Masked Prey

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 presence when she finds a picture of herself on a strange blog. And there are other pictures... of the children of other influential Washington politicians, walking or standing outside their schools, each identified by name. Surrounding the photos are texts of vicious political rants from a motley variety of radical groups.

It's obviously alarming-is there an unstable extremist tracking the loved ones of powerful politicians with deadly intent? But when the FBI is called in, there isn't much the feds can do. The anonymous photographer can't be pinned down to one location or IP address, and more importantly, at least to the paper-processing bureaucrats, no crime has actually been committed. With nowhere else to turn, influential Senators decide to call in someone who can operate outside the FBI's constraints: Lucas Davenport.

Editorial Reviews

...a long-running and totally addictive series...Sandford always delivers rousing action scenes, but this time he's especially good on character, too. The naïve teenagers are as persuasively drawn as the professional goons stalking them, and the language presents an amusing exercise in the fine art of dialogue. - The New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio

03/16/2020

Bestseller Sandford's 30th thriller featuring U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport (after 2019's Neon Prey) offers more of the same--a dramatic high-stakes premise and plenty of action, but not much character depth. Sen. Elmer Henderson of Minnesota, a political ally of Davenport, once again needs his help. Audrey Coil, the 17-year-old daughter of a colleague on the Senate Armed Forces Committee, has uncovered a website that could pose a danger to herself and other children of political families. When Audrey, who operates a fashion blog, looked into whether the blog's images of her were being used elsewhere on the web, she found them on a website with pictures of other children of elected officials. The site, named 1919, code for the SS, has a Nazi connection, and its discovery leads to fears that someone may threaten the children as a way of influencing public policy. Davenport doggedly investigates right-wing groups to figure out who's behind 1919 and to forestall any violence. The plot has some holes--it takes law enforcement far too long to shut down sites that had copied 1919--and the big twist isn't likely to shock anyone. Series fans are most likely to enjoy this. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM. (Apr.) - Publishers Weekly

"Addictive...Sandford always delivers rousing action scenes, but this time he's especially good on character, too....There's enough violence to satisfy bloodthirsty tastes, enough information on neofascism to give us a chill, and enough sly humor to make American teenagers and their would-be killers sound as if English were their second language."--Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"This entry in the phenomenally popular Prey series will engage longtime fans with its intricate plot and have new readers backtracking through the entire series. Thoroughly involving and very timely."--Booklist - From the Publisher

11/01/2019

Police officer, detective, BCA investigator, state troubleshooter--Lucas Davenport has done it all. Now he's called in to apply his particular skills to one big mess in Washington, DC. Thirtieth in the New York Times best-selling "Prey" series. - Library Journal