PJ Tracy does it again with a great book in the Monkeewrench series. I have read them all and love each and every character.

It was nice that more of the focus this time was on the detectives but we will get the Monkeewrech team. As usual this was hard to put down as there were new things you learnt about the characters as the book went on.
The story was at a good speed and there were little clues here and there and yes I did guess the ending but I'm not giving anything away.,

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eCopy I love this series so please keep them coming
Review also posted on Amazon

Fun, thrilling, full of Magozzi and Grace and Roadrunner and Harley and all the things I love. Overall, another fantastic installment in the Monkeewrench series. I will be reading these til the day I die.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for a free digital galley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am late to the Monkeewrench series, and have only read this and the last book, however it is a series that I know I will keep up with in the future (and will eventually get back to the first 8!).

Murder and mystery abound in Minneapolis as the detectives take on the bitter winter to find a killer.

This story takes on so many twists and turns, and what feels like at first could be an easy capture leads us on a road that is so not expected. There are many story lines in this story, and whilst that could have been confusing and frustrating, it brought the story together.

I never knew which way the story was going to take me, and whenever I thought I might have a clue to whodunnit, I was again left scratching my head, having to turn the page and find out I was wrong!

What I love about this series is the great set of recurring characters, both the detectives and the Monkeewrench crew. They round out the story well.

I look forward to more, and to catching up.

I’ve been reading the Monkeewrench series since the beginning and this is as good as the first book. Overall this was a fantastic read with a lot of subplots going on and seamlessly coming together to round out the story. I liked learning more about Roadrunner and what made him the way he is.

Ice Cold Heart by P. J. Tracy is a highly recommended police procedural and the tenth book featuring the Monkeewrench crew.

Minneapolis Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are called to investigate the murder of Kelly Ramage. Her homicide was a gruesome planned act and pointed to a secret life Kelly was living. The investigation leads back to an art gallery where Kelly was last seen attending the opening for a artist whose work is disturbing and may have inspired Kelly's murder. To complicate matters, a show by the same artist apparently inspired a murder in another city at a previous opening, and a psychic who came in before Kelly's murder and predicted it is later found dead.

At the same time the genius tech partners at Monkeewrench are working on increasing the security for Bit Monster, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. After a cyberattack that cost them nearly $400 million, they need to find the guilty hacker and stop it from happening again. Soon it becomes clear that the killer Magozzi is looking for, is likely a serial killer and a digital trail begins to suggest a link between the Bit Monster cyber theft and the murders.

With all the returning characters, it make it less imperative to add a lot of character development in the long running series, although there is some advancement in the characters, especially Roadrunner. All of the returning characters are likeable, although if you are new to the series it will seem like a whole lot of characters to keep straight and follow all at once.

Ice Cold Heart is a satisfying police procedural/mystery, even for someone jumping into series a bit late. The investigation by the police is expertly integrated with the Monkeewrench crew's involvement. The great writing and short chapters coordinate together and keep your interest high while carefully covering all the various plot threads and the developments in them. The complicated plot of this mystery and procedural takes several diverse story lines and ends up weaving them all together into a very satisfying denouement.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Crooked Lane Books.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/09/ice-cold-heart.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2972563853
https://www.librarything.com/work/22787980/book/173146981
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1171507693632098309?s=20

The Monkeewrench Gang went from being serial murder suspects in their eponymous first novel, to working hand and hand with Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth. Actually a bit more than hand and hand as Grace MacBride has just had a baby with Leo.
It’s been a long and devastating road indeed for the brilliant Monkeewrench Gang who went from designing educational computer games and earning a fortune, to working with law enforcement by doing forensic investigations and designing computer programs strictly for L.E. to maybe doing a white hack now and then. Maybe.
In Ice Cold Heart Magozzi and Rolseth are called out to a murder scene on a bitterly cold, miserable day. They find a beautiful young woman dead in an obvious BDSM scene. They just aren’t sure at first if it is murder or accidental. The coroner and a similar case in LA soon make it is clear the woman is a murder victim. The sister of the victim in the similar murder in LA also provides impetus to the detectives.
At the same time the Monkeewrench gang is investigating a 400 million robbery of a cryptocurrency exchange. Yeah, 400 million.
There are several threads in this mystery; serial murders, the BDSM scene, kidnapping, popular art by an elusive artist celebrating the BDSM scene and the torture of women, Balkan war criminals, Balkan organized crimes, and the huge heist of cryptocurrency. Too many threads? Not at all, because it works. Beautifully. PJ Tracy knows how to weave a story and makes it all come together.
Murder is always dark, but Tracy digs extra deep with her reminder of how women are sometimes just viewed and celebrated as denigrated commodities. She also dips her ‘pen’ into the horror of war crimes and how most of the war criminals escape their sins as outsiders soon forget.
My usual complaint, not enough Monkeewrench Gang, although they do have a new member, Elizabeth. Not much focus anymore on the characters, but a Monkeewrench member, Roadrunner, comes out of his shell a bit.
As usual this tenth outing of the gang in Ice Cold Heart has been a pleasure, but also a stark reminder of the darkness just hovering over us, and some might say, getting closer with the easy celebrations of the degradation of women.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“Ice Cold Heart” by P.J. Tracy, Crooked Lane Books, 320 pages, September 10, 2019.

It's a bitter winter in Minnesota. Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are called to the homicide of Kelly Ramage. She told her husband, Todd, she and a friend, Eleanor Dray, were going to an exhibit at an art gallery. But she was having an affair and was using drugs.

Magozzi and Gino trace her steps back to an art gallery where she was last seen alive. The art on display is of bondage and abuse. There was a similar murder a year earlier, also during this artist’s show.

They enlist the aid of Grace MacBride and her tech partners who own Monkeewrench Software to help them decipher the digital trail. Magozzi and Grace have a 5-month-old daughter together. MacBride’s group is also working on security for a bitcoin company, Bit Monster, that was hacked.

Petra Juric is Roadrunner’s new neighbor. Roadrunner is one of Grace’s partners. He finds her outside in subzero weather, unconscious. She later tells him that she works for ICE and hunts war criminals from the Balkan conflict.

This story has many sub plots that seem to be too distant from each other to ever come together, but they do. There is a shock towards the end. This is the 10th in the Monkeewrench series. The books can be read as a stand-alone.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This must be one of the most complex and well-plotted murder thrillers that I have read this year.
The murder of Kelly Ramage brings together Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth with the Monkeewrench tech guru team. But this multi-layered investigation then goes deeper into crytocurrency fraud, international money laundering, sadistic artworks and the depravity of the Balkan war.
Although the writing style may be slightly different from earlier books, this has to be one of the best in the Twin Cities series yet!

This is a really well-rounded series. The reader gets the full spectrum: Suspense, camaraderie, emotional baggage, interdependence, current events, intimacy, moments of terror, high tech and good old-fashioned police work.

In this latest outing, ties to war criminals from the former Yugoslavia crop up in investigations by both the Minneapolis detective team of Magozzi and Rolseth and the white hat hackers at Monkeewrench. There is also a researcher from a federal agency who specializes in Balkan war criminals.

The really fun part was that at each development, the reader knows more than any of the characters about what is happening, thanks to a skillful juggling of points-of-view. We get to see the three perspectives as they are shared and pieced together.

Despite the unsavory threads of sadistic murders and misogynistic art, there is plenty of life affirmation, along with a genuine sense of community.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy.

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.

Grace MacBride and Leo Magozzi are enjoying a quiet winter with their lovely five-month-old daughter, Elizabeth. The Monkeewrench gang are also having a blast spoiling the daughter, aka princess, of their friend as well, especially Annie Belinsky and Harley Davidson. Roadrunner, yes that's his legal name, enjoys the baby, but isn't quite sure what to do with her just yet. The Monkeewrench team is working on a cryptocurrency theft, while Magozzi and his police partner, Gino Rolseth, are delighting in a homicide-free break. Of course, as soon as Magozzi says he's enjoying the homicide-free break, a homicide occurs and it does so right after a so-called psychic comes into the station to forwarn him and Gino of an impending murder. The victim was apparently exploring a BDSM relationship outside the boundaries of her marriage and was found handcuffed to a bed, tortured, and her head wrapped in duct tape. The strange thing was that there were no signs of an apparent sexual component. When Magozzi and Gino discover that there was a similar crime over a thousand miles away and it appeared to be linked to an art show that their victim attended they begin to wonder if this is one coincidence too many. Just when it seems like there are too many coincidences and random occurrences happening with this case, Roadrunner saves the life of one of his neighbors who just happens to be a friend of the psychic who just happens to be the next murder victim. What does this all have to do with the strange and twisted art of one seriously introverted artist? What, if anything, ties all of this to a sadistic war criminal in the former Czech Republic? What does cryptocurrency have to do with any of this? Will Magozzi, Gino, and the Monkeewrench crew be able to figure things out before someone else dies or is this criminal too smart and too fast to be caught?


Grace, Annie, Harley, and Roadrunner have come a long way since the first book in the Monkeewrench series. They are all a bit more trusting of law enforcement and willing to work with agencies across the United States by offering free software to help these agencies stop and capture criminals. Grace is in a stable, romantic relationship and has softened quite a bit since the birth of her daughter, Elizabeth. She still carries a firearm with her at all times, but she's down to one gun instead of two (massive improvement). Annie and Harley are still at the bickering push-pull stage of their relationship and it is questionable if it will ever develop into anything beyond that. Roadrunner has remained an enigma throughout these books and remains so, but Ice Cold Heart reveals a bit more about his background and softens him quite a bit with his attraction to his neighbor, Petra. Magozzi and Gino are the perfect cop partnership in that they complement one another in almost every way, know each other's weaknesses, and have one another's backs when necessary. Ice Cold Heart is the tenth book in the Monkeewrench series and the characters now seem like old friends. I enjoyed the international component to this story with the vicious and sadistic Czech war criminal, the incorporation of the cryptocurrency theft, and of course the ever popular murder, mayhem, mischief, and mystery. For those of you that have read and enjoyed the previous books in the Monkeewrench series, I encourage you to grab a copy of Ice Cold Heart to read. For those of you that have never read the Monkeewrench series but enjoy reading topical mystery thrillers that incorporate a bit of high-tech to spice things up, then I encourage you to add all of the books in this series to your TBR list. I hope there will be more to read in the Monkeewrench series in the future. You know how much I love to reread books, so yes you guessed it, I'll have to comfort myself by re-reading the entire series from book 1, Monkeewrench through to book 10, Ice Cold Heart while I wait. I only hope you enjoy this series as much as I do. Happy Reading, y'all!

Minneapolis during a freezing snowstorm is the setting for the serial killer police procedural Ice Cold Heart.

Kelly Ramage is stuck in a marriage with boring Todd, an accountant. Todd won’t satisfy her need for bondage play. So Kelly looks elsewhere for satisfaction. Unfortunately, she met James, who took it too far and she died of suffocation. Detective Leo Magozzi and his partner Gino Rolseth investigate.

Petra Juric is fighting PTSD after being victimized by Peter Praljik, a notorious serial killer last seen in Minnesota eleven years earlier. After taking her happy prescribed medication, she walks into the snowy evening. She is saved from freezing by a random neighbor, Roadrunner. Roadrunner works with Leo’s wife Grace at the Monkeewrench software firm.

Peter is holding seven victims hostage in a remote cabin. He decides to kill them when he realizes that an old acquaintance is watching him. When confronted, the man states he wants to set aside their differences and work together. Is Peter’s last name Praljik and who is his unnamed accomplice?

The ice cold setting was so realistic that it cooled me down on a hot September night as I was reading Ice Cold Heart. I haven’t read any other books in the series and it was fine read as a stand-alone. The mystery was relatively is to solve but characters were well-written and genuine. Most police procedural fans will enjoy this tale. 4 stars!

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ice Cold Heart opens with Detectives Gino and Magozzi investigating the murder of a woman tied up to a bed with bondage elements. The murder echoes the art exhibit she attended earlier in the evening. Is this a BDSM scene that went horribly wrong or a more sinister situation? This mystery was a disturbing one!

The Monkeewrench series grabbed my attention last year and I jumped in at book nine with no trouble, although, I didn’t appreciate all the relationships between Gino, Magozzi, and the Monkeewrench team as much as I would’ve had I read the series in order. Since then I went back and read all the previous books, and I’ve come to love this series! They open with a mystery for the Detectives and a separate one for the Monkeewrench team, that usually end up intersecting and merging by the end. I’d call this a crime police procedural, but with a little fun. Not the murders, obviously, most of those are disturbing and sad, but the relationships between the characters are filled with bits of humor. Detectives Gino and Magozzi are partners, but also best friends which comes through as they investigate each case. Whether ribbing each other or providing support both in work and personal matters, they have each other’s backs.

In book one, the Detectives and the Monkeewrench team come together, but there’s distrust and suspicions on both sides, and it takes solving the case to meld them together into what they are now. Monkeewrench is a computer software company. Each member, Grace, Roadrunner, Annie, and Harley a genius with a troubled past, more family than business partners. Their programs end up helping the police and FBI nail down the bad guys.

From book one Grace, and Magozzi have had an attraction that’s morphed into something amazing, and I’ve loved watching every small step they’ve made to be together. Their romance is one of my favorite things about the series, and this installment was especially sweet! But every character shines in their own way, and I’ve loved seeing the friendships formed and how they interact. I was excited to learn more about Roadrunner and his past in this installment and thrilled over some new developments for him! The Monkeewrench series continues to be an addictive one, not losing one bit of steam even after ten books! I can’t wait for the next one!

Do you like bitter winters, mystery, and murder? This book will keep you on the edge of your seat!!! You will want to keep reading to find out what happens next!!! I can't wait to read more by P.J. Tracy!!! Read and enjoy!!!

Wow wow wow!! This book really drug me Im from the beginning. Who doesn’t want to solve a crime many secrets are unveiled and the mystery continues. I went into this novel not really expecting much and in the end I was very very pleased with reading it!!

After long spell of not reading mystery thrillers I picked up Ice Cold Heart in Netgalley just cuz I was intrigued by the cover. There is nothing special to it but for some reason I was drawn it and I was not disappointed. This novel had everything that a crime novel needed. I loved how there was this whole team there helping each other out and not just two people running around as always and that we get the perspectives of all of them. Some might find the jumping of the POVs annoying but for me it was engaging. The story itself was captivating and manage to keep me guessing till the end. I loved how they used a side of mafia that isn't rarely used (well, I have not read about it that much actually). Considering I started from the 10th book, I would love to start from the first itself XD

I cannot express how much I love this series. The characters are so colorful and work so good together. There is action through out the book, you are never bored. The only problem is I read them too fast.
In this one Roadrunner might have found a girlfriend!!! There are hackers going into a currency and stealing money. There is a crazy artist with weird views on women. Magozzi has a new baby daughter. And a new female character to be friends with the Monkeewrench Crew.

On a bitterly cold January night, Kelly Ramage leaves her suburban home, telling her accountant husband Todd she is going to an art exhibit and dinner with a friend. When Kelly's body is found, it appears she was involved in a sex game gone horribly wrong. Minneapolis detectives Gino Rolseth and Leo Magozzi enter the sinister world of bondage and sadomasochism. The trail also leads the detectives to the controversial art exhibit by anonymous artist Rado who combines sculptures with videos of women being sexually assaulted. The detectives also wonder if their odd encounter with a spiritual medium the day before has any connection to Kelly's murder.

A group protesting Rado's exhibit is led by Annabelle, whose sister Delia was killed in Los Angeles a year ago in an eerily similar M.O. as that of Kelly.

Meanwhile, the Monkeewrench crew have been hired to fix a security leak for Bit Monster, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency providers. Their case soon links up with Rado as well as the search for a war criminal from the Yugoslavian conflict by Petra, an obsessed ICE agent.

This was another creepy, thrilling read in the Monkeewrench mystery series.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Welcome back to the frozen north, Minneapolis that is, and the Monkeewrench gang in the 10th book in this excellent series. Detective Miggozzi and Grace, from the Monkeewrench team of brilliant white hat hackers, have married and have a little girl. Once again, their seemingly separate cases end up being interrelated. Cryptocurrencies, Balkan massacres, sicko art and murders feature in this bleak, but redemptive, mystery. While this works as a standalone, you definitely should go back and read the earlier books too. Totally worth it!

Wow. "Ice Cold Heart" was intense and absorbing. I stayed up too late reading it but it was worth it. Tracy may be writing solo these days but the writing is still complex, detailed, tightly plotted, and hard-hitting.

After a lull in homicides Magozzi and and Rolseth get a doozy of a murder. As they investigate, they discover other cases that may be related. They dig and begin to make connections. Meanwhile, Grace and the Monkeewrench crew are hired to find out who hacked a digital coin company and stole millions. As everyone works their respective cases, links between them begin to appear and the cases converge. The coincidences were many but Tracy deftly made them believable and realistic. She combined some action, some suspense, police procedures, and character development into a gripping story.

I've been enjoying this series since the first book and the changes in the characters have been a delight to watch. Grace especially has changed, opening up a bit and taking emotional chances. We saw Roadrunner reach out in this story though I'll admit to some disappointment that he may not be asexual. That would have been something to see in a mainstream story.

The story itself addressed war crimes including rape, torture, and murder; suicidal ideation; infidelity; BDSM; torture; and touched lightly on mental illness. It was not a light and fluffy story, but then the Monkeewrench books never are. We get POVs from multiple characters that transition smoothly and provided insight into the characters. I became attached to several who didn't have much page time which speaks to Tracy's ability to create memorable and fleshed out characters. As for the various mysteries, Tracy drops clues and hints, some of which are red herrings of course. I was pleased that some of my calculations and theories were correct, but not all. There were a few twists and surprises.

"Ice Cold Heart" was a fantastic addition to both the series and the genre and well worth staying up to the wee hours of the morning to finish.