by P. J. Tracy
Part of Monkeewrench, book 5
First published 2010
Detective Leo Magozzi drives through sweltering Minneapolis heat in a confiscated Cadillac when the call comes in about a body in the Mississippi River. He and partner Gino Rolseth find a woman floating face down in white formal wear, looking like a drowned bride in the murky water beyond the scenic riverfront. Across the city, Grace McBride leads her Monkeewrench computer team on a federal assignment tracking murder videos posted online. The tech experts who built their fortune creating games now develop crime-fighting software for law enforcement. As the investigation deepens, the detectives and the Monkeewrench crew uncover a terrifying connection between the dead woman in wedding attire and a series of brutal killings broadcast on the internet. The killer uses the web to showcase violence, turning murder into digital entertainment. Magozzi must work with Grace's team to trace the perpetrator through cyberspace before more victims die on camera. The case forces them to navigate both the physical crime scene along the Mississippi and the virtual hunting ground where a predator stalks new prey.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, high-stakes, technology
Setting: Minneapolis, Mississippi River
Period: 21st-century
308 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons
Content warnings: graphic-violence, murder, violence