John Sandford is solid gold - I haven't read a book of his that I didn't like - and this one was no exception. I will admit that this one was a bit heavy on the "politics" in the beginning of the book which lays out the "landscape" of what Lucas and law enforcement are facing, although I'm not really sure that "politics" is truly the appropriate word. Sandford is simply telling us what the "culture" is really like in this country, and some people apparently cannot deal with that when they come face-to-face with that fact. I have no problem with 2nd A rights, but do we really need 300+M guns in the country where everyone and his aunt and uncle each own 20 guns? Did anyone ever see the movie RED 2 with Bruce Willis and John Malkevich? They're both retired CIA agents, hence the acronym RED - Retired - Extremely Dangerous. Anyway, at one point, JM gives BW's girlfriend a gun, and BW goes nuts! "You gave her a gun?" and JM says "This is America, Frank!" So, this is in fact where we are folks - get used to it because it ain't going to change any time soon.
As for the story, it was typical Lucas-style law enforcement - he gets the job done, even if he has to bend the rules a bit. And like any criminal who has committed a truly heinous crime, as in this case, shooting an innocent child, he got what he deserved - not a trial, not five years or ten years or twenty years in jail, or even life without parole - Lucas the Hunter did what every hunter does - he hunts and kills! And the world is a safer place! Personally, I don't understand "life without parole" - so you put a guy in prison for the rest of his life, so you wind up keeping a guy alive for the next 50 years - imprisoning him, feeding him, providing medical care, and you know that you're never going to let him out of prison - WTF for? Charles Manson is a prime example - WTF for? So you can live with your conscience that, unlike Manson, the State does not kill? Give me a break! Manson and his band of lunatics killed nine people - do they really deserve to live? Not if Lucas is around! Lucas reminds me of when the FBI ws originally formed and went after the notorious criminals of the 1930s - Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie & Clyde, John Dillinger - they were killing a lot of people - both civilians and LEOs, so they simply got shot - no arrests, no trials, just shot - forever taken out of society - you knew that they were never going to change, so why bother. Same thing here. If you kill an innocent child, you are obviously not an Altar Boy!
I can't wait for the next Prey book!