Off the Grid (edition 2012)

I enjoyed revisiting the Monkeywrench gang in P.J. Tracy's Off the Grid, even though most members of the group were minor players in this story. I would have enjoyed more character development. I always enjoy their use of the magic of technology, even when it sounds more fantasy than fact - a lot of technology has slid from one side of that spectrum to the other and it’s fun to speculate.

Although the story sometimes jumped a bit from thread to thread, overall I found the pace kept me involved and kept the story progressing. There was some weak plotting (uh - tracking device). I had to juice up my suspension of disbelief to get past that point, but I’ve enjoyed the series enough that I was willing to do so. This time. There were a couple of other rough spots that pulled me out of the story momentarily - the butterscotch candy comment was one.

I’m not particularly fond of the “terrorist plot” plot in general, but it is timely and this had an interesting side that was a little different. I’m okay with the vigilante aspect - I understand it doesn’t work in real life but find it satisfying in fiction. I read that someone was unhappy with the funeral scene. It seemed a bit much to me at the time, too, but it made more sense after I read the epilogue.

All in all, this wasn’t the smoothest Monkeewrench story, but it’s been awhile since they visited and I’m glad to see them again. ( )

The first few of the Monkeewrench Novels were different from what you would find in the genre and that was what made it possible to overlook most of the issues with them. Then the 5th one sounded as anything any other series can contain. Unfortunately the 6th keeps this trend.

It's not a bad novel - it is high-speed, fast moving story that is good on its own but without the back story, the characters are underdeveloped and boring... and when you throw the back story into the mix, things just do not work as well as it might have - and the characters sound almost foreign compared to what they used to be in the first 4 books

When you read thrillers, a suspension of disbelief is a normal thing. But in this case some of the actions are taken to a level where even that does not help (our guys always being where they can influence the outcome?). I realize that there would not have been a book otherwise but it still gets a bit annoying when badly executed.

I am not sure that I will even bother to check the next book in the series if there is one - the magic in the series is just gone... ( )

This is the sixth book in the Monkeewrench series by mother - daughter team PJ Tracy. I have read the first three books in the series so was looking forward to getting back into the series. The book opens with multiple and I do mean multiple killings in Minneapolis. Looking into the murders, detectives discover similar murders in other cities across the US. Thus the plot thickens. The Monkeewrench group gets involved, although they are almost periphery to the story. As with the other books in the series, the authors take you on a roller coaster ride with memorable characters and numerous plot twists. If you enjoy fast paced stories with interesting characters and plenty of intrigue, I think you would enjoy this book as well as the entire Monkeewrench series. ( )

The 6th book in the Monkeewrentch series, the reader finds Grace McBride on a sailboat off the Florida coast, involved in an an assassination attempt on retired FBI agent John Smith (from Monkeewrentch #5). A few hours later, in Minneapolis, a fifteen-year-old Native American girl is discovered in a vacant lot with her throat slashed. Later that day, two young Somali men are found in their home a few blocks away, killed execution-style. The next morning, the dead bodies of three more Somali men turn up murdered in the same neighborhood. Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are involved in all 3 cases and find that Minneapolis is not the only place this is happening. Before it’s all over, Grace and the Dectectives and the Monkeewrench gang find themselves in the middle of all this violence on a remote northern Minnesota reservation, fighting for their lives.
Monkeewrench series is one of my favorite murder mystery series. I found this book fast paced, with some great twists and turns. I enjoyed the change of location -- Northwest Minnesota and a Native American reservation but was a little disappointed that the Monkeewrentch gang was less involved in the plot--most of the plot focussed on Magozzi and Rolseth. Still, enjoyed the plot and the series. A 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. ( )

I have enjoyed all the Monkeewrench Novels, and this one was no different. The only thing I noted was that the gang was not the major part of the story line, and I missed that. I did find the epiloge quite surprising, it was something I hadn't expected. I still look forward to any story put out the the authors under P. J. Tracy. ( )