Another solid read from the writers of the Monkeewrench series, although the Monkeewrench crew themselves only play a minor role with their detective friends doing most of the leg work. Set in the midst of horrific winter weather in Minnesota, this episode made me feel very cold indeed. Following a massive snowstorm, a snowman building competition is disrupted by the discovery of two MPD officers dead inside two of the snowmen. Detectives Magozzi and Rolseth are called in to investigate but have...

Bodies hidden inside snowmen? That's next level.Another great book in this series. I love the Monkeewrench crew and sadly they didn't feature as heavily in this one. What I do love about this series is they introduce so many new characters who also get to take centre stage for large parts of the story. You see different types of police officers, detectives, sheriffs etc from different parts of the country so everything always feel fresh and interesting. On to book 5! CW: murder crime scenes desc...

It took me a while to get into the book but then I started to enjoy the plot and it was improving. However let down significantly at the end because it didn't come to a resolution. As a result this lost at least a star for the ending and this spoilt the book for me. It is not always easy reading as it does relate to domestic abuse and there is a lot of sexism present in the attitude towards the new sheriff. In the end I gave this 2.5 stars. For me each book has got weaker and the authors need to...

P.J. Tracy continues to pull me in with this fourth novel in the series, set during a cold snap that makes me remember my childhood. In the middle of the coldest part of winter, Homicide Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are preparing for the Minneapolis PD’s snowman festival. However, as they examine some of the other entries, it becomes apparent that there are two bodies within other snowmen. These bodies are soon identified as fellow MPD officers, making it apparent that there is a kill...

3.5★“‘I hate these damn SUVs,’ he said. ‘We're too damn high. Bet we tip over twenty times on the way up there.’‘Can't tip over,’ Magozzi said. ‘The ice ruts under the snow are too deep.’It’s unbelievably cold and hazardously snowy, yet detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth plough on, regardless, with Leo driving and Gino hanging on. Magozzi’s knuckles are white on the wheel as he negotiates a corner by sliding sideways, close to the edge of the narrow country road.“‘Are we gonna go through th...

Another great installment! Even worked with a switch in narrators. I don't know why, but this series seems to switch back and forth between Buck Schirner and Mel Foster, but both have done a great job with all the voices in the Monkeewrench books so that's fine with me. I'm on a real roll here with this series, definitely hooked, and I'm tempted to pick up book four tomorrow!

This story has one of the most original premises I've seen in awhile. Hiding murder victims in plain sight, using the weather to disguise the bodies was unsettling. Everyone loves a snowman and to defile something so treasured was gruesome. The investigation was interesting, too, especially when it began to center around the newly elected sheriff of Dundas County, Iris Rikker. What was even more fascinating was the reactions of the other law enforcement professionals working the case. See, Iris

Book number four in the Monkeewrench series and I am now officially a fan! I started this one without even reading the blurb so I was suitably surprised and delighted by the unusual premise. As usual the authors supplied a great story, entertaining characters and realistic dialogue. The Monkeewrench team are supplementary characters in this book and the action takes place largely around Magozzi and the police team but this is good too. I like the way each book takes a different angle and can the...

Entertaining, twisted story of Minnesota area killings of law enforcement officers, who are turned into snowmen.

Maybe if I did not live in Minneapolis, I would've liked this mystery better. However, if I didn't live in Minneapolis, I probably would not have read this.My gripe with the book is that the weather aspects are completely preposterous. The winter weather that grips the state is more like that of Churchill, Manitoba. The book starts out with a snowstorm that drops a foot of the white stuff. But instead of bringing the city to a halt for a day or two (as such a storm would in reality), the next da...

Mysteries are meant to be solved. A mystery should have a crime, an investigation, and a resolution. What should have been a book worth 4 or 5 stars became a book worth only 1. The authors couldn't seem to resolve their own mystery and took the easy way out by making it an ethical dilemma with no "real answer."When victims are killed and stuffed in snowmen, the police eventually decide they have either a serial killer or one killer and several copycats. Eventually the investigation leads to Bitt...

Another good read from the Monkeewrench gang. This one was a bit more serious than the last one, but similar with the mix of humor and suspense. There's a bit of philosophy mixed in - the question of whether it's OK to break a law for a good reason. But you'll have to decide for yourself just as the characters in the story need to decide - although it's not certain what decision they come up with.

In book number four, we return to Minneapolis and a winter wonderland that doesn't want to quit. I've lived in Minnesota for 35 years - Mpls for 20 of those and Duluth the remainder. If you get a snowfall as described, you won't be driving all over the state. Major highways will be difficult to navigate. Minor highways probably impassable. County roads...best to stay home. City streets will not be plowed yet (snow emergency first day, then secondary streets, and the rest the third. Be prepared t...

I dig a compelling mystery and this book definitely had moments of brilliance. It also had moments of "Wait, did I just read that?" Clichéd phrases in otherwise interesting stories are so painful. Also, for a book written by two women as part of a series featuring a strong female protagonist there were too many parts that felt decidedly (and distractingly) anti-woman. I'm also of the mind that fictional mysteries should include resolutions. Mostly because I think creating a mystery is a whole lo...

The Monkeewrench is a great series but I must confess I don’t like the computer nerds much. My heart goes to Gino and Magozzi, so this is my book, because they are the pivotal characters. Snow falls through the book, while the two policemen look for the murderer of two policemen which were converted into snowmen in a children’s contest. The plot is as solid as the ice surrounding everything. There is a new character, a green newly elected sheriff with just being a teacher in her curriculum. It’s...

Please note: Sections of my new review will be under spoiler tags. There is just no way to adequately discuss this book without laying down a trail of clues that will ultimately spoil a bit of the mystery in the story. After the “Disclosure” section I’ll paste my original review from 2006, and if you prefer to avoid spoilers, then stop there, because even with the spoiler tags there might be sections that will give you clues. I do not plan to post this review anywhere else, to avoid spoiling thi...

A relative let me borrow a handful of her books, included were Dead Run and Snow Blind. I was tentative about reading them as they were part of a series – and not the first books – yet I went ahead and read Dead Run in the hope the story would make sense to me without the first two books.Yes, the story made sense. No, I did not enjoy the book.Due to this, I opted not to read Snow Blind. Then, along came festival season. I needed something to take with me to read on the journey. At that moment in...

SNOW BLIND (Police Proc-Minneapolis-Cont) – VGTracy, PJ – 4th bookPutnam, 2006- Hardcover*** Homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gina Rolseth take the lead in this wintertime murder investigation set in Minneapoilis. A major snowfall has come to provide the material for a snowman-building content. But a couple snowmen are different from the others in that they contain the bodies of murdered men, and policemen at that. Another snow-man, found on an iced over lake outside Minneapolis, turns out to...

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this installment in the Monkeewrench series. Like the others, I listened to the audio. It is not the best in the series, it is definitely shorter but I enoyed it. Unfortunatley, there is not enough of the Monkeewrench crew for my tastes but P.J. Tracy introduces some new characters -- rural sheriffs and officers -- and an interesting twist to their serial killer theme. This book can be read as a standalone. The mystery was easy to figure out and it was not very scary or thri...