I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Masked Prey
by
John Sandford
It is part of the Lucas Davenport #30 series and is a mystery thriller in a Kindle edition that was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on April 14, 2020 and has 416 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Rules of Prey, Shadow Prey, Eyes of Prey, Winter Prey, Silent Prey, Mind Prey, Night Prey, Sudden Prey, Easy Prey, Chosen Prey, Mortal Prey, Naked Prey, Hidden Prey, Broken Prey, Invisible Prey, Phantom Prey, Wicked Prey, Storm Prey, Buried Prey, Silken Prey, Stolen Prey, Field of Prey, Gathering Prey, Dark of the Moon, Heat Lightning, Rough Country, Bad Blood, Shock Wave, Mad River, Deadline, Storm Front, Extreme Prey, Escape Clause, The Fool's Run, Deep Freeze, The Empress File, Twisted Prey, Holy Ghost, Neon Prey, Bloody Genius, The Investigator , Ocean Prey, Dark Angel, Judgment Prey
Thirtieth in the Lucas Davenport mystery-thriller series and revolving around a US marshal who marches to his own drum. This story is set around Washington D.C.
My Take
Surprisingly enough, Masked Prey is about greed. Hmmm, maybe not so surprising. Sigh. It is an interesting start with our introduction to Audrey’s and Blake’s relationship. It’s also sad as it pretty much sums up today’s high schoolers’ extracurriculars. Back in my day… *grin*
Sandford uses third person global subjective point-of-view primarily from Lucas’ perspective but also from Dunn’s and Randy’s. Yep, there are others, and they’re minor. Global subjective gives us insight into what they’re thinking, feeling, and doing.
Hmmm, Sandford has introduced a new conflict, one that’s between Lucas and Weather. He’s a lot more conventional than the liberal Weather, and they are so disagreeing about the American medical system. I think they’re both right.
Wow. Paranoia and a single thought that only whites had rights, that only whites deserve to exist. Talk about an appropriate topic in these months of #BlackLivesMatter!
It is interesting how evenly Dunn assesses his ability to kill. As for Blake, he did surprise me at the end. There’s hope yet. I was also impressed with Old John’s decision at the end. It makes perfect sense and keeps him in the game.
Old John also makes an excellent point about guilt by association. It’s like putting blinders on. An action indulged in by too many. Later on Sandford claims the ANM hates everybody, etc., and I don’t see that at all. Ohhh, never mind. I read it over a few times, trying to figure it out, and found the comment is actually about Forlorn Hope. That makes sense.
Alice Green isn’t the only person with whom Lucas has been talking fashion. Seems he’s been advising Bob too, and has taken on Donald. As for Bob’s and Rae’s back history as babies…L.O.L.
It’s a combination of action and character. Well, the lack of character is what drives most of the action. And I gotta say, these people are scary. And so stupid. Although, I do sympathize quite a bit with the ANM group. We do have “too many idiots in high office, spending money that we don’t have.”
On the negative side, I was disappointed with Masked Prey. Sure, the mystery aspect was fascinating, but Lucas didn’t feel like the same guy. His actions were so low-key and, I gotta say, rather boring.
Those last two lines in the book are something of a cliffhanger and foreshadowing. Sure hope it’s better than Masked Prey.
Doesn’t everybody have a gun?? I feel so left out, lol…
The Story
It’s a Dark website, 1919, one that encourages the idea of assassination as a way to kickstart a change of views. To get someone else to pull the trigger.
It’s a way to escape the consequences. They thought.
The Characters
US Marshal Lucas Davenport, a millionaire through development of role-playing and computer games, loves being a cop. His current job gives him the freedom to hunt bad guys, providing he does the occasional political task for either of the senators. He does have a reputation as someone who takes care of business, despite events in Neon Prey, 29. Weather is his plastic surgeon wife, who now operates only on indigent cases. Sam is their son.
The very rich Democratic Senator Elmer Hudson is the former governor of Minnesota. Jasper is Elmer’s aide. Oona is a friend of Elmer’s wife. Republican Senator Porter Smalls, Elmer’s longtime friend, is also rich and from Minnesota. Alice Green is a former Secret Service agent (with a passion for clothes) now running for a seat in the US House of Representatives. Denise is an assistant federal attorney. Eric Gabriel, a.k.a., Angel Gabriel, is an Ag Commissioner who intends to run against Roberta. He’s been a bad boy.
FBI
Special Agent Jane Chase (Twisted Prey, 28) is in charge of the investigation. Donald is her assistant. Doug is undercover as the stinky street guy. Deputy Director Mallard is a friend of Lucas’. The FBI has a division that tracks the HVE, Homegrown Violent Extremists.
US Marshals Service
Russell Forte is Lucas’ boss. US Marshals Bob Matees and Rae Givens (her dad was a pharmacist) are part of their Special Operations Group (SOG), which specializes in kicking in doors and taking names. Rae really likes full-auto M4s. Special Agent Sandro Tremanty had been the guy Rae was seeing after events in Twisted Prey. Andi is a gym teacher Bob is seeing.
The Watergate Hotel is…
…where Lucas is staying in D.C. Jeff Toomes, an ex-cop, is plainclothes security at the hotel whom Lucas met the last time he was in D.C. (Twisted Prey).
The Claridge School is…
…in Reston, Virginia, where the publicity-hungry Audrey Coil, 17, runs a teen blog, Young’nHot’nDC, with four paying sponsors. Her mother is Democratic Senator Roberta “Bob” Coil of Georgia and is on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Her father, George Coil, runs his grass-development company in Tifton, Georgia. Clayton Delaney is just an excuse.
Blake Winston is 17 and Audrey’s boyfriend, already operating an after-school business in video production. His father runs a hedge fund. Mary Ellen is his mother. Anne-Marie is Mary Ellen’s assistant.
1919 is…
…a Dark Web blog for a neo-Nazi group. Its graphics encourage a chain letter that gets sent to Francis Bacon and William Christopher Walton (among many others), who was discharged from the Army after four months. Brett “Brick” Abelman is a public defender and former cop.
It’s showing images of politicians and/or their kids, including the son of Burton Cherry of Colorado. Molly McWilliams is a friend of Audrey’s. Senator Ross McGovern of Arkansas’ son is a fifth grader. Jamie Wagner‘s parents won’t be thrilled to know he’s a mistake. Cynthia Cootes is the daughter of a junior senator from New Hampshire, Franklin Cootes.
Randy Stokes, a construction worker, is an addict who loves guns, and it’s all the fault of greedy non-whites. Oy. He’s living in The Plains with his sister, Rachel, a quilter — her business is Bear Wallow Quilts.
Elias Dunn is a fascist civil engineer with his own survey crew who happens to look like a comic-book Nazi. From the sound of things, I can understand why his wife left him. Bill is the job foreman; Spencer Monroe is another foreman. Tommy and Frank Bixby, a building contractor, are some of Dunn’s neighbors.
Charlie Lang is a Nazi specialist with a degree in international relations whose family money was made under Hitler. Stephen Gibson has been Charles’ assistant and researcher for the past thirteen years and has a PI license and concealed-carry permit. Andy Jackson is a cop. Barney Grier, a former Navy SEAL, is another expert on the alt-right.
Carl Stanley, who set up a charity scam, and Rollie Klein, a minor official at the Port of New York, are in prison. Harold Sandberg is right-wing, hard-core, and smart.
A number of organizations are named including Pillars of Liberty led by Leopold Brooks; the American National Militia; Richard Greene, a right-wing podcaster and shoe store operator, which he took over from his parents after he retired from the Navy as a lieutenant, is with the Greene Mountain Boys, an alt-right group; Patriotus with Roland Carr as its leader; Forlorn Hope; White Fist; Controlled Burn is a gang of parolees led by Sawyer Loan (Daniel McCutcheon had been his holdup partner) with the idiot Dick Willey a member; Lethal Edge is about white power with Dominick Caruso as its leader; River Klan; Bellum is led by Lawrence Gray; and, The White Gazette.
The American National Militia (ANM) is…
…a group of extreme libertarians whose leader is Old John Henry Oxford, a retired postal worker. Marty is his militant wife. They like private property and self-reliance and don’t allow orders. Marcia Miller is their public representative. David Thomas Aline, an ex-Army captain, can run fast and works for Bechtel.
Mark Sutton and Jack Byrd live a few blocks apart in Frederick and are involved in three or four alt-right groups. Amy is Sutton’s wife, and they have two young children.
Milton and Barbara Faye own a farm in Piner, Kentucky. Butch is their Rottweiler.
Forlorn Hope thinks…
…rape is a natural right. Probably because they’re such losers, no woman would touch them. They’re led by Mark Stapler who lives in the back of the Woke Café in Dover, Delaware. Its members are a bunch of incels angry ’cause they can’t get a Stacy (Chads are good-looking guys; Stacys are good-looking desirable women) and include Darrell, Jason, and Ron Linstad.
Goochland, Virginia, is…
…where Tabitha Calvin, Sawyer Loan’s girlfriend, lives. Sheriff Preston Uwell says she has a mean streak. Larry McCoy is an investigator. Deputy Eric Cousins works patrol. Bill King.
It’s The White Gazette…
…a newspaper published by Jackson Wheatley. Constance is his crazy wife.
White Fist is…
…led by Toby Boone, who runs Boone Precious Metals and Pawn, which also functions as the group’s HQ. Tom Brenner and Tom Nader work at the shop, Rusty “Cop” Wannamaker is a UPS driver, Ross, Shirley, and Andy appear to be White Fist members. Leroy Nathaniel Carter, a.k.a., Linc, is one of their members who shouldn’t be seen. His girlfriend, Carol Lou Lacey, works for the US Department of Health and Human Services. Scary.
Adam Carlucci is a SWAT commander with a team Lucas describes as thugs with law degrees. Rick is the UPS supervisor.
Figueroa & Prince is…
…a custom tailor shop where Lucas has previously purchased suits. Ted is the sales clerk who has helped Lucas in the past. Jim is the tailor.
Chuck’s Wagon is a country music grill. ZOG is Zionist Occupied Government. Elliott Horton was a loser criminal Xeroxing counterfeit $20 bills. Dave McCall is a journalist with the Washington Post. Lee Wilson has a federal firearms license and runs Wilson’s Outdoors in Glen Allen. Mandeep Kaur owns the mall. Will Gentry and Bunny are vendors at a gun show.
The Cover and Title
The background of the cover is an uneven gradation from blue to bright red-violet, left to right. On top of this is boxed lines representing data with the author’s name in the top half and the title in the bottom half. The gridded strips and the text use a more even gradation of lime green to blue. Next to the author’s first name is an info blurb in mostly blue while the series info is between name and title following the same color gradation but without the grid.
The title is the creator behind 1919, the Masked Prey they are all hunting.
