It’s hard to believe that this is Davenport’s 29th adventure. He’s gotten shot, stabbed, punched numerous times, and suffered various other indignities. In NEON PREY he and his fellow Marshals Bob and Rae are hot on the heels of a cannibal. Multiple bodies have been found in the yard of Clayton Deese, and the Marshals want to ask him some questions. Deese, however, is not cooperating.

When Lucas and Co. discover that the livers from the bodies are missing, and the barbeque grill from Deese’s house has been used, they realize that they are not looking for a typical run-of-the-mill killer. Bob, Rae, and Lucas share the spotlight equally, which is different from previous books. It almost seems as though Lucas is part of the supporting cast rather than the main character. Even his “cop talk” is secondary to that of Bob and Rae.

Las Vegas is a quirky setting that provides both sparkle and squalor. There is a section of the book where Deese and his crew hang out at a friend’s ramshackle trailer. As I read on, I could hear the banjos from “Deliverance” in the background – it was that eerie!

My thoughts on this one is that it’s a firm middle-of-the-road Prey novel. What stood out for me was that Davenport seems to be feeling his age (both mentally and physically) here. No spoilers; but I was not ready for some of the plot twists. Kudos to the author for keeping his characters human with relevant emotions.

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Lucas, Bob, and Rae chase after Clayton Deese, a hardcore killer who eats his victims in this crime thriller. Traveling to L.A. and Las Vegas, the U. S. Marshals have several shootouts with Deese and his gang, but they always seem to get away - until they don't. Lucas suffers in this one but recovers well. Neon Prey is good action interlaced with humor—another winner for John Sandford. ( )

I can read about Lucas Davenport everyday! his time he really got himself in a pickle!! Getting shot like it did and yet surviving was the best. Keep them coming. ( )

Deese was a thin man. He was fast, with ropy muscles, and mean, like an aggressive orangutan. His face was a skull, tight, sly, except where a half dozen wrinkles crossed his sunburnt forehead. He had black eyes and a nose that had been broken into angles like a lump of shattered pottery. He had a red-and-blue tattoo, on one shoulder of a wolf with a biker's head in its jaws and, on the other, a witchy Medusa in black ink, with spitting cobras for hair.

Lucas Davenport is now a full-fledged U.S. marshal, who is called upon for special assignments. In Book #29, he is called on for his expertise in tracking down a serial killer, Clayton Deese, who is a hit man for a New Orleans thug. After ditching his tracking device, a slew of dead bodies are discovered in his swampy backyard in Louisiana, with some showing signs of being eaten. Lucas manages to track him to L.A. where he has hooked up with some other nasty dudes in wealthy home invasions. In a horribly botched SWAT raid, Lucas gets hurt and most of the bad guys get away, heading to glitter gulch from tinsel town. Things continue to go badly as Lucas and his team of Bob and Rae once again find Deese and his accomplices only to have the local cops jeopardize another arrest attempt. While the book moved along and was pretty violent, I am not sure there was much character development and Deese was nothing special as a villain. ( )