Helpful Score: 2
This series continues to suprise me. Except for some occasional dialogue that seems to work a bit hard at being funny, the books just get better and better. Don't get me wrong. It does have humor and usually it's very natural but sometimes just a little awkward. That criticism is outweighed however, by the original plotting, superb writing and generally tight and realistic dialogue. Very hard to put down.
Here's one section, from the p.o.v. of an 8 year old: "He was straddling his old bike across the street from the cafe, staring through the plate-glass window, watching Hazel's broad back hunch and move over the grill plate behind the counter. Even through the dust-streaked window, he could see that great pile of too-black hair wobbling on top of her head, and when she turned aournd to plop a plate down on the counter in front of a customer, he saw the loose skin of remembered chins cascading down over the place where her neck was supposed to be." Writing just doesn't get much more vivid than that. :)
Here's one section, from the p.o.v. of an 8 year old: "He was straddling his old bike across the street from the cafe, staring through the plate-glass window, watching Hazel's broad back hunch and move over the grill plate behind the counter. Even through the dust-streaked window, he could see that great pile of too-black hair wobbling on top of her head, and when she turned aournd to plop a plate down on the counter in front of a customer, he saw the loose skin of remembered chins cascading down over the place where her neck was supposed to be." Writing just doesn't get much more vivid than that. :)
Helpful Score: 1
Fast moving. Fun read.
Helpful Score: 1
Three founders of the Monkeewrench are driving from Minneapolis to Green Bay. Their car breaks down deep in the northern woods, far from any civilization and walking to Four Corners, they find...absolutely nothing. There is no sign of life, but then witness a horrifying double murder. They run for their lives while the rest of the Monkeewrench crews and Minneapolis cops are on a blind search to find them.
Good reading.
Good reading.
Helpful Score: 1
Great book with an interesting, scary premise. I could barely put it down. I'm glad I discovered the mother-daughter team of PJ Tracy. You will want to start with Monkeewrench, the first in the series, and read them all in order (Dead Run is the 3rd. There are 4 books in the series with a new one due sometime this year - 2009).
Grace and Annie of Monkeewrench and Wisconsin deputy Sharon Mueller are headed to Green Bay, where Sharon believes a serial killer has set up shop. After Grace's Range Rover breaks down the women seek refuge up in the town of Four Corners, which is abandoned. They discover all the phone lines have been cut and then witness the cold blooded killing of a couple. Soon Federal, state and local authorities are all involved while our three heroines remain at risk right in the middle of the action. Tracys work just gets better and better.
A group is en route to Green Bay, following reports of a serial killer, when their car breaks down deep in the northern woods. A short walk through the forest leads them to the eerily quiet town of Four Corners, where they find severed phone lines and a complete absence of life. But the quiet is deceptive. Before they know it, they witness a horrifying double murder-and discover that this is only the beginning of a race to save their own lives...and countless others.
Another enjoyable installment in a very enjoyable series.
Grace and Annie stumble on a double murder when their car breaks down on the way to a nearby town. Very suspenseful!
The software developers known as the Monkeewrench team have volunteered their sophisticated computer programs and their considerable expertise to help police departments solve related crimes. When Sharon Mueller, a Wisconsin police deputy now working for the FBI in Minneapolis, asks Grace MacBride and Annie Belinsky of the Monkeewrench team to help her connect the dots in a series of Green Bay murders, the three women set off on a road trip through rural Wisconsin.
Along the way, they find the grisly remnants of a mysterious event: an abandoned town, a quasi-military blockade, and a farm field filled with unspeakable horrors. Is this some kind of secret government experiment? Or is it the beginning of a new kind of war? Drawn into the mystery against their will, the three women soon find themselves actively involved not only in saving themselves, but also in preventing the potential deaths of thousands of other people.
Along the way, they find the grisly remnants of a mysterious event: an abandoned town, a quasi-military blockade, and a farm field filled with unspeakable horrors. Is this some kind of secret government experiment? Or is it the beginning of a new kind of war? Drawn into the mystery against their will, the three women soon find themselves actively involved not only in saving themselves, but also in preventing the potential deaths of thousands of other people.
Excellent! Keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. More about the whole gang in this one.
This was unbelievably fast paced. I read it in one day...couldn't put it down.
P. J Tracy's second book, this series is becoming one that I don'y want to miss any of the books.
These books are highly addictive. Makes you want the next one right away!
P.J. Tracy.....WOW! I loved loved loved the writing and this story scared the crap out of me. Very suspenseful. I just ordered 2 more of this author's books and I can't wait to read them!
This series just keeps getting better! A must read!
This book is just plain great fun - an amazingly fulfilling thriller that just makes you want to run out and read anything written by this author. Don't miss this one!
Highly recommended but also recommended that you read this series in order: Monkeewrench, followed by Live Bait, followed by Dead Run.
The third outing for the Monkeewrench crew finds Grace, Annie and Sharon (Wisconsin deputy from the first book, now on loan to the FBI) traveling from Minneapolis to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Along the way their car breaks down and they stumble into a town where everyone has mysteriously vanished, and progressively more sinister developments are taking place.
Unlike the first two books which were more whodunnit mysteries, this is straight up slam-bang suspense as the three women pool all their considerable resources to survive their predicament. The rest of the now familiar characters, Minneapolis detectives Maggozzi and Rolseth, the Monkeewrench geeks, with Wisconsin sheriff Mike Halloran and deputy Bonar Carlson race to the rescue.
It becomes increasingly clear that not only has something horrible happened in the isolated Wisconsin town, but sinister forces are trying to make it happen again, on a larger scale.
Some reviews have pointed out the preposterousness of the plot, and it is one of those books that you read breathlessly and then put down and think, now waaaaiit a minute, that is kind of unbelievable. But, these days of terrorism maybe not so unbelievable. There are whackos out there!
Again, the characters are what drew me in and kept me involved with the story. The development of their intertwining plotlines, like Magozzi's slowly blooming romance with Grace and Sharon's with Mike Halloran, makes this more than a routinely forgettable thriller. The idea of three women kicking ass and getting themselves out of their predicament, plus the touches of humor amid the suspense and horror, are just icing on the cake.
This is a book I devoured in a couple of days. If I had more time in one day I'd have finished it in a day!
The third outing for the Monkeewrench crew finds Grace, Annie and Sharon (Wisconsin deputy from the first book, now on loan to the FBI) traveling from Minneapolis to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Along the way their car breaks down and they stumble into a town where everyone has mysteriously vanished, and progressively more sinister developments are taking place.
Unlike the first two books which were more whodunnit mysteries, this is straight up slam-bang suspense as the three women pool all their considerable resources to survive their predicament. The rest of the now familiar characters, Minneapolis detectives Maggozzi and Rolseth, the Monkeewrench geeks, with Wisconsin sheriff Mike Halloran and deputy Bonar Carlson race to the rescue.
It becomes increasingly clear that not only has something horrible happened in the isolated Wisconsin town, but sinister forces are trying to make it happen again, on a larger scale.
Some reviews have pointed out the preposterousness of the plot, and it is one of those books that you read breathlessly and then put down and think, now waaaaiit a minute, that is kind of unbelievable. But, these days of terrorism maybe not so unbelievable. There are whackos out there!
Again, the characters are what drew me in and kept me involved with the story. The development of their intertwining plotlines, like Magozzi's slowly blooming romance with Grace and Sharon's with Mike Halloran, makes this more than a routinely forgettable thriller. The idea of three women kicking ass and getting themselves out of their predicament, plus the touches of humor amid the suspense and horror, are just icing on the cake.
This is a book I devoured in a couple of days. If I had more time in one day I'd have finished it in a day!
Oh wow! I can see why this is the favorite book of the series for most, as it's fantastic! The Monkeewrench team are back in a doozy of a thriller. Grace McBride and Annie Belinsky are traveling to Green Bay, Wisconsin with deputy Sharon Mueller to assist locals with finding a serial killer using their new software. They get lost on the way and stumble onto the mysteriously empty town of Four Corners, where they unwittingly witness the brutal murders of two civilians by military men. They need to get out to tell someone but the whole town is surrounded and they are being hunted.
Meanwhile Detectives Leo Magozzi and his partner team up with Sheriff Halloran and the rest of the Monkeewrench team to try to find the women. When more people turn up missing in the same area and the Feds keep everyone, including local law enforcement, away without telling them why, they suspect something bigger than unsolved murders and missing persons is up. But they have no idea HOW big...
It was great to have the Monkeewrench team back in the thick of things instead of on the periphery, and this novel starts with a bang and doesn't let the tension up as it races through to its nerve-wracking climax. Fantastic premise brilliantly executed - I don't see how they can top this one but I sure hope they keep trying!
Meanwhile Detectives Leo Magozzi and his partner team up with Sheriff Halloran and the rest of the Monkeewrench team to try to find the women. When more people turn up missing in the same area and the Feds keep everyone, including local law enforcement, away without telling them why, they suspect something bigger than unsolved murders and missing persons is up. But they have no idea HOW big...
It was great to have the Monkeewrench team back in the thick of things instead of on the periphery, and this novel starts with a bang and doesn't let the tension up as it races through to its nerve-wracking climax. Fantastic premise brilliantly executed - I don't see how they can top this one but I sure hope they keep trying!
loved it. it was quite different from the first two books but was surprisingly interesting
Excellent!
In the latest winner from the pseudonymous mother/daughter writing team, Tracy's quirky characters get caught up in a homegrown terrorist plot featuring ultra right-wing militiamen and three tanker trucks full of nerve gas. Having gotten rich from their gaming software, the eccentric personnel of the Minneapolis-based Monkeewrench computer company (Harley Davidson, Grace MacBride, Annie Belinski and the six-foot-seven-inch geek Roadrunner) are presently giving away their "computerized detective software" to police departments with serial killer problems.
Grace, Annie and Wisconsin deputy Sharon Mueller are headed to Green Bay, where Sharon believes a serial killer has set up shop. But during a quick sightseeing detour into the Wisconsin hinterlands, Grace's Range Rover breaks down and the women have to hike through the woods for help. They end up in the town of Four Corners, which seems abandoned. The ladies don't know it yet, but that's because earlier that day a milk truck loaded with nerve gas rolled over, lost its load and wiped out everyone in town.
Now the entire area is surrounded by a right-wing paramilitary bent on keeping the spill a secret by killing anyone left alive. Tracy's characters are full of quips and comedy, and yet they all have dark pasts ominously and obliquely referred to throughout the novel. The jokes, cold-blooded murders and the past secrets sometimes work at cross-purposes, but the courage and indomitable spirit of the plucky trio will win readers over as they speed through the final pages of the race-against-the-clock ending.
Grace, Annie and Wisconsin deputy Sharon Mueller are headed to Green Bay, where Sharon believes a serial killer has set up shop. But during a quick sightseeing detour into the Wisconsin hinterlands, Grace's Range Rover breaks down and the women have to hike through the woods for help. They end up in the town of Four Corners, which seems abandoned. The ladies don't know it yet, but that's because earlier that day a milk truck loaded with nerve gas rolled over, lost its load and wiped out everyone in town.
Now the entire area is surrounded by a right-wing paramilitary bent on keeping the spill a secret by killing anyone left alive. Tracy's characters are full of quips and comedy, and yet they all have dark pasts ominously and obliquely referred to throughout the novel. The jokes, cold-blooded murders and the past secrets sometimes work at cross-purposes, but the courage and indomitable spirit of the plucky trio will win readers over as they speed through the final pages of the race-against-the-clock ending.
Computer experts, FBI and local sheriff all are involved in this latest thriller by Tracy. The action is fast and the characters are very interesting.
I really enjoy this series, well fleshed out characters, funny and intricate plots that keep you guessing right to the end.
I enjoy this author (actually a mom and daughter team)
A heart-stopping thriller when Sharon, Grace and Annie set out to share their indentification program and end up in the wrong place surrounded by killers. Very good!
First time I read this writer. Great read. Had a hard time putting it down.
Good read!!!
great story following the monkeewrench crew! tense....
Interesting story, keeps moving at a fast pace..... Computer game founders Grace MacBride and Annie Belinsky, along with Wisconsin deptuy Sharon Mueller are en route to Green Bay, following reports of a serial killer when thier car breaks down deep in the northern woods. A short walk thru the forest leads them to the eerily quiet town of Four Corners, wehre they find severed phone lines and a complete abscense of any life. But the quiet is deceptive and before they know it they witness a horrifying double murder and discover that this is only the beginning of a race to save their own lives and countless others.....
Very good. I liked Monkeywrench and this is equally good.
3rd book of a series, very quick moving
I love this series!! I think this was even better than the first two. Impossible to put down!
P.J. Tracy back at their best with the Monkeewrench crew
Third in the series about Monkeewrench, a group of computer geniuses. This one tries to enter the outdoor adventure mode, not sure how successful this was but there was a lot of danger for our heroes to extract themselves from.
Monkeewrench. The computer genius crew, along with a few friends on the âofficialâ police force and FBI, have been good at solving extraordinary crimes by accessing various data sources (some even legally) and performing analyses on the data.
BUT ⦠what if they physically find themselves in the middle of a mystery? Without a server, or a laptop, or even a cell phone at their disposal? And, even if they did, discovering that the barebones cell service they MIGHT be able to use is probably monitored by the very forces they're trying to evade.
âDead Runâ is not a typical Monkeewrench novel. For that reason, some fans tuned out almost immediately. However, those that stayed around for the ride were treated to a most unusual and page turning novel. As Rod Serling might have said, âPicture, if you will ⦠a small town in Wisconsin. A town with buildings. But no people. And no animals. And no vehicles. ...â This is the situation that Grace McBride and Annie Blinsky find themselves in, along with former-deputy now-FBI Sharon Mueller. If they DO find anyone, is that person potential help? Someone NEEDING help? Or the CAUSE of the situation?
As the nature of the situation came to light, I thought it a bit far-fetched. HOWEVER â so what? The book was a page-turner; I didn't know what was going to happen next even once I figured out what was happening â and who the (relative) good guys were as opposed to the bad guys!!
RATING: 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 stars when 1/2 stars are unavailable. It kept my attention and it's stuck with me, weeks after I finished the book.
BUT ⦠what if they physically find themselves in the middle of a mystery? Without a server, or a laptop, or even a cell phone at their disposal? And, even if they did, discovering that the barebones cell service they MIGHT be able to use is probably monitored by the very forces they're trying to evade.
âDead Runâ is not a typical Monkeewrench novel. For that reason, some fans tuned out almost immediately. However, those that stayed around for the ride were treated to a most unusual and page turning novel. As Rod Serling might have said, âPicture, if you will ⦠a small town in Wisconsin. A town with buildings. But no people. And no animals. And no vehicles. ...â This is the situation that Grace McBride and Annie Blinsky find themselves in, along with former-deputy now-FBI Sharon Mueller. If they DO find anyone, is that person potential help? Someone NEEDING help? Or the CAUSE of the situation?
As the nature of the situation came to light, I thought it a bit far-fetched. HOWEVER â so what? The book was a page-turner; I didn't know what was going to happen next even once I figured out what was happening â and who the (relative) good guys were as opposed to the bad guys!!
RATING: 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 stars when 1/2 stars are unavailable. It kept my attention and it's stuck with me, weeks after I finished the book.
Monkeewrench. The computer genius crew, along with a few friends on the âofficialâ police force and FBI, have been good at solving extraordinary crimes by accessing various data sources (some even legally) and performing analyses on the data.
BUT ⦠what if they physically find themselves in the middle of a mystery? Without a server, or a laptop, or even a cell phone at their disposal? And, even if they did, discovering that the barebones cell service they MIGHT be able to use is probably monitored by the very forces they're trying to evade.
âDead Runâ is not a typical Monkeewrench novel. For that reason, some fans tuned out almost immediately. However, those that stayed around for the ride were treated to a most unusual and page turning novel. As Rod Serling might have said, âPicture, if you will ⦠a small town in Wisconsin. A town with buildings. But no people. And no animals. And no vehicles. ...â This is the situation that Grace McBride and Annie Blinsky find themselves in, along with former-deputy now-FBI Sharon Mueller. If they DO find anyone, is that person potential help? Someone NEEDING help? Or the CAUSE of the situation?
As the nature of the situation came to light, I thought it a bit far-fetched. HOWEVER â so what? The book was a page-turner; I didn't know what was going to happen next even once I figured out what was happening â and who the (relative) good guys were as opposed to the bad guys!!
RATING: 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 stars when 1/2 stars are unavailable. It kept my attention and it's stuck with me, weeks after I finished the book.
BUT ⦠what if they physically find themselves in the middle of a mystery? Without a server, or a laptop, or even a cell phone at their disposal? And, even if they did, discovering that the barebones cell service they MIGHT be able to use is probably monitored by the very forces they're trying to evade.
âDead Runâ is not a typical Monkeewrench novel. For that reason, some fans tuned out almost immediately. However, those that stayed around for the ride were treated to a most unusual and page turning novel. As Rod Serling might have said, âPicture, if you will ⦠a small town in Wisconsin. A town with buildings. But no people. And no animals. And no vehicles. ...â This is the situation that Grace McBride and Annie Blinsky find themselves in, along with former-deputy now-FBI Sharon Mueller. If they DO find anyone, is that person potential help? Someone NEEDING help? Or the CAUSE of the situation?
As the nature of the situation came to light, I thought it a bit far-fetched. HOWEVER â so what? The book was a page-turner; I didn't know what was going to happen next even once I figured out what was happening â and who the (relative) good guys were as opposed to the bad guys!!
RATING: 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 stars when 1/2 stars are unavailable. It kept my attention and it's stuck with me, weeks after I finished the book.
The third book for the Monkeywrench crew and their cohorts doesnt fail to entertain and keep the reader on the edge of their seat. While not filled with as much humor as the previous books, one still cannot help but smile at the attitude of Annie and Harley, let alone enjoy the quirky and awkwardness of Roadrunner. Unfortunately, while the previous two books were written so that a reader could pick them up and fall into the story without having had read the first of the series, this one would make it a little harder to understand who all the characters are and their relationship to each other. Still, the plot is exciting, fast paced, and with enough adventure and tension to keep the reader interested and not wanting to put the book down until the very last page. Now, Im off to get the next book in the series. Love these!
Every book I read by Tracy is just so good! There is so much suspense; the plots are complicated & masterful; the endings satisfying. Her characters are just so well-drawn that you feel like you know them, that you just talked to them last week. They have problems like we do & some that are alien to us. They don't fall apart, but keep on fighting until the problem is mopped up. This particular book will raise the hair on the back of your neck, for the sheer awful audacity of the villains. That old cartoon line, "We have met the enemy and they are us," has new meaning in this book. (Might be "...they is us!")
Great book. Set in Minnesota and Wisconsin where the Monkeewrench crew is caught deep in the north woods. They witness a double murder in a quiet little town and then are on a desperate run for their lives. I find it interesting and scary about how non-secure most all of our information is
Monkeewrench novels are well-written by a mother-daughter duo that go by the name P. J. Tracy. Check them out!
Monkeewrench novels are well-written by a mother-daughter duo that go by the name P. J. Tracy. Check them out!
This is a signed copy of this book, it has a good story line but uses some unneeded language.
ANOTHER GREAT READ,WHAT WOULD YOU DO,IF YOU FOUND OUT A SMALL HARMLESS TOWN WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ACTS OF TERRORISM
This was my second reading of this book which is very unusual as it is probably the first book I've ever read twice. This time I read it to join in with a group discussion and I must say that it made the 2nd reading twice as nice. This is the 3rd book of the Monkeewrench series and I must say that the first two books were the best so far. The main reason I continue to read this series is because I really enjoy the Monkeewrench characters. They are what make these books most enjoyable for me. If you haven't tried this series, I suggest you do. I have finished the series and I look forward to re-reading the rest of the book with my book group friends.
A nerve-wrecking tale of supense in murder and missing adults, where,one never knows what's going to happen next. Riveting.
I absolutely loved this book. It sparked the imagination and I was living what was happening to them, I could see it in my mind so vividly. I have had this book for a while and kept putting off reading it. Shame on me. I've now ordered the rest of the books in the series and I hope I enjoy them as much.
This is the third book in the Monkeewrench series, which I'm reading in order. I gave the first two books three-star ratings. This book was interesting and a quick read (like the others). I'm not a computer geek but I didn't understand near the end when something was disabled on a computer that it didn't put a stop to what was going to happen. Instead, there was a whole other thing that had to be disabled.
As I said in one of my previous reviews on this series (and as some Amazon reviewers have also noted) many of the characters are "cartoonish" (Annie Belinksy, Road Runner, Harley) and/or one-dimensional. The authors also seem to have limitations in character development--in one of the previous books, there were two Mpls. cops (don't recall their names--Magozzi and Gino, I think), partners who traded witty barbs, etc. In one of the earlier books, there was a similar pair of cops from small-town WI who appeared to be clones of the Mpls. characters. The only thing that was different were their names.
As Amazon reviewers have pointed out, it's odd that all three women left their purses in one of the buildings they stopped in at Four Corners. As a female, I find that to be pretty unbelievable. But, of course, if these gals hadn't done that, the story would be far less interesting.
Even though I (thus far) consider these books to be just OK reads, I will continue (at least for a while) with the series.
As I said in one of my previous reviews on this series (and as some Amazon reviewers have also noted) many of the characters are "cartoonish" (Annie Belinksy, Road Runner, Harley) and/or one-dimensional. The authors also seem to have limitations in character development--in one of the previous books, there were two Mpls. cops (don't recall their names--Magozzi and Gino, I think), partners who traded witty barbs, etc. In one of the earlier books, there was a similar pair of cops from small-town WI who appeared to be clones of the Mpls. characters. The only thing that was different were their names.
As Amazon reviewers have pointed out, it's odd that all three women left their purses in one of the buildings they stopped in at Four Corners. As a female, I find that to be pretty unbelievable. But, of course, if these gals hadn't done that, the story would be far less interesting.
Even though I (thus far) consider these books to be just OK reads, I will continue (at least for a while) with the series.
this is a signed addition
