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    Golden Prey
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    Golden Prey
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    Golden Prey
    Audiobook11 hours

    Golden Prey

    Written by John Sandford

    Narrated by Richard Ferrone

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The man was smart and he didn't mind killing people. Welcome to the big leagues, Davenport. Lucas Davenport's first case as a U.S. Marshal sends him into uncharted territory, in the thrilling new novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series.
     
    Thanks to some very influential people whose lives he saved, Lucas is no longer working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but for the U.S. Marshals Service, and with unusual scope. He gets to pick his own cases, whatever they are, wherever they lead him.

    And where they've led him this time is into real trouble. A Biloxi, Mississippi, drug-cartel counting house gets robbed, and suitcases full of cash disappear, leaving behind five bodies, including that of a six-year-old girl. Davenport takes the case, which quickly spirals out of control, as cartel assassins, including a torturer known as the "Queen of home-improvement tools" compete with Davenport to find the Dixie Hicks shooters who knocked over the counting house. Things get ugly real fast, and neither the cartel killers nor the holdup men give a damn about whose lives Davenport might have saved; to them, he's just another large target.

    Filled with his trademark razor-sharp plotting and some of the best characters in suspense fiction, Golden Prey is further reason why "Sandford has always been at the top of any list of great mystery writers" (The Huffington Post).
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 25, 2017
    ISBN9781524723446
    Unavailable
    Golden Prey
    Author

    John Sandford

    John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of thirty-three Prey novels, two Letty Davenport novels, four Kidd novels, twelve Virgil Flowers novels, three YA novels co-authored with his wife, Michele Cook, and five stand-alone books.

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    Reviews for Golden Prey

    4/5

    214 ratings25 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Fun romp through west Texas
    • 3/5
      3 1/2 stars. I liked it.
    • 4/5
      Still good interesting stories. He is not boring and the books are different. Like the new people and the new job.
    • 5/5
      Good news for John Sandford/Lucas Davenport fans: Lucas has a new job and it looks like he's going to be pretty good at it! I continue to marvel at Sandford's ability to keep his series fresh. The introduction of the Virgil Flowers character and his subsequent sort of slow-motion takeover of much of the detecting was a stroke of genius and perfectly executed. Davenport's move into a US Marshal role has a little bit of risk but his initial foray into the role is a total success.The plot is a pretty familiar one, but on a much larger scale since the Marshals are federal and aren't limited by state lines. In this story, a really bad guy who'd been on the Fed's radar for years and his girl pull off a heist of some drug money belonging to a South American cartel. During the robbery, several people, including a child, are killed. Meanwhile, the cartel is pissed and dispatches a couple real psychos to find their cash. Davenport, who functions as a sort of unsupervised free-agent Marshal due to his political connections, becomes interested and begins to make progress. He gets a little help from a couple of other Marshals assigned to the case. Tracking, chasing, torture, and violence takes up the remainder of the story. I won't go into any more plot details, but suffice to say that Davenport's transition into his role is a success. Sandford's writing is top-notch as usual, the story flows beautifully, his trademark dialogue work is excellent, and at nearly 400 pages I knocked it out in a day. It's that good.
    • 5/5
      I've been a fan of John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series from the very first book. The latest is Golden Prey - the 27th entry!Sandford has moved Davenport's professional (and personal) life along over the years. This latest entry has Davenport taking a deputy position with the US Marshals. This is a great development - Lucas can look at cases across the country. And even better - he can pick and choose the cases he wants to work - thanks to his political connections.In Golden Prey, he decides to hunt down a felon named Garvin Poole. Poole has stolen from a drug cartel - and killed a child who just happened to be present. Davenport wants him for the murder and the cartel wants their money back. The cartel has sent an odd, but deadly, pair of killers after him. Who will find him first? The cops or the killers?Ahh, there's nothing like settling in for the latest tale from a character you've come to love over the years. This locale and job change keeps the series fresh. The case is unusual and the 'bad guys' are very unique. The plotting is fast paced with lots of action. The dialogue is just as quick - and I love the acerbic, biting tone. And no 'Prey' book is complete without a reference to Virgil Flowers - it's always fun to come across it. Another excellent entry - I'll be watching for book twenty-eight.I chose to listen to Golden Prey. The reader is Richard Ferrone, who has the most wonderful gravelly voice. It embodies the mental image I've created for Davenport. Ferrone has created voices for other characters that fit as well - the killers in this case are quite funny. Ferrone is an expressive reader and interprets Sandford's work well, capturing the sarcastic, biting humour of the dialogue
    • 5/5
      A top notch, page turning thriller. On his first assignment as a US Marshal, Lucas Davenport is on the trail of a serial killer. The action revs up and Davenport does what he does best, Going non stop until the killers are either captured or are eliminated.
    • 5/5
      One of Sandford's best. Read it all in one sitting. New venue for Lucas and two new support people to replace his Minnesota thugs. Really bad guys heist some drug money and end up with even more vicious killers tracking them down. Lucas rises to the challenge, on a frenetic chase across several states, ending up in Texas style .shootout. Bloody but unbowed Lucas settles into his new role as a U. S Marshall
    • 5/5
      John Sandford knows how to write a book! Have read just about every one he's written and this was a good'un!
    • 3/5
      I've been reading John Sandford for a long time (more than 15 years). I enjoy Lucas and Virgil. This book had some good stuff in it ... but I was disappointed with parts as well.At 73 years, perhaps it's time for the author to retire ?
    • 4/5
      Solid Lucas Davenport novel, somewhat better than others as Lucas has a new job with the US Marshall Service with the ability to pick and choose his cases. New characters, Bob and Rae, have been successfully introduced, and old characters like Del Capslock and Virgil Flowers have been mentioned, and once again, Davenport is on the hunt for a serial killer. This time, it's Garvin Poole, a talented yet morally devoid person who, in making a score against a drug cartel, murders a 6 year old as well as the drug handlers. So while Davenport hunts Poole, so does the drug cartel with some very nasty characters on his heels. Nicely consistent storytelling and a good start to Davenport as a marshall.
    • 4/5
      I've been reading John Sandford books for almost 30 years now and over the years there have been peaks and values. Lately the writing seems to be getting a little stronger and that's a good thing because Golden Prey needs every bit of that quality to cover up the plot holes. Sandford per usual creates some masteerful villains. Unfortunately they are brilliant tactians that don't grasp that phones can be tracked. Well they kinda do, but conveniently forget that when newly appointed U.S. Marshall Lucas Davenport needs a break. These masterminds have managed to hide out for 10 years but Lucas finds them in about 3 weeks. That said, the writing on this one really is top notch. In the end, like pizza, even flawed John Sandford and Lucas Davenport is better then most.
    • 5/5
      It's been several years since I have read one of Sandford's "Prey" novels. I'm happy to say that I picked the right one to jump back into the series. This was a highly enjoyable book, and I had a hard time putting it down.Sandford's protagonist, Lucas Davenport, has found himself in a new and exciting position. He has now been assigned to the U.S. Marshal's Service, as a special appointee. This move has allowed Sandford to move beyond the Minnesota area and expand the scope of Davenport's adventures.Golden Prey's focus is on the robbery of a drug money counting operation, the people who stole the money, the cartel employee's trying to get the money back, and Davenport's team trying to apprehend them all. The novel moves across several states in the South, ending in the finale in Texas. The novel moves along very fast, with action in every chapter. The characters are well developed. The action sequences are loads of fun. And the novel ends well, with enough of a teaser to keep readers coming back for the next one. All in all, a great, fun read!
    • 3/5
      Weird narrator’s voice. This book deserves better sounding voices. Great story, though, hard to pause.
    • 5/5
      It's a solid 4 stars for me if not for the women. Dora, Rosie and Annie - and to an extent, Charlene - deserved that extra star for making me laugh.
    • 3/5
      A solid Davenport adventure. Lucas is now a US Marshal, and is looking for an exciting case. Two men have robbed a drug cartel, and murdered the money men, and the cartel wants revenge. Gory and brutal in some sections, but Lucas, with the help of Rae and Bob, tracks down the robbers. However, several women who are involved do not get caught. I wonder if they will show up in a later book.
    • 4/5
      Good story, Davenport is the man!!!
    • 4/5
      Not one of the best, but still damned good.
    • 5/5
      This is the twenty-seventh book in a series featuring Lucas Davenport. He worked for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for many years but recently started a new job as a U. S. Marshall. One of my favorite things about this long running series is that author, John Sandford, isn't afraid to change things up with his character. One of the big pluses of Davenport's new job is that he is able to pick his own cases rather than just accept assignments.

      He decides to go after Garvin Poole. Poole disappeared after a gold robbery but now seems to have surfaced with his friend, Sturgill Darling, stealing suitcases of cash from a drug cartel's counting house. They also left five bodies behind, including that of a six-year-old girl. Davenport teams up with a couple of interesting FBI agents and they head to Texas to try and catch the killers. In the meantime, the Honduran cartel has a team of maniacs who are torturing anyone who can be connected in any way to Poole or Darling. This introduces a woman known as the “queen of home improvement tools” and she is definitely someone who enjoys her work.

      I'm a long time fan of this series and I absolutely loved it. It has everything I look for in a Lucas Davenport thriller. Sandford uses quick pacing and sharp dialogue to keep the plot moving. There are multiple twists and turns along the way and the characters, both good and bad, are first rate. For those of us who were worried that Lucas would fade away after leaving the BCA, this novel successfully gives the series new life. This can easily be read as a standalone novel and is the perfect place to start your relationship with Lucas Davenport. I listened to the audio narrated by Richard Ferrone, who always does a stellar job.
    • 4/5
      Sandford takes Lucas Davenport in yet another direction in "Golden Prey." The previous entry in this series saw Davenport working as a private consultant to the Governor of Minnesota who was running for President. He saved the life of the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination and she pulled some strings to get him appointed to the U. S. Marshall's service. It's an ideal assignment for Davenport as he is to work more or less as a free-lance Marshall, picking cases that are of most interest to him. His first case involves a robbery of a money-counting facility run by a drug cartel. In the process the robbers shot not the cartel members but the six year old daughter of one of the memers.Sandford introduceds new characters: in "Golden Prey": Bob and Rae. They are clearly intended to model Jensen and Shrake, the BCA "thugs" from his earlier "Prey" and Virgil Flowers novels and Sandford himself makes the point explicitly. Davenport thinks to himself that they are the Marshall's Service equivalent of Jensen and Shrake. I guess Sandford did not trust readers to get the point. Bob and Rae are more independent and closer to an equal level with Davenport, at least initially. They sass back to Davenport a lot more and come up with good ideas independently of Lucas, but gradually it becomes clear that he is the leader and they are the subordinates.Sandford has a deft touch when it comes to humanizing the villains. His work in this respect if reminiscent of Robert Crais' work in Hostage.Poole, the stone cold killer who shot the little girl without remourse, is not depicted as an ufeeling psychopath. Je has no compunction about killing anyone necessary, but he is genuinely in love with and faithful to Dora; "People get to know me, they don't like me—I can feel it. Dora knows me and she still likes me." He realizes he would be lonely without her. Dora, described as a beautiful young outlaw, has killed in the past and is certainly capable of killing again but she is a much softer, more human individual. She is quite content domestically; she likes her house and furniture and loves and is strongly committed to Poole. Darling, the mastermind of the robbery, is a happily married family man and he and Poole also like each other. But when Poole him who his friends would be without his wife and children, Darling admits, "I don't know. I'd be pretty goddamn lonely." Annie and Rosie, two cartel "mules" also have their human qualities. Both are from troubled families and were abused. Dora relates to them. Dora and Annie are Cowboys fans. I think this is one of Sandford's best books in some time. I am eagerly looking forward to his next offering
    • 4/5
      I will read just about anything Sandford writes and have since the mid 90s so it’s hard to review individual books because they are all of a piece for me. Because of the Flowers series being connected to the Davenport books, it’s even worse than trying to parse another series. But this installment was such a hoot that I have to give it a try. The plot is intricate as usual and the bad guys are bad and we just can’t wait for Lucas and Co. to take them down. Of course not all of the bad guys are totally bad and there are a few that you sort of grudgingly like. There’s tech and ordinance and it takes a while for Lucas to catch on to certain things, but watching him work is a great time. You just know he’ll get his man, but the shit will fly and not everyone will come out clean. I keep coming back because these books are flat out fun. I can almost see Sandford grinning like an idiot when he sets Davenport up to do something that Davenport loves to do. Like setting a trap for bad guys that he really wants to kill. We know he’ll do it and we know he likes it. And we do, too, otherwise we’d stop reading. So yeah, the books don’t pull punches with body counts, but here’s the thing. They don’t glory in the deaths. This book is a good example. One of the bad guys is a torturer. With almost any other crime writer that would keep me from reading the book. I do not need to dwell with the details of that kind of horror, but I trust Sandford to give me the bare outline of the depravity and leave it at that. Nothing hideous will be put into my head, just what I can put there myself. Another thing is his ear for dialog. A lot of writers treat speech like any other part of their narrative - as essential storytelling and though it is, it’s different. People say stuff that isn’t germane to anything. People don’t carefully craft their sentences to convey pertinent information only. They babble and Sandford gets that like when Lucas calls someone for some help and the guy says “I can be there in fifteen minutes. Gotta put some pants on. Meet you out front.” The bit about the pants doesn’t do anything, but it’s precisely what some people would say. I love it. And last, you’d think by this, the 27th Prey novel, we’d know Lucas through and through, but Sandford gives us a little bit more. With this new role, Lucas finds himself a small fish in a giant pond. An ocean he calls it. And he doesn’t have his Asshole Database to help him out. He’s a bit adrift and alone and because of the way he got the Marshal job, he’s on the outside even in his own department. He muses over that a bit and tries to combat some of it. It’s a nice touch and one I really appreciated. Even old, established characters can still grow. Thanks John. I still haven’t forgiven you for Marcy though.
    • 5/5
      Golden Prey by John SandfordLucas Davenport- Prey series Book #274.5 StarsFrom The Book:Thanks to some very influential people whose lives he saved, Lucas is no longer working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but for the U.S. Marshals Service, and with unusual scope. He gets to pick his own cases, whatever they are, wherever they lead him.And where they’ve led him this time is into real trouble. A Biloxi, Mississippi, drug-cartel counting house gets robbed, and suitcases full of cash disappear, leaving behind five bodies, including that of a six-year-old girl. Davenport takes the case, which quickly spirals out of control, as cartel assassins, including a torturer known as the “Queen of home-improvement tools” compete with Davenport to find the Dixie Hicks shooters who knocked over the counting house. Things get ugly real fast, and neither the cartel killers nor the holdup men give a damn about whose lives Davenport might have saved; to them, he’s just another large target.My Thoughts:27 books and the character of Lucas Davenport continues to get better and better. This is one character that truly has grown and matured throughout the 28 years that Sanford has been writing this series. It appears there is no limit to this author's ability to keep new breath and blood flowing into his Lucas Davenport series. We find our hero taking on his first case as a U.S. Marshall as he hunts for a man that robbed more than a million dollars from a drug cartel that...surprise, surprise...wants their money back and will go to the most unimaginable heights to get it. Lucas takes this on with his usual clever, suspenseful and even sometimes funny manner. This is an excellent addition to the Prey series.
    • 5/5
      Sandford reboots the Prey series with Lucas Davenport in the U.S. Marshals Service.“Golden Prey” delivers a revitalized Davenport pursuing a duo of robbers in a cross-Texas chase from Dallas to Marfa. There is a fresh duo of fellow Marshals for Lucas to banter with and a rival hunter team of drug cartel enforcers who want the gang and the return of their stolen money as well.All this and some jokes at the expense of the minimalist art capital of Marfa as well. Loose ends at the conclusion signal that a sequel is probably in the works. Bring it on!
    • 4/5
      Lucas Davenport, John Sanford's resilient hero, joins the US Marshal's Service in his newest offering 'Golden Prey.' Even though this is Book 27 in the long-running series, Sandford has managed to avoid the atrophy that burdens many series by letting the reader see Davenport mature, go through a series of city and state jobs and now land in the Marshal’s Service.The novel works: Davenport is in pursuit of a pleasant enough Southern psychopath who robbed a drug cartel in Biloxi and killed the five people present, one of them a child. Cartel assassins are also seeking and torturing anyone who can lead them to the 'Dixie Hicks' thieves and their stash. So Davenport is charged with not only with finding the thieves, but also with protecting possible sources from the aptly named 'Queen of Home Improvement Tools' cartel torturer.One of the strengths of the Prey books has been the minor characters. And "Golden Prey" is no exception. Davenport's new partners, Bob and Ray, and the two Cartel assassins provide an unexpected touch of humor. Sandford has brought Davenport a long way from the grim and violent cop of the earlier books; he’s made his hero far more likable and human and learned to leaven his books with a touch of humor.I’m dropping one star because I found the recitation of the pursuit to be a bit tedious. But it’s still Davenport and it’s still a good read.A publisher's copy was provided the reviewer by Net Galley.
    • 4/5
      The “Prey” series began in 1989 which is pretty mind boggling, when you thing about it. I’ve been reading the books for years & have my favourites like every other fan. But I felt like the last couple of books had lost a bit of the old spark & wondered if that would continue in the latest instalment. The short answer is no, it hasn’t. The author has shaken things up by giving his popular MC a new job & surrounding him with a completely different cast of characters. Lucas is now a U.S. Marshal & thanks to some political connections, gets to pick & choose his cases.The first one to catch his eye is a multiple murder in Biloxi. Four men associated with a Honduran drug cartel were shot while counting the proceeds & unfortunately one of them brought his granddaughter to work. Garvin Poole & Sturgill Darling are responsible for the carnage. They’re 2 good ol’ boys known to law enforcement as the “Dixie Hicks” & have an uncanny ability to strike fast & disappear. But after making off with almost $8M they just may have pissed off the wrong people this time.Turns out the Hondurans frown on being robbed & they quickly unleash a pair of bizarre assassins to get their money back. One is pretty handy with guns, the other has a passion for power tools. Their search turns into one long road trip through the southern states & the highways get a little crowded once Lucas & the Marshals Service join in.The change of venue & cast breathes new life into the series. Lucas is still the smart, dogged cop in Gucci loafers but for the first time in years, he’s starting over. His special status ruffles feathers around the office & he doesn’t have his usual gang of dependable colleagues & snitches to fall back on. But he still loves the hunt & along the way hooks up with Bob & Rae, an entertaining duo who may end up filling the shoes of old characters like Capslock & Shrake.Sanford retains much of what has made this series so popular. You can count on a twisty plot, car chases & shoot outs, colourful bad guys with questionable fashion sense, dry humour & an economical, laconic style of dialogue. His penchant for quirky character names continues. Case in point: Garvin’s girlfriend Dora Box. When you come across her full name you’ll see what I mean. And if you’re really lucky, there may even be a cameo by that fuckin’ Flowers.He’s a master of pacing & the story clips right along before the race to a satisfying finish. I really enjoyed this & whipped through it in a day. It’s a chance to ride shotgun with a more introspective Davenport & the characters he encounters along the way make for an entertaining trip.
    • 4/5
      Lucas Davenport has everything. Money, family, a cushy job with the U. S. Marshalls service, but he still likes the action and doesn't mind getting shot at. In this story, Lucas winds up in Texas chasing Gar Poole, a cold-blooded killer that's been on the run for years. What Lucas doesn't know is that the guy he's after is being hunted by others that are even more ruthless than Poole. Sandford's humor and twisted plots always entertain, and this one was no exception.