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Monkeewrench #5
Shoot to Thrill
The Monkeewrench crew returns in a stunning new thriller.
It's eighty-five degrees in the shade when Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth pull into the MPD parking garage. They're driving a tricked-out Caddy, repossessed from a low-level drug dealer. It's not a Beemer or a Mercedes, but it's got GPS, air-conditioning, and power seats with more positions than the Kama Sutra.
Things are heating up inside the station-house, too. The bomb squad's off to investigate another suspicious package at the mall, and kids are beating the crap out of one another and posting it on YouTube. And before Magozzi and Rolseth can wish for a straight-on homicide, the call comes in: a floater.
Soon they're humping it along a derelict stretch of the Mississippi River, beyond the green places where families picnic and admire the views. They can see her- she looks like a bride in her white formal gown- face down, dead in the water. And so it begins.
Across town, Grace McBride's Monkeewrench crew-the computer geeks who, after making a fortune on games, are now helping the cops with anticrime software-have been recruited by the FBI to investigate a series of murder videos posted on the Web. It's not long before Magozzi, Rolseth, and Monkeewrench discover the frightening link between the unlucky bride and the latest, most horrific use of the Internet to date. Using their skills to scour the Net in search of the perpetrator, the team must race against the clock to stop a killer in his tracks.
It's eighty-five degrees in the shade when Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth pull into the MPD parking garage. They're driving a tricked-out Caddy, repossessed from a low-level drug dealer. It's not a Beemer or a Mercedes, but it's got GPS, air-conditioning, and power seats with more positions than the Kama Sutra.
Things are heating up inside the station-house, too. The bomb squad's off to investigate another suspicious package at the mall, and kids are beating the crap out of one another and posting it on YouTube. And before Magozzi and Rolseth can wish for a straight-on homicide, the call comes in: a floater.
Soon they're humping it along a derelict stretch of the Mississippi River, beyond the green places where families picnic and admire the views. They can see her- she looks like a bride in her white formal gown- face down, dead in the water. And so it begins.
Across town, Grace McBride's Monkeewrench crew-the computer geeks who, after making a fortune on games, are now helping the cops with anticrime software-have been recruited by the FBI to investigate a series of murder videos posted on the Web. It's not long before Magozzi, Rolseth, and Monkeewrench discover the frightening link between the unlucky bride and the latest, most horrific use of the Internet to date. Using their skills to scour the Net in search of the perpetrator, the team must race against the clock to stop a killer in his tracks.
308 pages, Hardcover
First published April 29, 2010
267 people are currently reading
2274 people want to read
About the author
P.J. Tracy
23 books1,788 followersPJ Tracy is the pseudonym of mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht, winners of the Anthony, Barry, Gumshoe, and Minnesota Book Awards. Their ten novels in the Monkeewrench series, MONKEEWRENCH, LIVE BAIT, DEAD RUN, SNOW BLIND, SHOOT TO THRILL, OFF THE GRID, THE SIXTH IDEA, NOTHING STAYS BURIED, THE GUILTY DEAD, and ICE COLD HEART have become national and international bestsellers. PJ passed away in December 2016, and Traci started a new series set in Los Angeles, featuring Detective Margaret Nolan. DEEP INTO THE DARK, DESOLATION CANYON, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, and CITY OF SECRETS are available anywhere you buy your books!
THE DEEPEST CUT, the eleventh Monkeewrench novel will be released on September 9th, 2025.
Learn more about PJ Tracy at pjtracy.com
Follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PJTracyAuthor/
Look them up on Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/pjtracy.com
THE DEEPEST CUT, the eleventh Monkeewrench novel will be released on September 9th, 2025.
Learn more about PJ Tracy at pjtracy.com
Follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PJTracyAuthor/
Look them up on Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/pjtracy.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 527 reviews
July 9, 2023
I am really enjoying this series with its clever mix of ultra smart computer geeks on one side and the activities of a team of homicide detectives on the other. This one adds a dash of FBI plus numerous unusual murders and the fun begins!
As with most series the books are best read in order to get the full benefit of the character development. By now we are very comfortable with the ongoing attempts at a relationship between Grace and Leo, and the rather odd behaviours of the Monkeewrench team. The authors write effective and often very entertaining dialogue.
A very satisfying book but then came the epilogue which was way out of left field! I was stunned. What a cliff hanger! I had to go straight to Amazon and order the next book.
As with most series the books are best read in order to get the full benefit of the character development. By now we are very comfortable with the ongoing attempts at a relationship between Grace and Leo, and the rather odd behaviours of the Monkeewrench team. The authors write effective and often very entertaining dialogue.
A very satisfying book but then came the epilogue which was way out of left field! I was stunned. What a cliff hanger! I had to go straight to Amazon and order the next book.
August 1, 2023
UPDATE 01/08/2023 - Gosh the ones with two titles are confusing me because I keep wondering where my review went! Another brilliant book!
4.5 Stars
Another good mystery filled with twists and turns. Great to see the Monkeewench crew back in the thick of it!
4.5 Stars
Another good mystery filled with twists and turns. Great to see the Monkeewench crew back in the thick of it!
January 21, 2020
While I enjoy this series, this episode didn't wow me as much as the earlier ones. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing the Monkeewrench crew in action grappling with the evil ways people have found to use internet technology, but I feel that the characters are no longer developing and are in danger of becoming stereotyped. I also love seeing cops Leo and Gino in action, especially with their latest car impounded from a drug dealer, and enjoy their banter with each other. The plot itself was devious with online killers posting clues ahead of their kills and then posting the video of the kill on line. However, the hunt for the killers never built up any real suspense and was diverted by a couple of less interesting sub plots. It did get there in the end with a good twist, although finished with a bizarre epilogue that will no doubt be explained in the next book. Overall I did enjoy the read but felt it lacked it's usual brilliance and hope the next in the series will do something to restore that. 3.5★
April 17, 2022
3.5~4★
“ ‘Dude. Are you seriously asking us to hack into servers in hostile countries so you can catch one of our own? First off, we don’t kiss and tell. Second, we could go down for years on something like that.’”
Yep. The Monkeewrench team are part of an FBI presentation to an invited audience of hackers. Someone has been posting videos of murders being filmed in real time. After everyone’s seen the films, they are to get to work tracing the untraceable.
When our favourite Minneapolis detectives, Gino Rolseth and Leo Magozzi, are later briefed, Gino recoils in horror.
“ ‘Me and death are on a first-name basis. But, Jesus. We just watched some guy’s final nightmare minute of life —on the Web. On the goddamned Web. People are filming this sh*t. Posting it. Other people are watching it. I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.’ ”
Neither do most people. There are so many videos posted around the world that servers and platforms can’t keep up. By the time the offensive ones are removed, millions of viewers have seen them, and copycats have been encouraged.
The Monkeewrench crew are in their element, although they are as horrified as anyone. Grace McBride has so much trauma from her past that she lives in a constant state of hypervigilance, wearing high boots at all times in all weather to prevent someone from cutting her Achilles tendons so she can’t run away (don’t ask).
Even Annie, the good-natured, flamboyantly-clad member of the team who is generally pretty easy-going, is disturbed by the possibilities.
“Annie passed the photo to Grace as if it were a poisonous mushroom. ‘Real or not, this is sick. Somebody has to stop this.’ Grace nodded. ‘That would be us.’ ”
Indeed it would be this unique, self-assembled ‘family’ of five clever hackers who’ve made their fortune selling software programs. The FBI has assigned them a ‘supervisor’, one Agent John Smith, who basically moves in but doesn’t look over their shoulders (not that he’d understand what they’re doing anyway).
John adds nicely to the group dynamics, because Magozzi is smitten by Grace, who is always dressed in black, never smiles, never lets her guard down. His adoration is an open secret, and she has always given him special attention, in her way.
When John comes along, Grace is obviously a bit taken with him. He’s not too chatty, he’s unobtrusive, he’s older and calm, and he is a recreational cook, as is she. We don’t have fireworks, but there is a certain frisson.
There’s a drunken ‘retired’ judge, who adds a lot of colour, and of course there are deadlines (terribly apt term here) to try to figure out what weirdo is posting details about the murders before they even take place. How do they sift the real from the usual internet garbage?
I always enjoy visiting the area. This is not the usual winter in Minnesota and Wisconsin; it’s a heat-wave summer, and everyone is hot and slow, even the river.
“The Mississippi moved like a lady through this part of downtown, taking in the city sights, lapping at the feet of the new Guthrie on one side and the aged bricks of the old flour mills on the other.”
It’s another entertaining mystery with the crew. As usual, we have to take a lot on faith that they’re actually able to hack into servers and chat rooms and decrypt everything they find, but I’m happy to suspend any disbelief. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger that will make me move to the next soon!
These are better read in order. As number five in the series, it’s fun. As a standalone, I don’t think new readers would like it as much as I did, nor will the ending have as much impact. Start from the beginning - they are good.
“ ‘Dude. Are you seriously asking us to hack into servers in hostile countries so you can catch one of our own? First off, we don’t kiss and tell. Second, we could go down for years on something like that.’”
Yep. The Monkeewrench team are part of an FBI presentation to an invited audience of hackers. Someone has been posting videos of murders being filmed in real time. After everyone’s seen the films, they are to get to work tracing the untraceable.
When our favourite Minneapolis detectives, Gino Rolseth and Leo Magozzi, are later briefed, Gino recoils in horror.
“ ‘Me and death are on a first-name basis. But, Jesus. We just watched some guy’s final nightmare minute of life —on the Web. On the goddamned Web. People are filming this sh*t. Posting it. Other people are watching it. I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.’ ”
Neither do most people. There are so many videos posted around the world that servers and platforms can’t keep up. By the time the offensive ones are removed, millions of viewers have seen them, and copycats have been encouraged.
The Monkeewrench crew are in their element, although they are as horrified as anyone. Grace McBride has so much trauma from her past that she lives in a constant state of hypervigilance, wearing high boots at all times in all weather to prevent someone from cutting her Achilles tendons so she can’t run away (don’t ask).
Even Annie, the good-natured, flamboyantly-clad member of the team who is generally pretty easy-going, is disturbed by the possibilities.
“Annie passed the photo to Grace as if it were a poisonous mushroom. ‘Real or not, this is sick. Somebody has to stop this.’ Grace nodded. ‘That would be us.’ ”
Indeed it would be this unique, self-assembled ‘family’ of five clever hackers who’ve made their fortune selling software programs. The FBI has assigned them a ‘supervisor’, one Agent John Smith, who basically moves in but doesn’t look over their shoulders (not that he’d understand what they’re doing anyway).
John adds nicely to the group dynamics, because Magozzi is smitten by Grace, who is always dressed in black, never smiles, never lets her guard down. His adoration is an open secret, and she has always given him special attention, in her way.
When John comes along, Grace is obviously a bit taken with him. He’s not too chatty, he’s unobtrusive, he’s older and calm, and he is a recreational cook, as is she. We don’t have fireworks, but there is a certain frisson.
There’s a drunken ‘retired’ judge, who adds a lot of colour, and of course there are deadlines (terribly apt term here) to try to figure out what weirdo is posting details about the murders before they even take place. How do they sift the real from the usual internet garbage?
I always enjoy visiting the area. This is not the usual winter in Minnesota and Wisconsin; it’s a heat-wave summer, and everyone is hot and slow, even the river.
“The Mississippi moved like a lady through this part of downtown, taking in the city sights, lapping at the feet of the new Guthrie on one side and the aged bricks of the old flour mills on the other.”
It’s another entertaining mystery with the crew. As usual, we have to take a lot on faith that they’re actually able to hack into servers and chat rooms and decrypt everything they find, but I’m happy to suspend any disbelief. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger that will make me move to the next soon!
These are better read in order. As number five in the series, it’s fun. As a standalone, I don’t think new readers would like it as much as I did, nor will the ending have as much impact. Start from the beginning - they are good.
August 17, 2021
For English version please scroll down
************
Ein weiteres Highlight aus der Monkeewrench-Reihe
Eine Drag Queen wird ertränkt und das Video des Mordes ins Internet gestellt.
Es dauert nicht lange, bis das FBI sich professionelle Hilfe holt und die Monkeewrench-Crew hinzuzieht. Magozzi und Rolseth sind ebenfalls dabei als Vertreter der lokalen Polizei.
Die Autorinnen nutzen diese Geschichte, um darzustellen, wie das Internet es sowohl bösartigen Schädlingen als auch hirnlosen Schwachköpfen leicht macht unerkannt ihr Unwesen zu treiben.
Die Story ist gut aufgebaut und hat eine Reihe unerwarteter Wendungen. Neben dem Kriminalfall machen auch die Charaktere mit ihrer Menschlichkeit und ihrem Humor wieder viel Spass.
Rein vom Unterhaltungswert her für mich wieder 5 Sterne.
----------------
Another highlight from the Monkeewrench series
A drag queen is drowned and the video of the murder posted on the Internet.
It doesn't take long for the FBI to call for professional help and involve the Monkeewrench crew. Magozzi and Rolseth are also there as representatives of the local police.
The authors use this story to illustrate how the Internet makes it easy for both malicious pests and mindless morons to wreak havoc undetected.
The story is well structured and has a number of unexpected twists and turns. In addition to the criminal case, the characters with their humanity and humor are a lot of fun.
Purely in terms of entertainment value for me 5 stars.
************
Ein weiteres Highlight aus der Monkeewrench-Reihe
Eine Drag Queen wird ertränkt und das Video des Mordes ins Internet gestellt.
Es dauert nicht lange, bis das FBI sich professionelle Hilfe holt und die Monkeewrench-Crew hinzuzieht. Magozzi und Rolseth sind ebenfalls dabei als Vertreter der lokalen Polizei.
Die Autorinnen nutzen diese Geschichte, um darzustellen, wie das Internet es sowohl bösartigen Schädlingen als auch hirnlosen Schwachköpfen leicht macht unerkannt ihr Unwesen zu treiben.
Die Story ist gut aufgebaut und hat eine Reihe unerwarteter Wendungen. Neben dem Kriminalfall machen auch die Charaktere mit ihrer Menschlichkeit und ihrem Humor wieder viel Spass.
Rein vom Unterhaltungswert her für mich wieder 5 Sterne.
----------------
Another highlight from the Monkeewrench series
A drag queen is drowned and the video of the murder posted on the Internet.
It doesn't take long for the FBI to call for professional help and involve the Monkeewrench crew. Magozzi and Rolseth are also there as representatives of the local police.
The authors use this story to illustrate how the Internet makes it easy for both malicious pests and mindless morons to wreak havoc undetected.
The story is well structured and has a number of unexpected twists and turns. In addition to the criminal case, the characters with their humanity and humor are a lot of fun.
Purely in terms of entertainment value for me 5 stars.
May 3, 2019
I love this series!
Great mystery with great characters. Leo and Gino and the guys at the precinct have a fun back and forth, and the Monkeewrench gang always make me laugh. Grace and Leo continue to make baby steps towards a more solid relationship, kind of a necessity with Grace's background and trust issues.
Listening to the series. Love Buck Schirner's performance and comedic timing.
Great mystery with great characters. Leo and Gino and the guys at the precinct have a fun back and forth, and the Monkeewrench gang always make me laugh. Grace and Leo continue to make baby steps towards a more solid relationship, kind of a necessity with Grace's background and trust issues.
Listening to the series. Love Buck Schirner's performance and comedic timing.
July 16, 2018
P.J. Tracy continues her wonderful series with a fifth novel that taps into some of the technological aspects of crime in the 21st century. As they still remember their last major case in the middle of a blizzard, Homicide Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth find themselves in the middle of a Minneapolis heatwave. They are, however, fitted out in a wonderfully air conditioned ride, at least for a time. When they are called to the river to investigate a floater, Magozzi and Rolseth soon learn that they are in for more than they thought, but are assisted by a former judge who’s down on his luck and pining for booze. Meanwhile, members of Monkeewrench have been called to an ‘invite-only’ meeting with the FBI, headed by Special Agent John Smith. It would appear that a number of people have been anonymously posting videos of killings, which is troubling enough. Who is out there, posting snuff films to social media across the country? Working an angle with some of their high-tech software, Monkeewrench discovers that people have been posting cryptic messages about potential killings, all around America. Working not only to crack through the plethora of chat room messages, Grace MacBride and her team try to sift through snuff versus fake murder videos, all while Agent Smith waits idly by to stop this spree of killings. Magozzi soon learns that his own case might have some ties to the social media killings, along with trying to decipher the struggles with his ongoing relationship, which seems to have hit a dry patch. P.J. Tracy proves that this is a series worth the time invested. Series fans will flock to this one, and those new to the party can binge (as I did) with ease to catch up.
I cannot put into words how much I enjoy P.J. Tracy’s work as I binge my way through this series! The stories continue to scratch an itch that I get when needing something a little lighter to pass the summer months. Magozzi and Rolseth assume their positions as protagonists again, using great banter and strong sleuthing skills to keep the reader hooked from the early chapters. There are some great character development moments for Magozzi, who continues to struggle with Grace MacBride and a potential new woman to keep things spicy. The series reader will know that the Magozzi-MacBride oscillation has been one that is simmering, tension—sexual and otherwise—always present. The entire Monkeewrench crew is present, using their skills to crack the current case open and Tracy shows some development with them, if only peppered throughout the narrative. This novel’s ‘spotlight’ character would surely be FBI Special Agent John Smith, whose beige attitude does not change throughout the investigation. He sticks out against the strong characters found within the narrative and there are some interesting hints about whether he might reappear, but that is for the reader to discover in the novel. Secondary characters offer some interesting perspectives within the novel, as Tracy is able to effectively utilise them to push home key points to drive home a theme throughout the narrative. The narrative flows well and the reader is treated to decent writing that lacks at times within the genre. Moving away from the traditional police procedural, P.J. Tracy entertains the reader with strong storylines, perfect for a vacation or summer binge. I am eager to keep racing through these books and will likely soon catch up to a great Goodreads friend who is bingeing as well.
Kudos, P.J. Tracy, for another wonderful piece. I am so happy to have found this series and hope to feel more chills throughout this summer reading binge!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
I cannot put into words how much I enjoy P.J. Tracy’s work as I binge my way through this series! The stories continue to scratch an itch that I get when needing something a little lighter to pass the summer months. Magozzi and Rolseth assume their positions as protagonists again, using great banter and strong sleuthing skills to keep the reader hooked from the early chapters. There are some great character development moments for Magozzi, who continues to struggle with Grace MacBride and a potential new woman to keep things spicy. The series reader will know that the Magozzi-MacBride oscillation has been one that is simmering, tension—sexual and otherwise—always present. The entire Monkeewrench crew is present, using their skills to crack the current case open and Tracy shows some development with them, if only peppered throughout the narrative. This novel’s ‘spotlight’ character would surely be FBI Special Agent John Smith, whose beige attitude does not change throughout the investigation. He sticks out against the strong characters found within the narrative and there are some interesting hints about whether he might reappear, but that is for the reader to discover in the novel. Secondary characters offer some interesting perspectives within the novel, as Tracy is able to effectively utilise them to push home key points to drive home a theme throughout the narrative. The narrative flows well and the reader is treated to decent writing that lacks at times within the genre. Moving away from the traditional police procedural, P.J. Tracy entertains the reader with strong storylines, perfect for a vacation or summer binge. I am eager to keep racing through these books and will likely soon catch up to a great Goodreads friend who is bingeing as well.
Kudos, P.J. Tracy, for another wonderful piece. I am so happy to have found this series and hope to feel more chills throughout this summer reading binge!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
September 2, 2020
I think I fell a little bit in love with John Smith. For an FBI agent he’s pretty damn cool. At first he was typical feeb - all official and stunted talking. But as he relaxed and became one with the Monkeewrench crew he became funnier and more contemplative. This was a great twister even though you never really know who the killers were. Just a bunch of nobodies in a great big internet sea. Another stellar read by the PJ Tracy duo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2013
Please note: Read in Dec. 2012
Book Info: Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of the genre, fans of the series
Trigger Warnings: Violence, hate crimes (including but not limited to against LGBT people)
My Thoughts: This is book five in the series, after Snow Blind (review here where formatting allowed—please note it does include spoilers, but they have mostly been hidden under spoiler tags), and the first of the books I have not read previously.
Maybe it’s foolish to expect things like this not to sneak through, but honestly? G.P. Putnam & Sons should use spellcheck at the very least when they’re editing their books so that things like “dimljy” don’t sneak through, don’t you think? Although I have to give them props later for the proper use of “canvass” where too many people who aren’t aware of the difference use “canvas” to describe police going through a neighborhood to check whether people have noticed anything amiss. Also, that was the only mistake I found in the entire book (first sentence of the second chapter), so I guess I’ll let them off with a warning.
This book is not a true mystery, in that we know the names of at least a couple of the doers at the outset—so we watch as the good guys try to figure out who they are. But, of course, we don’t know the details, so there are plenty of bits to be learned as we go along. This is another book that deals with issues of people taking justice into their own hands, as well as some of the darker repercussions of the international community that is being created by the World Wide Web. A wonderful book, and I loved it, just like I’ve loved every book in this series. The epilogue almost made me lose my mind, so I’m jumping straight into Off the Grid to see if there are any more details, even though I have a short editing job to work on this week. I’ll bet I can get this puppy read in just a few hours if I hurry. Watch for that review!
Disclosure: I purchased this book for myself in hardcover shortly after its release. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: It's eighty-five degrees in the shade when Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth pull into the MPD parking garage. They're driving a tricked-out Caddy, repossessed from a low-level drug dealer. It's not a Beemer or a Mercedes, but it's got GPS, air-conditioning, and power seats with more positions than the Kama Sutra.
Things are heating up inside the station-house, too. The bomb squad's off to investigate another suspicious package at the mall, and kids are beating the crap out of one another and posting it on YouTube. And before Magozzi and Rolseth can wish for a straight-on homicide, the call comes in: a floater.
Soon they're humping it along a derelict stretch of the Mississippi River, beyond the green places where families picnic and admire the views. They can see her- she looks like a bride in her white formal gown—face down, dead in the water. And so it begins.
Across town, Grace McBride's Monkeewrench crew—the computer geeks who, after making a fortune on games, are now helping the cops with anti-crime software—have been recruited by the FBI to investigate a series of murder videos posted on the Web. It's not long before Magozzi, Rolseth, and Monkeewrench discover the frightening link between the unlucky bride and the latest, most horrific use of the Internet to date. Using their skills to scour the Net in search of the perpetrator, the team must race against the clock to stop a killer in his tracks.
Book Info: Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of the genre, fans of the series
Trigger Warnings: Violence, hate crimes (including but not limited to against LGBT people)
My Thoughts: This is book five in the series, after Snow Blind (review here where formatting allowed—please note it does include spoilers, but they have mostly been hidden under spoiler tags), and the first of the books I have not read previously.
Maybe it’s foolish to expect things like this not to sneak through, but honestly? G.P. Putnam & Sons should use spellcheck at the very least when they’re editing their books so that things like “dimljy” don’t sneak through, don’t you think? Although I have to give them props later for the proper use of “canvass” where too many people who aren’t aware of the difference use “canvas” to describe police going through a neighborhood to check whether people have noticed anything amiss. Also, that was the only mistake I found in the entire book (first sentence of the second chapter), so I guess I’ll let them off with a warning.
This book is not a true mystery, in that we know the names of at least a couple of the doers at the outset—so we watch as the good guys try to figure out who they are. But, of course, we don’t know the details, so there are plenty of bits to be learned as we go along. This is another book that deals with issues of people taking justice into their own hands, as well as some of the darker repercussions of the international community that is being created by the World Wide Web. A wonderful book, and I loved it, just like I’ve loved every book in this series. The epilogue almost made me lose my mind, so I’m jumping straight into Off the Grid to see if there are any more details, even though I have a short editing job to work on this week. I’ll bet I can get this puppy read in just a few hours if I hurry. Watch for that review!
Disclosure: I purchased this book for myself in hardcover shortly after its release. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: It's eighty-five degrees in the shade when Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth pull into the MPD parking garage. They're driving a tricked-out Caddy, repossessed from a low-level drug dealer. It's not a Beemer or a Mercedes, but it's got GPS, air-conditioning, and power seats with more positions than the Kama Sutra.
Things are heating up inside the station-house, too. The bomb squad's off to investigate another suspicious package at the mall, and kids are beating the crap out of one another and posting it on YouTube. And before Magozzi and Rolseth can wish for a straight-on homicide, the call comes in: a floater.
Soon they're humping it along a derelict stretch of the Mississippi River, beyond the green places where families picnic and admire the views. They can see her- she looks like a bride in her white formal gown—face down, dead in the water. And so it begins.
Across town, Grace McBride's Monkeewrench crew—the computer geeks who, after making a fortune on games, are now helping the cops with anti-crime software—have been recruited by the FBI to investigate a series of murder videos posted on the Web. It's not long before Magozzi, Rolseth, and Monkeewrench discover the frightening link between the unlucky bride and the latest, most horrific use of the Internet to date. Using their skills to scour the Net in search of the perpetrator, the team must race against the clock to stop a killer in his tracks.
November 26, 2010
Don't get me wrong. I loved this book. Not only is it another P.J. Tracy book, but this one features the Monkeewrench crew more heavily in this book than the previous book (Snow Blind). It's just that this book had one or two things I'm just not entirely sure about.
This volume of the Monkeewrench series focuses on killers who are videotaping their murderous exploits. The FBI is at a loss as they appeal to various internet geniuses (including the Monkeewrench crew) for assistance. The Minneapolis police become involved after one of the latest killings happens right in their backyard. The FBI send in agent John Smith to work along side the Monkeewrench crew as the threat of more videotaped murders escalate.
I loved the idea of murderers videotaping their kills & having the Monkeewrench team track them down. It really hasn't been done all that much, all things considering. I also loved that we get more of the Monkeewrench crew in this book. Not that I don't love Gino & Magozzi, but the Monkeewrench team really are the bright points of the series. The pacing for the murders is nice & I really found myself getting caught up in the whodunnit.
There's just a few things that didn't sit right with me. From the very beginning of the series it's been said over & over again that the Monkeewrench crew isn't comfortable with the FBI or any government agency. However, when John Smith comes into their lives & literally spends every waking hour in their homes, they greet him with nearly open arms. I know that their position towards the government has softened somewhat from the beginning of the series, but this was a little far fetched. Not by much, but enough that I just didn't really find their interactions all that believable. Then there's Smith's interactions with Grace. There is some sort of weird chemistry between the two of them, but of what type it really isn't clear. Plus she seems to open up to him a little too fast as well- it just seemed sort of out of character for her & I didn't really see enough interaction between the two of them to justify such a connection.
Overall though, I really enjoyed this book & I'm glad that P.J. Tracy has put out another book. I just have to warn people- if you haven't read any of the previous books in the series then you are going to be lost as far as character development goes. The basic plot can be read as a standalone, but there's not a lot of rehashing of character development & there's a few things mentioned to that extent that relies on you having read the previous books in the series.
This volume of the Monkeewrench series focuses on killers who are videotaping their murderous exploits. The FBI is at a loss as they appeal to various internet geniuses (including the Monkeewrench crew) for assistance. The Minneapolis police become involved after one of the latest killings happens right in their backyard. The FBI send in agent John Smith to work along side the Monkeewrench crew as the threat of more videotaped murders escalate.
I loved the idea of murderers videotaping their kills & having the Monkeewrench team track them down. It really hasn't been done all that much, all things considering. I also loved that we get more of the Monkeewrench crew in this book. Not that I don't love Gino & Magozzi, but the Monkeewrench team really are the bright points of the series. The pacing for the murders is nice & I really found myself getting caught up in the whodunnit.
There's just a few things that didn't sit right with me. From the very beginning of the series it's been said over & over again that the Monkeewrench crew isn't comfortable with the FBI or any government agency. However, when John Smith comes into their lives & literally spends every waking hour in their homes, they greet him with nearly open arms. I know that their position towards the government has softened somewhat from the beginning of the series, but this was a little far fetched. Not by much, but enough that I just didn't really find their interactions all that believable. Then there's Smith's interactions with Grace. There is some sort of weird chemistry between the two of them, but of what type it really isn't clear. Plus she seems to open up to him a little too fast as well- it just seemed sort of out of character for her & I didn't really see enough interaction between the two of them to justify such a connection.
Overall though, I really enjoyed this book & I'm glad that P.J. Tracy has put out another book. I just have to warn people- if you haven't read any of the previous books in the series then you are going to be lost as far as character development goes. The basic plot can be read as a standalone, but there's not a lot of rehashing of character development & there's a few things mentioned to that extent that relies on you having read the previous books in the series.
April 11, 2011
This was really bad. I've loved the other Monkeewrench novels, but this one was pretty useless. They find one killer, who you kind of feel sorry for. And that's the one whose story you know. Then there's the psycho teacher, who they have no explanation for the two waitresses he terrorized. Then there's the rest of the online killing gang who Monkeewrench tracks down from "an anonymous tip" and gives to the FBI. No explanation. Just people do crap kind of stuff.
And then the ending is very ambiguous. Grace is on the boat with John Smith and with Charley, her dog. So did she break it off totally with Magozzi? Or is it a platonic thing with John?
Very lame. I'm so disappointed.
And then the ending is very ambiguous. Grace is on the boat with John Smith and with Charley, her dog. So did she break it off totally with Magozzi? Or is it a platonic thing with John?
Very lame. I'm so disappointed.
July 4, 2015
I'm a bit mixed about this one and may come back and change my rating. I liked that the Monkeewrench crew featured more but I just don't think the story was well developed and the suspense was just not there. I am wondering if too many characters have been introduced. I will read the last one as the end is in sight but unless this last one is fantastic I think the series has deteriorated.
April 12, 2019
Entertaining whodunnit, with Minneapolis homicide cops and the Monkeewrench guys on one side, with a cadre of internet killers on the other. My favorite hombres in this one were peripheral characters: a former judge, now an infamous local drunk, and a FBI agent working with the core group of computer geeks to find the supersmart criminals.
October 3, 2018
It took me a while to get hooked on this book and then even once I became vested a number of things dampened my reading pleasure.
One, the Monkeywrench team is just being set up as too miraculous. I've reached a point where their skill set has gotten too over the top to be believable. It's to the point where you don't need anyone but them and their computers.
Two, Grace who doesn't get close to anyone all of a sudden connects with the new FBI character. Their relationship is not clear and yet they get a weird epilogue.
Three, the Magozzi hooked on a non responding Grace has gone on a couple of books too long. Cut him free as I'm over Grace.
One, the Monkeywrench team is just being set up as too miraculous. I've reached a point where their skill set has gotten too over the top to be believable. It's to the point where you don't need anyone but them and their computers.
Two, Grace who doesn't get close to anyone all of a sudden connects with the new FBI character. Their relationship is not clear and yet they get a weird epilogue.
Three, the Magozzi hooked on a non responding Grace has gone on a couple of books too long. Cut him free as I'm over Grace.
July 10, 2018
I think the series gets better with each book, but maybe that's just because I'm getting to know the characters better. This book is basically more of the same, in many ways, but I thought it had a bit more humor. The story was interesting but nothing exceptional but the characters were more interesting to make up for it.
There was a new character, an FBI agent named John Smith, who started out being much like Joe Friday in Dragnet - very straight, no sense of humor, etc. But he turned out to be a good addition to the group. And, as usual, Gino Rolseth, one of the Minneapolis cops, added a lot of goofy humor.
Fortunately, I have the next book ready to read, so I'll go right into it while the characters are fresh in my mind.
There was a new character, an FBI agent named John Smith, who started out being much like Joe Friday in Dragnet - very straight, no sense of humor, etc. But he turned out to be a good addition to the group. And, as usual, Gino Rolseth, one of the Minneapolis cops, added a lot of goofy humor.
Fortunately, I have the next book ready to read, so I'll go right into it while the characters are fresh in my mind.
September 23, 2018
Excellent. I just love this series and these quirky characters. Fabulous dialogue and hair-raising mysteries. Just fabulous.
April 14, 2022
Another well written cybercrime novel by PJ Tracy. Monkeewrench are just awesome.
May 21, 2023
I really like the Monkeewrench series, but this would be my least favourite so far. It felt a little bit too much like boxes were simply being ticked at times, rather than the plot actually driving the action. Still enjoyed it, but not the best in the series so far for me.
June 14, 2010
This review applies to the audio version.
#5 "Monkeewrench" mystery set in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and featuring MPD homicide detectives Rolseth and Magozzi and the Monkeewrench computer team. Monkeewrench--a very computer saavy bunch who operate somewhat outside the law for the greater good--has been asked by the FBI to assist in tracking down a killer or killers who are posting video of their kills on the web. Their own crack squad can't find anything, so they aren't above seeking outside help when needed.So far, five victims in five cities killed in five different ways make them believe the murders are being committed by different people and are only related by the complex web of secret servers and routing methods that hide their real identity.
But when Rolseth and Magozzi get called out to a body found in the Mississippi River (which first appears to be a drunken drag queen who fell in the river and drowned) that ends up as the sixth case, they begin working with Monkeewrench (Grace, Harley, Annie and RoadRunner) and FBI agent John Smith, who has been assigned to the case from Washington. Is there a connection between the murders? Of course there is.
I have to admit that I was disappointed in this latest book in one of my favorite mystery series. It started out strong but kind of fizzled out after awhile when the bad guy became rather obvious (at least to me) and there was a lot of ranting from various people (but especially Rolseth) about the evils of the Internet.
I also have to admit I wasn't crazy about the narrator for this book. His female voices sounded very fake, there wasn't much differentiation between some of the male voices, and none of the characters sounded even remotely like they were from Minnesota. I have enjoyed the previous books in the series quite a lot, but perhaps in part because I'd been waiting so long for this installment in the series, I felt let down by the cobbled-together plot and the mediocre narration. It was good to visit with old friends, though.
#5 "Monkeewrench" mystery set in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and featuring MPD homicide detectives Rolseth and Magozzi and the Monkeewrench computer team. Monkeewrench--a very computer saavy bunch who operate somewhat outside the law for the greater good--has been asked by the FBI to assist in tracking down a killer or killers who are posting video of their kills on the web. Their own crack squad can't find anything, so they aren't above seeking outside help when needed.So far, five victims in five cities killed in five different ways make them believe the murders are being committed by different people and are only related by the complex web of secret servers and routing methods that hide their real identity.
But when Rolseth and Magozzi get called out to a body found in the Mississippi River (which first appears to be a drunken drag queen who fell in the river and drowned) that ends up as the sixth case, they begin working with Monkeewrench (Grace, Harley, Annie and RoadRunner) and FBI agent John Smith, who has been assigned to the case from Washington. Is there a connection between the murders? Of course there is.
I have to admit that I was disappointed in this latest book in one of my favorite mystery series. It started out strong but kind of fizzled out after awhile when the bad guy became rather obvious (at least to me) and there was a lot of ranting from various people (but especially Rolseth) about the evils of the Internet.
I also have to admit I wasn't crazy about the narrator for this book. His female voices sounded very fake, there wasn't much differentiation between some of the male voices, and none of the characters sounded even remotely like they were from Minnesota. I have enjoyed the previous books in the series quite a lot, but perhaps in part because I'd been waiting so long for this installment in the series, I felt let down by the cobbled-together plot and the mediocre narration. It was good to visit with old friends, though.
June 21, 2010
Monkeewrench is back, baby! Monkeewrench is a haunted, eccentric, close-knit team of computer geniuses who’ve turned their skills from creating computer games to developing anticrime software. Harley Davidson, Roadrunner, Annie and Grace must a) crack the code killers are using to communicate online b) create software which will separate staged murders from the real thing and c) trace the online snuff films to the killers. Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are along for the ride, as is series newcomer FBI agent John Smith.
Shoot to Thrill offers a chilling premise and some moments of intense suspense. I love the series regulars: they are among my favorite fictional characters. Although we didn’t see much of Annie or Roadrunner this time around, Grace has a surprise for us—one that I’m still puzzling over. Hopefully another Monkeewrench title is already in the works . . . . Shoot to Thrill can be read as a standalone but you’ll have a better appreciation for the characters if you read the preceding novels.
Shoot to Thrill offers a chilling premise and some moments of intense suspense. I love the series regulars: they are among my favorite fictional characters. Although we didn’t see much of Annie or Roadrunner this time around, Grace has a surprise for us—one that I’m still puzzling over. Hopefully another Monkeewrench title is already in the works . . . . Shoot to Thrill can be read as a standalone but you’ll have a better appreciation for the characters if you read the preceding novels.
November 20, 2023
Instead of writing a review for each of the 10 books in this series that have been published so far, I decided to write a review for book #5 that will reference each of the first 5 books and then a review for book #10 that will speak to the next 5 books. This series is incredibly readable - I raced through all 10 books in under 10 days. The author has said that there will be more books in the series and I can't wait!
The series takes place largely in Minnesota and follows a pair of Minneapolis Homicide detectives, Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth. While these two characters largely anchor the series, each story is told from multiple perspectives. The other pillar characters are the partners at Monkeewrench, a software company that works closely with law enforcement to solve what are often complicated criminal cases.
Book #1: Monkeewrench
4 ★
When the Monkeewrench team start to beta test their latest software, a game called Serial Killer Detective, bodies start to turn up in Minneapolis that copy the killings in the game. Grace MacBride and her brilliant and eccentric partners at Monkeewrench immediately contact Minneapolis homicide. When Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth interview the Monkeewrench team, it's apparent that they are hiding something. Further digging just raises more questions - none of these people existed until 10 years ago. Who are they and what are they hiding? What do they have to do with the current spate of murders, if anything? And why are they so suspicious of law enforcement.......
Book #2: Live Bait
4 ★
A murder drought in Minneapolis is ended when an elderly, much loved garden centre owner is found on his driveway with a bullet hole in his head. Just around the corner, another senior citizen is reported missing and is later found shot and tied to the railway tracks by barbed wire. Leo and Gino need to figure out whether these crimes are related and if so, who is hunting senior citizens in Minneapolis and why. They reach out for help from the Monkeewrench team who have recently developed software that can identify patterns in seemingly unrelated data gathered by crime investigators.
Book #3: Dead Run
4 ★
Monkeewrench partners Grace MacBride and Annie Belinsky team up with Wisonsin deputy Sharon Mueller to investigate a series of murders in Green Bay. On the way there, their vehicle breaks down in a remote part of the woods. Out of cell phone range and off the beaten track, the three decide to walk through the woods to get help and stumble into the small town of Four Corners. Eerily, there is no one in the town and all the phone lines have been cut. When a vehicle comes racing into town, they think they are saved but before they can step out onto the main street to hail the driver, both the driver and the passenger are gunned down. Grace, Annie and Sharon hide and then try to figure out what is happening in this small town in the middle of nowhere. As they try to get help, they unravel a conspiracy to kill thousands of people and quickly realize they are being hunted by a group of people who have nothing to lose.
Book #4: Snow Blind
4 ★
As the snow starts to fall in Minneapolis, Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are in one of Minneapolis' many parks building a snowman as part of an annual "winterfest" charity event. There are dozens of snowmen in the park and kids are starting to arrive to see them. As Magozzi goes to the edge of the surrounding forest to collect some branches for the arms of Gino's snowman, he notices that one of the snowmen looks a little odd. A little kid standing beside him also notices that something is wrong and looking closer, realizes that there is a dead body hidden inside. A second body is also found in another one of the snowmen and the police quickly realize that they are fellow officers - someone has murdered two cops and hidden them in snowmen. When Sherieff Iris Rikker makes a similar discovery in her northern Minnesota county, Leo and Gino head north as part of their investigation. There are many secrets in this one as Leo and Gino, with support from Monkeewrench, start to peel back the layers.
Book #5: Shoot to Thrill
4 ★
Monkeewrench have been engaged by the FBI to help investigate a series of grim videos that have started appearing on line. Meanwhile, Leo and Gino are called down to the banks of the Mississippi because someone dressed in a bridal gown is face down in shallow water and very obviously dead. As Gino, Leo and the Monkeewrench team compare notes, it becomes clear that their cases are connected and that there are truly some horrifying things on the internet.
I highly recommend this series. The characters are interesting, the mysteries are complex enough to be challenging to sort through and there are a ton of thrills and chills throughout. Make sure you clear your calendar when you start this series. I don't think you'll be able to put it down!
Books 1-5 were written by the mother/daughter writing duo of P.J. and Traci Lambrecht writing under the pseudonym P.J. Tracy.
The series takes place largely in Minnesota and follows a pair of Minneapolis Homicide detectives, Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth. While these two characters largely anchor the series, each story is told from multiple perspectives. The other pillar characters are the partners at Monkeewrench, a software company that works closely with law enforcement to solve what are often complicated criminal cases.
Book #1: Monkeewrench
4 ★
When the Monkeewrench team start to beta test their latest software, a game called Serial Killer Detective, bodies start to turn up in Minneapolis that copy the killings in the game. Grace MacBride and her brilliant and eccentric partners at Monkeewrench immediately contact Minneapolis homicide. When Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth interview the Monkeewrench team, it's apparent that they are hiding something. Further digging just raises more questions - none of these people existed until 10 years ago. Who are they and what are they hiding? What do they have to do with the current spate of murders, if anything? And why are they so suspicious of law enforcement.......
Book #2: Live Bait
4 ★
A murder drought in Minneapolis is ended when an elderly, much loved garden centre owner is found on his driveway with a bullet hole in his head. Just around the corner, another senior citizen is reported missing and is later found shot and tied to the railway tracks by barbed wire. Leo and Gino need to figure out whether these crimes are related and if so, who is hunting senior citizens in Minneapolis and why. They reach out for help from the Monkeewrench team who have recently developed software that can identify patterns in seemingly unrelated data gathered by crime investigators.
Book #3: Dead Run
4 ★
Monkeewrench partners Grace MacBride and Annie Belinsky team up with Wisonsin deputy Sharon Mueller to investigate a series of murders in Green Bay. On the way there, their vehicle breaks down in a remote part of the woods. Out of cell phone range and off the beaten track, the three decide to walk through the woods to get help and stumble into the small town of Four Corners. Eerily, there is no one in the town and all the phone lines have been cut. When a vehicle comes racing into town, they think they are saved but before they can step out onto the main street to hail the driver, both the driver and the passenger are gunned down. Grace, Annie and Sharon hide and then try to figure out what is happening in this small town in the middle of nowhere. As they try to get help, they unravel a conspiracy to kill thousands of people and quickly realize they are being hunted by a group of people who have nothing to lose.
Book #4: Snow Blind
4 ★
As the snow starts to fall in Minneapolis, Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are in one of Minneapolis' many parks building a snowman as part of an annual "winterfest" charity event. There are dozens of snowmen in the park and kids are starting to arrive to see them. As Magozzi goes to the edge of the surrounding forest to collect some branches for the arms of Gino's snowman, he notices that one of the snowmen looks a little odd. A little kid standing beside him also notices that something is wrong and looking closer, realizes that there is a dead body hidden inside. A second body is also found in another one of the snowmen and the police quickly realize that they are fellow officers - someone has murdered two cops and hidden them in snowmen. When Sherieff Iris Rikker makes a similar discovery in her northern Minnesota county, Leo and Gino head north as part of their investigation. There are many secrets in this one as Leo and Gino, with support from Monkeewrench, start to peel back the layers.
Book #5: Shoot to Thrill
4 ★
Monkeewrench have been engaged by the FBI to help investigate a series of grim videos that have started appearing on line. Meanwhile, Leo and Gino are called down to the banks of the Mississippi because someone dressed in a bridal gown is face down in shallow water and very obviously dead. As Gino, Leo and the Monkeewrench team compare notes, it becomes clear that their cases are connected and that there are truly some horrifying things on the internet.
I highly recommend this series. The characters are interesting, the mysteries are complex enough to be challenging to sort through and there are a ton of thrills and chills throughout. Make sure you clear your calendar when you start this series. I don't think you'll be able to put it down!
Books 1-5 were written by the mother/daughter writing duo of P.J. and Traci Lambrecht writing under the pseudonym P.J. Tracy.
June 11, 2010
Probably closer to 2.5 stars but I rounded down. This is another mystery set in Tracy's Monkeewrench universe in MN. I really enjoyed the previous efforts in the series but this one rang a bit hollow for me. I didn't feel like the Monkeewrench crew were terribly involved with the story. The actual mystery was solid and the ending looked like it could possibly set up some interesting character developments down the road, this particular installment felt more like it was just keeping time, at least in comparison to the previous stories.
December 30, 2012
I don’t know whether this was just a dud on its own, or if I’m getting tired of this mystery series. The incessant switching of point-of-view among almost all of the characters became annoying. Also, my favorite characters have always been the guest-appearing cop characters – the ones from Wisconsin who were in #1 and #3 and the brand-new sheriff from the fourth book – and they weren’t in this book.
May 15, 2013
A fun read with some snappy lines. Great characters although some are a tad over the top. Some quibbles: it wasn't a total surprise who the character is setting the plot in motion; plus, the part where there's a post online about one of the murders days before it actually takes place ...how does he know what the victim is going to be wearing? But, all in all, big fun; I enjoyed it.
October 15, 2018
This was a very enjoyable read with interesting characters. The story was fast-paced with a twist at the end I did not see coming. I highly recommend this series as it is very entertaining. Look forward to the next book in the series.
August 23, 2017
Gawd, waited till about half way through for it to get exciting, which it did, and I thought YES!!!!!!!!!!!! but, it all went downhill again. i waited for the next exciting thing to happen, it didn't.
August 19, 2016
Spannend. Wel veel computertaal. Maar geen extra kennis nodig om te kunnen volgen....Gelukkig !
February 6, 2017
Very ambitious, so a little confusing, but all in all a good, fun read.
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