Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: March 25, 2025
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thrillers / Suspense
Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces to track down a ruthless killer who will do whatever it takes to keep the past buried, in this latest thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.
Doris Grandfelt, an employee at an accounting firm, was brutally stabbed to death . . . but nobody knew exactly where the crime took place. Her body was found the next night, dumped among a dense thicket of trees along the edge of an urban park, eight miles east of St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite her twin sister Lara Grandfelt’s persistent calls to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the killer was never found.
Twenty years later, Lara has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Confronted with the possibility of her own death, she’s determined to find Doris’s killer once and for all. Finally taking matters into her own hands, she dumps the entire investigative file on every true crime site in the world and offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. Dozens of true crime bloggers show up looking for both new evidence and “clicks,” and Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to review anything that might be a new lead.
When one of the bloggers locates the murder weapon, Lucas and Virgil begin to uncover vital details about the killer’s identity. But what they don’t know is the killer lurks in plain sight, and with the true crime bloggers blasting every clue online, the killer can keep one step ahead. As the nation maneuvers the detectives closer to the truth, Lucas and Virgil will find that digging up Doris’s harrowing past might just get them buried instead.
Doris Grandfelt, an employee at an accounting firm, was brutally stabbed to death . . . but nobody knew exactly where the crime took place. Her body was found the next night, dumped among a dense thicket of trees along the edge of an urban park, eight miles east of St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite her twin sister Lara Grandfelt’s persistent calls to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the killer was never found.
Twenty years later, Lara has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Confronted with the possibility of her own death, she’s determined to find Doris’s killer once and for all. Finally taking matters into her own hands, she dumps the entire investigative file on every true crime site in the world and offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. Dozens of true crime bloggers show up looking for both new evidence and “clicks,” and Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to review anything that might be a new lead.
When one of the bloggers locates the murder weapon, Lucas and Virgil begin to uncover vital details about the killer’s identity. But what they don’t know is the killer lurks in plain sight, and with the true crime bloggers blasting every clue online, the killer can keep one step ahead. As the nation maneuvers the detectives closer to the truth, Lucas and Virgil will find that digging up Doris’s harrowing past might just get them buried instead.
Lethal Prey is the 35th installment in author John Sanford's Prey Series and apparently the 16th installment in the Virgil Flowers series. Lucas Davenport is a true maverick; whether he's working for the law or skirting procedure, he utilizes his exceptional ability to get inside the mind of a killer, along with his select contacts in the government, the media, and the criminal underworld to get the job done. He's worn many hats during his career in Minnesota—police officer, detective, BCA investigator, state troubleshooter—but his newest job as Deputy US Marshal takes him into the biggest arena of all.
Virgil Flowers, now an author of some renown, is working on his fourth book and maybe wrapping up his career as a BCA investigator. He is known for his unusual insights and nonstandard investigation procedures, which sometimes mean getting close to the subject of his investigations. Virgil has been in a solid relationship with Frankie, and now has twins of his own and Frankie's sons to help out on the farm. This book takes place after Lucas and his adopted daughter Letty were involved in a domestic terrorist incident in New Mexico (Toxic Prey).
Lethal Prey revolves around a 20-year-old unsolved murder in St. Paul, Minnesota. Doris Grandfelt, an accounting firm employee, was found stabbed to death and dumped in a park, her case stumping investigators due to a lack of forensic evidence and suspects. Her twin sister, Lara Grandfelt, now grappling with a breast cancer diagnosis, reignites the investigation by leveraging her wealth and desperation. Lara posts the case file online, offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s conviction, and draws a flood of true crime bloggers, amateur sleuths, and opportunists.
The ensuing chaos prompts Minnesota authorities to enlist U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) investigator Virgil Flowers to take charge of the reinvestigation. The story's premise taps into the cultural fascination with true crime media and the complications of public involvement in police work. Sandford sets up an intriguing challenge: Lucas and Virgil must navigate a deluge of tips—many dubious—while pursuing new leads and revisiting old ones. The killer, revealed early in Sandford’s signature style, is a calculating psychopath whose motives and methods add a layer of mystery, though their limited presence dampens the suspense.
The interplay between Lucas and Virgil remains a highlight, with their witty banter and complementary skills—Lucas’s hard-edged intensity and Virgil’s intuitive, almost uncanny insight—driving the investigation. The procedural elements are meticulous, showcasing Sandford’s knack for weaving forensic details and investigative strategies into a compelling narrative. The premise of true crime bloggers muddying the waters adds a modern twist, reflecting the influence of social media and public sleuthing in real-world cases. Sandford also gives glimpses into their personal lives, with Lucas’s wife, Weather, and Virgil’s partner, Frankie, adding warmth without overshadowing the case.
Lethal Prey suffers from a sluggish pace, particularly in the first two-thirds. The investigation involves a lot of driving, interviewing, and sifting through leads, which, while realistic, feels repetitive and lacks urgency. Action is minimal, with the most notable sequence—a barn fire—failing to generate real tension since the protagonists are never truly at risk. Sandford’s decision to reveal the killer early is a series hallmark, often used to build dread as the investigators close in. Here, however, the villain, while chilling in their cold-blooded rationality, remains underdeveloped and distant.
Their motives are murky, and their interactions with Lucas and Virgil are limited, reducing the cat-and-mouse dynamic that typically fuels Sandford’s thrillers. This makes the stakes feel lower than in novels where the antagonist poses a direct, personal threat. The most glaring flaw is the novel’s conclusion. Without spoiling, the investigation ends abruptly, with no clear resolution or closure. This open-endedness feels jarring in a series known for tying up loose ends, even if violently. We all know that every book in this series has been an open-and-shut format, so why leave this open-ended?
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