OCEAN PREY

by

John Sandford

    I am a longtime fan of John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series and his Virgil Flowers series. I feel like I begin every Sandford review like this, but it is true, and I believe that knowing this should help potential readers who consider my review. I feel like I've been here for the long haul, even sticking around when I suspected either one or the other of the series took a wrong turn and was headed down the drain.

    So, once again, I was delighted to have the opportunity to read and review an advanced readers copy of Sandford's latest book, Ocean Prey, the thirty-first installment in the Lucas Davenport series. I was even more excited to learn that the book is also the thirteenth installment in the Virgil Flowers series. Two of my favorite detectives in one book!

    Ocean Prey begins as a Davenport book. A fancy boat stops and picks up a diver in the middle of the water off the coast of Florida. An off-duty member of the U.S. Coast Guard witnesses the suspicious activity and calls it in. The Coast Guard is in pursuit, but the men on the boat kill the pursuing Coast Guard members and get away. The subsequent investigation stalls, and U.S. Marshall Lucas Davenport is called in to do his thing. When Lucas runs into difficulty, he calls in his longtime friend and associate, Virgil Flowers.

    I think Ocean Prey is one of the best prey/Lucas Devenport books. Although Sandford usually does a good job at leading the reader step by step through the investigation, this seemed more apparent in Ocean Prey. Ordinarily in prey books, when Lucas enters a case, it feels like everything moves at a rapid fire pace. Here, however, Lucas's investigation seems to proceed at a slower rate, and obstacles impede his investigation. I am still in shock over one such impediment (a spoiler which will remain unnamed); I both dislike and deeply respect Sandford for making that move. But, the obstacles and the seemingly slower pace make Ocean Prey feel more realistic. I also think Ocean Prey is one of the best Virgil Flowers books. I am not a fan of Frankie, so the same old Virgil working a case with Lucas in Florida (i.e., far from Frankie) makes it an outstanding Virgil Flowers book. 

    Quite simply, Ocean Prey is outstanding - one of Sandford's best books ever. Highly recommended.