The company chairman lay on the cold ground of the woods, his eyes unseeing, his orange hunting jacket punctured by a rifle bullet at close range. Around him stood the four executives with whom he had been hunting, each with his or her own complicated agenda, each with a reason not to be sorrowful about the man's death. If he read it in a book, Lucas Davenport thought, it would seem like one of those classic murder mysteries, the kind where the detective gathers everyone together at the end and solves the case with a little speech.
But it wasn't going to be that easy, he knew. There were currents running through this group, hints and whispers of something much greater than the murder of a single man. He had felt this way not long before, sensed the curling of an indefinable evil, and not only had it nearly gotten him killed, it had lost him his fiancee, who?d never been able to recover from the violence of the encounter. Sometime soon, unless he could stop it, there would be another death, and then still another, and Davenport couldn't help but wonder if maybe this time, the final death might not be his own. . . .
John Sandford has written extraordinary thrillers before, but nothing to top the startling twists and unrelenting suspense of Secret Prey.
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"This book took me to a hunting lodge and had a feel of an Agatha Christie novel. A rich businessman is killed and Davenport picks his way through the executives that wanted him dead. Lucas is depressed because Weather is gone and the team is still healing from the damage done to them in Sudden Prey."
— Vfields (5 out of 5 stars)
“Excellent…Compelling…Everything works.”
— USA Today“Don’t start if you don’t plan to finish it in one sitting.”
— Richmond Times-Dispatch“This is the best installment in years—full of smart suspense and deduction as well as explosive action…Sandford’s suspense-making skills really kick in, keeping us fascinated.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Sandford has sustained his Prey thrillers by varying the premise with imaginative plotting; shifting points of view; a subtle, melancholy protagonist; and most of all, great villains. The ninth prey novel may well be the best, and that’s high praise in the context of such a consistently entertaining body of work.”
— Booklist“The cop ripostes herein are a brilliantly welcome routine and rival the richly characterized acid blackness of TV’s Homicide show…Events from earlier Prey novels weave intriguingly through this one, inviting the reader to plunge into the entire series. Not a bad idea.”
— Kirkus ReviewsRelentlessly swift...genuinely suspenseful...excellent.
— Los Angeles TimesSandford is a writer in control of his craft.
— Chicago Sun-TimesExcellent...compelling...everything works.
— USA TodayGrip-you-by-the-throat thrills...a hell of a ride.
— Houston ChronicleCrackling, page-turning tension...great scary fun.
— The New York Daily NewsEnough pulse-pounding, page-turning excitement to keep you up way past bedtime.
— Minneapolis Star TribuneOne of the most engaging characters in contemporary fiction.
— Detroit NewsPositively chilling.
— St. Petersburg TimesJust right for fans of The Silence of the Lambs.
— BooklistOne of the most horrible villains this side of Hannibal.
— Richmond Times-DispatchIce-pick chills...excruciatingly tense...a double-pumped roundhouse of a thriller.
— Kirkus Reviews" Ferrone builds the suspense beautifully I love listening to his delivery and interpretation of Davenport "
— KMW, 8/20/2024" #9 in the Prey book series and getting better with each book. This time Lucas must wade through corporate politics to figure out who is killing the others off..... "
— loveagoodthriller, 5/3/2016" This was probably one of Sandfords better Lucas Davenport's books. Its has twists and turns that kept me reading. "
— Sheree, 2/18/2014" Another Sandford great. Moving on to the next book. "
— Breia, 2/13/2014" The best of this series so far "
— Kenny, 2/13/2014" Sandford's "Prey" series of novels just seems to get better and better. I really enjoy a great who-done-it! "
— Karen, 2/12/2014" Good book. Typical Prey series book. "
— Joe, 2/12/2014" I have all the Prey books...what can I say...I love his books. "
— Amy, 2/1/2014" I have read one of the other prey books and it was better! I forgot the name of that one but I think it was mortal prey, anyways I must admit I am not a Sanford fan but he is a good writer no doubt. This one didn't have it for me and was a slow read, I have a rule about finishing most books if the author is well known. I went back to Mike Connoly after this read. This book is for the corporate greed genre crowd but didn't please me. "
— Ramon, 2/1/2014" I liked it, the Lucas Davenport are similiar but I liked the story. "
— Albert, 1/18/2014" not bad. pretty taught story. another of the prey books that i was more into because of where it was located.....go minnesota! "
— angrykitty, 1/17/2014" The prey series is great! As soon as I finished one book I picked up another. Couldn't get enough "
— Susan, 1/14/2014" Good book from the series. Not much else I can add for a description. Suspense thrills part mystery. It's a vacation book "
— B, 1/6/2014" Once again I wonder if some series should not be read straight through. A little time and the reading other books to clear the pallet may be needed to continue to enjoy the series. The series, in general, is not bad. But read too close together, they've become predictable. "
— Nanosynergy, 12/15/2013" Another great Sandford book!Plot just gets better as the pages roll. "
— Mary, 12/5/2013" Would give it 31/2 stars because the first half of the book was a bit plodding (business/banking issues bored me), but it picked up pace in the second half. "
— Jeff, 11/26/2013" If only I wouldn't have read these books backwards. It is an excellent book, keeps you on the edge of "who did it" "
— Michelle, 10/12/2013" The 1st half was not up to par - missing insights into the killers brain. But the 2nd half picked up like a normal, amazing Prey book. "
— Colin, 10/12/2013" This one is one of my favorites of the series, and it has the best ending by far! Great read. "
— Larry, 9/20/2013" Pretty good thriller. The characters have their own voices and the plot is at least halfway believable. "
— Michael, 9/13/2013" This one was much like the last, and filled in a lot of blanks in the larger story for me. "
— Jaime, 7/6/2013" Another road trip another Sanford book. If you have a problem with language then stay clear of his books. Big bursts of profanity just make me laugh, quickly forgotten. Sanford can really spin a yarn. Well written. "
— Cathy, 5/3/2013" CEO killed at a hunting lodge. Suspenseful and witty. Not at the very top with RULES or MORTAL, but still very good. "
— Matthuvius, 3/15/2013" My favorite in the prey series. "
— Margie, 1/30/2013" More of the same, but good anyway. "
— Jen, 12/28/2012" Lucas is investigating the death of a company chairman. "
— Vicky, 12/12/2012" Love this series and Sandford. A very quick read for me! "
— Lia, 12/7/2012John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of more than thirty Prey novels, as well as novels in the Kidd series and the Virgil Flowers series, among other books.
Richard Ferrone recorded over 150 audiobooks including thrillers, romances, science fiction, and inspirational novels. He won the prestigious Audie Award and was a finalist for four Audie Awards, including for Best Solo Male Narrator. He was named an AudioFile "Voice of the Last Century" and a "Rising and Shining Star." He earned many AudioFile Earphones Awards, including being named the 2011 Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense as well as the 2009 Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy. A science fiction fan, he narrated Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars trilogy. He also narrated works by James Patterson, Walter Mosley, John Sandford, Eric Van Lustbader, and Stuart Woods.