Book Review: Snow Blind by P. J. Tracy

Snow Blind
Author: P. J. Tracy
Series: Monkeewrench (Book 4)
Publication: G.P. Putnam's Sons (July 3, 2007)

Description: When the corpses of three police officers are discovered entombed in snowmen, Grace MacBride and her team of crime-busting computer jocks at the Monkeewrench firm are called in to assist. What they discover is a terrifying link among the victims that reaches beyond the badge and crosses the line between hard justice and stone cold vengeance.

My Thoughts: After a mild winter in Minnesota, April comes in with snow - lots and lots of snow. That is great for the police department festival which includes ski races and kids building snowmen. However, it also gives someone an opportunity to kill and encase their victims in snowmen.

Two of the snowmen contain the bodies of two police officers which gets Magozzi and Gino looking for reasons they were killed and the murderer. When another man embedded in a snowman is found in a Northern Minnesota county, Magozzi and Gino drive through a snowstorm looking for connections. What they find is a new, rookie Sheriff who is on her first day and feeling very much over her head. They also find a settlement called Bitterroot which houses almost 400 women who were victims of domestic abuse.

Meanwhile, the Monkeewrench gang, who did some security for Bitterroot but didn't know its purpose, have run across a mention of Minnesota snowmen in a secure chat room posted before the murdered cops were found. Even though they are computer geniuses, they are having a very hard time getting through the site's firewalls to find out who posted the messages.

This case cuts very close to home for Gino who has a daughter in her midteens. He can easily understand why a person would murder an abuser. But self-defense seems to be sliding into vigilantism. The only problem is that they can't prove what they believe.

This was an excellent thriller about a very timely topic and with a way of concealing murder victims that is quite haunting and very creepy. My only complaint about this story was that I wanted to see the Monkeewrench crew have a bigger role and more time on the page.

Favorite Quote:

"When the sun comes out in Hawaii, it warms up. When the sun comes out in Puerto Vallarta, it warms up. When the sun comes out in Minnesota in January, you just go snow-blind."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.