Without a doubt, for me, it’s got to be John Sandford. Of the 151 books I read in 2025, 50 were by John Sandford. He was actually recommended in a Facebook book group I belong to, and when I did my research on him, I learned that his Prey series of book all take place in Minnesota, and that is where we ended up moving to in June. It’s cool that some of the sights and roads mentioned in the books, I am familiar with.
His books are fiction police thrillers, and the Prey series is led by Lucas Davenport. A colleague of Lucas, Virgil Flowers, also has a series of books, as well as Lucas’s adapted daughter, Letty Davenport. I have read all these books.
This particular genre is not my preferred, but I like the suspense, and I just want to keep on reading to see what happens next. Unlike all the other police thrillers I have read (Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, and the Women’s Murder Club by James Patterson and Jesse Stone, Spenser, and Sunny Randall by Robert Parker), the dialogue in Sandford’s books is absolutely amazing, truthful, and full of adult innuendos. Some of it is downright hysterical! There are even some really bad jokes!
In Book 16: Broken Prey, Lucas Davenport gets an iPod from his wife, and it becomes a running theme throughout the novel. Lucas talks about the songs he wants on it, getting input from everyone he meets. Even near the end (don’t worry, no spoilers!), his playlist pops up in a group therapy session and it sparks more discussion. Naturally, the full list is included at the back of the book, and I was thrilled. I’d been hoping it would be, and it didn’t disappoint. The list gets my approval, although I would include a few Beatles songs! I actually ended up downloading all 100 songs and made a playlist out of it.
Lucas starts as a cop with the Minneapolis PD, then to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), and then ends up as a US Marshall. Virgil works for the BCA. In a few of the Prey books, Lucas and Virgil work together. They do compliment each other and work very well together. There is a difference of police styles between Lucas and Virgil. Lucas is more aggressive, and not afraid to use his fists and guns and Virgil is more laid back and relaxed, and he doesn’t always carry his gun, but more often he tows his boat.
Now the question is Lucas or Virgil? I would prefer to hangout with Virgil and talk music and life. Plus, he is also a writer and photographer.
I was thinking, though, who would play them in a movie? Eriq LaSalle and Mark Harmon played Lucas in two movies (which were meh…), but I am thinking somebody else for Lucas, and unfortunately, that person is dead, but I think it would’ve been a pretty amazing performance by somebody whom nobody would expect.
OK…
Anthony Bourdain as Lucas Davenport
Elizabeth Olsen as Letty Davenport
Luke Wilson as Virgil Flowers
Elizabeth Banks as Frankie (Virgil’s girlfriend)
Jodi Foster as Weather Karkinnen (Lucas’s wife)
Brendan Fraser as Shrake
John Goodman as Jenkins
I have really enjoyed all the books, and I am looking forward to reading more. A new Prey book is coming out next year.
