I have now read all 28 of the Prey books in order. Was it worth reading them in series order? No. Several times I've compared these books to eating potato chips: easily consumed, very tasty, and completely forgettable. You don't need to know what happened in the last to follow the next. There's barely any change to the main character Lucas Davenport; he's a maverick with a small circle of trusted friends, although Sandford did manage to morph him into a family man. The supporting characters come and go, but they are all pretty similar. He goes from a detective to a political appointee at state level to a US Marshal, but he always does the same thing. The villains have nothing sympathetic about them, they are designed so we root for them to be killed. OK...so was it worth reading all of them in any order? Yeah, I enjoyed them. I didn't get tired of the writing style - there's things that repeat, but if he's got any little "tics" I didn't notice - what I noticed was the plot formula. But even having read them twice, the plots are not going to stick with me long. I can't imagine reading them a third time, not with other choices available, so when I need shelf space they're going to the thrift store. About that plot formula - the books are amazingly consistent in tone and pacing. Sandford has created a very successful blueprint and he follows it every single time. What discipline that must take, I find that very admirable. As a reader you know what you're getting, and even if you don't, it doesn't matter if you read the first or last in the series, you'll find a fast-paced book where you know who wears the white hats and the bad guys get what's coming to them. I got this one from the library; I might read the next one - I don't feel a burning desire to keep up with them at the moment - but if I do, I'll also get it from the library.

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