Forget whatever book you’re planning on reading next. Want to Play by P.J. Tracy is what you should be reading next. If it was a movie, it would’ve been a blockbuster for sure. At the risk of sounding like my mother, I’m just going to straight out declare that this is what I miss about books from them “good ol’ days”. Remember those books we read in the eighties and nineties where authors, publishers, and their editorial teams actually still took the time to create exceptional characters and intricately woven plot twists that leave you shocked and surprised with the outcome? You do? Well, this is one of those books where the reader is smack-dab in the centre of old-school gritty detective work that goes into solving a crime. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then add this to your to-read list right this minute.Each and every character, no matter how big or small, has a significantly tangible personality; so much so, I couldn’t help but get emotionally invested and wrapped-up in the lives of just about all of them. A good example of one such a character is the nine-year-old black foster kid, Jackson, who unknowingly is a saving a grace by offering salvation with childlike sincerity. Like many of the other characters – and there are more than a handful of them to keep track of – he found a spot in my heart in the first five minutes I got to know him. But the one character who rises above the rest is without a doubt Grace’s dog, Charlie, who has a pathological fear of everything that breathes, but who all together is a genuinely adorable bundle of doggy-love! Even if you enjoy nothing else about this book, he will be the one thing you’ll remember fondly.~He was a mess of a dog, a concoction slapped together by a blind Frankenstein. The size and bulk of a shepherd, the wiry coat of a terrier, the long, floppy ears of a hound, and a totally hairless stump of a tail that something had chewed off long before she’d met him. Charlie was a survivor, too.~Don’t be fooled into thinking that this story is about one lone detective on a solo mission to solve a serial murder case. No, this is a whole bunch of detectives and their crews, whom you’ll indisputably come to adore, from two different states working together to find a serial killer. The plot was constructed brilliantly and I was super impressed by how everything came together so smoothly. No leaps in logic, no expecting the reader to fill in the blanks. Just a straightforward murder mystery / thriller. And up until the end where it is revealed who murdered all those people, I’ve suspected so many characters of being the villain, and still I was wrong. The dialogue is saturated with enough humor to give the reader a moment’s reprieve from the relentless heart stopping suspense. Yet the strangest thing is that there is hardly any romance to be found in this murder mystery. Now that’s not so strange, but what is, is that I WANTED there to be romance. I wanted Grace and Detective Magozzi, the two most unlikely characters to fall in love, to hit it off romantically. Now why is that so strange? Because I don’t care for romance in books and in the one book in which there’s only a tiny bit of romance, I actually wanted there to be more. Much more. That alone should be a clear indicator of what to expect regarding character development in this amazingly magnificent novel! Here’s a little something to pique your curiosity. The theory Detective Magozzi shares with Grace about martyrs and dead lovers being the most powerful people in the world? Very interesting. I never thought about it that way. Some good stuff right there, people. Want to Play might mislead potential readers with its unremarkable book cover and non-descript book summary, but I assure you it is an entertaining thrill ride in every way imaginable! Who will enjoy it? Anyone who’s into murder mysteries, detective- and suspense novels, and the Women’s Murder Club series by James Patterson. Fans of Karen Rose might also want to check this out.
Book Info: Genre: Mystery/Suspense/ThrillerReading Level: AdultRecommended for: Fans of the genreTrigger Warnings: Violence, serial murderMy Thoughts: Thanks to my coworker all those years ago, I was introduced to this excellent series (as well as another of my favorites, the Lucas Davenport mysteries by John Sandford, but that’s another review) and started buying the rest of them as they came out. There are currently six books available in this series, which I will review in the coming days, with a seventh due out next year. I first read this book in 2004, but did not write a review at that time, so when it came time to read the latest books in the series I decided to start again at the beginning and write the reviews I neglected to write the first time around.Over the years, while I remembered I had enjoyed the story, I had forgotten how mesmerizing it is. I was initially charmed because it is set in Minneapolis, a city in which I lived for 5 ½ years. This description from the book is really quite apt. “From her first day here Grace had pegged Minneapolis as a prissy city, an aspiring lady with her skirts held ankle-high to avoid the prairie mud. It had an underbelly, of course—the hookers and johns, the porn shops, the junior-high kids cruising for a hit of black tar or Ecstasy—but you really had to look to find it, and that it existed at all never failed to shock the stalwart Lutheran populace into action. It was one of the few cities in the country, Grace thought, where the self-righteous still thought you could shame the sleaze into redemption.” This is all especially impressive once you realize that this is the debut novel by the mother-daughter team that wrote this book.The synopsis is not completely accurate, in that the Monkeewrench crew did not hesitate in the slightest to contact the police about the connection to the game. It was their own past they didn’t immediately discuss. I can’t say anything more than that to avoid spoilers, but inaccurate synopses drive me crazy, so I thought I’d point that out.At any rate, this is really top-notch suspense fiction. If you enjoy mysteries and suspense, you will definitely want to check out P.J. Tracy’s wonderful Monkeewrench series, starting with this, the first book, Monkeewrench itself. Great characters, and you will never, ever see the denouement coming. Wonderful stuff.Disclosure: I received this book, along with a whole box of books, from a coworker in 2004, as they were extras she didn’t want. All opinions are my own. This is my second reading of the book.Synopsis: People are dying for the new computer game by the software company Monkeewrench. Literally. With Serial Killer Detective out in limited release, the real-life murders of a jogger and a young woman have already mimicked the first two scenarios in the game.But Grace McBride and her eccentric Monkeewrench partners are caught in a vise. If they tell the Minneapolis police of the link between their game and the murders, they'll shine a spotlight on the past they thought they had erased-and the horror they thought they'd left behind. If they don't, eighteen more people will die...
What do You think about Monkeewrench (2004)?
This is an amazing book where I admired the technical competency of the author as much as I loved the plot.I used to think that I would not enjoy a book once I learn how to read it critically, this book proved me wrong. If the plot is strong enough as with this story, and the characters are so vibrant and alive as they are in this book, if the plot is as engaging the theme so subtle and the world building so extraordinary then I apparently I do enjoy a book even if I read it critically.Grace MacBride is a truly strong heroine while Magozzi is a go getter and in his own way a typical police officer. She is a genius. His strenght lies in dogged determination. She is stunning. He is handsome. She has bagge. He needs to save her. A fan of Karen Rose etc will adore this book. It lacks the graphic sexual content of Karen Roses books but more than make up for it in technical writing brilliance. The crew with whom Grace works is adorable and Harley and Roadrunner had me by the heart strings from the get go. The police officer who let the killer go….. his past reflection was amazing and with this three page section these authors have made of me a fan for life. Brilliant
—Wanda Hartzenberg
I first read this book several years ago, back when I used to frequent my local library. I remembered being pretty wowed at how much it sucked me in so I thought it deserved a reread before I made my way through the rest of the series. Surprisingly I remembered a lot of it, including the whodunnit but it was still held my attention, even knowing how it was going to end. (On a first time read, the reveal at the end is a real shocker, I think). The characterisation is wonderful and although there are quite a few main characters all jostling for page time, the author introduces them in such a way that it is easy to keep them separate in your head.Overall, amazing crime/thriller.
—CL
Almost did not read this one--I got it as a gift and the title sounded odd. Glad I did not make that mistake!!!It is a novel about a group of colorful characters who own a software development company called Monkeewrench. Branching out from their education software, the team is devising a new game--"Serial Killer Detective".It soon becomes obvious that a serial killer is mimicking all of the murders in the game--playing with real victims. The Minneapolis police are very skeptical and suspicious--especially when they start digging in the past of the Monkeewrench team.Meanwhile, we,the readers are wondering how a double homicide in rural Wisconsin ties into this. No fear---the mother and daughter writing team that is P> J> Tracy pulls it all together at the end very nicely.I found the dialog espcially well written. Lota of wit and dry humor--but this is a serious suspense novel noetheless. Highly recommended for any mystery fan.
—Mary JL
