Off the Grid (Monkeewrench #6)

Apr 25, 2013 Stephanie Darcy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Two Evils is the 6th book in the Grace McBride series for mother/daughter writing team PJ Tracy. It starts with numerous, seemingly unrelated crimes; a murderous cancer patient, kidnapped girls, and an assassination attempt on a boat, that are all exposed as intertwined through the work of Grace, her team at Monkeewrench & Detective Magozzi.

The book seemed to start quite quickly, but then it took a while for all the dots to connect and for the pace to get back to it's initial speed again. Th...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Linda Branham Greenwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

A GREAT book!
It is a great mystery and a great story - the gerbils made me laugh out loud! I've never read a better scene depicting a person afraid of flying in a small plane than the one in this book - lol.
I've read several of the Monkeewrench stories - and I think this is my favorite.
The story is about a mixture of events that all happen around the same time - and in different places. There are also a diverse mixture of cops, computer coders and Native Americans who stumble on a hidden plot (...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Marleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I received this book from Michael Joseph through Nudge and rated it 4.5 stars.

John Smith, the retired FBI agent Grace MacBride is on a sailing trip with, is attacked in the middle of the night while they are in the Florida Keys. And this isn’t a random attack; the two men Grace is forced to shoot and kill had a photo of John on them. Meanwhile in Minneapolis a missing Native American teenage girl is found with her throat slashed in a parking lot. The four young girls who went missing with her ar...more I received this book from Michael Joseph through Nudge and rated it 4.5 stars.

John Smith, the retired FBI agent Grace MacBride is on a sailing trip with, is attacked in the middle of the night while they are in the Florida Keys. And this isn’t a random attack; the two men Grace is forced to shoot and kill had a photo of John on them. Meanwhile in Minneapolis a missing Native American teenage girl is found with her throat slashed in a parking lot. The four young girls who went missing with her are found, alive, when the police stumble on the bodies of two Somali men during a house to house investigation. And while the reader knows who shot those men, the investigators have no idea. Just as they have no idea why a young man, in the later stages of cancer, would have ended up in a fatal gunfight with two other Somali men. And when they find a room full of heavy duty weapons and explosives in the house in front of which the three men died, the questions only increase, as does the panic. Something big is about to go down in just a few days time but what it might be is unclear.

This is a book with an awful lot apparently unconnected story-lines and for a long time it is hard to figure out what exactly is going on. In fact, there is so much happening and so many characters are involved in one way or another that this is a thriller with a very long build-up. This doesn’t mean this book has a boring or slow start though; the action kicks off on the very first page and doesn’t let up until the last one. What is unclear though is how everything that is taking place is connected. Any reader of thrillers will realise from the start that all the, apparently random, scenes have to be connected in some way but they will have to be patient if they want to know exactly how or why. Having said that, there were one or two developments I figured out before the investigators in the story came to the same conclusion, but only by a few pages and with the benefit of the multiple perspectives this story is told from.

The plot in this book is, as stated above, convoluted. It is also original and scarily plausible. I can’t say more about it without having to resort to spoilers, but I will say that if authors can come up with ideas like this than others can as well, and that is a frightening thought.

This is the sixth book in a series and although it can easily be read as a stand-alone story I think readers would benefit from having read the previous titles first, especially as far as understanding the various returning characters is concerned. Personally I was delighted to have the opportunity to spend some time with Gino, Magozzi and the Monkeywrench crew again; it had been too long.

The mother-daughter team that is P.J. Tracy writes good mystery-thrillers with story-lines that are intelligent and scary as well as quirky characters that the reader will become attached to. The writing is tight yet smooth. The balance between tension, action and clever – and at times funny – dialogue is just right. Yes, the story is fast-paced but this doesn’t come at the expense of character development or back-ground information. The reader is, at all times, given all the information they need in order to be truly involved in the story and that makes for a more rewarding reading experience. And I always love a book that has one last revelation just when the reader thinks the story is over and all the questions have been answered.

This is a well-plotted and intricate thriller with a chilling story-line and interesting characters; a must read for all fans of intelligent page-turners.
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Jan 26, 2013 Bubblestarlet rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked it but didn’t love it.

This is the sixth book of a continuing series involving the detectives Gino and Magozzi . Although the story can standalone in it’s own right I do think you would benefit more from having read the previous books (which unfortunately I had not).

The story is a typically crime/law enforcement type book but with a theme of modern terrorist threats. What initially appears to be separate events, quickly becomes connected and (without giving anything away) it was interest...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"A missing teenage girl lies dead in a parking lot. Two young immigrants are killed in their apartment. Three men are found dead in the street nearby".

Gino and Magozzi are the two homicide detectives that are faced with solving these murders. They enlist the help of computer analyst Grace Mcbride, putting her in danger in the process.
I think it's probably fair to stop my review here and ask: have you guessed the ending already? If you haven't worked it out, then that's brilliant, why not try Har...more

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Jan 20, 2013 CuteBadger rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The discovery of the body of a girl in Minneapolis leads to further grim discoveries relating to those who probably killed her. However, before the police can get to grips with the case there are more killings and a sinister pattern starts to emerge. Detectives Magozzi and Rolseath are on the case and must seek the help of computer analysts Monkeewrench Software, the FBI and the Native American Tribal Police Force in order to try to solve the crimes.

It’s difficult to write about this genre of bo...more The discovery of the body of a girl in Minneapolis leads to further grim discoveries relating to those who probably killed her. However, before the police can get to grips with the case there are more killings and a sinister pattern starts to emerge. Detectives Magozzi and Rolseath are on the case and must seek the help of computer analysts Monkeewrench Software, the FBI and the Native American Tribal Police Force in order to try to solve the crimes.

It’s difficult to write about this genre of book without giving anything away that would spoil things for future readers, so I intend to be very careful and say very little about the plot of Two Evils and how it fits together. This is the sixth book in the authors’ series about these characters and on consulting my list of books I’ve read (sad I know!) I see that I read the first in the series many moons ago. I have to say, however, that I remember nothing about it whatsoever, so was in reality coming to this new book fresh with no knowledge of the characters or their back story.

There was a lot I enjoyed about Two Evils. The plot rips along at a snappy pace and makes you want to keep turning the pages – so much so that I read it in two sittings. Some of the places used as settings for particular sections of the book were new to me and were therefore of more than usual interest. There was also more of an aspect of spirituality in the book than is usual for this type of fiction.

I liked and sympathised with most of the characters, though I found the men better drawn than the women (which seems strange in a novel written by a two-woman team). The two-man detective team is a cliché in crime writing and is difficult to do in a fresh way. In order for the characters to be distinguishable from each other there’s a temptation to make them quirky and have odd characteristics – this seems to happen here and in my opinion it would have been better to avoid some of it.

However, though I liked most of the characters, I found them to be ciphers whose attitudes and motivations weren’t sufficiently explained within the novel, which meant that all I was really left with were some stick figures running around making the plot work. I realise that this is due to the characters having been through adventures in the five previous books, but there should be enough characterisation in each novel so that it can stand alone. I don’t feel that this was the case for Two Evils.

Another issue I had with the book was a plot-related point which I predicted early on and which sure enough came to pass. I felt it was facile, predictable and the easy option for the authors so was a little disappointed to see it used.

I read a lot of crime fiction, but prefer UK-based detectives to those from the other side of the Atlantic. And I think this book demonstrates why that is – although the plot runs at a mile a minute, is exciting and exotic, it ultimately feels hollow and superficial as if the novel exists for the plot alone and full characterisation is somehow unnecessary. There are some clever and well-written set pieces, but as we never really find out why people act as they do (due to the lack of depth in the characters) the book as a whole is somehow disappointing. It seems to me (watch out, enormous generalisation coming!) that British crime writers are more interested in their characters and what motivates them, which to me makes for a more enjoyable read. Of course you could argue that we Brits spend too much time on characterisation in crime novels, which leaves the plot weak. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.

There are things to like in Two Evils and if you’re in the mood for a thrilling crime romp then this may very well be the book for you. For me, however, it didn’t tell me enough about who the characters were and hence was only average when it could have been great.
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Jan 20, 2013 Maxine Wetherall rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. On a sailboat ten miles off the Florida coast, Grace MacBride, partner in Monkeewrench Software, thwarts an assassination attempt on retired FBI agent John Smith. A few hours later, in Minneapolis, a fifteen-year-old girl is discovered in a vacant lot, her throat slashed. Later that day, two young men are found in their home a few blocks away, killed execution-style. The next morning, the dead bodies of three more men turn up, savagely murdered in the same neighbourhood.

This was the first book...more On a sailboat ten miles off the Florida coast, Grace MacBride, partner in Monkeewrench Software, thwarts an assassination attempt on retired FBI agent John Smith. A few hours later, in Minneapolis, a fifteen-year-old girl is discovered in a vacant lot, her throat slashed. Later that day, two young men are found in their home a few blocks away, killed execution-style. The next morning, the dead bodies of three more men turn up, savagely murdered in the same neighbourhood.

This was the first book I had read of the monkeywrench series and I do not like to read series very much, although I love crime fiction I prefer stand alone books and do not have time for series. Not sure why really, I guess I just get a bit bored ready about the same detectives all the time.

I did not know what the previous relationships had been between any of the characters but that did not really affect my understanding of the story line. The book follows a terrorist plot and once again I am not really very excited about reading about terrorists. I found the book fairly enjoyable and very easy to follow. It was quite easy to see where the plot was goining and it did not keep me guessing like some crime novels do (which I enjoy).

I liked the two characters of the, homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth they were a good team and when the authors were writing about them it bought some good humour to the book. The character of Grace did not to me seem to have much purpose or be very central to the story. From reading the back cover I thought that she would be a major player. Maybe she has played a bigger part in other books, this I do not know.

The shot out at the end appeared to rather rushed and not very well written, I was not sure why John Smith left the house when he was being protected (Unless he wanted to die). The epilogue emphasised the perils of the internet and how information that you post can be read by anyone – they will find a way.

It was an average read and only took me a couple of days to finish, but did not inspire me to go back and read any of the other books.
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Jan 18, 2013 Gill Chedgey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

TWO EVILS – P.J.TRACY

I’m no stranger to P.J.Tracy, Grace MacBride and the Monkeywrench crew so I kind of knew what to expect with this and I wasn’t disappointed. The book gets off to a rollicking start, two dead bodies already by page 6 and that’s just for starters.
It’s an easy read in many respects, undemanding and a paradoxical predictability for you don’t know what’s going to happen as the plot unfolds but you know the direction its going to take. There will be a big part played by computers...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Lighthearted rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: humorous-fiction, mystery, suspense

When we last saw Grace MacBride in Shoot to Thrill, she was contemplating a sailing trip with retired FBI agent John Smith. As Off the Grid starts, we see that she has taken John up on his offer (sorry Magozzi!). The vacation is cut short when someone tries to assassinate John. Back in Minneapolis, the bodies are piling up – as homicide detectives Magozzi and Rolseth investigate, they discover similar execution-style killings in other cities around the U.S. As more evidence is gathered, a plot i...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Jon rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book came highly recommended, and I really wanted to like it. But it seems to me the writing has gone downhill over the course of the series. I would describe this one as amateurish, which is not a good word for the sixth in a series. I'm picky about words, so it annoys me when a character, cornered by bad guys, grabs a gun and starts firing "with impunity" even while his body is being riddled with the bullets of return fire. Sounds like pretty good punity to me. And American Indians use bl...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Robert Beveridge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine, finished, owned-and-still-own

P. J. Tracy, Off the Grid (Putnam, 2012)

Full disclosure: this book was provided to me free of charge by Amazon Vine.

I did something I rarely so with Off the Grid, the long-awaited sixth Monkeewrench novel—I read it out of order. I'm far enough behind in my reading that I haven't read the fifth book yet, and in the world of mystery-series-cum-soap-opera that the Monkeewrench books inhabit, that means I missed some crucial developments in the last book that made me wonder what on earth was going o...more P. J. Tracy, Off the Grid (Putnam, 2012)

Full disclosure: this book was provided to me free of charge by Amazon Vine.

I did something I rarely so with Off the Grid, the long-awaited sixth Monkeewrench novel—I read it out of order. I'm far enough behind in my reading that I haven't read the fifth book yet, and in the world of mystery-series-cum-soap-opera that the Monkeewrench books inhabit, that means I missed some crucial developments in the last book that made me wonder what on earth was going on in a few scenes. Still, I looked at is as an experiment—will someone coming to the series of rthe first time be able to read this as a standalone book and enjoy it? I'd offer a qualified “yes”; you can do it, but you'll get a lot more out of it if you head back to Monkeewrench and begin at the beginning.

Plot: as we open, Grace MacBride, the head of software company (and amateur sleuth team) Monkeewrench, is on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean Sea with her old pal John Smith, a retired FBI agent. (I'm assuming we get the whys and wherefores of how that came out in book five.) Where could possibly be safer? Anywhere, as it turns out: the boat is boarded by a team of assassins, which leads grace to believe that, perhaps, she and Smith are safer in a different middle of nowhere. She makes plans to, after a quick stop at Monkeewrench HQ, spirit Smith off to the deep northern Minnesota woods. But trouble, as it usually is where Monkeewrench is concerned, is a-brewin', and Grace's police pals, Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth, are smack in the middle of what, three days later, looks like a nationwide terrorist conspiracy...

The Lambrechts (P. J. Tracy, for the uninitiated, is a mother-and-daughter writing team) do their usual bang-up job of action writing, mixing in just enough romance for the hearts-and-flowers crowd (though there's a lot less in this book than usual—even Annie spends more time worrying about getting shot than about how low-cut her blouse is, and that's saying something) and introducing us to a passel of interesting new characters in addition to reacquainting us with some old, old friends. If you've taken the journey since the good old days—impossible to believe it's been almost a decade since Monkeewrench was published—then sitting down with Off the Grid will be like curling up with a mug of hot cocoa and a (very, very dangerous) old friend. If you're new to the series, as I said—you can start here if you want, you won't find yourself floundering too much. But you'd be best served going back and starting at the beginning. As for me, I plan to get to the book I skipped soonest; before this, it had been nearly five years since I last journeyed into the world of Monkeewrench, and that's way, way too long. *** ½
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Sep 22, 2012 S.D. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

When we left Grace MacBride in the last book, she had sailed off with a retired FBI agent in order to find some stability in her life. But men board the sailboat in the middle of the night to try to kill agent John Smith. Puzzling murders take place in Minneapolis and Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth attempt to link the murders to the kidnapping of a number of young Native American girls. Grace realizes whoever is after Smith might try to target anyone who knows him, which means the Monke...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

In the last Monkeewrench book, Grace MacBride sailed off with retired FBI agent John Smith, leaving her co-workers and Detective Leo Magozzi behind. Life on the water has changed Grace. She wears sundresses and sandals instead of leather and boots. She has finally learned how to truly relax and let her guard down - until she wakes up one night to find two men holding a knife to John's throat.

In Minneapolis, Magozzi and partner Gino Rolseth struggle to find the link between the recent murders of...more

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Sep 09, 2012 LJ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary_post_1945, florida, female_author, mystery, police_procedural, writing_pair

First Sentence: Sometimes the water was glassy and still, and the boat sat on it like a piece of paper on a flat table.

Grace MacBride, partner in Monkeewrench, finally takes a break, sheds her protective clothing and goes sailing with the friend only to end up saving him from having his throat slit by killing the two assassins instead. Grace’s friends, homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are faced with a string of execution murders. Their investigation leads them to uncover a chain...more First Sentence: Sometimes the water was glassy and still, and the boat sat on it like a piece of paper on a flat table.

Grace MacBride, partner in Monkeewrench, finally takes a break, sheds her protective clothing and goes sailing with the friend only to end up saving him from having his throat slit by killing the two assassins instead. Grace’s friends, homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are faced with a string of execution murders. Their investigation leads them to uncover a chain of such murders in cities around the country. The motive puts the Monkeywrench gang directly in the target and fighting to stay alive.

The first pages of a book are so important to a reader and Tracy’s descriptive opening provides a perfect introduction to the books characters, even those not present in the opening scene. We are even introduced to a metamorphosed Grace with an understanding as to how such a change transpired.

Between the police and the Monkeywrench gang, Tracy has established a wonderfully eclectic group of characters that work well together and balance each others strengths and weaknesses, including some of the most basic phobias. Tracy’s dialogue takes you from suspense to humor, providing a well-needed balance.

Tracy’s wonderfully evocative descriptions give a real strength to the story. They are the type of descriptions you don’t just read, you savor. Some you allow to build and form in your mind’s eye for their lyricism and inclusion of mysticism.

There are flaws, however. The character of plot’s villains were too easily set up to be the villains and too stereotypical. There was an unfortunate phrase which kept being used and should have been eliminated. The story had excellent suspense that ratcheted up with each chapter but the ending fell off the cliff. For a group of seemingly brilliant individuals, there was a major too-stupid-to-live event that was nearly unforgivable. The final climatic scene seemed abrupt, almost as though they weren’t certain how to write the dramatic action scene and suddenly, there we are; all done. Even though the epilogue was a good confirmation, it really wasn’t a necessary one, which is too bad. Rather than being a didn’t-see-that-coming revelation, it was I-knew-that confirmation.

“Off The Grid” is a good read. It certainly kept me turning the pages. Its strengths are definitely the characters, dialogue and descriptions. And although there were problems, I was entertained and would put it at the level of a good Sunday or airplane read.

OFF THE GRID (Police Proc/Unl Invest-The Monkeywrench Gang/Det.s Magozzi and Rolseth-Florida/Minnesota-Contemporary – Good
Tracy, P.J. – 6th in series
Putnam, 2012

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Sep 05, 2012 Traann rated it 5 of 5 stars

P.J. Tracy does it again...

“Off The Grid”, A Monkeewrench Novel is the sixth book in the series by P.J. Tracy and they do not disappoint. I’m not going to repeat what is said on the back of the book or what others are saying. What I am going to tell you is that if you liked the other books in the series, you will love this one. Before I read this book I re-read all of the preceding ones and got immersed in Magozzi, Rolseth & the Monkeewrench crew and they get better with each read. There are...more P.J. Tracy does it again...

“Off The Grid”, A Monkeewrench Novel is the sixth book in the series by P.J. Tracy and they do not disappoint. I’m not going to repeat what is said on the back of the book or what others are saying. What I am going to tell you is that if you liked the other books in the series, you will love this one. Before I read this book I re-read all of the preceding ones and got immersed in Magozzi, Rolseth & the Monkeewrench crew and they get better with each read. There are all kinds of books written about all manner of police cases but P.J. Tracy approaches these stories in a fresh and utterly believable manner that leaves you wanting more. I just wish they wrote faster.

Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth’s banter entertains and humanizes their characters as not much else could when you are dealing with Homicide detectives. They are as human as they come and you feel their emotions as they deal with their current case. I laughed, cried and held my breath and if that doesn’t tell you this is a great book I’m not sure what else will.

Grace McBride and her partners at Monkeewrench, Annie, Harley and Roadrunner grab at your heart but in a different way. You want to heal them, and you cheer on all of their successes as much as you are awed by their fortitude and dedication in assisting the detectives in the most recent case that ends up being tied into the threat on retired FBI agent John Smith’s life even as you see them deal with their own personal demons and back burner themselves to save others. Your heart races as they explain how the technology they are developing to assist the law enforcement agencies works and you want to be a part of it. I could feel myself wanting to get on a computer to help them in their searches.

I think I differ from others in that the development of the characters is as important to me as the story is. That is what P.J. Tracy does best in my opinion. They create deep complex characters that you want to know more about.

One of the best parts of this book that you know there are more books to come and there is so much still to be said about all of the characters and more cases to be solved. I look forward to the next chapter in the Monkeewrench series.(less)

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Aug 22, 2012 Mihir rated it 3 of 5 stars

ANALYSIS: At the end of the last book "Shoot To Thrill", the authors gave a twist in the form of two characters doing things unexpectedly and this though didn't affect much of the book's plot, gave a serious kick to several character plot arcs. I didn't see that coming and was amazed that the author choose that direction. The sixth book "Off The Grid" opens up a few months after the events of the previous book and once again the trouble comes up in the twin cities.

Detectives Magozzi and Rolseth...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Luanne Ollivier rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5/5

I picked up the first Monkeewrench book back in 2003 when the cover caught my eye. Off the Grid marks the sixth book in this series by mother/daughter writing duo P.J. Tracy.

Monkeewrench is a company comprised of four eclectic computer whizzes who design programs but also work closely with law enforcement agencies who can utilize their specialized talents. They're based in Minneapolis and frequently help Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth. The 'leader' of Monkeewrench is Grace. At the...more 3.5/5

I picked up the first Monkeewrench book back in 2003 when the cover caught my eye. Off the Grid marks the sixth book in this series by mother/daughter writing duo P.J. Tracy.

Monkeewrench is a company comprised of four eclectic computer whizzes who design programs but also work closely with law enforcement agencies who can utilize their specialized talents. They're based in Minneapolis and frequently help Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth. The 'leader' of Monkeewrench is Grace. At the end of the last book, she had broken out of her self imposed isolation and gone sailing with retired FBI agent John Smith. When they are attacked at sea, it looks like John has a target on his back. But why? Who? He decides to go off the grid while Grace returns to Monkeewrench.

Back in Minneapolis, Magozzi and Rolseth are dealing with the unthinkable - young Native girls are being snatched right off the reserve. When one of the girls is found dead, it isn't long before the two men who took her are found murdered as well. As other bodies are found, it looks like someone has taken justice into their own hands.....and the case is bigger than they imagined.

I've quite enjoyed the other books in this series, but found this latest offering just okay. The members of the Monkeewrench crew have always intrigued me - they are all 'damaged' to some degree, but highly intelligent, determined to help the law where they can - and they consider themselves a family. This book, although it involved the crew, was focused much more on Magozzi and Rolseth. While I enjoy these characters as well, they aren't my favourites. Other characters such as a retired vet and his friend, a local Native Police Chief, seemed a bit clichéd. John Smith was flat and I never really bought into him or Grace's attraction to him.

I ended up heading to the Internet to see if there was indeed a Native Mafia/Somali gang connection and yes, there is in Minnesota. The plot line begins with this idea, but then veers into territory that has been travelled before. It was pretty easy to see where the rest of the story was headed. Some of the clues were glaringly simplistic, such as the circled calendar dates. And I had issues with some other small things. For instance - Monkeewrench prides itself on being uber prepared, yet fails to check if someone has put a tracker on their vehicle? I felt the ending came far too abruptly. I was caught up in the action scenes which suddenly jumped to the end, leaving me with questions about one character's demise and feeling like I had missed a few pages.

This book did feel like there were two sets of keyboards at work. I found there to be odd interjections at crucial moments that were truly awkward. For example, we're at the end, waiting to hear what an FBI agent has to say and "Gino reached for a butterscotch candy in a dish on the coffee table, then remembered getting one of those evil things caught in his throat at the fourth-grade Halloween party. Just relax and let it melt, the stupid school nurse had told him as he was choking to death. He put the candy back in the bowl and looked at Agent Dahl."

Now, that being said, I did enjoy the book, but not as much as I wanted to. If you're looking for a lighter style of mystery that will keep you entertained, then pick this one up for the beach. I'll be watching for the next in this series, hopefully with a return to the tone of the earlier books. Those who enjoy James Patterson's mysteries would also enjoy this series.(less)

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Aug 12, 2012 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Off the Grid, by P. J. Tracy, a-minus, Narrated by Buck Schirner, Produced by Brilliance Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

Five American Indian teenage girls are being held in a Minneapolis house to be sold into the slave trade. The oldest one, Amy, gets away but is soon caught. She is murdered and her body is left in front of a house. The police knock on the doors of all neighbors and come up with the other four girls being held for ransom and they are released. But very soon, the police find...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Darcy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, mystery

With Grace's choice at the end of the last book I was worried that things would change, I also didn't care for that choice. With this book I can see that it was just what Grace needed, to remember that life should be lived. I was surprised by the relationship between Grace and John, like Leo, I assumed it was more than friendship.

I loved how these random events turned out to be connected and the way they ended up connecting surprised me. I wouldn't have thought that one person's good deed could...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Tome rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a big fan of the Monkeewrench series by PJ Tracy and Monkeewrench #6 - Two Evils (or Off the Grid for US readers) is the latest installment. We find Grace relaxed for the first time in a long time, wearing a dress and enjoying the high seas with ex-FBI agent John Smith. However their peaceful existence is shattered when two men board their boat late on night and try to kill John. We later find out that John has been monitoring the internet for terrorist groups and accidentally stumbled upon...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 110-books-in-2012-and-do-it-again, action-thriller, abduction, free-book-for-honest-review, mystery, read-in-2012, reviewed, series, terrorists, thriller

The mother-daughter writing team of P.J. Tracy brings us the latest installment of Grace MacBride and Monkeewrench Software.

Grace was attracted by the idea of going sailing with her friend, retired FBI agent, John Smith. When she awoke to the noise of someone sneaking onto the boat, she took her gun and went on deck. She observed a man with a knife to John's throat, ready to kill him. She shot the two invaders. Then she and John looked through the men's things and saw a photo of John. This made...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Faith (Student Spyglass) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nbrc-2013

Review also published on my blog StudentSpyglass

Plot: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Readability: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★

Two Evils, book #6 in the Monkeewrench series, follows detectives Gino and Magozzi as they struggle to cope with seemingly random killings and disappearances. Without giving away too many spoilers, Magozzi and Gino find that the crimes are all connected in some way, with many deaths caused by what emerges to be, effectively, a vigilante looking for justice.

This is the first of the Monkeewrench...more Review also published on my blog StudentSpyglass

Plot: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Readability: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★

Two Evils, book #6 in the Monkeewrench series, follows detectives Gino and Magozzi as they struggle to cope with seemingly random killings and disappearances. Without giving away too many spoilers, Magozzi and Gino find that the crimes are all connected in some way, with many deaths caused by what emerges to be, effectively, a vigilante looking for justice.

This is the first of the Monkeewrench series I’ve read, and I was a little nervous – very, very rarely do I read a book out of order, and being so late in the series I worried there would be a lot to catch up on. Thankfully though, this reminded me a lot of the J.D.Robb books – relationships overarching the entire series, but individual cases isolated to single books. That meant that although I was jumping in a little late in terms of how the characters felt about eachother, I didn’t seem to be missing anything crucial (or if I was, I didn’t realise I was missing it!).

From the back of the book, I’d assumed Grace was specific to this case, but it turns out she appears in all of the books, which I quite liked. This means you get two complementary storylines – Grace’s, and Gino & Magozzi’s. The two points of view were something I really liked about this book. Grace was a complex but strong female character, which is always nice. At the same time, I loved getting a male point of view – maybe it’s just because my crime reading has mostly been J.D.Robb, Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell, but I found following the male detectives a novel and refreshing experience! I find a lot of what I read tends to have a female protaganist, and finding a male lead that I can follow and relate to (or in this case two), is great. There was a little less banter between Gino and Magozzi than I might have liked, but I loved what there was. In particular, Gino’s fear of heights and Magozzi’s teasing had me laughing out loud…which gets you funny looks when you’re reading a book with a cover like this!

The plot was great and had me hooked all the way through. This arrived on Tuesday, and I’d finished it by Thursday evening, because I just couldn’t put it down. I was gripped from pretty much the start, and got more and more hooked as the links between crimes were slowly revealed. The description and mood building was dark and gritty enough to keep me hooked, but wasn’t gory, which I loved. I’m not good with excessive blood and guts, and this managed to get a scene across without making me nauseous, which is always a good thing. The writing style in general was fabulous; evocative, visual and sometimes just laugh out loud funny. The mother-daughter team write together fantastically well, and I would never have guessed it was a collaboration from the writing – the whole book just flows brilliantly.

The book certainly wasn’t perfect, and there were a few things that bothered me. The first, very tiny, nitpicking issue was that I noticed Grace’s surname spelt as MacBride a few times, but it’s hardly a huge problem, and didn’t put me off the story. I felt the development of the supporting characters was a little bare, and the ‘twist’ late on in the story felt a little too spelled out for me, making the revealing scene feel a bit like hand-holding, rather than a dramatic revelation.

Although it wasn’t perfect, the book was very enjoyable; better than the average crime novel in my opinion. If you haven’t read the other books in the series, I definitely wouldn’t have said that’s a problem – this will read perfectly well on it’s own, though a few of the relationship histories will be a little vague. I’ll personally be going back and reading the rest of the series as well, because this hints to a series just too good to pass up.(less)

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Oct 15, 2012 HKd rated it 1 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the first four Monkeewrench books but found the 5th disappointing, so I was looking forward to this and hoping that #5 was a blip. It was not to be.

This was a mess of a book. The plot was all over the place and oddly pointless. The bad guys were faceless stereo types and the finale was predictable and un-dramatic.

There were new characters I didn’t care about because they walked on and walked off – Bully for example – and the old characters also were peripheral or they acted co...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Stephen Ormsby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is my first book of P. J. Tracy’s that I have read. The name is one I have known for a while but just never got there. Finally, I have and was happy with the result.

This is an enjoyable by-the-book murder mystery, which was great for a lazy weekend. The characters were believable and the plot was quite good though I felt that, at times, it was clunky.

That surprised me as I have found out this is the sixth in the series. The history was not necessary to read this but I think I will go back a...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I won this on Goodreads, so I can attest it really is worthwhile to enter the drawings!
This is a well-written thriller with enjoyable characters. If it weren't for a few flaws that I note below, it would be an easy 4.
When IT entrepreneur Grace McBride takes a sailboat cruise with retired FBI agent John Smith to the Florida Keys she doesn’t expect to have to kill two terrorists who are trying to kill him. When five young Ojibwe girls begin walking home from school in the safe haven of their reser...more I won this on Goodreads, so I can attest it really is worthwhile to enter the drawings!
This is a well-written thriller with enjoyable characters. If it weren't for a few flaws that I note below, it would be an easy 4.
When IT entrepreneur Grace McBride takes a sailboat cruise with retired FBI agent John Smith to the Florida Keys she doesn’t expect to have to kill two terrorists who are trying to kill him. When five young Ojibwe girls begin walking home from school in the safe haven of their reservation they do not expect to be abducted to be sold into the sex trade. And when police officers in Minneapolis are going house to house to find the girls they do not expect to find them with two murdered Somalis who have ties to terrorists. Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth discover that there are similarities between the murders in Minneapolis and a number of murders in other cities, and soon they are working with federal officials both to stop the terrorists and to learn who has been killing them. The plot is complex but not confusing; the suspense is well-done; and the ending is appropriate, if not totally surprising.
Write-ups on this series make frequent mention of the humor. There were a number of smiles in this book and a few out-loud laughs, but readers should not expect Carl Hiassen, Donald Westlake, or Janet Evanovich. Off the Grid presents life---good and bad, sad and funny. The humor is integrated into the story rather than being its point and seems to be a reflection of a generally positive outlook on life that permeates the atmosphere despite the gruesome events.
Characters are both the strength and the weakness in this book. The authors have a knack for writing believable characters, from the 15-year-old Ojibwe teen who is abducted on her way home from school to the 32-year-old war vet who is dying of cancer and the Ojibwe police chief who fiercely loves and defends BOTH of his nations. Despite the almost stereotyped physical descriptions and early-life biographies of the Monkeewrench crowd (PLEASE, can’t we have a mystery series where the protagonists were NOT abused as children?), once you get past the appearance and the life histories they all seem like likeable people that I wouldn’t be surprised to meet in tech-oriented offices where I have worked. However, I quickly came to realize that if I met an especially well-drawn new character who was sympathetic and worth knowing, that character would die within the next few pages. A very effective technique if used sparingly, but it was overdone.
Good plot, some humor, and well-done characters. That’s enough for an enjoyable read, but Off the Grid is also well-written. The physical settings from the Florida Keys to the Minnesota woods are vividly described. There are poignant scenes of everyday life about to be turned on its head, such as the wife crying in her kitchen over burning the dinner she has been preparing for her husband, unaware that the police are on their way to tell her he has been murdered. There are frequent changes of point of view, but they are done effectively, and it is never confusing. I underlined more than one passage just because I enjoyed a turn of phrase.
Much is made of the fact that Monkeewrench is a successful IT firm that has done breakthrough work for law enforcement. Technical details are not central to the plot, but the technical references there are are not too credible. For example, retired Agent Smith tracks terrorists and reports them to law enforcement, using an illegal worm he got from Monkeewrench. “I reprogrammed it to read Arabic and then used it to hack the private e-mails of the people who were signing, on to the jihadist sites.” He does this alone, working on his own private computer. Sorry; you gotta do something convince me this is doable, P. J. I note that the authors appear to have no credentials or experience in IT, and I’d recommend they get some help on the technical stuff from more knowledgeable sources.
Although this was my first P. J. Tracy book, there is enough background provided that I was not at a loss. Readers should feel free to start here. On the other hand, significant things happen to one of the characters in the book that might affect a reader’s response to previous books, so it would probably be ideal to start earlier in the series. I certainly plan to start earlier in the series myself and look forward to reading more from P. J. Tracy.

(less)

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Jul 22, 2012 Kathy Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lightning fast pacing and heart-pounding thrills made OFF THE GRID a real page-turner for me. Though not yet familiar with the Monkeewrench series, I was quickly sucked in by the well-developed characters. I really liked the touches of humor that the authors inserted which just seemed to emphasize the tension.

The story starts on a boat in the Caribbean. Two men come aboard and attempt to kill retired Special Agent John Smith. Only the quick action of Grace MacBride saves the day when she shoots...more Lightning fast pacing and heart-pounding thrills made OFF THE GRID a real page-turner for me. Though not yet familiar with the Monkeewrench series, I was quickly sucked in by the well-developed characters. I really liked the touches of humor that the authors inserted which just seemed to emphasize the tension.

The story starts on a boat in the Caribbean. Two men come aboard and attempt to kill retired Special Agent John Smith. Only the quick action of Grace MacBride saves the day when she shoots and kills both assailants. They determine that Smith is being targeted because he is trying to locate terrorists before they can act on US soil.

Meanwhile in Minneapolis, a fifteen-year-old Native girl has her throat cut when she gets away from the Somali kidnappers who snatched her and four younger girls on their way home from school on the Reservation. This brings up the whole issue of conflict between Native Americans and Somali refugees in Minnesota.

Next comes terminally-ill-with-cancer Veteran Joe Hardy who kills two young men in the house holding the other four girls and who dies in a shootout with two other men who happen to have a room full of weapons and explosives. At first the police think Hardy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Minneapolis Detectives Magozzi and Rolseth are called in and begin trying to find the links between these crimes. Magozzi apparently has a relationship with Grace MacBride who is one of the owners of Monkeewrench software. Monkeewrench made their money in games but are also making software that can be used to track down terrorists.

These seemingly unrelated crimes lead the detectives and the FBI to a much larger, national plan for a flash mob of terror. As they rush to stop this terrorist attack, they find that they aren't the only ones trying to shut it down. In many cases they find that the terrorists have already been killed when they get to the houses.

This was an excellent story. I recommend it to anyone who wants a fantastic, heart-pounding thriller for their summer reading.(less)

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Feb 14, 2013 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-thrillers

I was really looking forward to reading this because I really like all the other P.J. Tracy books - their first, Want To Play? is one of my favourite books of all time. While I think some of their plots are a little hit and miss, they have excellent dialogue and the relationships between the characters are great - apart from I felt the John/Grace relationship was far too mysterious.

I didn't enjoy this book so much because I felt like there was no tension in it, despite the heavy subject matter o...more

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Jan 26, 2013 June Seghni rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-thriller, own, book-vipers-a-z-challenge

hmm, I got this fro review and didn't like it..but can't find the words to explain why yet. I will have to give it further thought..
ok..
I wasn’t aware before I started to read this book that it is actually the sixth book in a series following the activities of a group of software engineers called Monkeewrench. It isn’t necessary to have read the other books, however I did feel that there was a lot of history between some of the characters in this story that would have benefitted from a bit more...more hmm, I got this fro review and didn't like it..but can't find the words to explain why yet. I will have to give it further thought..
ok..
I wasn’t aware before I started to read this book that it is actually the sixth book in a series following the activities of a group of software engineers called Monkeewrench. It isn’t necessary to have read the other books, however I did feel that there was a lot of history between some of the characters in this story that would have benefitted from a bit more explanation.
The book opens with an assassination attempt that is thwarted by the quick thinking of our heroine, Grace MacBride. The target of the attempt is a retired FBI agent. The question therefore is; who is trying to kill him and what has he done to deserve it? Has he been poking his nose into something instead of enjoying his retirement?
Far away in another part of the country a young girl is found dead;in the course of the day others are found,seemingly executed. The police are at a loss as to what is the connection between them, if any. And why do the victims have Hallowe’en circled on the calendar ?.As they begin to investigate, other homicides in different cities are discovered, which also seem to point to a Hallowe’en connection. But what is it, and what does it have to do with our retired FBI guy, now on the run in fear for his life.?

I don’t really want to say more about the plot , but I will say that I’m afraid I didn’t like this book much. I felt there were too many characters and not enough depth for my tastes. Perhaps this is where I suffered from not having read any of the earlier books.
Sadly it just all felt too formulaic. There was so much going on it was hard to get a handle on things at times, and the whole thing seemed rushed and shallow ,which is a shame because I quite liked Grace MacBride.
(And without giving too much away, please someone check out the proper use of the word ‘jihad’).
It just wasn’t for me I’m afraid..(less)

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Aug 13, 2012 Monica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-and-or-evil

Somehow I missed the previous book which ends with Grace going off with John Smith, retired FBI agent, to sail the Florida Keys. This nail biter begins on that sailboat with two Middle Eastern men sneaking aboard in the middle of the night to try to kill Smith. Grace shoots them, dumps the bodies overboard and she and Smith go off the grid to try to find out who is trying to kill him and why.

Meanwhile, back in Minneapolis, Gino and Magozzi are trying to make sense of a series of crimes. A group...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Laylah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller

I'd rather erase the memory of this book off my brain and pretend it never exists in this once terrific series. It's very over the top and inconsistent in many parts. One major character is offed in this book, but his/her death receives a page or so, while they give a chapter to each of the two other deaths of very relatively inconsequential characters. I consider myself very open-minded politically as I am usually able to enjoy books laced with agenda from any political stripes - right or left....more

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Off the Grid (Monkeewrench #6)

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