Monkeewrench by PJ Tracy

4 stars
R- 2.5
Language

This is actually a Reader's Choice winner from.... I don't even know what year. 2003 or 2004.

Anyway.

Interesting and entertaining, usually rather irreverently, I enjoyed this one a lot.

It's an almost convoluted tale of multiple murders, in different states no less, that does take a little patience, but is well worth it! At first it's nearly impossible to see how the storylines could possibly have anything to do with one another, but stick with it, you'll get there.

I must say, though, I don't like that cover. It's kinda creepy. Which, okay, yes makes sense for a book with multiple murders and psychos on the loose, but still. I love the other cover.

The monkey's cute. Even if his mouth is duct-taped.

Apparently this is also the first of a series. Which is interesting, because I'm not really sure where there is to go after this one. The characters are good, though, and it looks like the next one, Live Bait, is going to be about the detectives getting help from the Monkeewrench people on another case. I liked the detectives, so that works for me. :D

Edited to add-- okay, now I've slept on it, and I find my mind has honed in on a problem.... I think the killer had an alibi for the first murder..... maybe even more than one murder... Now, alibis can be easy enough to break, so that doesn't bother me in and of itself, but it's not mentioned! Hmm... feels like an "oops"! We also never find out the details of Annie's shocking secret! Grr.... I hate it when I realize things like this after the fact.