Monkeewrench

Rating:
Summary: A Pageburner with Great Characters
Review: A double murder in Wisconsin and a series of murders in Minneapolis are somehow related to the mysterious employees of Monkeewrench software. Telling any more would spoil the fun of letting this book reveal the story!

The authors put a lot of life into the various characters: two Minneapolis detectives, a Wisconsin sheriff and two deputies, the five partners of Monkeewrench software, plus one wife, the victims of a double-murder, and a whole cast of supporting characters. That's probably what made this book so much fun to read, along with the fact that the book has a lot more humor than the typical murder mystery.

The book isn't perfect though; there are one or two details in the mystery I was still wondering about after I finished reading the book. There's also a slight bit of misdirection going on in the plot, which is common enough in mysteries, but it always leaves me feeling a little cheated.

So, it's a fun, fast read that draws you in and makes you want to finish. The great characters are part of what makes the books so engaging. Once you start the book, you'll want to keep reading until you finish the book - I read it in one evening!

Rating:
Summary: Strong debut!
Review: I enjoyed P.J. Tracy's stylishly written debut novel, "Monkeewrench."

It is peopled with vividly drawn intelligent characters and presented from multiple POV's. The three story lines converge for a nice payoff with the loose ends tied up.

The high concept premise (murders replicate a yet to be released violent video game) centers around two parallel investigations.

The unpredictable plot accelerates at a good pace.

Everyone at Monkeewrench (game's creator) seems to have a secret. All five partners are filled with idiosyncrasies---they all have permits to carry and an innate distrust of the law. At one time or another any of them could be suspected as the serial killer.

The dialogue is realistic and peppered with wry and dry humor. The mix of computer geeks, small town cops and big city (Minneapolis) law enforcement works.

Glad to learn this is the start of a four book series, as I want to know more about this cast of characters.

Rating:
Summary: Want to Play?
Review: Monkeewrench (published under the name Want To Play? in the UK) is an original, fun and explosive crime novel from a promising new author. The plot was exciting and sprung more than a few surprises on me, the characters were refreshingly unique and very well described. The ending was high in tension and very satisfying.

The plot focus is split between three main character groups; firstly Sheriff Michael Halloran with his partners Bonar Carlson and Sharon Mueller, secondly Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Roselph, and thirdly the Monkeewrench 'crew' - Grace, Annie, Roadrunner, Harley, Mitch and Diane - owners of a computer company who have mysterious pasts. The contrast between all these different characters and their situations made for a fast paced and varied novel.

What impressed me most was probably the writing style which was hilarious in many places, despite the serious subject matter, and touching in others. Characters such as Jackson, the small boy that Grace befriends, and the behind-the-scenes spouses of the police detectives were also very enjoyable to read about. The dialogue was fabulous because it was so realistic and inventive.

Things that I didn't like? Well, there are always a few! There were a fair number of coincidences in the book and some situations seemed too convenient. Sometimes I thought the novel became a little bit silly with certain exchanges between characters and some of the characters seemed more like caricatures because there were so over the top, particularly Annie, Harley and Gloria. Finally, the religion aspect got a little tiresome, it seemed all believers were viewed as 'fanatics', the type of people who condemn others to the fires of hell whilst being shockingly self-righteous. I suppose the kind thing that the priest did at the end of the novel for Magozzi seemed to address this imbalance to some extent.

Overall I recommend Monkeewrench (or Want to Play? as I know it) to all thriller and crime readers. It's a refreshing and interesting book with a range of likeable and deep characters. And it's funny - what more can you ask for?

JoAnne

Rating:
Summary: Want to play?...Yes please
Review: Two sets of murders, seemingly unconnected; two sets of cops, small-town and inner-city; a suspicious group of misfits, authors of the copycat killer's blueprint; and a whole bag of twists in the tale. Published as 'Want to Play?' by Penguin in the UK, Monkeewrench introduces PJ Tracy to the thriller genre in a blaze of glory. With her first novel, Tracy earns all sorts of awful cliches like "pageturner" and "unputdownable". (It is).

The characters are sympathetic, from cops to victim/suspects, and actually have personalities, none of them from the thrillerwriters' identikit book - there's not a divorced, slighty maverick, recovering alcoholic in sight. The plots have punch and intrigue, the pace is steady, the twists and subplots assured. The descriptions are witty, seductive and prosaic without being self-conscious, gratuitous or flowery.

This is a bloody good debut book and PJ Tracy undoubtedly has much more to show us. Can't wait for her next game.

Rating:
Summary: I understand all the hype
Review: When a debut mystery gets as much press and hooplah as Monkeewrench has received, I've just got to read it, but I read with some healthy skepticism. This book, however, deserves all the praise. A writing team of mother/daughter wrote it (how do they DO that??), basing the dense and riviting plot on a computer game that suddenly seems to be imitated in real life as people, based on characters in the game, keep turning up dead. The plot thickens (dum-de-dum-dum...) when we learn that one of the protagonists lives as a near recluse, surrounded by protective devices, due to having been threatened with murder years earlier - and the perp was never nabbed. And when it's discovered that the employees of the software company (the game's inventors) all have been given new IDs by the tight-lipped FBI, well, things get dicey. With 3-4 sub-plots unwinding, the book is a testament to the skill of the authors' ability to keep everything moving along with the skill and precision of a teenager with a joystick.