How to read John Sandford’s books in order

Here is a complete list of John Sandford’s books and how to read them in the correct order.

About John Sandford

John Sandford was born in 1944 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and he is a New York Times best-selling writer. Sandford studied American history, received a bachelor’s degree and master’s in journalism from the University of Iowa, and he is a Pulitzer prize winner.

After that, he spent a couple of years working as a journalist before he started working on his stories. His writing career started in 1989 when he wrote two stories, and each was the beginning of a successful series.

Lucas Davenport books in order

The story of Lucas Davenport started in 1989, and it tells the tale of a detective from the Minneapolis Police Department. While the name of the series is Prey, many know it as the Lucas Davenport series due to the main character.

Rules of Prey (1989)

Rules of Prey is the first book in the series, and it starts the journey of Lucas Davenport. And the story will keep you on the edge of your seat. This thrilling murder mystery is the great beginning of what became a successful series.

Shadow Prey (1990)

Shadow Prey continues the story of the Minneapolis detective, and it follows a series of brutal murders. Lieutenant Davenport is also close to breaking his one rule – never get involved with a cop.

Eyes of Prey (1991)

Eyes of Prey is the third novel in the series, and it starts with a shocking murder that shakes the Twin Cities. Davenport is not sure that he can solve the murder until another one happens. And he needs to step up his game.

Silent Prey (1992)

Silent Prey offers another exciting story, romance, and mystery. It includes a couple of characters from previous novels, including a brilliant pathologist and a policewoman Lily Rothenburg. And it seems that the love story between Rothernburg and Davenport is far from over.

Winter Prey (1993)

Winter Prey takes the main character a bit further from home. He is in the woods in Wisconsin, and he will have to solve a new type of crime. But will he manage to solve the crime and survive the winter?

Night Prey (1994)

Being caught in the middle of a murder mystery and personal issues, Lucas Davenport will have to find a way to make things work. But there is something suspiciously familiar with the series of bodies that keep appearing.

Mind Prey (1995)

The family of three is killed. Andi Manette might have known the killer, but she won’t tell anyone. Neither will her two daughters. The only one that can solve the mystery is Lucas Davenport.

Sudden Prey (1996)

After a vicious bank robber named Cindy dies in a shoot-out with police, her husband swears that he will have his revenge. And his plan is to find the names of everyone involved and start killing those dearest to them.

Secret Prey (1998)

A company chairman was killed from a close range. There were four executives with him during the hunt, and none of them seemed shaken. It looks like a classical murder mystery with four suspects. But there is so much more to it.

Certain Prey (1999)

Clara Rinker is the best hit-woman in the business. And her job takes her to Minneapolis, where she crosses paths with Davenport. Everything starts getting complicated when a witness survives.

Easy Prey (2000)

There are easy murder cases and those that keep getting complicated by the second. And Davenport will soon learn that the murder of a famous model is in the latter category. Secrets keep popping out, and it gets more complex by the second.

Chosen Prey (2001)

Chosen Prey is the twelfth book in the Prey novels, and Davenport will need to find a way to deal with a perverted professor that decided to take his interests a bit further. The worst thing about him killing a girl is that he liked it.

Mortal Prey (2002)

Clara Rinker is back. The deadliest woman seemed to have retired. But someone doesn’t want her to spend her days enjoying cocktails in Mexico. And Davenport is picked by DEA and FBI to track her down.

Naked Prey (2003)

Even after years of writing the series, John Sandford’s writing remains fresh and unique. In Naked Prey, Davenport finds himself in a different situation. Things are changing, and the recent murders are not what they appear to be.

Hidden Prey (2004)

Davenport started working as a troubleshooter. And this time, the victim is Russian. Things just keep getting more and more complicated, and there is a new player on the field – a Russian policewoman.

Broken Prey (2005)

Broken Prey follows a series of murders that appear to be connected to a powerful and dangerous drug lord. As the investigation progresses, Lucas finds himself in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to protect his criminal empire.

Invisible Prey (2007)

The killer is bragging. He is not trying to hide his murders. He puts his victims on display. And the bodies keep piling up. While Davenport is working to solve the case, he might be on the wrong track.

Phantom Prey (2008)

With Phantom Prey, Sandford manages to push boundaries. And Davenport is in an unusual situation. He had strange cases before, but this one is something else, and it is unclear whether he will be able to solve it.

Wicked Prey (2009)

Several years ago, a stray bullet put Randy Whitcomb in a wheelchair. He blames Davenport for the injury. He could kill him, but it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun. Whitcomb wants revenge, and now is a perfect moment since Davenport has an adoptive daughter.

Storm Prey (2010)

Storm Prey is the twentieth novel in the Prey series. The story begins in the local hospital. Three men burst in and cleaned the place. Unfortunately, one of the workers died. And they ran into Weather Karkinnen on the way out. Who just happens to be Davenport’s wife.

Buried Prey (2011)

In Minneapolis, an entire block is being torn down. And while it is a chance for new beginnings, it also takes Davenport to a new type of case. The demolition uncovered the bodies of two girls who were kidnapped in 1985. And Davenport will try to uncover the truth behind this cold case.

Stolen Prey (2012)

The entire family has been killed in a small town in Minnesota. The killer left a message written in blood. It only said, “were coming.” But what does it mean? Is it a spelling mistake? None of it makes sense.

Silken Prey (2013)

This time, the murder victim is a political fixer. And solving the murder is something Davenport might start to regret. There are important figures involved in the crime, and some of them will stop at nothing.

Field of Prey (2014)

Two teenagers decided to have some fun in private and find an abandoned farmyard. However, when things start getting spicy, they realize something doesn’t smell quite right. Police arrive and find a body and then another. By the time Davenport arrived, there were more than fifteen bodies. But how could this go unnoticed?

Gathering Prey (2015)

Someone is killing Travelers -a group of people that love being on the road. The worst thing is they never commit crimes and they are not aggressive. So why is anyone targeting them? Lucas will have to find out.

Extreme Prey (2016)

The story continues from Gathering Prey, and Lucas is no longer employed by Minnesota BCA. Davenport decides to use the time to help his friend with his presidential campaign, but it starts getting problematic when they discover that there is a man focused on killing the governor.

Golden Prey (2017)

Davenport starts working as a U.S. Marshal, and his first case sends him to uncharted territory. The best thing about his new job? He gets to choose his own cases.

Twisted Prey (2018)

Taryn Grant ran successfully for the U.S. Senate. She is rich, successful, and determined. But there is one more thing. Lucas also believes she is responsible for three murders. He was never able to prove it. But now, he might be forced to solve the case.

Neon Prey (2019)

Clayton Deese, a lowlife criminal, skipped bail. U.S. Marshals will need to find him. But they don’t care about Deese. It is his boss they want. Davenport will find himself in Louisiana following a trail of a serial killer.

Masked Prey (2020)

The U.S. Senator’s daughter found her picture on a disturbing website. And the website is filled with pictures of children of powerful people. Someone is doing a great job stalking them without anyone realizing it.

Ocean Prey (2021)

Three guardsmen have been killed. They tried investigating a strange behavior, and now they are gone. Since they were federal officers, the FBI needed to step in. And when they fail to solve the case, they call Lucas Davenport.

Righteous Prey (2022)

Righteous Prey is the last published novel in the Prey series, and it came out in 2022. Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport team up to solve the case. And they might be the only ones that can do it.

Lucas Davenport short story

While John Sandford wrote a couple of short stories, there is a single one focused on Lucas Davenport, the main character from the Prey series.

Rhymes With Prey: Lincoln Rhyme vs. Lucas Davenport (2014)

The name of the book is a wordplay, and it hints at two main characters of the story – Lincoln Rhyme and Lucas Davenport. Rhymes With Prey is the first time these two characters team up, and the story is written by Jeffery Deaver and John Sandford.

Jeffery Deaver wrote the Lincoln Rhyme series.

Letty Davenport series

The Letty Davenport series focuses on Lucas’ daughter, and she appeared in several Prey stories. But this time, she is the protagonist.

The Investigator (2022)

The Investigator follows Letty Davenport and Lucas’ 24-year-old adoptive daughter. She gets her first job in the Department of Homeland Security. Her first feet-on-the-ground job.

Dark Angel (2023)

Sandford managed to publish the second book in the Letty Davenport series as soon as the year started, and it is a charming continuation of the story filled with mystery and danger. And she is more than capable of solving complex crimes.

Virgil Flowers books in order

Virgil Flowers first appeared in the Prey series, and he and Davenport worked closely together on a couple of cases.

Dark of the Moon (2007)

Dark of the Moon is the first story following Virgil Flowers and is working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. And this case is unlike any other he had before.

Heat Lightning (2008)

Heat Lightning continues the successful beginning of the Virgil Flowers series. The story starts with a phone call. His old friend Lucas Davenport needs help. They found an unusual murder scene.

Rough Country (2009)

Flowers continues working closely with Davenport, and Lucas calls him whenever there is an interesting case to solve. This time, the murder victim is close by, and Flowers will need to solve the case.

Bad Blood (2010)

Even though the series was still fresh when Bad Blood came out, Virgil Flowers quickly became a fan-favorite character. This time, Flowers will have to work on solving the case and figuring out whether someone on the inside was involved.

Shock Wave (2011)

A bomb explodes in the headquarters of the local superstore chain. The idea was to create maximum damage, and Virgil Flowers will need to act fast if he wants to prevent more people from getting killed.

Mad River (2012)

A group of teenagers killed a girl. Then they killed a man to steal his car. And then killings continued. The crime spree doesn’t seem to have any intention of stopping, and Flowers needs to figure out what is happening.

Storm Front (2013)

Another story starts with Davenport’s phone call. This time, he tells Flowers that he will soon get a visit from an Israeli cop. The duo will need to work together to stop a smuggler. And time is running out.

Deadline (2014)

The story gets worse by the second. What started as a case of dognapping quickly turned into a series of crimes and murders. And Virgil Flowers is the perfect man to put an end to all of it.

Escape Clause (2016)

Two rare tigers have disappeared from the Minnesota zoo. And that’s just the beginning. Authorities believe that someone stole tigers to use their body parts for medicine. And Flowers will soon learn that people are willing to do anything to get them.

Deep Freeze (2017)

In a small Minnesota town, Trippton, a woman has been found in a block of ice. There is a chance that the murder is connected to a class from twenty years ago. Virgil will have to investigate relationships and events that span over two decades.

Holy Ghost (2018)

Pinion is a small town in Minnesota, with a population of only seven hundred people. But someone decides to put the town on the map by murdering people. And it is just the beginning of problems for Virgil Flowers.

Bloody Genius (2019)

Bloody Genius is the last book in the Virgil Flowers series, and it was published in 2019. It remains to be seen whether this thrilling series will continue in the future and what Sandford has in store for the brilliant detective.

Kidd & LuEllen books

Kidd and LuEllen bestsellers are a part of the Kidd series, and there are four entries you can check out.

The Fool’s Run (1989)

The Fool’s Run is the first book in the Kidd series, and it introduces the main characters – Kidd, a painter, tarot reader, and computer scientist, and LuEllen, a cat burglar. This unique team will have to work together.

The Empress File (1991)

The story takes Kidd and his partner LuEllen to unusual situations that are often not so legal. It also deepens their relationship and connection while they try to find a way to solve the problems. But tarot cards show trouble along the way.

The Devil’s Code (2000)

The Devil’s Code is a great story about Kidd, a computer wizard and part-time criminal, and his lover LuEllen. And everything changes when Kidd discovers that his former colleague Jack Morrison has died.

The Hanged Man’s Song (2003)

The final Kidd novel, The Hanged Man’s Song, was published in 2003. This brilliant story left fans aching for more, and they keep hoping that Sandford will return to this beloved character.

Singular Menace books with Michele Cook

The Singular Menace series is a trilogy, and it was written with Michele Cook.

Uncaged (2014)

Uncaged is the first book in the Singular Menace trilogy, and it is the beginning of an incredible story. It gives a nice introduction to the main characters, Shay Renby, Odin, and a strange Singular Corporation.

Outrage (2015)

Outrage is the second book in the Singular Menace trilogy, and it continues the story of Shay Renby, her gang, and their fight against Singular Corporation. And now their team has a new member.

Rampage (2016)

Rampage is the final book in the Singular Menace trilogy, and it is a satisfying ending to the story. Michele Cook and John Sandford offer an intriguing story filled with great character and a captivating narrative.

Standalone books

Besides working on a murder mystery series, John Sandford wrote a couple of standalone books as well.

The Night Crew (1997)

The story focuses on Anna Batory and her team of freelancers. They roam the streets looking for accidents, murders, crime, and anything else they can shoot and sell photos of to local stations. But everything changes in an instant.

Dead Watch (2006)

Dead Watch is a standalone story, and it is a thrilling piece you need to check out. It is also a great option for anyone looking for a single book to see what John Sandford has to offer.

Saturn Run (2015)

Saturn Run was written with Ctein, and it is a different book compared to others by Sandford. It is a science fiction story, and it has elements of horror. The story is set in 2066 and focuses on the first contact with aliens.

John Sandford non-fiction books in order

Sandford also wrote three non-fiction books, and they are standalone as well.

The Eye of the Heart (1988)

John Stuart Ingle is a painter, and the book focuses on his art. The full title of the novel is The Eye of the Heart: The Watercolors of John Stuart Ingle.

Plastic Surgery (1989)

John Sandford was born as John Roswell Camp, and he wrote Plastic Surgery under the name John Camp. It is focused on plastic surgeries and reasons why people get them.

Murder in the Rough (2006)

Murder in the Rough is a collection of short stories, and John Sandford wrote: “Lucy Had a List.”

John Sandford anthologies in order

Sandford stories were published in anthologies such as Murder in the Rough, FaceOff, and MatchUp.

Audiobooks

If you are interested in exploring Sandford’s books, the simplest way is to listen to his audiobooks.

Listen to John Sandford’s books with Speechify

Speechify is the best audiobook platform you can find. It’s easy to use and versatile, and it offers a rich audiobook library full of over 70,000 titles, from classics to new releases. And you can listen to not only John Sandford’s novels but numerous other bestselling authors across all genres. Try Speechify Audiobooks risk-free with your first premium audiobook, such as one by John Sandford on the house.