A Lucas Davenport thriller by internationally bestselling novelist John Sandford

The first corpse is found on the riverbank. The second in an isolated farmhouse. Both have been savagely beaten, the skin flayed from their bodies, their throats cut.

For both victims, there's a DNA match. Charlie Pope, a convicted sex offender, has cut himself free from his court-imposed ankle bracelet and disappeared. Now all Davenport has to do is find him.

But something doesn't smell right. The killings were calculated and methodical. Pope is of low intelligence, incapable of careful forethought and planning.

All the evidence points to Pope - but Davenport has his doubts. To find the answers, he must track down his key suspect. And to do that, he'll need the help of the Big Three: three vicious serial killers locked up in the state security hospital. Three killers as cunning as they are deranged...

***READERS LOVE THE PREY SERIES***

'John Sandford knows all there is to know about detonating the gut-level shocks of a good thriller' The New York Times Book Review
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'The best Lucas Davenport story so far. The man has a fine touch for outlaws' Stephen King on Golden Prey

'Sandford’s trademark blend of rough humor and deadly action keeps the pages turning until the smile-inducing wrap-up, which reveals the fates of a number of his quirky, memorable characters' Publishers Weekly on Golden Prey

'It appears there is no limit to John Sandford’s ability to keep new breath and blood flowing into his Lucas Davenport series. This is a series you must be reading if you are not already' Bookreporter.com

'Sandford has always been at the top of any list of great mystery writers. His writing and the appeal of his lead character are as fresh as ever' The Huffington Post

'Sandford is consistently brilliant' Cleveland Plain Dealer