|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Several murders have been committed in Minneapolis which are the exactly copies of a computer game, not yet on the market but available for testing. The game is Serial Killer Detective and each murder takes place in a particularly specific and unusual site. The game was created by five individuals who call their company Monkeewrench and they immediately report to the police when they realize what is happening. The police, in the form of an endearing partnership of Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth, are naturally suspicious of the five creators of the game especially when they learn there is no record of any of them prior to ten years ago. But desperately seeking to stop the killer, Magozzi takes one of group, Grace McBride, into his confidence with the expected results. Meanwhile in a small town in Wisconsin two older parishioners are murdered in a Catholic Church sometime during the night. Sheriff Michael Halloran must deal with these deaths as well as the death of a young trooper who opened the back door at the victims' farmhouse to the murderous blast of a rigged shotgun. These two series of events will eventually come together in a surprising fashion. The suspense in this book is absolutely nail biting. Even when the police know what is going to happen next, they cannot seem to stop it and so they race to discover the perpetrator and try to stop him or her. The reader is pulled into the story and I could not wait to turn the page and see what new surprise we were going to learn. Admittedly serial killers have become rather passe, but this is one with a difference. It is well-plotted, well-written, and intriguing. And while we may think we know who the murderer is, the red herrings are scattered well enough that it is a pretty darn good mystery as well. The characters, for a thriller, are quite well developed. The three police officers as well as a young female officer in Wisconsin and Halloranıs partner become real people to us as we read. They have complex characters with both faults and virtues about them. They are not stereotypical police. The five Monkeewrench partners at first glance seem to be typical geeks, but they are not as we grow to know them. As the murders continue they are more and more disturbed about what they might have created and more and more vulnerable to the horrific events. I also enjoyed the setting. I thought Minneapolis was well-portrayed and tied the story to specific places making it seem more believable. And the Wisconsin small town was also quite true-to-life with events circulating through the grapevine and everyoneıs business public.. Yes, there are some weaknesses in this book, no doubt due to the fact that it is a first novel, but they are so overshadowed by the outstanding, creative, and suspenseful story that they seem unimportant. This will be one of my nominees for best first novel of the year.
Reviewed by Sally A. Fellows, November 2003
This book has more than one review. Click here to show all.
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
