Hackin' & Detectin', Minnesota-style... review (Monkeewrench returns!)

One of the funny things about reading a series is that if/when there’s a longish wait between books, you can forget how much you like—and how much you’ve missed—those characters, and all the little details of their lives that you’ve learned.

So it was with me and the “Monkeewrench” gang (which first appeared in  the 2004 book by the same name), and whom I’ve eagerly followed ever since. I’d check the web every once in awhile to see if a new book—the ninth in that series, now—was due, only to be disappointed.

The wait is finally over, though, and—thank the stars—The Guilty Dead does not disappoint.


The Monkeewrench team of cyber-tech experts (aka hackers)—a cobbled-together oddball squad of misfits who share, among other things, sordid/unhappy pasts, distrust/dislike of Big Government, and, obviously, solid geek skills—is intact, and still working from their “office” digs in one of the member’s fancy Minneapolis mansion. They still operate mostly on the down-low, although they’ve taken some semi-legit jobs, too. They still have a love/hate (okay, both “love” and “hate” might be a tad strong… let’s go with “mutually, grudgingly tolerant”) relationship with the police force.

But, other things have changed—grown, evolved—in the interim… none more life-altering than the team’s prickly, badass, tough-gal-of-a-leader, Grace MacBride, not only continuing to see Monkeewrench’s previous nemesis, Detective Leo Magozzi, romantically… but opting to have the love chid their union has created. 

This time out, the team splits their energies on multiple, simultaneous jobs: designing a program that can help to identify serious threats; aiding Magozzi and his partner, Rolseth, in figuring out who is behind the murder of a wealthy, beloved philanthropist; and helping the FBI locate a probable local terrorist cell (before it can carry out its grand mission)… all while Grace is due (with the wee MacBride-Magozzi) at any moment.


There is so much to appreciate about The Guilty Dead. First, it’s always good seeing character growth and having new dimensions added, and Tracy accomplishes that. Also, I was so pleased there wasn’t much rehashing of all the old back stories—just a smidgen, so that a newbie would be able to follow along and enjoy the story without feeling lost, while long-time readers of the series wouldn't feel compelled to yawn. 


The Guilty Dead is also au courant, with ripped-from-the-headline plots, sub-plots, and attitudes. Interweaving family issues and entanglements with politics and the sort of threats we hear about every day, Tracy produces a tale with some surprising twists and turns, and a nice amount of suspense.

Read it all in a couple of sittings, or space it out over a week or two, it really doesn’t matter; The Guilty Dead delivers, and proves itself worth the wait.

~GlamKitty

Comments

  1. thanidaNovember 14, 2018 at 7:48 PM

    I trying hard for this.Thank you for the good blog,คาสิโน

    ReplyDelete
  2. supersonic100g9June 18, 2019 at 8:29 PM

    ความเป็นส่วนตัว แน่ๆว่าการใช้รถยนต์ส่วนตัวเพื่อการท่องเที่ยวย่อมมีความสบายสบายมากยิ่งกว่าการใช้บริการรถยนต์สาธารณะเป็นอย่างมาก ผมเคยโน่นรถตู้ท่องเที่ยว แน่ๆว่า หนึ่ง ผมแวะข้างถนนมิได้ และก็รถตู้ก็จะไปหยุดเพียงแค่สถานีแค่นั้น ผมต้องหารถยนต์ถัดไปยังโฮเต็ล หรือที่ท่องเที่ยวอื่นๆแม้กระนั้นการเช่ารถยนต์ท่องเที่ยวสบายกว่ามาก เนื่องจากว่าพวกเราต้องการจะแวะ จะหยุดที่ไหน ก็ได้ตามใจของพวกเรา กลยุทธ์เดินทางที่ยืดหยุ่นได้จะก่อให้พวกเราเป็นสุขกับการท่องเที่ยวได้มากขึ้น การเช่ารถยนต์เพื่อการท่องเที่ยวจะให้ความเป็นส่วนตัว อิสระสำหรับการคิดแผน สำหรับในการเดินทาง แน่ๆว่า การเช่ารถยนต์เพื่อท่องเที่ยวท่องเที่ยวจะให้ความเป็นส่วนตัวแน่ๆ
    บริษัทรถเช่า
    รถเช่าสุวรรณภูมิ
    รถเช่าระหว่างซ่อม
    รถเช่าไม่ใช้บัตรเครดิต
    เช่ารถเก๋ง
    รถรับส่งสนามบิน

    ReplyDelete

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