Righteous Prey

A fast moving, engaging thriller that is as enjoyable as these two characters usually are. It lacks the gritty realism of some of his other novels, and is not particularly credible, but it is still a fun ride. Well worth reading.

I liked the smile on my hubby's face. Sandford is one of his most favourite authors.

It’s Sandford.

Delivered quickly as promised!A great read!

This is the thirty-second Prey novel, featuring detective, now U. S. Marshal, Lucas Tanner, and this time again, his Minnesota sidekick, Virgil Flowers. There are few surprises in this series by now but still, when a new Prey novel arrives, I read it at once, usually without break, and though some are better than others, I’m never disappointed. (The same thing used to be true for me with new Dick Francis racing thrillers or Richard Stark’s (aka Donald Westlake’s) Parker series. Also anything by Thomas Perry. In the early days, it was true for the Reacher novels, but alas, no more.)This time it’s a group known only as “The Five,” vigilantes who are killing people they don’t approve of all across the country and then posting notes on line taunting the police. It’s obvious they’re well off: when they announce a killing, they each donate an untraceable Bitcoin to a relevant charity, as gift in the $200,000 range depending on the financial health of Bitcoins at the moment. First off is a street thug. Garrotted. Second, a sleazeball politician from Texas. Jugular sliced. Third, a filthy rich socialite with a taste for far right causes. Gutted. Two more are to follow but by that point, the FBI is on the case. Tanners is seconded to them –not as an agent, a freelance partner—and Virgil, still with the Minnesota BCI (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension), comes along, both because Tanner wants him and because the killing they are following is in Minnesota.They pursue small leads and find images of a nondescript car, not the expensive kind found in the ritzy neighborhood where the killing took place, policing the neighborhood several afternoons in a row but not on the days of the assassination. They trace it back, find out who may have purchased it used, and pursue the purchaser to find out who he bought it for. By that point, they’re pretty sure who the murderer is. He lives in the dead woman’s neighborhood. There are more killings, starting with the man they think bought the car. He’s dead along with his wife before the Feebies ever get to see him. The organizer of the Five get antsy. She’s afraid the Minnesota killer will turn her in if captured, so she kills him. Then the other members of the Five worry about her sand try to kill her. The two remaining members of the Five hit their targets, one a purveyor of ghost guns to young Blacks in Cleveland, the other a foul mouthed right wing radio personality on Long Island. There’s more bloodshed and a climactic shootout. The book ends with a setup to a sequel.This isn’t one of Sandford’s best but it isn’t his worst either. The whole Five thing seems, though feasible, still fantastic. There are good action scenes wen route, but the finale is a bit of a letdown. But it’s always fun to follow Lucas and Virgil, and their side stories. Virgil’s angling for a book contract for his first novel, and Lucas… Well, Lucas is still Lucas. If he weren’t a cop, he’d probably be a killer. It’s the hunt that turns him on. Everything else about the law is just window dressing to him.