Customer Reviews

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5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you haven't read Monkeewrench, buy it and enjoy - it's well written and a good mystery. However if you're just looking for another P.J. Tracy mystery and think you've found one, this is a retitled edition of the already released US novel. Don't fall into the same trap I did!

Just in case, this is NOT an original novel by P.J.Tracy, but the GB name for 'Monkeewrench'. Just so you know, and don't buy it by mistake!

This book is filled with twists and turns and has a superb main theme. From start to finish, this book holds your interest. The plot is interesting, fast paced and full of suspense; an overall fantastic read! The book is a murder mystery with innocent victims; they are killed in precisely the same way as an online game. The characters in the book are realistic and easy to relate to. Every page is filled with both horror and humour. This novel had me gripped the entire way through and I never lost interest. This is the first crime novel that I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only downside to the book was that the killer was a disappointment as I guessed who it was early on. Overall this is a must read; I recommend it!

Outstanding writer, I now have all their books! Very interesting and fun to read!!! Can't wait for the next book!

I picked up this book while visited my sister in Ireland, summer of 2004, and I was very glad I decided to.

A group of computer game designers are severely disturbed when images from their online game are used in a series of murders and reluctantly team together with Minneapolis police to track this killer down. The characters in this book are widely varied, though perhaps a little one-dimensional sometimes. There is some great humor here, but also tragedy. The group of computer game designers have a past they're trying to hide, and protect, which pulls some empathy strings as well as making an interesting twist.

As the first in a series, this is definitely a seller. Enrapturing plot, unpredictable ending, intriguing characters, definitely a wow book.

I am not sure what book Bertram read, and of course he is entitled to his opinion, but this book has NO characters that are "stereotypical". The Indian medical examiner has great wisdom and I shared his joy at learning new idioms, new ways to understand the people in this new land he calls home. How anyone could call Gloria "a self-conscious black woman" is beyond me! She glories in who she is and is a greatly respected character in this and the other PJ Tracy books. The writers make their characters stand out on the page. The story grabs you from the beginning, and the interaction between characters is often funny and sometimes heart-breaking. I love these characters, and have read all the books more than once in order to revisit my new "aquaintances". I came to this site hoping the authors had written a book I was unaware of. Sadly, I'll have to wait. Buy this book. It is excellent.

Content: This book tells of a serial killer who reenacts an online computer game in real life.

Critique: You clearly notice that this book is written by a person who obviously has issues with his nutrition; throughout the book, in an attempt to make the characters seem "deep", mention is made of the amount of calories in this or that particular food or how the protagonists "should not but anyways eat way too much". The author chose a topic with which she clearly is not familiar, that is with computers and hacking, which is rather annoying and for the experienced user takes away some of the atmosphere.

The cover and subtitle want to sell this book as ultra violent, in the vein of "Saw" or "Seven", yet the author fails to convey a feeling of shock or disgust in face of these way to clean murders. The book takes on the "computer games make people violent" controversy but fails to portray both sides of the argument; even the evil game creators believe the murders to be their fault. There is a token stereotipically spiritual Indian coroner, a token stereotipically self-conscious black secretary and the protagonist, a stereotipically "hot blooded" but now left alone and grieving Italian cop. I guess this is supposed to show the diversity of the characters who find themselves in such a tragedy, but the author clearly fails. Reading the book I sometimes feel myself wondering who is being written about right now because all the actors seem flat and interchangeable.

I give this 3 stars because for the fan of the genre, it still makes a mildly entertaining, mediocre read.