I’ll admit I wasn’t excited about the premise of John Sandford’s Toxic Prey. But, the thirty-fourth book in the Prey series was riveting, a tension-filled novel all the way to the end. Letty Davenport, and her father, Lucas, are together trying to save the world from a plot that really could wipe out most of the people on earth.

Dr. Lionel Scott is a British doctor who has worked all over the world, dealing with viruses and pathogens. He’s seen the worst diseases in tropical countries. Now, he’s convince that Gaia, the earth, is dying, and the only way to save Gaia is to wipe out most of the population. And, he has a plan. When he disappears from his job at Los Alamos in New Mexico, it’s cause for concern.

Technically, Letty Davenport works for the Department of Homeland Security, but her actual boss is the senator who chairs the committee on Homeland Security. When, he tells her she’s heading to London to interview several of Dr. Scott’s connections, she’s on a plane. She’s met at the airport by Alec Hawkins from MI5. When they learn Scott might have plans to develop a virus that can kill half the population of the earth, and it’s bigger than Covid, they know they’re in trouble.

Even before they return to the U.S., Letty calls for help from Homeland Security, and recommends that several U.S. Marshals, including her father, Lucas Davenport, be invited to a meeting in D.C., because they are hunters, and she knows they’ll be hunting for a man. The more they learn about the fast-moving virus, the more the team worries. Letty, Hawkins, and two Marshals head to New Mexico, but it isn’t long before they realize they need much more manpower. How do you contain a deadly virus, and find the man determined to spread it?

Sandford’s Toxic Prey is an edge-of-your-seat novel as a small group of fanatics who are willing to die for their cause are hunted by the government. And, as events spiral out of control, the governmental forces have two orders; contain the virus, and shoot to kill.

Gripping, tense, can’t put it down. The best words to describe Toxic Prey. When Letty Davenport is involved, it’s disaster on a grand scale.

John Sandford’s website is https://www.johnsandford.org/

Toxic Prey by John Sandford. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024. ISBN 9780593714492 (hardcover), 400p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley through NetGalley so I could review the book for a journal.