Judgment Prey

A Prey Novel

By: John Sandford

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

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 all three were shot in cold blood. A wealthy federal judge, there’s no short list of people who could have a vendetta against Sands, but the gruesome murders, especially that of his children, turn their St. Paul community on its head. Sand was on the verge of a major donation to a local housing charity, Heart/Twin Cities, and with the money in limbo, eyes suddenly turn to his grieving widow, Margaret Cooper, to see what she might do with the money. Margaret, distraught over the death of her family, struggles to move forward, and can’t imagine how or why anyone would target her husband.

With public pressure mounting and both the local police force and FBI hitting dead end after dead end, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to do what others could not: find answers. With each potential lead flawed, Davenport and Flowers are determined to chase every theory until they figure out who killed the Sands. But when they find themselves being stonewalled by the most unlikely of forces, the two wonder if perhaps each misdirection could lead them closer to the truth.

©2023 John Sandford (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“The sequel to Righteous Prey reunites Davenport and Flowers in an intricate crime novel. The strong characters, known for their deep friendship and jokey relationship, will continue to appeal to fans of the long-running series.” –Library Journal (starred review)

What a difference a narrator makes

Richard Ferrone made all the difference. I would swear this book was written by a different author. The story had no flow and could not hold together. It's hard to keep up with the story and the characters are totally different now. I can hardly finish this.

g Good story line with clear narrator

I enjoyed the story and have recommended it to my friends
The narrator spoke very clearly and was quite understandable. He hasn't captured the gravel or the cynical bent of Lucas character. In this attempt Virgil delivers more petulance than dry humor. we all miss Richard Ferrone his interpretation of Lucas will take a while to get past. I don't know how the business of publishing narrated books works but if Eric Conger were to read the Virgil character ( which I think he did with great alacrity) this listener would feel more comfortable with the continuity. Regardless of my comments I have placed my order for Untitled Prey 34

Disappointing

I started reading the Prey novels decades ago. The first was from the Books on Tape collection, but I loved the stories so much, I started scrounging discount bookstores and libraries for the paperbacks. When I caught up, I picked up some hardbacks because I couldn't wait for the paperback. Unfortunately, time to read has gotten slim.

Fortunately, time for audiobooks has increased! To that end, I picked up Rules of Prey to start over and get back into the series. Richard Ferrone (RIP) did a great job and the Prey novels were back on my radar. I then decided to pick up the current audiobook, Judgment Prey, narrated by Robert Petkoff. I'm not sure I can finish this version.

Robert Petkoff's stiff narration reminds me of Gary Owen as the Laugh-In announcer. I can almost picture Petkoff with his hand to his ear creating this version of the book in his best radio announcer voice. Conversations with colleagues and family are done in the same over-excited voice as the murder and the chase sequence where Lucas received his injuries. Not everything is as tense as that and the reading being done like that is irritating and then boring.

I don't mind a long series of books having different narrators as much as some people do. A series of 22 books that I love has 5 different narrators. Only one narrator was disappointing and he only did one (he does other books very well, though). The others all bring something good to the stories and the timeline. It feels like those four narrators read the other books or listened to the narrations before they embarked on their entries.

I feel like Petkoff had never read a Prey novel before and had absolutely no feel for Davenport or Flowers. It sounds like he knows he's reading about a tough detective named Davenport and his almost tough, but younger colleague Flowers, so he has to keep up the hard-boiled attitude regardless of the situation. Family time is as hard-boiled as evaluating the crime scene time.

Bottom line, I think I will buy this book in paperback sometime and give it a fair shot. I hope Petkoff either bows out before the next entry in the audiobook series or that he tempers his portrayals by listening to earlier entries by Ferrone. or maybe he just needs to read more Prey (and Flowers) novels and gets to know Davenport and Flowers better.

Great story

The story is a great addition to the Prey series. I’ve listened to them all, this one was missing one thing… Richard Ferrone. I believe if Ferrone had read it, it may have sounded 100 times better. Robert Petkoff did a great job, but he is looking to take Ferrone’s place, he has to kick it up a notch!

Wrong voice

I didn’t care for the voice of the new reader. Cadence not right for the way Lucas usually speaks.

good story

where is Richard Ferrone? didn't like the narrator. loved being back in Minneapolis St Paul.

Grateful this series continues

I enjoy the series and enjoyed this latest book. I immediately missed previous narrator Richard Ferronev(RIP) but once over the change, I settled into Petkoffs performance. It was lively, modulated but completely natural (no odd character voices) - a skill I admire especially w multiple speaking characters.
The story was engaging, well paced and fresh. Enjoyable in every way. A fine read/listen.

Great book

I love Lucas Davenport series. Keeps you in your toes! I listened to the entire series and I am looking forward to the next one coming out in 2024.

Poor Narration

Characters seem to be impacted by lack of inflection from the new narrator.

I too suspected a different author or co-writer that affected the known relationships and their interactions.

Pleasantly surprised

Based on many of the reviews, I was expecting a potentially underwhelming novel with an awful narration, but I was pleasantly surprised. I found the writing to be solid, and in line with what to expect from the series. As for the narration, I think Petkoff actually did a great job. I can only assume people hated it simply because he was not Ferrone.