eh about most politicians, but is okay with the Democrats cause the Republicans cause his head to shake. Since he's so rich he doesn't need to work, him being involved in this case is just for his own curiosity. We have Lucas relying on his friends to help him piece things together, but hre realizes he is more hamstrung these days with no badge or gun.

We get another look at the governor who I swear sounds like a mash-up of current and former politicians. Sandford does an Obama shout-out so I guess that the Prey series takes place during our time period.

I thought the writing was interesting in this one since we got so many other POVs besides Lucas in this one. We have his, several criminals, and then even Jason Kidd who lends his expertise to Lucas in this one. I think that Sandford taps into some of the anger that a lot of farmers felt or feel about being pushed out of their homes and land. There's even discussion of how the large farms are owned by big conglomerates in other countries. And I thought there was an interesting discussion about police brutality, the ends justifying the means, and purity in politics.

The ending was just another set-up to follow Lucas on another career path. I can't even wrap my head around how this would one, be legal, and two, no one would be crying foul over it. show less