Snow Blind

The sharp-edged humor in this fast-paced mystery, in which snow is a major player, features Minneapolis Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth. Mel Foster is a clear narrator who easily portrays rookie Sheriff Iris Rikker of rural Dundas County, computer expert Grace MacBride, and various members of the Minneapolis PD. The darker developments of the double-murder investigation that takes place after the frozen bodies of two policemen turn up are rendered with dignity and empathy. Foster uses pacing, volume, and laconic, slightly humorous tones to capture the tension, emotions, and flow of this cleverly constructed and slightly bizarre procedural. S.C.A. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

June 12, 2006
At the start of the exciting fourth Monkeewrench thriller (after 2005's Dead Run
) from Tracy, the pseudonym of a mother-daughter writing team, two of the series' staples—Minneapolis police detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth—are on hand for a snowman-building contest their department is sponsoring in a local park. The contest turns into a double murder investigation after the frozen bodies of two policemen turn up inside two of the snowmen. Meanwhile, computer expert and ace crime solver Grace MacBride, who has a loving relationship with Magozzi, and the rest of her high-powered Monkeewrench gang are called in for help when a rookie female sheriff in rural Dundas County runs across another murdered cop inside another snowman. Grace and company discover trouble on their Web searches through arcane chat rooms—and also find themselves in danger as the bizarre but believable plot unwinds. A bestseller in the U.K., Tracy could well break out in the U.S. with this entertaining effort. 12-city author tour.