Customer Reviews

Shoot to Thrill: A Monkeewrench Novel (Monkeewrench Series)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've read all the previous books in this series, and I remembered that I had enjoyed them, although not much else. Within a few minutes of picking up this book, though, it all came back to me. The writing is good -- tight and clever without being over-the-top. But mostly, it's the characters -- the four cyber-geniuses of Monkeewrench, the Minneapolis-based software company that seems to have become problem-solver-in-chief for the nation's bureaucratized law enforcement; their friends and co-workers in the Minneapolis Police Department; and just about anybody else who wanders into the pages of the book: they are compelling and likeable people. Even victims who get only a few paragraphs are transformed into people you care about. It's a gift.

The computer aspects of the book are handled beautifully. In contrast to other stories that include hackers, the technology is not so overblown that it was clearly modelled after a Heinlein novel rather than anything remotely achievable any time soon. On the other hand, it is also not so oversimplified that you're wondering why you didn't just do this from your laptop at home, let alone why all these Important Law Officers are impressed by it. It is darned hard to talk about the technical stuff without getting carried away by it and some fine series have lost audience because of that, but this team balances it all very nicely.

A lot of books published lately have been ending lately with somebody dying, and it makes me cry. But sometimes I'll cry when a book ends just because the book ended, and I'm sorry to see it end. I cried at the end of this book.

Oh, and the portrayal of the upper Midwest... delightfully accurate.

Title Shoot to Thrill (A Monkeewrench Novel)

Author P. J. Tracy

Rating ****1/2

Tags mystery, series, monkeewrench, computers, software, fbi, hackers, crackers

Life Is Good. FINALLY a new P.J. Tracy in the Monkeewrench series after far too long, and next up in my stack of books are the final two in Stieg Larsson's trilogy that started with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. My bliss would be complete if Edward Wright would come out with another John Ray Horn novel.

This is the fifth in the series about a firm of software engineers. The company is called Monkeewrench. All of the team are brilliant, capable, and damaged, none more so than Grace MacBride, the main character, who has been through levels of trauma that seem unsurvivable. She lives carefully, and works with the people who are essentially her family, and sometimes with Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth. Magozzi loves Grace, and she lets him get as close to her as she can let anyone.

The FBI finds that there are five videos on the internet that are of genuine murders. Agent John Smith, nearing retirement, comes to Minneapolis to hire Monkeewrench and other computer crackers to find who is posting the videos so they can catch the murderer or murderers. Magozzi and Rolseth get involved when a sixth murder happens in their jurisdiction. Someone leaks the story, and the code that identifies that a new murder video will be posted becomes the next viral Internet meme, greatly hampering the investigation.

It is a good book, though not my favorite in the series. I did really like the new character of Agent Smith. And I appreciate that the global level of communications brings new dangers along with great benefits, though I think the authors (a mother-daughter team who use the pseudonym P.J. Tracy) come close to getting preachy about it. Read the whole series, it is well worth it.

Publication Putnam Adult (2010), Hardcover, 320 pages

Publication date 2010

ISBN 0399155201 / 9780399155208

Shoot to Thrill is the fifth book in a series featuring the very successful software company Monkeewrench, its eccentric owners, and the Minneapolis police department. I have been a fan of the series since the beginning, and this latest installment shows the writing team P.J. Tracy at their best!

The foundation of Shoot to Thrill is the dark side of what people can do with the Internet and social networking sites. Almost everyone is aware that pornography, violence, and scams are rampant on the Internet, but evil is taken up a step when people begin filming murders and anonymously posting them online.

Once the FBI and Minneapolis Police Department realize that this may be a chain of murders committed by a serial killer or a connected group, they reach out to a group of computer hackers who have the skills and ability to explore some avenues forbidden by law to the enforcement agencies. This brings Monkeewrench into the story, which is tasked with creating an algorithm to identify real versus fake murder videos. Monkeewrench, of course, has capabilities beyond this, and is soon technically deep into the investigation.

The owners of Monkeewrench have worked with the Minneapolis police department before, including Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth, who are assigned to this case. An FBI is sent from Washington, and due to the sensitive nature of the information involved, works out of the Monkeewrench offices, leading to believable scenarios where all the characters interact.

The personal lives of the characters run in parallel to the investigation, adding layers to the overall story. Leo Magozzi is having a romantic yet distant relationship with Grace, one of the owners of Monkeewrench. Grace is beginning to feel restricted by the necessity to keep everyone at arm's length for her, and their protection. The FBI agent is having a mid-life crisis, and a dishonored judge is creating trouble on the fringes of the investigation. Along with these more dramatic situations, details of everyday life--Rolseth's happy marriage, Internet dating by another police officer, a change in attire by one of the Monkeewrench owners create a contrast between evil and ordinary.

Shoot to Thrill grabs and holds the reader's attention with a chilling mystery, fast action, and a wealth of characters and situations that personalize the story and make it easy to believe this could happen anywhere. I highly recommend this book to fans of mystery, police, or thrillers, as well as fans of P.J. Tracy.

This review refers to the audio version.

#5 "Monkeewrench" mystery set in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and featuring MPD homicide detectives Rolseth and Magozzi and the Monkeewrench computer team. Monkeewrench--a very computer saavy bunch who operate somewhat outside the law for the greater good--has been asked by the FBI to assist in tracking down a killer or killers who are posting video of their kills on the web. Their own crack squad can't find anything, so they aren't above seeking outside help when needed.

So far, five victims in five cities killed in five different ways make them believe the murders are being committed by different people and are only related by the complex web of secret servers and routing methods that hide their real identity. But when Rolseth and Magozzi get called out to a body found in the Mississippi River (which first appears to be a drunken drag queen who fell in the river and drowned) that ends up as the sixth case, they begin working with Monkeewrench (Grace, Harley, Annie and RoadRunner) and FBI agent John Smith, who has been assigned to the case from Washington. Is there a connection between the murders? Of course there is.

I have to admit that I was disappointed in this latest book in one of my favorite mystery series. It started out strong but kind of fizzled out after awhile when the bad guy became rather obvious (at least to me) and there was a lot of ranting from various people (but especially Rolseth) about the evils of the Internet.

I also have to admit I wasn't crazy about the narrator for this book. His female voices sounded very fake, there wasn't much differentiation between some of the male voices, and none of the characters sounded even remotely like they were from Minnesota.

I have enjoyed the previous books in the series quite a lot, but perhaps in part because I'd been waiting so long for this installment in the series, I felt let down by the cobbled-together plot and the mediocre narration. It was good to visit with old friends, though.

Don't get me wrong. I loved this book. Not only is it another P.J. Tracy book, but this one features the Monkeewrench crew more heavily in this book than the previous book (Snow Blind). It's just that this book had one or two things I'm just not entirely sure about. (Unfortunately I can't elaborate on them in this review without doing spoilers. So I posted them in the comments section of this review.)

This volume of the Monkeewrench series focuses on killers who are videotaping their murderous exploits. The FBI is at a loss as they appeal to various internet geniuses (including the Monkeewrench crew) for assistance. The Minneapolis police become involved after one of the latest killings happens right in their backyard. The FBI send in agent John Smith to work along side the Monkeewrench crew as the threat of more videotaped murders escalate.

I loved the idea of murderers videotaping their kills & having the Monkeewrench team track them down. It really hasn't been done all that much, all things considering. I also loved that we get more of the Monkeewrench crew in this book. Not that I don't love Gino & Magozzi, but the Monkeewrench team really are the bright points of the series. The pacing for the murders is nice & I really found myself getting caught up in the whodunnit.

There's just a few things that didn't sit right with me. From the very beginning of the series it's been said over & over again that the Monkeewrench crew isn't comfortable with the FBI or any government agency. However, when John Smith comes into their lives & literally spends every waking hour in their homes, they greet him with nearly open arms. I know that their position towards the government has softened somewhat from the beginning of the series, but this was a little far fetched. Not by much, but enough that I just didn't really find their interactions all that believable. Then there's Smith's interactions with Grace. There is some sort of weird chemistry between the two of them, but of what type it really isn't clear. Plus she seems to open up to him a little too fast as well- it just seemed sort of out of character for her & I didn't really see enough interaction between the two of them to justify such a connection.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this book & I'm glad that P.J. Tracy has put out another book. I just have to warn people- if you haven't read any of the previous books in the series then you are going to be lost as far as character development goes. The basic plot can be read as a standalone, but there's not a lot of rehashing of character development & there's a few things mentioned to that extent that relies on you having read the previous books in the series.

3.8/5

It had been awhile since I thought about the Monkeewrench series of novels (which I've enjoyed), but they were brought back to mind when the Amazon Vine review program offered up the latest installment titled Shoot to Thrill by P. J. Tracy. It took a bit of time to reacquaint myself with the characters, and new readers would probably be a bit confused if this was their starting point of the series. I also thought the ending was rather strange, but not enough to ruin the book for me. This was a pleasant bedtime read over a few nights, with just enough tech/geek elements stirred in to make it a bit difficult to put down.

The FBI has a new cyber-twist on the age-old crime of murder. Videos of actual killings are showing up on the Internet, and whoever is responsible has the technical chops to make the postings impossible to trace back to an IP address or a general source. The feds decide to bring in a group of hackers and techno-geeks to see if they can succeed where the feds have so far failed. What this actually means, however, is that the feds will be turning a blind eye to server access hacks and other acts that would be criminal under normal conditions. They also convince the Monkeewrench crew to become involved, given their past expertise in breaking cases that no one else could crack. The feds, local police, and Monkeewrench all figure out a tenuous working style that enables them to get along during the investigation, and soon there are a few suspects that have strong evidence of being involved in some way, shape, or form. Monkeewrench finds a private discussion board where specific elements of each murder were posted before the actual killing. But even then, there's still the feeling that perhaps some other missing key ties all of the acts together. And until that key is found, there's no idea as to whether the killings will stop.

At the start of the book, the authors (a mother/daughter team writing under the pseudonym of P. J. Tracy) explain that this novel was written over several years, and the internet changed significantly during that time. Social networking sites became all the rage. But their main theme remained valid... what happens when the "innocence" of social networking and internet sites are lost, and they become the primary drivers for those who may have a much darker personality? I think the story was true to that theme, and I have no doubt that it's far worse than we know (or than what's currently been uncovered by organizations designed to protect us). It also pointed out that law enforcement are at a distinct disadvantage with laws that govern privacy. On the other hand, I think it's no great leap to see where abuses by law enforcement in those areas would lead to...

In terms of characters, this would be hard for someone to follow if they had not known the background of the two main detectives and the Monkeewrench crew. In fact, you'd probably say the characters were rather shallow as there was not a significant amount of backstory on any of them. I'd even go so far as to recommend that someone NOT start with Shoot to Thrill if they hadn't read the other books in the series. Plot-wise, the book seemed to lag a bit during the middle section, strangely about the time they started to find the suspects. You'd get a suspect for one or more of the killings, but it was obvious that the person(s) couldn't have been totally responsible for everything. So there was this "start and stop" feeling as arrests were made, yet the investigations would seemingly need to start anew because more angles were uncovered.

Even with the things I found "off" about the story or pacing, it was still an enjoyable read, especially with the internet angle on the killings. So long as someone has read other Monkeewrench novels prior to this one, I think they'd also find this installment worth reading.

Disclosure:

Obtained From: Amazon Vine Review Program

Payment: Free

First half of the book I thought, my goodness, these girls have hit their stride, excellent prose, funny, good new characters, etc.

But the primary plot is mostly abandoned in the second half and PAGES (chapters?) are dedicated to a completly different plot. It is as if a deadline loomed, a complete book there was not and something was lying around the house they decided to throw in to get a decent number of pages. When it clearly made no sense, a few bogus pages are added to the first half of the book to fake the reader out (stupid readers!).

This kind of stuff makes me want to throw the damned thing against the wall, which I would have done if it had not been a library book. Lazy writing, lazy editing.

Too bad, cause you can see the bones of a really descent plot, and a possibly GREAT character in the judge, but neither never materializes.

As a Minneapolis resident, it's a lot of fun to read books set in my city. The authors also do a fine job of name-dropping of local points of interest, though I don't think they've ever been inside City Hall. No mention of the Father of Waters statue? The one thing that seems out of place in these books is that the summers here are always stiflingly hot, and, while it has happened, we haven't really had one in years. In fact, in 2009, it felt like we barely had a summer at all.

This time out, the Monkeewrench crew gets pulled into an FBI investigation into murders broadcast on the web. Sick individuals are posting murder videos, and not all of them are staged. In an effort to stop the practice, the FBI asks Monkeewrench to develop software that will cull the fake videos from the real ones, and help them track down the perpetrators. Their efforts don't go very far until homicide detectives Gino Rolseth and Leo Magozzi catch a floater in the Mississippi, which ties in with other murders that have been broadcast on the web, and all of them have a Minneapolis connection.

Working alongside FBI agent John Smith, the Monkeewrench crew hunkers down at Harley's Summit Avenue mansion and gets to work. Detective Magozzi spends a great deal of time thinking about his going-nowhere feelings for Grace McBride, and Detective Rolseth is perpetually hungry and tired. Though past novels have contained almost cloyingly "clever" dialogue, I was happy to see that the authors have toned that down somewhat, though the cops still wisecrack every single time they move their lips, and no one seems able to speak without using a simile. The authors no longer feel it is necessary to expound on the amazingness of all the characters, which is a refreshing change. It felt as if the authors have matured somewhat since their last novel, though I could have lived without the constant lectures on the evils of the internet.

In all, this was a very readable, page-turner of a book that I plowed through. Despite the occasional eye-roller, it was a fun, fast-paced read, and a nice addition to the Monkeewrench series.

This review is from the advanced reading copy of the new book, Shoot To Thrill, by the mother-daughter team know as P.J. Tracy. This is the 5th installment in the Monkeewrench series, and it has been almost 4 years since the last book in this series. And it was worth the wait.

The story revolves around the FBI discovering that someone is posting LIVE MURDERS on the internet. Agent John Smith, almost ready for mandatory retirement at the age of 57, and a man who has given his entire adult life to the bureau, is appointed as the liason between the FBI agents and cops in Minnesota, and the web hackers that have been called to duty, no questions asked.

When John meets up with the Monkeewrench gang, a bunch perceived as misfits, it takes him to places he has never been, and tempts him to cross lines he has never crossed. The elite group of computer experts are the first line of defense for the FBI and the city cops to try to stop these terrible murders once and for all.

The underlying message in the book is terrifying; that with the popularity and ease of use of the internet and social networking sites, people are intent on taking risks that were previously unheard of, in order to garner their 15 minutes of fame.

A lot of the places mentioned in the book reminded me a bit of the John Sandford novels, based in Minnesota, and as in his books, the law enforcement regular characters were humorous, smart and totally realistic.

If you have never read any of the books in this series, you will still be able to enjoy this book, as there are several references that help you understand the back story on the continuing characters and yet it is not repetitious. But, you will want to see what you have been missing and get the first four anyway!

I really like this series and feel that the writing is original, action packed and well worth the time it takes to read it. And it is so realistic, it is positively scary!

I truly didn't want the story to end, as it felt like some good friends were leaving......and I sure hope they come back to visit sooner next time!

I have read all of the books in the Monkeewrench series and this one is about as good as the original. The past few novels seemed to sideline the efforts of Grace and her crew, but once again they are center stage in "Shoot to Thrill."

For any newbies out there that aren't familiar with Monkeewrench, they are a group of computer whizzes who work closely with the Minneapolis P.D. to solve cyber crime. And they've got their hands full on this case. When I thought the storyline would basically follow a single plot that involved unsolved and evolving murders, the authors laid another one right on top of it. And I didn't even see it coming.

For anyone who has been following the series, you'll have to wait until the very last page for one of the most ambiguous endings I've come across in a long time. Believe me, this could go one of two ways.

If you like quirky characters, snappy dialogue, and a taste of what Orwell warned about in "1984," you should love "Shoot to Thrill."