Shoot to Thrill

March 1, 2010
In the enjoyable fifth Monkeewrench thriller (after Snow Blind
) from Tracy, the mother-daughter writing team of Patricia J. and Traci Lambrecht, special agent John Smith of the FBI's cyber crimes unit seeks the help of cybersleuths Grace MacBride, Annie Belinsky, and their geeky associates—as well as Minneapolis, Minn., homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth—in solving a horrifying string of murders filmed for the Web. The Monkeewrench team must create a program that can separate staged death scenes from the real thing. The first death they scrutinize appears to be the drowning murder of a Minneapolis drag queen. “A stabbing, two shootings, and a strangulation” are among subsequent killings that occur in other cities across the country. They catch a break when the eighth victim, a Medford, Ore., waitress, survives a stabbing. Newcomers will have no trouble getting into the story, and everyone will appreciate the likable characters. Author tour.

February 15, 2010
A serial killer who travels the nation—or is it a whole platoon of individual killers?—runs afoul of the Monkeewrench cyberteam when he (she? they?) claims a victim in the outfit's hometown of Minneapolis.

It's quite a coincidence when someone drowns Alan Sommers, aka Sweet Cheeks, and makes a video of his death struggles on the banks of the Mississippi, because only a few miles away, the FBI has made Minneapolis its headquarters for a nationwide appeal to computer hackers. Horrified at whoever has been flooding innocuous websites with footage of violent deaths, Special Agent John Smith appeals to his audience to break the law by tracing the perps who've been posting the footage through offshore proxy servers. Chief among these cyber-cowboys is Monkeewrench, the software engineering firm that's developed a sideline expertise in serial homicide (Dead Run, 2005, etc.). Soon after Monkeewrench partner Roadrunner writes a program that can distinguish real from fake snuff videos, the team makes a crucial discovery that links an even greater number of suspicious deaths than the FBI had done and predicts which victims will follow. The staging of the crimes is as sociopathically audacious as ever, and following Roadrunner's partners—beer-guzzling Harley Davidson, plus-sized fashionista Annie Belinsky, perennial victim Grace MacBride, her lover Det. Leo Magozzi (Snow Blind, 2006), and now the FBI's Smith—as they track the killer or killers through cyberspace is gripping. But there are too many detectives to allow much intimacy with any of them, and the solution is a decided letdown.

The weakest of the gang's four adventures to date.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

April 1, 2010
Popular social-networking sites take center stage in Tracy's fifth technological thriller (after "Snow Blind") as murderous videos are posted online. FBI agent John Smith is on the case and invites the Monkeewrench gang, that group of software geniuses, to determine who is posting the videos and to find a way to differentiate between what turns out to be real murders and staged ones. As one of the killings takes place in Minnesota, Minneapolis detectives Magozzi and Rolseth join the investigation. This odd group of crime fighters makes for a very effective team, even though both Magozzi and Smith are interested in Grace MacBride, the gang's beautiful, superparanoid leader. VERDICT Shifting from murder to terrorism leaves holes in this convoluted story. It will appeal mainly to fans of the Monkeewrench series, who have been waiting four years since "Snow Blind", and to those who appreciate high-tech hijinks. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 1/10.]Stacy Alesi, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boca Raton, FL

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2010
With murders around the country being posted on the Web by killers who leave no online trail, the FBI is reduced to asking civilian hackers for help. None is more qualified than Monkeewrench Sofware: the unconventional unit of cyber investigators led by ponytailed Harley Davidson, whose Minneapolis mansion houses his eccentric but super-efficient team: eyelash-batting belle, Annie; exercise-addicted Roadrunner; and Grace MacBride, the object of MPD detective Leo Magozzis affection. With straitlaced FBI Special Agent John Smith as their liaison and, with Magozzi and partner Gino Rolseth working the local scene, the group starts its 24/7 efforts. Are the murders real or simply enactments? Will federal regulations thwart Monkeewrench, or will Smith (whos facing retirement) bend the rules? What is the connection of a drunken ex-judge to this murderous spree? In the fifth Monkeewrench novel, the mother-daughter team of P. J. and Traci Lambrecht really hits its stride: a chilling premise; a supremely appealing cast of evolving characters; and dialogue that is brisk, witty, and authentic. Humor and humanity mix in this top-notch mystery, the best in the series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)