Book Review of RIGHTEOUS PREY by John Sandford

RIGHTEOUS PREY by John Sandford (Random House Large Print Publishing, October 2022   ) Trade paperback, 496 pages. ISBN # 9780593632635 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . .

Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are up against a powerful vigilante group with an eye on vengeance in a stunning new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.

"We're going to murder people who need to be murdered." So begins a press release from a mysterious group known only as "The Five," shortly after a vicious predator is murdered in San Francisco. The Five is believed to be made up of vigilante killers who are very bored...and very rich. They target the worst of society--rapists, murderers, and thieves--and then use their unlimited resources to offset the damage done by those who they've killed, donating untraceable bitcoin to charities and victims via the dark net. The Five soon become the most popular figures on social media, a modern-day Batman...though their motives may not be entirely pure.

After a woman is murdered in the Twin Cities, Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport are sent in to investigate. And they soon have their hands full--the killings are smart and carefully choreographed, and with no apparent direct connection to the victims, the Five are virtually untraceable. But if anyone can destroy this group, it will be the dynamic team of Davenport and Flowers.

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     Like most Sandford novels, I read vigorously through this in just a matter of days. I probably could have read this in one day, if I had nothing else on the menu. Despite what should be a tired formula by now, Sandford manages to keep it interesting, keep it topical and timely, keep it suspenseful, action-packed and darkly humorous - - and keeps coming up with creative ways to keep the team of Davenport and Flowers active. Although, after the battle scars from this one, both would be justified in hanging up the star and taking a desk job. 

     The Five are a despicable but interesting group of vigilante justice-seekers with extreme methods. Extremely wealthy and bored, they band together to eliminate the "assholes" of the world. The irony is that The Five are all assholes as well. I appreciate that Sandford left some of the investigation unsolved, providing space for a sequel/follow-up to the story should he need or want to do so. I would gladly read that, and read this again if there weren't so many other books on the shelf calling for my attention.