Judgment Prey

A Prey Novel

By: John Sandford

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up to crack an unsolvable case in this thrilling new novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.

Alex Sand was spending the evening at home playing basketball with his two young sons when all three were shot in cold blood. A wealthy federal judge, there’s no short list of people who could have a vendetta against Sands, but the gruesome murders, especially that of his children, turn their St. Paul community on its head. Sand was on the verge of a major donation to a local housing charity, Heart/Twin Cities, and with the money in limbo, eyes suddenly turn to his grieving widow, Margaret Cooper, to see what she might do with the money. Margaret, distraught over the death of her family, struggles to move forward, and can’t imagine how or why anyone would target her husband.

With public pressure mounting and both the local police force and FBI hitting dead end after dead end, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to do what others could not: find answers. With each potential lead flawed, Davenport and Flowers are determined to chase every theory until they figure out who killed the Sands. But when they find themselves being stonewalled by the most unlikely of forces, the two wonder if perhaps each misdirection could lead them closer to the truth.

©2023 John Sandford (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“The sequel to Righteous Prey reunites Davenport and Flowers in an intricate crime novel. The strong characters, known for their deep friendship and jokey relationship, will continue to appeal to fans of the long-running series.” –Library Journal (starred review)

Big miss not using Eric Conger to narrate

I'm a huge fan of John Sanford going back to Recorded Books on cassette tapes and have listened or read most stories several times and always have looked forward to the next one. Sad about Richard Ferrone's passing, he was hugely talented and took the great stories to the next level. I have always thought that Eric Conger did a good job on the Virgil series and it is a shame they did not use him here. I had just listened to the latest Letty book, and felt it came up short due to the narrator only to see him turning up again in Judgment Prey? I think for the sake of the franchise they should do a reset and find actors who can carry on Richard Ferrone's fine tradition.

Narrator? Or story?

Not sure where the fault lies. Every other John Sanford, whether it’s Lucas or Virgil, Kindle or audiobook, I finish in a day or 2. I’ve been with this one a week and barely halfway thru. I have read/listened to every Prey book, sometimes more than once. I’ve listened to every Virgil Flowers book, 3 days at most. I’m enjoying the book so far but it’s not as fast paced and action packed as everything else of his.

Sandford never disappoints

Yes, I too miss Richard Ferrone, and so the narration took some adjustment, particularly (for me) on Virgil. More than anyone, through the Prey, Virgil and now Lettie series, the writing, plotting, character development and stories are reliable terrific. I am a bit unsure of the final ending… but I will always buy every Sandford writing.

Good story but Bad Narration

Not the best Prey book but still enjoyable except for the narrator.
i know no one will be as good as Richard Ferrone for me but this was hard to listen to. It was like the narrator listened to other Prey audible books & decided to completely recreate the characters. If there's another book I'm going to read it instead

Richard ferone will be missed forever

I knew and had to investigate how we could at book 33 not have the voices we miss.
We will miss Richard. Cancer is a bad thing.
This book is just as good and the narration is strong. 32 books of what Davenport sounds like is hard to forget at book 33. We will continue to read about him till he retires.

Ok book

Book was just ok, was expecting more, not very much action, kind of a slow story & not really exciting characters. Plot was Interesting but didn’t hit it right. Hated the reader, want J Frangione back!!!

Terrible narrator

I am a fan of sandford but new narrator does the book a disservice. Tone is flat, little variation between serious discussion and trash talking. Voice of Virgil is not consistent, one has to exit attention to story line to figure out who is talking. Virgil’s voice is throaty and constricted, inconsistent with his personality. Overall narration interfered with following story rather than enhancing it. I miss Ferrone. Eric Conger is good also.

Disappointing.

I’ve read every Prey novel and Virgil Flowers book, some more than once. Couldn’t recognize Lucas or Virgil in this one. Not even close to Rules of Prey, Certain Prey, Winter Prey. The first and only time I’ve been disappointed in Sanford. The new narrator just doesn’t fit.

Not a fan of this performance

I love these books and have been listening to the whole series all over again. I was really disappointed by the performer choice because it made it hard to listen to. I know Richard Ferrone is a hard act to follow, but for me it really made the characters unrecognizable. Bummer.

What happened!!

Always look forward to the books until this. The story lacked the usual character development and tough to follow the pacing with the narrator! Bad fit for these series, especially if like me, every Lucas and Virgil book was an audible experience and we have a character in mind based on the narration. Its hard to tell if the writing is not up to par or its the narration that feels off. Would never have imagined this book is part of the series.