Lethal Prey

Lethal Prey by John Sandford
3/25/25; 400 pages
Penguin Group/Putnam
Prey Series #35

Lethal Prey by John Sandford is a very highly recommended crime thriller/procedural. Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers work together to track down a ruthless killer who wants to keep the past buried. This can be read as a standalone novel.

A body of a woman brutally stabbed to death was found dumped in the woods along the edge of a park and was identified as Doris Grandfelt, an employee at an accounting firm. The perpetrator was never found. Now, twenty years later the victims twin sister Lara is determined to find Doris's killer. Having been diagnosed with breast cancer, Lara is facing her own mortality and wants justice for Doris. 

To accomplish her goal Lara provides the entire investigative file to 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.”  U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport and state investigator Virgil Flowers are assigned the case and review anything that might be a new lead.

The novel opens with the murder so readers know exactly what happened, why, and who did it. When the body is found, we see the unproductive investigation that followed and Lara's increasing frustration at that time. Then the narrative jumps ahead twenty years and the investigation reopens when the true-crime bloggers descend upon the crime scene and the city looking for clues, and information to publish for their followers. 

What the social media true crime aficionados have is the numbers and enthusiasm to investigate. While they follow Lucas and Virgil, inserting themselves into the investigation, they also find the murder weapon. Conversely, they also publish on social media every step followed in the investigation, which allows the murderer to also follow it.

The characters have a good working relationship and the banter between the two is entertaining. Adding even more entertainment are the various social media true crime publishers interacting with them. The dialogue between characters is realistic. The killer is really a psychopath and readers will be following her actions too.

Lethal Prey is a well-written tension packed procedural/thriller full of twists and action. The pace is fast and the pages fly by. The ending was unsatisfying, but this is still an entertaining read. Thanks to Penguin/Putnam for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.