Righteous Prey

Bestseller Sandford’s enjoyable second novel to unite his two main series leads (after 2021’s Ocean Prey) pits U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers, an agent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, against a highly organized group of mega-wealthy, thrill-seeking vigilantes, who meet on the dark web. The vigilantes keep their identities secret, issue a press release and donate to a charity after each kill, and urge others to follow their example. Their stated objective is “to murder people who need to be murdered.” Each of the five core members has their own idea of what that statement means. The first victim is a homeless man who prowls the alleys of San Francisco, the second a U.S. representative from Texas, the third a Minnesota real estate developer. With the real estate developer’s murder, Davenport and Flowers are drawn in to help with the FBI’s investigation. The book’s strength rests firmly on the rapport between Davenport and Flowers: their pithy dialogue is spiced with the kind of humor that enduring friendships engender. Sandford fans will hope they have a long run as a team. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM Partners. (Oct.)