by P. J. Tracy
Part of Monkeewrench, book 8
First published 2017
Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth arrive at a wooded park crime scene that triggers immediate dread. The playing card left on the victim's body confirms their fears: a serial killer has returned to their city after years of quiet. Meanwhile, Grace MacBride and her Monkeewrench Software team grow tired of their dark law enforcement computer work. They decide to take a break with a simpler case, searching for a missing farmer's daughter in rural southwestern Minnesota. But as bodies pile up in Minneapolis and the killer works toward completing his deck of cards, Magozzi and Gino desperately need Monkeewrench's digital expertise. The investigation pulls together three seemingly unrelated threads: the vanished girl from farm country, the card-wielding murderer terrorizing the city, and a decades-old stabbing that has waited patiently in the shadows. As evidence mounts in confusing directions, both the detectives and the Monkeewrench team discover they're facing something far more sinister than they imagined.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Period: contemporary
308 pages · Hardcover · Putnam Pub Group
Content warnings: murder, violence