ARC Review: The Deepest Cut by P. J. Tracy

The Deepest Cut
Author: P. J. Tracy
Series: A Monkeewrench Novel
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (September 9, 2025)

Description: The Monkeewrench team is back in a brand-new nail-biting thriller from New York Times bestselling author P. J. Tracy.

Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth arrest a sadistic pair of killers for the murder of several women with the help of Monkeewrench, their eccentric, cyber-sleuth friends and partners. One of the killers dies in custody and the other, Wolfgang Mauer, is sent to a maximum security mental hospital in a rural corner of Minnesota.

There, Mauer plots his escape–and his vengeance. With the help of his mother, a former militia leader and assassin living an extravagant, reclusive life, he schemes to get out of the mental hospital and hunt down the detectives and the Monkeewrench crew that got him a life sentence.

When Mauer successfully escapes, an inexperienced county sheriff is thrown head-first into a massive manhunt for the murderer. When she finds three bodies and discovers that Mauer has kidnapped a young boy, she realizes that Mauer’s escape was just the beginning. With many lives on the line, Magozzi, Gino, and Monkeewrench join in the desperate search effort. The longer he’s at large, the more people will die, and Mauer is on a mission to find those who sentenced him, so they all have targets on their backs.

My Thoughts: P. J. Tracy returns to the world of Monkeewrench in this thriller. Minneapolis homicide detective Leo Magozzi is getting ready to retire to spend more time with the woman he loves and the daughter he adores. Before that can happen, Magozzi and his partner Gino Rolseth get involved in the prison escape of a sadistic killer that they had put behind bars earlier. 

The killer is Mauer and Mauer has a plan. Recover the money he secreted away before he was caught and imprisoned and then kill the eight people on his hit lit that he most blames for his capture and imprisonment. He is more than willing to murder anyone who gets in the way of his plans. 

Since he escaped from a mental hospital/prison in a small, rural Minnesota county, the inexperienced sheriff and her deputies are drawn into the case. They are the ones who discover the first three bodies left in Mauer's wake and set law enforcement in action when Mauer kidnaps a ten-year-old boy. 

The story is told from multiple viewpoints. The Monkeewrench gang all appear and have their plans interrupted whether the plan is proposing to the woman they love or adding to their kick-ass fashion collection. The inexperienced sheriff's viewpoint is included. As is Magozzi's who is thinking that it might not be time to retire after all. And Mauer's viewpoint and that of some his villainous counterparts add chills to the narrative.

This was an engaging story. I love the relationship between Leo and Gino. The story was filled with interesting characters in a nail-biting plot. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.