Even after reading seven in this series over the last couple months I am not tired of the author's voice or style. The plots are somewhat formulaic, usually there are two or more seemingly unrelated crimes that get put together - lots of fortunate coincidences here. Still, I like how they're put together and the level of suspense. As always, some snappy dialogue and fun characters.
Book Description
The Monkeewrench crew returns in a twisty, heart-stopping new thriller.
The peaceful Christmas season in Minneapolis is shattered when two friends, Chuck Spencer and Wally Luntz, scheduled to meet in person for the first time, are murdered on the same night, two hours and several miles apart, dramatically concluding winter vacation for homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth.
An hour north of Minneapolis, Lydia Ascher comes home to find two dead men in her basement. When Leo and Gino discover her connection to their current cases, they suspect that she is a target, too. The same day, an elderly, terminally ill man is kidnapped from his home, an Alzheimer's patient goes missing from his care facility, and a baffling link among all the crimes emerges.
This series of inexplicable events sends the detectives sixty years into the past to search for answers--and straight to Grace MacBride's Monkeewrench, a group of eccentric computer geniuses who devote their time and resources to helping the cops solve the unsolvable. What they find is an unimaginable horror--a dormant Armageddon that might be activated at any moment unless Grace and her partners Annie, Roadrunner, and Harley Davidson, along with Leo and Gino, can find a way to stop it.
My Review
This is the 7th book in the Monkeewrench series. It's a good idea to start at the beginning of the series as the best thing about these books is the interaction between the characters and you actually can watch their friendships grow. I found the plot which centered around the hydrogen bomb and EMP (electromagnetic pulse) an interesting but frightening subject. The book is suspenseful and kept the pages turning until the end. A surprise ending leaves one hoping for the next book to be published soon. I hope the P.J. Tracy mother/daughter team can pick up the pace of their writing. It was too long between this book and the last. I highly recommend this series to those who love mystery thrillers.
The Monkeewrench crew returns in a twisty, heart-stopping new thriller.
The peaceful Christmas season in Minneapolis is shattered when two friends, Chuck Spencer and Wally Luntz, scheduled to meet in person for the first time, are murdered on the same night, two hours and several miles apart, dramatically concluding winter vacation for homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth.
An hour north of Minneapolis, Lydia Ascher comes home to find two dead men in her basement. When Leo and Gino discover her connection to their current cases, they suspect that she is a target, too. The same day, an elderly, terminally ill man is kidnapped from his home, an Alzheimer's patient goes missing from his care facility, and a baffling link among all the crimes emerges.
This series of inexplicable events sends the detectives sixty years into the past to search for answers--and straight to Grace MacBride's Monkeewrench, a group of eccentric computer geniuses who devote their time and resources to helping the cops solve the unsolvable. What they find is an unimaginable horror--a dormant Armageddon that might be activated at any moment unless Grace and her partners Annie, Roadrunner, and Harley Davidson, along with Leo and Gino, can find a way to stop it.
My Review
This is the 7th book in the Monkeewrench series. It's a good idea to start at the beginning of the series as the best thing about these books is the interaction between the characters and you actually can watch their friendships grow. I found the plot which centered around the hydrogen bomb and EMP (electromagnetic pulse) an interesting but frightening subject. The book is suspenseful and kept the pages turning until the end. A surprise ending leaves one hoping for the next book to be published soon. I hope the P.J. Tracy mother/daughter team can pick up the pace of their writing. It was too long between this book and the last. I highly recommend this series to those who love mystery thrillers.
I feel this is worth 3.5 stars but since we can't give half stars, I am bumping it up to four. I read the book in a few days. The writing is decent and the plot line kept me going. I first heard of "EMP" a few years back through the novel "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen. Some Amazon reviewers who knew of EMP said that "The Sixth Idea's" plot line wasn't feasible as described. Whether or not feasible, the theory in "The Sixth Idea" is intriguing.
I found it somewhat confusing re who was trying to kill a particular group of people that most certainly had no knowledge of the EMP theory. And, then to further confuse things, someone was hunting the assassins.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS: Apparently, a very secretive group in the U.S. government was tracking these folks down to kill although I still am not sure I understand why. For anyone who has read the series in order, Leo Magozzi, a Minneapolis police detective, has had the "hots" for Grace, a member of Monkeewrench, for as long as he's known her. Grace, who has a traumatic past, keeps everyone--including Magozzi--at arm's length. She and Magozzi have a strange relationship that seems stuck in neutral. I believe it was in the previous book that the reader learns that they now sleep together. At the end of "The Sixth Idea" we learn that Grace is pregnant. That really doesn't seem to fit with how Grace's character is written. I suspect this "cliffhanger" was done so readers would continue with the series to see what's next.
I found it somewhat confusing re who was trying to kill a particular group of people that most certainly had no knowledge of the EMP theory. And, then to further confuse things, someone was hunting the assassins.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS: Apparently, a very secretive group in the U.S. government was tracking these folks down to kill although I still am not sure I understand why. For anyone who has read the series in order, Leo Magozzi, a Minneapolis police detective, has had the "hots" for Grace, a member of Monkeewrench, for as long as he's known her. Grace, who has a traumatic past, keeps everyone--including Magozzi--at arm's length. She and Magozzi have a strange relationship that seems stuck in neutral. I believe it was in the previous book that the reader learns that they now sleep together. At the end of "The Sixth Idea" we learn that Grace is pregnant. That really doesn't seem to fit with how Grace's character is written. I suspect this "cliffhanger" was done so readers would continue with the series to see what's next.
