The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 54 books · 1989 to 2026 · Mostly set in Minneapolis

John Sandford

Crime and mysteryThriller and suspensePolice proceduralRural crimeAction and adventure

Lucas Davenport has hunted killers across Minnesota and beyond since Rules of Prey in 1989. Virgil Flowers got his own series and now teams up with Lucas, and Lucas’s adopted daughter Letty leads books of her own.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Ruthless Prey (2027) and the standalones are left out.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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John Sandford books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Prey (Lucas Davenport)

36 books · Set in MinneapolisPolice procedural
  1. 1Rules of Prey1989With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Shadow Prey1990With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Eyes of Prey1991With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Silent Prey1992With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Winter Prey1993With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Night Prey1994With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Mind Prey1995With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Sudden Prey1996With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  9. 9Secret Prey1998With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  10. 10Certain Prey1999With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  11. 11Easy Prey2000With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  12. 12Chosen Prey2001With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  13. 13Mortal Prey2002With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  14. 14Naked Prey2003With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  15. 15Hidden Prey2004With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  16. 16Broken Prey2005With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  17. 17Invisible Prey2007With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  18. 18Phantom Prey2008With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  19. 19Wicked Prey2009With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  20. 20Storm Prey2010Buy on Amazon
  21. 21Buried Prey2011With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  22. 22Stolen Prey2012With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  23. 23Silken Prey2013With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  24. 24Field of Prey2014With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  25. 25Gathering Prey2015With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  26. 26Extreme Prey2016With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  27. 27Golden Prey2017With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  28. 28Twisted Prey2018With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  29. 29Neon Prey2019With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  30. 30Masked Prey2020With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  31. 31Ocean Prey2021CrossoverWith Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers · Also a Virgil Flowers bookAlso part of Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  32. 32Righteous Prey2022CrossoverWith Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers · Also a Virgil Flowers bookAlso part of Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  33. 33Judgment Prey2023CrossoverWith Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers · Also a Virgil Flowers bookAlso part of Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  34. 34Toxic Prey2024With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon
  35. 35Lethal Prey2025CrossoverWith Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers · Also a Virgil Flowers bookAlso part of Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  36. 36Revenge Prey2026With Lucas DavenportBuy on Amazon

Virgil Flowers

12 books · Set in MankatoPolice proceduralRural crime
  1. 1Dark of the Moon2007With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Heat Lightning2008With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Rough Country2009With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Bad Blood2010With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Shock Wave2011With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Mad River2012With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Storm Front2013With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Deadline2014With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  9. 9Escape Clause2016With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  10. 10Deep Freeze2017With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  11. 11Holy Ghost2018With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon
  12. 12Bloody Genius2019With Virgil FlowersBuy on Amazon

Letty Davenport

2 books · Set in various placesAction and adventure
  1. 1The Investigator2022With Letty DavenportBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Dark Angel2023With Letty DavenportBuy on Amazon

Kidd

4 books · Set in various placesAction and adventure
  1. 1The Fool’s Run1989With KiddBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Empress File1991With KiddBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Devil’s Code2000With KiddBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Hanged Man’s Song2003With KiddBuy on Amazon

Characters

15 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Lucas Davenport’s world

Virgil Flowers

Kidd and LuEllen