Neon Prey, published in 2019, is John Sandford’s 29th book in the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport. For newcomers to the series, Davenport is a burly former hockey player turned cop, who made millions in the software business as he became a top homicide investigator. He’s brilliant and scrappy, constantly getting into fights and killing people (who deserved it, of course). He’s a tough guy leading man, married to a beautiful, successful pediatric surgeon. He never backs down. He always gets his man. He gets banged up in the process, but he’s always coming back for more.
As of this book, and the last few in the series, Davenport has signed on with the US Marshalls. He got the gig due to political connections, and he’s called upon to clean up the odd mess concerning Minnesota senators and so forth. Mostly, though, Davenport is given assignments where he can be independent and go after bad guys his way. I am not sure if this is realistic for a big federal bureaucracy, but I’ll allow Sandford some creative license.
The problem is that the Davenport books have become extended chase sequences. There is not much detecting or police work going on. Davenport is given a guy to catch, and you’re off on the chase.
I Neon Prey, the bad guy in question is a hit man/serial killer named Deese, who is bad, baaaaaaad news… He’s skipped bail in New Orleans, where he did muscle work for the mob, and disappeared. He seems to have gone to Los Angeles to hook up with his brother’s home invasion robbery team, and Davenport, accompanied by his fellow Marshalls Bob and Rae, are in pursuit. (Sandford likes to play with characters’ names. Bob and Rae may be a reference to Bob and Ray, a famous 1950s comedy duo. Davenport also once worked with a cop named Del Capslock… as in the Delete and Caps Lock keys… ha ha.)
We watch Deese and the robbery team in parallel with Davenport’s people. They keep getting close, but the bad guys slip away every time. It’s frustrating, but that’s how an extended chase works. You so, so close, but no, someone screw up and they get away.
The chase takes them to Las Vegas, which is where the bulk of the book is set. We spend some time with robbery gang, which features a guy who’s not into violence, but is rather along for the money. He’s developing a secret relationship with the gang leader’s girlfriend, a woman whom everyone underestimates.
It’s fun to watch Davenport figure out the gang’s next move and use his cop skills to sniff out their location while everyone else in law enforcement chases their tails. Sandford is very good at setting up action sequences. You get immersed in the experience of chasing Deese through the city and its neon landscape.
I’ve read many of the Prey books, so consider me a fan. Sandford consistently delivers a great read and fun characters. That said, like any series of this length, it’s starting to show its age. Sandford has started branching off into new characters, such as Davenport’s adopted daughter, Letty, who now has her own books, and Virgil Flowers (aka “That fucking Flowers”) of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).
That’s probably a good move, because Davenport is getting older and he’s got to be ready for retirement soon, right? Sandford has skillfully steered clear of sharks to jump over, but I have a feeling we might be on the verge of finding Davenport on Gilligan’s Island with the Harlem Globetrotters any day now.