Ocean Prey is a mystery, and suspense novel by
John Sandford released in 2021. The book reached number one on the
''New York Times'' Best Seller list. The novel is about two detectives who investigate the murder of three members of the
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
. The novel is the 31st in the John Sandford
''Prey Series''.
Plot
Lucas Davenport is the star character from the series of novels that Sandford wrote, called the ''Prey Series''.
Sandford also wrote a series of novels using a character named Virgil Flowers.
In the novel ''Ocean Prey'' both characters Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are brought together to investigate the murder of three members of the Coast Guard in Florida.
The drug smugglers who killed the Coast Guard officials hide their drugs at the bottom of the ocean and set their own boat on fire to hide any evidence.
When the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
does not make the case a priority, Flowers goes undercover to infiltrate a criminal operation.
Virgil Flowers teams up with a female partner named Rae. After joining the gang of drug smugglers, Flowers goes diving in 100 feet of water to try to recover the drugs for the criminals.
Major themes
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Underwater diving
Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on context ...
*
Drug smuggling
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, except under license, ...
*
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
*
Undercover operation
To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...
Reception
The book reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list May 2, 2021.
The novel reached number one an Amazon's Most sold list April 24, 2021.
On May 11, 2021 the book was
Apple Store's number 9 novel.
Ray Walsh from the ''
Lansing State Journal
The ''Lansing State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Lansing, Michigan, owned by Gannett.
Overview
The ''Lansing State Journal'' is the sole daily newspaper published in Greater Lansing. The newspaper had an average Monday through ...
'' called the book, "A wild ride."
Tim O'Connell from the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union said the book has witty banter and, "Sandford always produces a good reading adventure... ".
Because of the diving themes Sandford one critic has said the book us too technical, and the story drags in the middle. The author concludes the book with a statement to readers: "If you are a diver, and you do find a serious error... I don’t want to hear about it..."
See also
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''The New York Times'' Fiction Best Sellers of 2021
References
External links
Ocean Preyat John Sandford
Ocean Preyat Penguin Random House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean Prey
2021 American novels
American mystery novels
Suspense-fiction Adventure
American thriller novels
G. P. Putnam's Sons books