Wow. This was just terrible from beginning to end. You got Nazis and a child killer at loose and something something both sides are equally messed up in this country. I don’t even know what to say except Davenport needs to just stop being a Marshal. The series went downhill when he stopped investigating murders and turned into a fixer. Sandford really needs to consider putting Davenport back in Minnesota and investigating cases again with Del and crew. His new cohorts, Bob and Rae are actually getting on my nerves now.

"Masked Prey" is the 30th book in the Prey series. We have followed Lucas as he worked for the Minnesota Police department, as a consultant to the FBI, then as an investigator for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), acting occasionally as a special troubleshooter for the governor of Minnesota. Then we get this mess now with Lucas being a U.S. Marshal. After the cannibal case Lucas is at loose ends. When his two favorite politicians call in a favor for Lucas to investigate a Nazi site targeted the children of Senators, he reluctantly agrees. Lucas goes to Washington, DC and Virginia when tracking how the site was created. His newish side-kicks Bob and Rae come on in when it looks like a child may get killed over the site. The book also follows a man who believes this site is the next thing that the people need to do in order to control Senators in the U.S. If a Senator is scared their child will be killed, his organization can influence how they vote (yes this is really gross). The book jumps back and forth between Lucas and the potential killer.

I have to say that Lucas and friends was boring. The killer was too. I just don't care about the whole why do Nazis and child killers do things. I think trying to tie this into politics made the book murkier. I think Sandford was trying to throw shade at both Democrats and Republicans, but both sides are bad is only one political party's talking point. I also hated how Lucas is made to be somehow above politics. Whatever. Sandford has followed some of the real world things going on in the United States (ICE, immigrants, etc.) through the years but he is waffling on this is laughable to me.

I can't even recall the killer's name. He is not as infamous as some of the killers that Lucas has brought down. Also I was really disappointed with the whole Lucas is a hunter of killers thing. I mean, it was so dramatic and made me roll my eyes. He didn't even really solve the last case he was involved in with the whole cannibal rapist guy. Yes this was a character in the previous book.

The writing was eh and the flow was awful from beginning to end. I think there were some funny moments though here and there.

The ending was a real letdown. I don't mind these books because I don't buy them, but Sandford either needs to fully retire Lucas, or just bring in a new character that is young and being mentored by Lucas.

Lord Bob and Rae are back. 

Trigger warning: Graphic depictions of rape.

I almost put this one down a few times. It was very grim reading from beginning to end. Not only do you have a serial killer who eats people (not shown) you then have said killer and others deciding to become robbers and then rape. This book was too all over the place. We have Lucas dealing with getting shot (again) and him trying to get past it. I also felt let down by the ending.

In "Neon Prey" Lucas is sitting around bored. That is until Rae and Bob call him in when it appear a serial killer has been active down south. With his general marshal mission, Lucas can work on whatever, so he decides to track down the serial killer. This takes him to California and then Nevada where it seems the serial killer on the run has hooked up with an even crazier crew. 

Sandford spends too much time with the crew. I started to get bored. When we get to some of the more graphic scenes, I had to skip. 

Once again things are up in the air for Lucas. I honestly wish he just get back to Minnesota already. There is a weird sub-plot about Letty's future and I hope Sandford isn't trying for some Girl With the Dragon Tattoo mess with her. 

Not too much to say about this one except it really didn't work for me (Lucas's family in danger again) and that the ending was pretty lackluster. Having Sandford bring up Clara Rinker in reference to Senator Taryn Grant was hilarious to me. Clara would have eaten Grant for breakfast. Lucas a marshal does not interest me much anymore. Most of the time he is just driving or flying someone and now with his two side-kicks (Rae and Bob) it just makes me miss the Minnesota cops much more.

"Twisted Prey" has Senator Taryn Grant up to her old tricks and trying to take out a rival. At this point she would definitely fit in with our current Senate set-up. I maybe laughed at the mention of the Twitter in Chief. So we have confirmation that Davenport's world is now synced up to our own and I am sad all over again. There's not much there in this story. We get shades of Blackwater in this one with former military people doing some underhanded things and Lucas almost getting murdered. And then he, Rae, and Bob trying to put the puzzles together. This just didn't grab me like previous books. 

Every time I think of this book I think of Golden Eye and the Tina Turner song. So that's now in my head now and I hope it's in your heads as well LOL.

"Golden Prey" now follows Lucas as a U.S. Marshal. After the events in the last book, the presidential candidate and several congressmen and the governor of Minnesota owe him. So he gets a job where he gets to hunt. Lucas is bored though. There are cliques within the marshal service and a lot of people don't like him. Lucas gets an interesting case to work though, one no one else wants to deal with. A fugitive who is on the most wanted list (Garvin Poole) robs a cartel (why dude why?) and kills the people at the heist along with a child. Lucas wants to track him and his companions done. The book follows Lucas through Mississippi and several other states. Garven doesn't realize it though, besides Lucas, he also has two stone cold killers from the cartel out to hurt anyone he is related to and knows in order to get the money back. 

So this book at times felt a little weird to me. We don't have Del or anyone else that Lucas has worked with. Instead we have him having to rely on all new people. He ends up with two new side-kicks though, Bob and Rae. The book got much snappier when the three of them were around each other. 

The book jumps around though and we get Garv's POV along with the two killers who are hunting him. I felt a bit bored reading about Garv and others though. They are all killers and we get to see why they make the choices they do, but I was happier just staying with Lucas and new friends.

The setting of the book moves several times. I can't even recall how many states they were in and out of. After a while I just went with it. 

The ending was freaking hilarious though with the bad guy and bad guy dust-up with Lucas's supposed supervisor and a shovel.