Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Gathering Prey (The Prey Series Book 25)

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not his best

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2020

Start by saying I love Lucas Davenport books. BUT this is not even close to the best of them. I miss all the people we are used to, Del, Shrake, Jenkins, Virgil, Sandy, Rose Marie, & even Weather (who I could do without) & the governor. The Bad Guys are given way too much time - they aren't interesting at all, unlike most of Mr. Sandford's criminals. The plot is very sketchy & pretty uninteresting. Letty is a little flaky as usual & that part was ok. It is worth reading but don't look for the usual "can't put down until the last dog is dead". It is easy to put down, but also easy to pick up again. So, I am again waiting for the next Prey book & am pretty sure it will be back to the best ever mystery series. We are all very interested in what Lucas is going to do now that he is out of the BCA, & hoping that it doesn't mean that the series is ending!!

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pyoung

The usual Davenport ending

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2021

This is probably the 24th book i have read of this series i skipped over this one until now. The story started of intense as always but i have a problem with his daughter Letty 1, she's to smart mouth
2. one minute shes to young to know whats going on 3. the next Lucas has her working the case 4. the only reason she gets away with stuff is because she acts like him and he approves. In this book this is the first mention of his biological daughter who he never speaks of. He makes liars out of other cops when going after the bad guys. I like the Virgil Flowers character much better, series #20, to #24 were better than this one.

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Iron

Lucus is back!

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2015

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This latest Davenport story from John Sandford is one of his best, and I've read every single book in both the Prey and Virgil Flowers series. It's fast paced, gritty, realistic and smart. Lucus is at his best here, tightly focused into his the hunt. He is in command of the various police elements he comes into contact with, and uses every resource at hand to forge a net which ultimately catches the bad guys. As a bonus, Letty plays a big role here. You can see that she has that sophisticated rich girl exterior, but underneath, she's the steely eyes hunter and remorseless Killer that Davenport is. In every way, she's truly Lucus's daughter. This book has all the detail, the interesting characters, and the "you are there" feel that Sandford was so good at when he created that younger, more raw Lucus Davenport. Lucus has aged a bit over the years, and clearly mellowed in some ways, as he was bound to. But here, in Gathering prey, Lucus is the guy you do not want coming after you. Once he has the bad guys in his sights, he doesn't let anything get in his way. They're dirtbags who are killing innocent people, and Lucus is going to put them down no matter what it takes. Overall this is a very satisfying book, and it flew by in a couple of hours of non-stop reading. Great Job, Mr. Camp, (aka John Sandford.)

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bugmanpat

Great, as usual.

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2015

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John Sandford continues to produce fiction that puts other popular writers to shame. I keep expecting his work to fall off or become stale, but that hasn't happened yet and I'm hoping for years of great stuff to come. In this book, the character of Lucus Davenport takes a new direction which suggests a future twist for the series. I am hoping (as are many fans) that the character of Letty gets a series of her own soon.

In any case, the story is good, the action captivating, and the characters deep and interesting and often flawed. No one does bad guys like John Sandford. If you are new to this author, start with an earlier Prey book and work up to it - you will thoroughly enjoy the whole ride.

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Becky C

Great Mind Candy!

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2015

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As usual, John Sandford does not disappoint his readers. This book is GREAT mind candy. Thoroughly enjoyable. Sandford managed to get Virgil Flowers into the book, too. What was quite creepy, however, is the Juggalo gathering that was featured in the book. I figured the Juggalo gathering was just something Sandford made up. Wrong. When I googled Juggalo I was aghast at the event...probably similar to Woodstock only one gets the feeling there are a lot heavier drugs in use. Obviously I'm out of the mainstream nowadays! Another issue of interest were the "travelers." I didn't realize this was such a big thing among kids. I guess it would be similar to Jack Kerouac's adventures. Overall the book held my attention. In fact, at one point it became so intense I had to quit reading. Some good twists and some great lines.

I

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Jane

As usual, Sandford writes a riveting book

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2015

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As usual, John Sandford has written a compelling book in his Prey books. I have read them all. However, I do have one quirk that he does that drives me crazy. Always at the beginning of the book, he describes Lucas as a "dark-complected" man. As a senior citizen, when I was in school, I was taught that there was no such word as "complected." I did just look it up in the dictionary and it appears that they have now added the word to the dictionary. The dictionary does, however, add "...Although criticized by some as a dialectal or nonstandard formation, complected occurs in educated speech and occasionally in edited writing." Just had to mention this because it does always pop out at me in those first few pages of the books. Looking forward to seeing where and how the next book takes Lucas.

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Kindle Customer

Wow! Pretty Good.

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2018

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Whenever one reads a Sandford - Lucas Davenport book...the reader must be prepared for some wild and wooley scenes...but this one is really wild. And a bit scary considering the bad guy is nuts and has a gang of followers equally as cuckoo as he. The drugs and sex are par for the evil character's behavior in a Sandford drama....but the wanton killing and degenerate actions of the antagonist make Lucas Davenport's bringing them to justice even sweeter...even if its justice dispensed from a .45 caliber handgun.

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4fabfelines

This "prey" series has a grown up Letty in California ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2015

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This "prey" series has a grown up Letty in California for collage. She sees two travelers trying to make money singing on a corner and doing badly, so she offers them food. Striking up a conversation with one she learns some of their tales and one is a tale of a man and a band of followers. His name is Pilate, and then female traveler is terrified of him. She gives Skye a card and tells her if shes up north some time to look her up.
She never thinks she'll hear from her again... how wrong she is.
This book takes us on a wild ride through many counties and across the usa with a madman, Juggalo festivals., called Gatherings.
It ends with a bang and Lucas Davenport rethinking his whole career.

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S. J. Peterson

Sandford Delivers

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2015

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When it comes to crime fiction, John Sandford's 'B' game is better than most everyone else's 'A' game. After 20+ Lucas Davenport novels, Sandford could be forgiven if he occasionally tossed in a formulaic story or if his characters became stilted and dull. Not likely, if Gathering Prey is the yardstick by which one measures.

It's absurdly difficult to put together a story this well written, but to do it on the twenty-fifth novel in a series puts Sandford in a place few authors visit. Having quite successfully created the Davenport world, a successful spin-off with the Virgil Flowers series, and set up future possibilities with Letty, keeping the reader invested should be far harder than it actually is.

Great story lines, wicked humor, and characters who bring it all together are what makes a Sandford story often an all-night read. If you happen to be from the Twin Cities or a cheesehead, all the more reason to come along for the ride.

If Gathering Prey had been Sandford's first, he would quite possibly be one of those one-hit wonders who find the magic right off and then spend eternity trying to catch the dragon. No worries. Gathering Prey clearly shows that John Sandford has yet to reach his peak.

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Cliff Price

Sandford scores another winner

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2015

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Read everything Sandford has written, this book in my opinion, is the best of the Prey series. It may be a little startling to longtime readers of the series because he sets the scene very differently than past books. Davenport is growing older is now more reflective not as quick to action as he once was but that really just makes him seem more human. Flowers, who I think Sandford really enjoys writing about these days more than any other character, makes his usual cameo. What sets this story apart in my mind in the development of other characters both victims and protagonists. This book if handled right would make a great movie. Not sure how anyone could read this and not enjoy it.

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robosolo

The usual Prey novel that you just can't put down.

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2015

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This is another typical Lucas Davenport novel from John Sandford. Like all his other novels, you get the feeling that you're riding on a slightly out of control freight train. The plot is similar to many of his other Prey novels, so there's no big surprise there. If you're addicted to Sandford (I'll freely admit I'm one of the hooked ones) then you'll quickly recognize the story's progression, but I enjoyed it immensely nevertheless. Sanford writes beautifully and the array of characters he invents are colorful, heroic or evil as usual.
How this guy keeps cranking out such high quality work is beyond me. I just hope he outlives me so I can keep reading him until the very end.

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Tracy

Never dissapoints

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2015

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I love all of the prey books so you'll never get anything other than a stellar review from me. This book held surprises and Sandford seems to be taking the "crew" in a different direction. Lucas's daughter Letty is prominently featured and all for the better. She is going to be able to have her own series soon! (maybe?) I'm always fascinated by the underbelly of society portrayed in these novels (Juggalos anyone?) and the politics surrounding law enforcement. I don't like it when Lucas is depressed but I love how he is aware and gets out of the hole. And by the way, who would ever play him in a movie? I can't even think Timothy Olyphant may be too sweet but good, would love to see Idris Elba!

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