In this fourth book of the Minnesota-based Monkeewrench series, the corpses of two cops are found disguised as snowmen in a park. When a third body similarly staged is found in the rural upstate region, it seems it might be a serial killer case.

Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth head up the investigation in the Twin Cities, with the assistance of the close-knit tech wizards – the Monkeewrench gang. The story also pulls in Iris Rikker, the inexperienced new sheriff of the county where the third body is found.

Plot-wise, Snow Blind is not as thrilling, edge-of-your-seat as the first three of the Monkeewrench series. Even so, it is still satisfying and twisty. The detectives are thrown by some unexpected moral complexity.

I really liked the new character of Iris Rikker. At first, her inexperience is frustrating as you want this beleaguered new sheriff to instantly find her feet and prove her naysayers wrong. But it doesn’t work quite like that and I like how P. J. Tracy gradually revealed the truth of Rikker’s position. I also liked how you can’t tell whether her Sheriff Lieutenant, Lt. Sampson, is going to be her ally or detractor. I hope that Rikker shows up in later books, just as I hope for the return again of Wisconsin detective Mike Halloran and deputy Sharon Mueller.

Strangely enough, the characters that make up the Monkeewrench gang are not my favorite part of the Monkeewrench series. The authors have fun describing their quirks and clothing choices and their tech wizardry, but it’s always the cops that I want to read more about.