Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth join Grace MacBride and Monkeewrench to uncover a dark and ugly conspiracy that reaches deep into the safety of homes in this latest electrifying thriller from New York Times bestselling author P. J. Tracy.It’s a bitter winter in Minnesota–too cold to kill. There hasn’t been a murder for a month, but the lull quickly comes to an end for … comes to an end for Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth, when they’re called to the gruesome homicide of Kelly Ramage. Found in a friend’s vacant house, this was no random attack, and clues reveal that she was living a very dangerous secret life.
Magozzi and Gino trace her steps back to an art gallery where she was last seen alive. The gallery seems like a dead end, but the art is disturbing and exploitative. It may very well be inspiring a sadistic killer, because in this instance, art doesn’t imitate life, it imitates death.
Tipped off about a year-old murder that is a mirror-image of Kelly’s crime scene, Gino and Magozzi enlist the aid of Grace MacBride and her eccentric, tech genius partners in Monkeewrench Software to help them decipher the digital trail that might connect the cases.
As coincidences emerge, Magozzi, Gino, and the team have to work around the clock at breakneck pace to unravel a series of clues that form the framework of a larger, more sweeping, and insidious conspiracy than any of them could have imagined. Is Kelly the last person to die or just the most recent? And is there any way to stop it?
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For those of you who have followed this series, you’re going to love this one! If you haven’t read any or maybe just one or two, this one is easily read as a stand alone. I highly recommend starting at the beginner and indulging in a smorgasbord of sensational story lines, charac ters that will remain in your head for a long, long time.
Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth make another appearance, as well as two of their colleagues. Their day starts with a psychic paying them a visit, reporting she ‘sees’ the future murder of a woman. But who is she?
Kelly Ramage leaves her home, telling her husband she is attending an art show with a friend. Because the weather is so bad, she’ll be spending the night with her friend. Kelly never returns home. Her body is found murdered in a bizarre way.
And this is not the only body that will be found.
ICE COLD HEART has just about everything …. an artist who might be a hacker ….. a war criminal who might be a killer …. a secret code … a client that has been severely compromised …. a criminal with ties to organized crime. The entire Monkeewrench crew is present and accounted for. Two additional detectives are also involved.
What starts as an independent investigation for each of the detectives …. a separate case for a member of the Monkeewrench crew … and an ICE employee hunting for a war criminal. It’s when they all start merging that everything seems to spin out of control.
This is an action packed page turner with twists and turns to keep your eyes glued to the pages … intense and well paced.
Many thanks to the author / Crooked Lane Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this super addition to a fabulous series. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
This book was something a little bit different and I enjoyed the mystery behind it all. The characters were real and gritty. This book is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole book.
The MonkeeWrench team is at it again. They are not only dealing with their own ‘mystery’ of bit coin hijacking, but with the deaths in a case of Magozzi & Gino’s domain which somehow come together to make a very interesting and thrilling ride through the cyber world to the real world.
The dynamics of the team have change with Grace and Magozzi now a couple along with RoadRunner finding someone who sparks a ‘joy’ in him. It’s so good to see each character change over the time of the series. I’m a ‘serial’ reader and when I find a series I like, I tend to stick with the books in order. However, some reviews have said these could be ‘stand-alones’, but I feel you would miss SO MUCH if you didn’t read in order. Either way, don’t miss a good author or her good books by not reading which ever order you decide.
Pick up the first or jump in right now!!
Great books, great writing.
I love the entire Monkeewrench series. Traci has done a marvelous job of continuing to write the series after her mom (and co-author) passed away – I see no difference in the tone/style of the books. While each novel is a standalone, it is more interesting when you know the history of the characters. Thankfully Traci does not re-tell all the background in each book as some authors do! There are a few things dropped in, but not enough to be boring to someone who has read the previous books.
In “Ice Cold Heart” it was a little confusing to start – so many storylines that will converge later on, it was a little hard to keep track until I got further into the book. As usual, I was kept guessing until the end to find out who the killer was and which clues would lead Magozzi and Rolseth to the arrest. There was a romantic interest for Roadrunner, and it was nice to see more sides to the Monkeewrench crew.
I have read everyone of the series that takes place in Minnesota. The same team of detectives are working together to keep the city safe. Gino and Leo are hard working detectives, older but not afraid of technology, just not the best at it.
“It’s winter and so cold the ice doesn’t make a crack sound when you walk over it, it cries.” You feel the cold, even murders are down, and people are staying inside warm and cozy.
It has been very warm where I live so the perfect time to imagine I am in the dark. walking over ice and breathing in air so cold it makes you gasp.
Nothing fazes the cops, not even a medium named Blanco that “sees” a murder. Then a body is found and fits the image of what Blanco saw. This author never skims over the impact of each death as the death of Kelly is examined and her husband is left to deal with the idea that she was into bondage.
This becomes a terrific police procedural and the pain staking ways crimes are investigated…even down to footprints in the snow under newer footprints.They investigate an art gallery and a club as another woman is now missing.
The monkey wrench gang is still solving crimes and helps out especially after Roadrunner saves a woman from hypothermia. All the team have suffered abuse in one form or another and this is the first time we see how Roadrunner is affected. Petra is a new character that tells the history of the Balkan wars and the murders, tortures and abuse. She is on the trail of a war criminal and soon to be involved in the case of the missing woman.
The villains are a bit of a surprise, especially the second one. And yet, it all fits and makes you aware of how one can let their guard down.
Murder, history, technology, and caring for the victims is all here. Can’t ask for more as you see Leo and Grace and the family they all have become. band together to solve injustices.
It is a stand alone but we have time so find her books and read them in order and just enjoy.
Ice Cold Heart by P.J. Tracy
This book is 10th in series but I had never read any of the preceding and could keep up with what’s going on in story. Excellent story, lots of characters but all fully fleshed out and interesting, that said there is alot of things going on in this book from a war criminal being sought, possible serial killer, cyber crimes taking place but this author pulls it all together for one very interesting read! Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read this book and give my honest opinion.
Wow! Hard to put this one down. Don’t start reading it before bedtime.
When I started this book, I was already drawn in with the thrilling writing and how to book moved in a pretty fast pace and kept your attention and the suspense from page to page. It definitely was an unputdownable book. The story begins when a gruesome murder, of a beautiful married woman named Kelly Ramage, was discovered in a friend’s house. Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth join the Monkeewrench Software crew to uncover a deep mystery that involves a war-criminal, a disturbing and highly controversial artist, and some underground bit currency criminal underground conspiracy. As the detectives deep-dive into the case, they are faced with the possibility that these conspiracies could be related to the murders in some way.
I started this book without the knowledge that it was book #10 of the Monkeewrench series, but it worked for me as a stand alone. I will be going back to read the entire series because I absolutely love the characters in this book and I need more! This is my first P. J. Tracy book and definitely am a fan! I highly recommend this book and the series. Amazing read. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
5 stars
Hating the cold, but glad that it has brought them a full month without a murder, Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are called to a particularly gruesome murder involving bondage. The woman was reported missing by her husband. Is he involved? Their investigation leads them to a particularly gruesome art display at a gallery by an artist that is nowhere to be found. After they realize that a similar murder had occurred a year ago and a new victim is found, the detectives will seek help from Grace and her team at Monkeewrench (Grace and Leo share a new daughter, Elizabeth). Monkeewrench, a team of loveable and eccentric techies, are working to enhance security for their client, Bit Monster, after they suffered a major theft. When it seems that their case may dovetail with Leo and Gino’s, the whole gang gets involved. Another absorbing and fascinating mystery with the team from Monkeewrench, characters who know how to get the job done. I like the witty dialog between two long-time friends and partners, Leo and Gino, who have seen it all but forge ahead in their fight against crime. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
I started with the Monkeewrench gang with book one, the day it was published. Here we are with book #10 and I’m so glad that Crooked Lane is publishing it and that Traci has kept the series alive since the passing of her mother, PJ – the other half of a great writing team. I’m labeled by friends as a reader of cozies but there are some writers, some series that are edgy and on the dark side that make it to my must read list. This is one of them. Not only is the writing excellent with a comfortable cadence, it has just the right balance of humor – like the possible therapeutic effects of Cheesy Puffs on a very hungry cop – and personal relationships of the main characters. Plus the mystery is always a gripping one.
If you have never read any books in this series – this can be read as a stand alone. However I would encourage you to read them all in order so you can see how the Monkeewrench gang came to be and how each has grown.
Set in the cold, icy winter of Minneapolis, a setting that controls the pace of the investigations, Leo and Gino are wondering how long it will be before they get another homicide. Their thinking is that, given the harsh cold weather, killers may just not want to go out killing. Not this night. A young woman, Kelly Ramage, bored with her marriage to an accountant several years her senior, goes out one night and never returns. She told her husband a lie as to her plans to meet a friend for dinner and to see an art showing – a very disturbing art show, it turns out. When she fails to come home her husband starts searching and she is found dead in the friends home but the friend is in San Diego and has no idea what Kelly’s plans were and who they were with.
Meanwhile, Grace, part of Monkeewrench and married to Leo Magozzi, is working with Roadrunner (just Roadrunner) Harley (Davidson) and Annie, are taking a new case involving Bit coins and hacking that cost their client, Bit Monster as much as $4 million dollars. The fact that Monkeewrench is the best of the best in the cyber world and they regularly help the police is important to the story. Somebody wants that money back and will not take no for an answer. Just get it done.
With several stories running one might think it would get confusing but it isn’t. From old crimes involving the Balkan Mafia, a serial killer and hacking – it’s a full and very satisfying mystery that kept me engrossed from the beginning to the end.
An intricate and entrancing tale of evil. The author builds an intricate web that details the horror and insanity of evil. The characters are unique and intricately defined. The conversations are direct. As the detectives search for a murderer their case becomes intertwined with one that Monkeewrench is working on. Together they piece the puzzles together and come to an unexpected conclusion. Throughout all the grisly mess there is still a strong bond that allows love to temper the good guys.
4 stars for a satisfying mystery thriller. This is the second book that I have read by this author and I enjoy her books. The author bio says that the name P. J. Tracy is a pseudonym of a mother daughter team P.J. and Traci Lambrecht. P. J. passed in 2016 and Traci continues to write.
Minneapolis police detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth join Grace Mac Bride and Monkeewrench(a software company specializing in viruses/malware removal) to unravel a conspiracy.
There are several different elements in this mystery: a serial killer, a woman searching for a war criminal and an art gallery showing sculptures of torture/murder.
There are other characters who help solve the mystery and I thought that the ending pulled all the treads together very well. This investigation takes place during a bitter cold snap, and the characters complain about the cold frequently.
One quote: Conversation between Leo and Gino– “I mean, where’s the fuming tirade over winter in Minnesota? At this point in January, you’re usually gnashing your teeth and tipping over desks. You speak for millions of Minnesotans and we count on you to give voice to our grievances.”
Gino rubbed his cheeks, trying to thaw them. “This is what acceptance looks like, Leo.”
I read this book in 3 days and recommend it to police procedural fans..
Thank You Crooked Lane Books, P.J. Tracy and NetGalley for sending this ARC. #IceColdHeart #NetGalley
4 and 1 / 2 stars
Detectives Leo Magozzi and his partner Gino Rolseth are suffering through another frigid Minnesota winter. They haven’t had a homicide in a month.
This changes when they are called to the scene of a murder. The woman, Kelly Ramage, was killed in one of her friends’ home. She was last seen at an art gallery, so Leo and Gino trudge over to the gallery. What they see there is disturbing and shocking. On the surface the gallery has little to do with Kelly’s murder, but the images the detectives see there are disturbing. They wonder if the art could have incited someone to commit murder. The art work is very like the murder scene.
Leo and Gino soon discover more murders that have the bondage element that Kelly’s scene has. The killer has apparently been at his killing “game” for longer than the police feared. With the help of the Monkeewrench crew, they learn about their perpetrator’s connections. He has cut a broad swath across the globe with his crimes.
This book is very well written and plotted. The transitions are smooth and nearly flawless. This is a fantastic police procedural partnered with the speed and power of computer technology. I enjoyed learning more about all of the characters and I liked learning more about Roadrunner’s past. As terrible as it was, it was good to learn more of what makes him like he is. I liked Gino and Leo; they make a great team. And one can’t say enough about the Monkeewrench team. This is a splendid novel. I recommend it to anyone who likes police procedurals or thrillers. Another winner, PJ!
I want to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review.