Looking for Lucas Davenport books in order? This guide covers every Lucas Davenport novel by John Sandford, listed in publication order, including the later crossover books and the Lucas Davenport short story.
The Lucas Davenport books are the Prey series, so readers searching for either term are usually looking for the same core reading order that begins with Rules of Prey. This page focuses only on Lucas and his books, which makes it the clearest place to read the series in order. If you want Sandford’s full bibliography, including Virgil Flowers, Letty Davenport, Kidd, read my John Sandford Books in Order guide.
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Lucas Davenport Books in Order
The best way to read the Lucas Davenport books is in publication order. The series builds on Lucas’s career, relationships, and recurring characters over time, so reading the books in order gives you the clearest progression from the early novels to the later crossover stories.
Several later books also pull in other John Sandford characters, especially Virgil Flowers, but you don’t need to stop and read another series first to follow the main Lucas Davenport line. Publication order keeps everything in the right sequence and works as the natural way to experience the Prey series.
- Rules of Prey (1989)
- Shadow Prey (1990)
- Eyes of Prey (1991)
- Silent Prey (1992)
- Winter Prey (1993)
- Night Prey (1994)
- Mind Prey (1995)
- Sudden Prey (1996)
- Secret Prey (1998)
- Certain Prey (1999)
- Easy Prey (2000)
- Chosen Prey (2001)
- Mortal Prey (2002)
- Naked Prey (2003)
- Hidden Prey (2004)
- Broken Prey (2005)
- Invisible Prey (2007)
- Phantom Prey (2008)
- Wicked Prey (2009)
- Storm Prey (2010)
- Buried Prey (2011)
- Stolen Prey (2012)
- Silken Prey (2013)
- Field of Prey (2014)
- Gathering Prey (2015)
- Extreme Prey (2016)
- Golden Prey (2017)
- Twisted Prey (2018)
- Neon Prey (2019)
- Masked Prey (2020)
- Ocean Prey (2021) (Virgil Flowers Team-Up)
- Righteous Prey (2022) (Virgil Flowers Team-Up)
- Judgment Prey (2023) (Virgil Flowers Team-Up)
- Toxic Prey (2024)
- Lethal Prey (2025) (Virgil Flowers Team-Up)
- Revenge Prey (2026)
Lucas Davenport Short Story
John Sandford also wrote a Lucas Davenport crossover short story with Jeffery Deaver. It appeared in the FaceOff anthology, so most readers can treat it as optional, but completionists may want to slot it in after the main series.
About Lucas Davenport
Lucas Davenport is the central character in John Sandford’s Prey series. He begins the books as a Minneapolis investigator, and over time his career expands as he takes on bigger cases, broader authority, and more responsibility.
What makes Lucas stand out is that he does not read like a standard hard-boiled detective. He is wealthy, image-conscious, impatient, and aggressive when a case demands it, which gives the series a different personality than a more traditional police procedural.
Lucas Davenport Books FAQ
Are the Lucas Davenport books and the Prey books the same series?
Yes. The Lucas Davenport books are the Prey series. So when readers search for Lucas Davenport books in order or Prey books in order, they are usually looking for the same main series that begins with Rules of Prey.
Is Lucas Davenport in every Prey book?
Yes. Lucas Davenport is the one constant across the full Prey series. Other important characters come and go, but Lucas is the central figure in every main series novel.
Who is Lucas Davenport’s wife?
Lucas Davenport’s wife is Weather Karkinnen. She is introduced in Winter Prey, and she becomes one of the most important recurring characters in the series after that.
Is Letty Davenport Lucas Davenport’s daughter?
Yes. Letty Davenport is Lucas Davenport’s adopted daughter. She later becomes the lead in her own connected series, which is why she matters even if you start out reading only the Lucas Davenport books.
Does Lucas Davenport appear in the Virgil Flowers books?
Yes. Virgil Flowers works in the same larger world, and Lucas appears in that series as well. The connection between the two becomes even more direct in the later crossover novels, where Lucas and Virgil share major roles.
Looking for similar books in order?
If you want more thriller authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.