This is another excellent page turner from P.J. Tracy with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. This time around there are a few (murderous) threads that ultimately end up inter-twinning and it is helpful to have read some (if not all) of the previous books as there is a lot left out from previous events. Having said that though this is still a really enjoyable read.

On a sailboat ten miles off the Florida coast, Grace MacBride, partner in Monkeewrench Software, thwarts an assassination attempt on retired FBI agent John Smith. A few hours later, in Minneapolis, a fifteen-year-old girl is discovered in a vacant lot, her throat slashed. Later that day, two young men are found in their home a few blocks away, killed execution-style. The next morning, the dead bodies of three more men turn up, savagely murdered in the same neighbourhood. This was the first book I had read of the monkeywrench series and I do not like to read series very much, although I love crime fiction I prefer stand alone books and do not have time for series. Not sure why really, I guess I just get a bit bored ready about the same detectives all the time. I did not know what the previous relationships had been between any of the characters but that did not really affect my understanding of the story line. The book follows a terrorist plot and once again I am not really very excited about reading about terrorists. I found the book fairly enjoyable and very easy to follow. It was quite easy to see where the plot was goining and it did not keep me guessing like some crime novels do (which I enjoy). I liked the two characters of the, homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth they were a good team and when the authors were writing about them it bought some good humour to the book. The character of Grace did not to me seem to have much purpose or be very central to the story. From reading the back cover I thought that she would be a major player. Maybe she has played a bigger part in other books, this I do not know. The shot out at the end appeared to rather rushed and not very well written, I was not sure why John Smith left the house when he was being protected (Unless he wanted to die). The epilogue emphasised the perils of the internet and how information that you post can be read by anyone – they will find a way. It was an average read and only took me a couple of days to finish, but did not inspire me to go back and read any of the other books.

This is the sixth book of a continuing series involving the detectives Gino and Magozzi . Although the story can standalone in it’s own right I do think you would benefit more from having read the previous books (which unfortunately I had not). The story is a typically crime/law enforcement type book but with a theme of modern terrorist threats. What initially appears to be separate events, quickly becomes connected and (without giving anything away) it was interesting to see how the investigation pans out. There are numerous recurring characters and it took me a while to be able to follow them all and keep up with the jumps between. Possibly due again to the fact I had not read the previous books. That being said I did find myself warming to the main characters, particularly Grace McBride and I enjoyed the insights to her personality and background. I have not read any of P J Tracy’s work before and I would read another but perhaps check first if it’s one of a series!

I wasn’t aware before I started to read this book that it is actually the sixth book in a series following the activities of a group of software engineers called Monkeewrench. It isn’t necessary to have read the other books, however I did feel that there was a lot of history between some of the characters in this story that would have benefitted from a bit more explanation. The book opens with an assassination attempt that is thwarted by the quick thinking of our heroine, Grace MacBride. The target of the attempt is a retired FBI agent. The question therefore is; who is trying to kill him and what has he done to deserve it? Has he been poking his nose into something instead of enjoying his retirement? Far away in another part of the country a young girl is found dead;in the course of the day others are found,seemingly executed. The police are at a loss as to what is the connection between them, if any. And why do the victims have Hallowe’en circled on the calendar ?.As they begin to investigate, other homicides in different cities are discovered, which also seem to point to a Hallowe’en connection. But what is it, and what does it have to do with our retired FBI guy, now on the run in fear for his life.? I don’t really want to say more about the plot , but I will say that I’m afraid I didn’t like this book much. I felt there were too many characters and not enough depth for my tastes. Perhaps this is where I suffered from not having read any of the earlier books. Sadly it just all felt too formulaic. There was so much going on it was hard to get a handle on things at times, and the whole thing seemed rushed and shallow ,which is a shame because I quite liked Grace MacBride. (And without giving too much away, please someone check out the proper use of the word ‘jihad’). It just wasn’t for me I’m afraid..