Gathering Prey

March 23, 2015
At the start of bestseller Sandfordâs engrossing 25th thriller featuring Lucas Davenport of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (after 2014âs Field of Prey), Lucasâs daughter, Letty, a Stanford student, offers to buy a meal for young buskers Skye and Henry in San Franciscoâs Union Square. Over hamburgers at McDonaldâs, Skye tells Letty about an evil character called Pilot (or Pilate) and his âdisciples,â who peddle dope and flesh and steal for him and, perhaps, even kill for him. Pilate and his crew are Juggalos, fanatical fans of the Insane Clown Posse, and they travel around the country following the band. Skye and Henry later run into them in Sturgis, S.D., with disastrous results. When Skye calls Letty for help, Lucas gets involved. Pilateâs gang, 19 strong (âthink the Manson gang, but worseâ), leaves a trail of violence across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, with Lucas and various local forces trying to corral them. Sandford handles the drawn-out action with his usual artful combination of suspense and humor. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.

Richard Ferrone is at the top of his game as he narrates Sanford's 25th "Prey" thriller. Ferrone has had plenty of practice, having narrated all the audiobooks. This one's quite a bit different, with Lucas Davenport in a multi-state pursuit of a Charlie Manson-like cult called the Disciples, led by a madman named Pilate. They start out by crucifying and slashing to death two acquaintances of Davenport's adoptive daughter, Lettie. Sanford and Ferrone make this the most nonstop, exciting audiobook in the series. Ferrone's narration leaves the listener breathless as Lucas encounters one near-death situation after another. Ferrone is at his best depicting the cult characters--who are as evil and crazy as can be. A.L.H. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine