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Lucas Davenport / Prey — by John Sandford
Lucas Davenport / Prey Series in Order: 36 books
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Rules of Prey
Book - 1
The killer was mad, but brilliant. He left notes with every woman he killed. Rules of murder. Never have a motive. Never follow a discernible pattern. Never carry a weapon after it has been used... So many rules to his sick, violent games of death...
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Shadow Prey
Book - 2
A slumlord butchered in Minneapolis. A politician executed in Manhattan. A judge slain in Oklahoma City. All killed by a relentless assassin - a ritualistic, far from ordinary, serial killer....
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Eyes of Prey
Book - 3
Lieutenant Davenport's sanity was nearly shattered by two murder investigations. Now he faces something worse... Two killers. One hideously scarred. The other strikingly handsome, a master manipulator fascinated with all aspects of death. The dark...
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Silent Prey
Book - 4
Once, Bekker indulged his brilliant obsession with death; now he is in prison. Once, he was hunted by a man who understood the genius of murder; now he wants revenge. . . . Lieutenant Davenport should have killed Bekker when he had the chance. . . ....
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Winter Prey
Book - 5
The Iceman crept up to the house on the edge of the lake. He killed the father first. Then the mother and child. And when his work was done, he set the house on fire... Lucas Davenport had tracked killers in cities across America. But the woods of...
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Night Prey
Book - 6
Porsche-driving Lucas Davenport, who has just returned to duty after recovering from a serious gunshot wound, is charged with saving the political life of Rose Marie Roux, the ambitious police chief who has her eye on a Senate seat. He's given the as...
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Sudden Prey
Book - 8
It begins with a death and ends with one. For months, Lucas Davenport's men have been tracking a vicious woman bank robber named Candy, and when they finally catch up with her, she does not go quietly. In the ensuing shoot-out, she dies -- and Davenp...
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Secret Prey
Book - 9
IT BEGINS WITH A SINGLE GUNSHOT. A wealthy banker is dead, shot once in the chest during a hunting trip. There are many reasons for him to be killed, and many people who would do the deed. But who did? Lucas Davenport has an idea. But this "routin...
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Certain Prey
Book - 10
Clara Rinker is a southerner, trim, pleasant, attractive -- and the best hit woman in the business. She isn't showy, not like one of those movie killers; she just goes quietly about her business, collects her money, and goes home. It's when she's hi...
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Chosen Prey
Book - 12
Lucas Davenport returns in the most harrowing and unexpected Prey novel yet -- the story of a congenial man, and his most uncongenial obsession... Art history professor James Qatar's hobby was taking secret photographs of women. At night when he ...
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Mortal Prey
Book - 13
This time, Lucas Davenport is the prey Years ago, Lucas Davenport almost died at the hands of Clara Rinker, a pleasant, soft-spoken, low-key Southerner, and the best hitwoman in the business. Now retired and living in Mexico, she nearly dies h...
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Naked Prey
Book - 14
Lucas Davenport's old boss, Rose Marie Roux, has moved up to the state level and taken Lucas with her, creating a special troubleshooter job for him for the cases that are too complicated or politically touchy for others to handle. In addition, Lucas...
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Hidden Prey
Book - 15
Six months ago, Lucas Davenport tackled his first case as a statewide troubleshooter, and he thought that one was plenty strange enough. But that was before the Russian got killed. On the shore of Lake Superior, a man named Vladimir Orslov is found s...
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Broken Prey
Book - 16
The first body is of a young woman, found on a Minneapolis riverbank, her throat cut, her body scourged and put on display. Whoever did this, Lucas Davenport knows, is pushed by brain chemistry. There is something wrong with him. This isn't a bad lov...
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Invisible Prey
Book - 17
Sometimes you don't see it coming, until it's too late. In a wealthy Minneapolis neighborhood, two elderly women are bludgeoned to death. They are apparently the victims of a random robbery, though nothing of value appears to have been taken. But ...
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Phantom Prey
Book - 18
A widow comes home to her large house in a wealthy, exclusive suburb to find blood everywhere, no body--and her collegeaged daughter missing. She's always known that her daughter ran with a bad bunch. What did she call them "Goths"? Freaks is more li...
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Wicked Prey
Book - 19
Danger stalks Lucas Davenport at work and all too close to home, in the superlative new thriller by the #1 New York Times-bestselling author. For twenty years, John Sandford's novels have been beloved for their "ingenious plots, vivid characters, ...
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Storm Prey
Book - 20
This time, there's a storm brewing...Very early, 4:45, on a bitterly cold Minnesota morning, three big men burst through the door of a hospital pharmacy, duct-tape the hands, feet, mouth, and eyes of two pharmacy workers, and clean the place out. But...
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Buried Prey
Book - 21
A block on the edge of the Minneapolis loop is being razed when a macabre discovery is made: two girls buried under a rotted old house. Lucas Davenport knows how long they've been there. In 1985, he was part of the manhunt to track down two kidnapped...
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Stolen Prey
Book - 22
Lucas Davenport has seen many terrible murder scenes. This is one of the worst. In the small Minnesota town of Deephaven, an entire family has been killed -- husband, wife, two daughters, dogs. There's something about the scene that pokes at Lucas...
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Silken Prey
Book - 23
Murder, scandal, political espionage, and an extremely dangerous woman. Lucas Davenport's going to be lucky to get out of this one alive. Very early one morning, a Minnesota political fixer answers his doorbell. The next thing he knows, he's wakin...
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Field of Prey
Book - 24
The extraordinary new Lucas Davenport thriller from #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner John Sandford. The night after the fourth of July, Layton Carlson Jr., of Red Wing, Minnesota, finally got lucky. And unlucky. ...
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Gathering Prey
Book - 25
They call them Travelers. They move from city to city, panhandling, committing no crimes -- they just like to stay on the move. And now somebody is killing them. Lucas Davenport's adopted daughter, Letty, is home from college when she gets a phone...
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Extreme Prey
Book - 26
After the events in Gathering Prey, Lucas Davenport finds himself in a very unusual situation -- no longer employed by the Minnesota BCA. His friend the governor is just cranking up a presidential campaign, though, and he invites Lucas to come along ...
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Golden Prey
Book - 27
Lucas Davenport's first case as a U.S. Marshal sends him into uncharted territory in the thrilling new novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series. The man was smart and he didn't mind killing people. Welcome to the big leagues, Davenport. ...
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Twisted Prey
Book - 28
Lucas Davenport confronts an old nemesis, now a powerful U.S. senator, in this thrilling #1 New York Times-bestselling new novel in the Prey series. Lucas Davenport had crossed paths with her before. A rich psychopath, Taryn Grant had run succe...
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Masked Prey
Book - 30
Lucas Davenport investigates a vitriolic blog that seems to be targeting the children of U.S. politicians in the latest thriller by #1 New York Times-bestselling author John Sandford. The daughter of a U.S. Senator is monitoring her social media p...
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Ocean Prey
Book - 31
Fan-favorite heroes Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces on a deadly maritime case in the remarkable new novel from #1 New York Times-bestselling author John Sandford. An off-duty Coast Guardsman is fishing with his family when he calls ...
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Righteous Prey
Book - 32
Beloved heroes Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are up against a powerful vigilante group with an eye on vengeance in a stunning new novel from #1 New York Times-bestselling author John Sandford. "We're going to murder people who need to be m...
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Judgment Prey
Book - 33
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 al...
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Toxic Prey
Book - 34
Lucas Davenport and his daughter, Letty, team up to track down a dangerous scientist whose latest project could endanger the entire world, in this latest thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.Gaia is dying.That, at least, i...
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Lethal Prey
Book - 35
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLERLucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces to track down a ruthless killer who will do whatever it takes to keep the past buried, in this latest thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.Doris Gran...
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Revenge Prey
Book - 36
Lucas Davenport must track down a ruthless Russian hit team, in this latest thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.Leonard Summers -- not his real name -- is on the run. A former high-ranking Russian intelligence officer who...
Series Premise
The Lucas Davenport / Prey series centers on a skilled investigator working major homicide cases. Lucas Davenport begins as a Minneapolis police detective and later joins the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Each story focuses on tracking dangerous offenders, often serial killers or organized criminals. The books emphasize investigative strategy, profiling, and confrontation.
Lucas Davenport / Prey Series Reading Order
🔄 Best Read in Order · Start with Book 1: Rules of Prey
Standalone stories, but characters and relationships develop across the series.
The Lucas Davenport / Prey series is best read in publication order because it enhances the overall experience, but it is not required to follow each individual story. Each book delivers a complete investigation with its own resolution, focused on a specific criminal case. At the same time, Davenport's career progression, shifting roles, and personal relationships develop across the series, adding meaningful continuity beyond background details. These evolving elements deepen the narrative but are not essential to understanding individual plots. A reader starting later will follow the case clearly but miss important context in Davenport's character growth and relationships.
Explanation of reading order types
Lucas Davenport / Prey Series Characters
Lucas Davenport is a highly capable investigator known for unconventional tactics and strategic thinking. Weather Karkinnen, a surgeon, becomes his wife and a key influence on his personal life. Del Capslock and other law enforcement colleagues recur across cases. These characters provide continuity across the series.
Setting of the Lucas Davenport / Prey Series
The series is primarily set in Minnesota, including Minneapolis and surrounding regions. Investigations move through urban neighborhoods, rural areas, and crime scenes. Government offices and law enforcement environments are central. The setting reflects modern Midwestern policing.
Tone & Themes of the Lucas Davenport / Prey Series
The tone is tense and fast-paced, typical of crime thriller fiction. Themes include justice, obsession, and the psychology of violent offenders. The series explores ethical decisions in law enforcement. It balances procedural detail with suspense.
Is the Lucas Davenport / Prey Series Worth Reading?
The Lucas Davenport / Prey series appeals to readers who enjoy crime thrillers with recurring investigators. It offers tightly constructed cases and evolving character arcs. The pacing remains consistent across the books. It works for both long-term reading and individual entries.
Content Warnings and Heat Level
Content includes graphic violence, murder investigations, and psychological intensity. Some cases involve disturbing criminal behavior. Language and themes can be strong. Romantic elements are limited and secondary.
The Lucas Davenport / Prey series combines self-contained investigations with ongoing character development. Reading in order provides a fuller understanding of Davenport's career and relationships. It remains a reliable choice for crime thriller readers seeking depth and pace.
Books in this series fall into the following genres
Genres
Themes
People / Creatures
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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