"The Monkeewrench crew returns to face the city of Minneapolis's worst nightmare--a rampant serial killer on the loose--in the electrifying new thriller. When Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are called to a crime scene in a heavily wooded city park, everything about the setting is all too familiar. And when they discover a playing card on the victim's body, their worst fears are confirmed--there's a serial killer operating in the city for the first time in years. Across town, Grace MacBride and her unconventional partners at Monkeewrench Software find themselves at both personal and career crossroads. Weary of the darker side of their computer work for law enforcement, they agree to take on a private missing-persons case in a small farming community in southwestern Minnesota. As the violence accelerates in Minneapolis, Magozzi and Gino soon realize their killer is planning to complete the deck, and they enlist Monkeewrench to help stop the rampage. As a baffling tangle of evidence accumulates, the cops and Monkeewrench make the unlikely connections among a farmer's missing daughter, a serial killer, and a decades-old stabbing that brings them face-to-face with pure evil"--
Pretty good cover on this one. I like how the title and authors name appear to be partially buried. Nice touch that. It does lose a star because the author's name is WAY too big IMO.
So wow was this a fantastic read. I'll admit right upfront that I haven't read any of the previous books in this series. That said this could be read fine as a standalone. Of course, I am sure that the relationships, etc. are more fully explored through the first seven books, but I never felt lost reading this one.
It was fabulously well written and paced. The plot was interesting. There were twists and turns. There were a TON of characters which I find sometimes can be confusing as the names start to all blend together. That was not the case in this book. I had no trouble keeping who was who straight. The book was very atmospheric and the descriptions of places and characters vivid. I especially was fond of Walt.
Honestly, I don't have much more to say about this one. I loved it and will for sure be going back to read the first seven books when time allows. Two HUGE thumbs up from yours truly.
