Overall, for me the good things about Davenport and Flowers made the book worth reading, but they didn’t fully outweigh the weak vigilante team opposing them. My guess is that most Sanford fans will find this an easy and fun read, and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with that. But for me, this will not be one of the more memorable ones from a mystery perspective. For now, I will just look forward to Virgil’s budding career as a mystery writer, as well as how he and Lucas will physically and emotionally recover from their climax ending experiences from this book. However there was one little glitch that irked this reader just a tad. I read to escape, to lose myself in another world created by great authors. What I don't need is for the author to climb up on a soapbox and espouse his/hers political beliefs. Even if its one I too believe in. I don't need it in the fiction I read. I get enough of it in the news. More and more authors are injecting their political leanings in their books and its very sad. Its not the correct form. And I know some might think saying its not the correct form to be my political belief.

Righteous Prey (A Prey Novel Book 32) Kindle Edition

I’ve been a Sandford and Davenport fan since reading my first Prey novel ( Rules of Prey, 1989) and I’ve read every book in the series since. This one is unique in that Sandford billed it as a Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers novel, which I found disappointing. Not that I don’t love the Virgil Flowers character. I do and I’ve read every book in that series too. But disappointing because I assume we won’t be getting a new Virgil Flowers novel this year. That’s probably because Sandford is working on his second Letty Davenport (Lucan Davenport’s adopted daughter) novel. But that’s okay, too. I loved the first one and am eager to read the next one.

Success!

My attention was captured instaneously from the author's blurb: “We’re going to murder people who need to be murdered.” So begins a press release from a mysterious group known only as “The Five,” shortly after a vicious predator is murdered in San Francisco. The Five is believed to be made up of vigilante killers who are very bored…and very rich. They target the worst of society—rapists, murderers, and thieves—and then use their unlimited resources to offset the damage done by those who they’ve killed, donating untraceable bitcoin to charities and victims via the dark net. The Five soon become the most popular figures on social media, a modern-day Batman…though their motives may not be entirely pure. John Camp found great success as a journalist, and in 1986, his outstanding reporting work earned him the coveted Pulitzer Prize.

Righteous Prey by John Sandford - Publishers Weekly Righteous Prey by John Sandford - Publishers Weekly

A complimentary copy was provided by G.P. Putnam's Sons via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Review of the Penguin Audio audiobook edition (October 4, 2022) released simultaneously with the G. P. Putnam’s Sons hardcover edition This book tells the story of a vigilante group calling itself "The Five". They are bound and determined to wipe out what they consider the worst of society- rapists, murderers, and thieves. Oh, and they are Bitcoin billionaires! Can Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport stop this smart and carefully choreographed group, when the group has no apparent direct connection to the victims?? The story was originally published in the sports mystery anthology, Murder in the Rough: Original Tales of Bad Shots, Terrible Lies, and Other Deadly Handicaps from Today’s Great Writers (2006.)

Hardcover

If anyone can stop The Five, it will be Davenport and Flowers – but where will the trail lead them . . .

Lucas Davenport / Prey Series in Order by John Sandford Lucas Davenport / Prey Series in Order by John Sandford

Righteous Prey is like the others, the conflict is well motivated and intriguing. It's also very, unique. I truly don't know where he comes up with some of these ideas. I love Davenport and Virgil Flowers each of which have their own series. They both appear in this one, play off each other and don't vary an inch from their already established characters. Sanford is one of the best out there and if you haven't given him a try you are missing out. Its better to start the Prey series from the beginning because Davenport's personal life continues to evolve. His Daughter Letty who appears in earlier books now has her own series. Love that one as well. His first two books, The Fool’s Run and Rules of Prey, sparked two of his most popular series and brought him instant fame in the literary world. The first murder takes place in San Francisco. The Second in Houston. But when “The Five” strike for a third time in the Twin Cities, Davenport’s home town, they get his attention, and when he pulls Flowers in to help him investigate, our dynamic duo is off and running, trying to take down the vigilante group before murders take place. However, their hunt for these vigilante killers will not follow any kind of typical investigation and may likely cause them serious or deadly harm. Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are up against a powerful vigilante group with an eye on vengeance in this thrilling novel in the beloved series by the #1 New York Times bestselling author. In 1978, he left the Herald to work as a reporter and columnist at St. Paul Pioneer Press, a job he stayed in for twelve years.

Otherwise it was a great read, I especially love Lucas and Virgil’s relationship, and when they had to hold hands and pretend to be gay – well that just made my heart leap.💝 In Righteous Prey, Sandford does a very good job of showing how even the best intentions/politics can be twisted by psychopathy into something deadly. The group of vigilantes at the heart of the novel are a bunch of bored, wealthy self-identifying “lefties”— sort of. It’s “left” in a very American way, in that they are against much of what the Republicans are for (guns, in particular). However, each of them is clearly messed up in their own ways, and decide to take it upon themselves to use that which they oppose to make their political points. It’s an intriguing premise, and one that Sandford pulls off rather well. It also takes us into the world of bitcoin millionaires — Sandford’s always been good at tapping into something contemporary that’s making waves/news, and injecting it into his novels in some way, while also passing comment on it. Isn't it funny what bothers one person but not another? I read a review written by someone who was offended by the end of the book because Weather and Frankie expressed their opinions on guns. That didn't bother me at all. On the other hand, all of the f-bombs drove me a bit batty. I started feeling as though these characters couldn't speak a sentence without one or two of them. I wanted to yell "Use your words! You're being lazy!!" I'll bet there are a lot of readers who couldn't care less about that, right? There is no pleasing everyone!! 😉 A mysterious group known only as "The Five" releases a press statement claiming "We're going to murder people who need to be murdered." The Five is made up of vigilante killers who are very rich ... and bored. They target those they believe are the worst of society and then use their wealth to make a donation in untraceable bitcoin to charities via the dark net. This was about to be a 5-star read until a totally implausible scenario takes place in a Ralph Lauren store in a mall and I just had to take off half a star for that. (Sorry Mr. Sandford).

Righteous Prey | Book by John Sandford | Official Publisher

Law enforcement powers-that-be are flummoxed until there's a No. 2 and a No. 3, pretty much cementing the notion that this pattern will continue unless someone puts a stop to it. Enter Lucas, a U.S. Marshal living in frigid Minnesota with his surgeon wife Weather, and Virgil, an agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, who leaves partner Frankie and their twins at home). For the most part, they and the rest of the investigative team are pretty much flying blind; the killers leave no trace, so connecting any of them to a potential killer seems impossible. After a woman is murdered in the Twin Cities, Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport are sent in to investigate. And they soon have their hands full — the killings are smart and carefully choreographed, and with no apparent direct connection to the victims, The Five are virtually untraceable. But if anyone can destroy this group, it will be the dynamic team of Davenport and Flowers.It started with an interesting plot line. Five bitcoin billionaires have vowed to murder five “scumbags” of their choosing and then donate “blood money” to a worthy cause. The killings and donations are announced over the media. After the first couple of killings, in San Francisco and Houston respectively, the action moves to Minneapolis; Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to help the FBI solve the third homicide. There are some political matters mentioned here. Although he doesn’t state any anti-Trump opinion there are references to people who are anti-Trump. Also at the end of the book Weather, the wife of Lucas Davenport, and Frankie, the wife of Virgil Flowers, are interviewed by the press.