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sandin954's review against another edition
3.0
While a perfectly entertaining book this was not quite as good as some of the previous entries in this series. The ending, though, was very intriguing and I look forward to finding out what is next for the Monkeewrench gang.
jrdbrook's review against another edition
4.0
The writing, as always, is very good. Sets a scene well with a lovely language use, yet still being an easy flowing read.
The best part of P.J. Tracy's writing is the characters - the plots are good but it's the characters that hold your interest. I did find the first third of the book made all the regular characters quite insular - each having a storyline with little interaction but as soon as they did interact, the pace of the story really started to pick up. I especially enjoyed the repartee between the characters.
The story itself was good with a few twists and turns to keep you interested.
My favourite scene was in Chapter 43, with the Chief's first impressions of the Monkeewrench team.
Even if you haven't read any of the previous books, the story still works as a stand alone book. Though I would recommend reading the other books, as they are all good.
Lexicon - curlicue, segue
The best part of P.J. Tracy's writing is the characters - the plots are good but it's the characters that hold your interest. I did find the first third of the book made all the regular characters quite insular - each having a storyline with little interaction but as soon as they did interact, the pace of the story really started to pick up. I especially enjoyed the repartee between the characters.
The story itself was good with a few twists and turns to keep you interested.
My favourite scene was in Chapter 43, with the Chief's first impressions of the Monkeewrench team.
Even if you haven't read any of the previous books, the story still works as a stand alone book. Though I would recommend reading the other books, as they are all good.
Lexicon - curlicue, segue
brendas's review
1.0
A series of murders,including the murder of a teenage girl, two immigrants and three men, has police baffled. They realise that that the murders may be connected and call on Grace McBride,a computer analyst, for help.
"Two Evils" is the sixth in the series of Monkeewrench books. Having never read PJ Tracy's books before I was looking forward to trying a new author. I was very disappointed however as I feel I needed to read the previous books in the series before I could get to know the characters. I also found it difficult to keep track of the numerous characters throughout the story and often found myself going back through the book to clarify what was happening.
A major disappointment
"Two Evils" is the sixth in the series of Monkeewrench books. Having never read PJ Tracy's books before I was looking forward to trying a new author. I was very disappointed however as I feel I needed to read the previous books in the series before I could get to know the characters. I also found it difficult to keep track of the numerous characters throughout the story and often found myself going back through the book to clarify what was happening.
A major disappointment
tlt19's review against another edition
3.0
I just could not wait until I finished this book. In my opinion the series declined as it went on.
marsetta's review against another edition
4.0
On a sailboat ten miles off the Florida coast, Grace MacBride, partner in Monkeewrench Software, thwarts an assassination attempt on retired FBI agent John Smith. A few hours later, in Minneapolis, a fifteen-year-old girl is discovered in a vacant lot, her throat slashed. Later that day, two young men are found in their home a few blocks away, killed execution-style. The next morning, the dead bodies of three more men turn up, savagely murdered in the same neighborhood.
As Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth struggle to link the three crimes, they learn that there have been similar murders in other cities around the United States. Piece by piece, evidence accumulates, pointing to a suspect that shocks them to the core, uncovering a motive that puts the entire Midwest on high alert and Monkeewrench in the direct line of fire. Before it's all over, Grace and her partners, Annie, Roadrunner, and Harley Davidson, find themselves in the middle of a shocking collision of violence on a remote northern Minnesota reservation, fighting for their lives.
The last couple in the Monkeewrench series, I found, were a bit lacking, but this one started off strong and stayed that way for most of the book. The only criticism I have is the ending (can't say much more than that) was a bit quick. I felt a bit lost as to why everything ended so fast, it felt like there was a chapter or two missing. The epilogue was pretty good and I'm wondering if this is the lead in to the next in the series. I hope so!
To read this and other reviews go to https://crimeandmysterybookreview.wordpress.com/
As Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth struggle to link the three crimes, they learn that there have been similar murders in other cities around the United States. Piece by piece, evidence accumulates, pointing to a suspect that shocks them to the core, uncovering a motive that puts the entire Midwest on high alert and Monkeewrench in the direct line of fire. Before it's all over, Grace and her partners, Annie, Roadrunner, and Harley Davidson, find themselves in the middle of a shocking collision of violence on a remote northern Minnesota reservation, fighting for their lives.
The last couple in the Monkeewrench series, I found, were a bit lacking, but this one started off strong and stayed that way for most of the book. The only criticism I have is the ending (can't say much more than that) was a bit quick. I felt a bit lost as to why everything ended so fast, it felt like there was a chapter or two missing. The epilogue was pretty good and I'm wondering if this is the lead in to the next in the series. I hope so!
To read this and other reviews go to https://crimeandmysterybookreview.wordpress.com/
whaney's review against another edition
3.0
Always love the monkey wrench crew books. Nothing great, but enjoyable.
gracenow's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed it but there was a lot of killing and it was about terrorists, not really my thing. Also, one fairly significant plot point came about with a 'mistake' the Monkeewrench crew was not likely to have made, but did move the story forward in an interesting way.
ljjohnson8's review against another edition
4.0
P.J. Tracy scared me with Snow Blind, but this installment and the previous Shoot to Thrill prove that the Monkeewrench series is back on track and Snow was an anomaly. This had a simpler mystery plot than others in the series, but that's no complaint; this book was very rich in emotion and deeper characterization, plus had a kick-ass, breakneck story. I hope they don't take so long between books again...
And Grace, pleasepleaseplease, give Magozzi a break, will you?
And Grace, pleasepleaseplease, give Magozzi a break, will you?
themumwhoreads's review
4.0
Review also published on my blog StudentSpyglass
Plot: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Readability: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★
Two Evils, book #6 in the Monkeewrench series, follows detectives Gino and Magozzi as they struggle to cope with seemingly random killings and disappearances. Without giving away too many spoilers, Magozzi and Gino find that the crimes are all connected in some way, with many deaths caused by what emerges to be, effectively, a vigilante looking for justice.
This is the first of the Monkeewrench series I’ve read, and I was a little nervous – very, very rarely do I read a book out of order, and being so late in the series I worried there would be a lot to catch up on. Thankfully though, this reminded me a lot of the J.D.Robb books – relationships overarching the entire series, but individual cases isolated to single books. That meant that although I was jumping in a little late in terms of how the characters felt about eachother, I didn’t seem to be missing anything crucial (or if I was, I didn’t realise I was missing it!).
From the back of the book, I’d assumed Grace was specific to this case, but it turns out she appears in all of the books, which I quite liked. This means you get two complementary storylines – Grace’s, and Gino & Magozzi’s. The two points of view were something I really liked about this book. Grace was a complex but strong female character, which is always nice. At the same time, I loved getting a male point of view – maybe it’s just because my crime reading has mostly been J.D.Robb, Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell, but I found following the male detectives a novel and refreshing experience! I find a lot of what I read tends to have a female protaganist, and finding a male lead that I can follow and relate to (or in this case two), is great. There was a little less banter between Gino and Magozzi than I might have liked, but I loved what there was. In particular, Gino’s fear of heights and Magozzi’s teasing had me laughing out loud…which gets you funny looks when you’re reading a book with a cover like this!
The plot was great and had me hooked all the way through. This arrived on Tuesday, and I’d finished it by Thursday evening, because I just couldn’t put it down. I was gripped from pretty much the start, and got more and more hooked as the links between crimes were slowly revealed. The description and mood building was dark and gritty enough to keep me hooked, but wasn’t gory, which I loved. I’m not good with excessive blood and guts, and this managed to get a scene across without making me nauseous, which is always a good thing. The writing style in general was fabulous; evocative, visual and sometimes just laugh out loud funny. The mother-daughter team write together fantastically well, and I would never have guessed it was a collaboration from the writing – the whole book just flows brilliantly.
The book certainly wasn’t perfect, and there were a few things that bothered me. The first, very tiny, nitpicking issue was that I noticed Grace’s surname spelt as MacBride a few times, but it’s hardly a huge problem, and didn’t put me off the story. I felt the development of the supporting characters was a little bare, and the ‘twist’ late on in the story felt a little too spelled out for me, making the revealing scene feel a bit like hand-holding, rather than a dramatic revelation.
Although it wasn’t perfect, the book was very enjoyable; better than the average crime novel in my opinion. If you haven’t read the other books in the series, I definitely wouldn’t have said that’s a problem – this will read perfectly well on it’s own, though a few of the relationship histories will be a little vague. I’ll personally be going back and reading the rest of the series as well, because this hints to a series just too good to pass up.
Plot: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Readability: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★
Two Evils, book #6 in the Monkeewrench series, follows detectives Gino and Magozzi as they struggle to cope with seemingly random killings and disappearances. Without giving away too many spoilers, Magozzi and Gino find that the crimes are all connected in some way, with many deaths caused by what emerges to be, effectively, a vigilante looking for justice.
This is the first of the Monkeewrench series I’ve read, and I was a little nervous – very, very rarely do I read a book out of order, and being so late in the series I worried there would be a lot to catch up on. Thankfully though, this reminded me a lot of the J.D.Robb books – relationships overarching the entire series, but individual cases isolated to single books. That meant that although I was jumping in a little late in terms of how the characters felt about eachother, I didn’t seem to be missing anything crucial (or if I was, I didn’t realise I was missing it!).
From the back of the book, I’d assumed Grace was specific to this case, but it turns out she appears in all of the books, which I quite liked. This means you get two complementary storylines – Grace’s, and Gino & Magozzi’s. The two points of view were something I really liked about this book. Grace was a complex but strong female character, which is always nice. At the same time, I loved getting a male point of view – maybe it’s just because my crime reading has mostly been J.D.Robb, Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell, but I found following the male detectives a novel and refreshing experience! I find a lot of what I read tends to have a female protaganist, and finding a male lead that I can follow and relate to (or in this case two), is great. There was a little less banter between Gino and Magozzi than I might have liked, but I loved what there was. In particular, Gino’s fear of heights and Magozzi’s teasing had me laughing out loud…which gets you funny looks when you’re reading a book with a cover like this!
The plot was great and had me hooked all the way through. This arrived on Tuesday, and I’d finished it by Thursday evening, because I just couldn’t put it down. I was gripped from pretty much the start, and got more and more hooked as the links between crimes were slowly revealed. The description and mood building was dark and gritty enough to keep me hooked, but wasn’t gory, which I loved. I’m not good with excessive blood and guts, and this managed to get a scene across without making me nauseous, which is always a good thing. The writing style in general was fabulous; evocative, visual and sometimes just laugh out loud funny. The mother-daughter team write together fantastically well, and I would never have guessed it was a collaboration from the writing – the whole book just flows brilliantly.
The book certainly wasn’t perfect, and there were a few things that bothered me. The first, very tiny, nitpicking issue was that I noticed Grace’s surname spelt as MacBride a few times, but it’s hardly a huge problem, and didn’t put me off the story. I felt the development of the supporting characters was a little bare, and the ‘twist’ late on in the story felt a little too spelled out for me, making the revealing scene feel a bit like hand-holding, rather than a dramatic revelation.
Although it wasn’t perfect, the book was very enjoyable; better than the average crime novel in my opinion. If you haven’t read the other books in the series, I definitely wouldn’t have said that’s a problem – this will read perfectly well on it’s own, though a few of the relationship histories will be a little vague. I’ll personally be going back and reading the rest of the series as well, because this hints to a series just too good to pass up.
sssnoo's review against another edition
4.0
The sixth installment of the Monkeewrench mystery series. I love the characters in these books. As well, I love that the series is written by a mother/daughter duo and they are set in Minneapolis and Minnesota. Enough said. If you like police procedural mysteries with a regional perspective Monkeewrench need to be on your TBR list.