Nothing stays buried by PJ Tracy..
Twin Cities Thriller Book 8.
A young woman is murdered in a park in Minneapolis. When detectives Gino and Magozzi discover a playing card near the body, they recognise the work of a serial killer who has already struck the city once before.
But it's worse than they imagined. The card is the four of spades; the last victim's was an ace: it seems they're already two murders behind.
Once again working with Grace MacBride and her team of analysts, they discover a web of evidence stretching back into the past.
And there is little time to untangle it:
This killer has a taste for blood, and he's intent on playing out the deck . . .
A brilliant read. Couldn't put it down. Action from the first page. Highly recommended. 5*.

This is the 8th book in the series, and although it’s not as thrilling as some of the previous novels I still found it to be well written and highly entertaining.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher***

This is the 8th book in the Monkeewrench or Twin Cities series (depending on which you prefer - plus, The Guilty Dead was the ninth so am backtracking) and it starts with a body of a woman beginning discovered in a dog park. When detectives Gino and Magozzi get to the scene, they soon realise that this is the work of a serial killer. And he’s stuck before as he left a playing card, like with his last victim over a year ago. Expect that card was the ace of spades and this victim’s card is the four of spades…

As Gino and Magozzi desperately try and stop the killer from completing the whole deck, they cal on the computer skills of Grace MacBride and the Monkeewrench team for help. But they, too, are investigating a case: a disappearance of a young woman in farm country…

But are the two cases linked to each other?

Like with The Guilty Dead, I had a blast audiobooking this and going through the twist and turns at the cracking speed. I admit that I do like my crime/thriller stories to have a good pace and reason for me to keep coming back and go “one more chapter…”

Now, I have audiobook The Guilty Dead before I dived into Nothing Stays Buried and this is the eighth instalment in the series, and while there were throwaway lines and moments which refers to earlier cases, it didn’t spoil this instalment. This was a solid story that could be read/audiobook without reading the others.

I still have the same issue with the audiobook as I did with The Guilty Dead. The narrator needs to leave a beat or a small pause for when there is a scene change. They merge together and, if you are not with it, they will merge together into one long moment where you could go “Wait, what is Annie and Grace doing in this scene with Gino and Magozzi when she is several miles away?”. Because I have audiobook another instalment in the series, I was ready for this, but I do wish we have a moment to catch our breath and gather our bearings.

But I am really enjoying myself with this series. I have requested an eProof of the tenth instalment in the series, Ice Cold Heart (which is going to be interesting as I will be reading this, not audiobooking), and I do hope that, once I have read that, I might backtrack and start with the first or second book in the series, Want to Play? and Live Bait.

I’ve loved all of P.J.Tracy’s books, but this one was tired and once I put it down, I didn’t pick it back up again.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

The monkeewrench team are back helping a rural farmer with the case of his missing daughter. Grace and her team are based on the farm while Detective magozzi and detective Gino are chasing a brutal serial killer. Could their cases be linked?

It’s been a while since I delved into the Monkeewrench books and I throughly enjoyed it! I will certainly be revisiting the other books.

One of my all-time favorite authors.

This was a great addition to the series and does not disappoint.

Realistic characters, action-packed and keeps you wanting more

I see that this is already the 8th book in the Twin City series. I have not read the previous books, but I feel that this one will read nicely as a standalone. Well written, a quick read and thrilling from beginning to end. Recommended.

This book was a real letdown it just felt like it had been written by different people.
The beginning was really good and I was looking forward to the book but as the story went on it just became slow and boring.
There was a lot of detail which was nice but it felt like the book was not going anywhere.

Eine gute Fortsetzung ist P. J. Tracy mit dem 8. Monkeewrench Band „Nothing Stays Burried“ gelungen. Die gebundene Ausgabe mit 320 Seiten ist am 2. November 2017 bei Penguin UK erschienen.

Die bislang im Leben vom Glück verwöhnte Tierärztin Marla findet eines Nachts auf dem Weg zur Farm ihres Vaters mitten auf der Straße eine große Mülltüte und findet darin einen blutigen Männerarm. Dann bemerkt sie, dass ein Wagen im Rückwärtsgang aus der Dunkelheit kommt und vermutet darin den Täter. In Angst um ihr Leben flüchtet sie in den Wald. Wenige Stunden später wird ihr Vater Walt Gustafson zur Tatstelle gerufen. Man hat den Wagen seiner vermissten Tochter leer gefunden, daneben eine große Blutlache. Die Kriminaltechniker und Sheriff Jacob, Marlas Jugendliebe, sind schon am Werk. Auch Hunde werden zur Suche eingesetzt, aber Marla bleibt verschwunden.

Leo Magozzi, Gino Rolseth, die Leute von Monkeewrench und die im sechsten Monat schwangere Grace MacBride sind ganz verstrickt in die Vobereitungen für die Ankunft des neuen Erdenbürgers. Kinderzimmer werden eingerichtet und Krippen aufgebaut. Um bei der Suche nach der seit zwei Monaten verschwundenen Marla zu helfen, brechen die Monkeewrenchs nach Minnesota auf. Die damaligen Untersuchungen haben ergeben, dass das gefundene Blut von einem bekannten Schwerverbrecher war, den man aber seit dem noch nicht auffinden konnte.

Leo und Gino habe brandaktuell mit dem Mord einer jungen Mutter zu tun, der sich als erneute Tat eines Serienkillers heraus stellt. Dieser hat bei den Opfern Spielkarten hinterlassen, diese trägt die vier. Aber wo sind dann seit dem ersten Opfer im letzten Jahr die Leichen zwei und drei geblieben?

Derweil spioniert Cassie Miller, Verkäuferin bei Global Foods, aufgrund seltsamer Vorkommnisse, dem Marktleiter nach. Als es dem Geschäft immer schlechter ging hat er mit illegalen Nebengeschäften begonnen. Doch dann fällt sie mit ihrer Neugier auf…

Weitere Morde folgen dann in schneller Abfolge und plötzlich steht auch noch das FBI auf der Matte. Es zeigen sich unerwartete Verbindungen zu mexikanischen Drogenkartellen. Ein weiteres Opfer, dessen Identität überrascht, führt zu unerwarteter Unterstützung aus den Reihen der Medien. Die Situation für den Killer spitzt sich zu und die Geschichte nimmt kräftig Fahrt auf.

Mitten in einem heftigen Sturm mit Tornados spitzt sich die Suche nach dem Serienkiller dramatisch, gruselig und makaber zu und strebt dem großen Finale entgegen. Aber diesmal kommen die Ermittler mit guter alter Polizeiarbeit weiter, als die Monkeewrenchs mit ihrer Beast genannten Software. Es kommt zu einem guten Ende.

Zunächst wirkt die Geschichte von „Nothing Stays Burried“ etwas zusammengesetzt und kann nicht ganz so fesseln wie der Vorgänger von PJ Tracy, aber dann gewinnt sie an Spannung und Dynamik. Es ist sympathisch und menschlich Leo und Grace in ihren neuen verantwortungsvollen Rollen als zukünftige Eltern zu erleben.

Fazit: Wie ein Besuch bei lieben Freunden.

4,5 von 5 Punkten

This is the eighth book in P.J. Tracy's addictive and bestselling Monkeewrench series This one was more into the characters around the Monkeewrench crew and is a really good quick read that you wont want to put down.
It is very sad that part of writing team has died so I'm not sure if there will be another Monkeewrench.
I would highly recommend this which can be read as a standalone

This is the first book I have read from this author and I enjoyed this book despite it obviously being the latest installment of a long series. The characters from the Monkeewrench crew are interesting and complex. I would read the other books in the series to read their stories.
I found the pace of the book faltered towards the end but was overall a good book.

Another excellent story from P J Tracy. Really couldn't not put this down and had to read in one sitting.

Thanks for the advanced copy.

Gripped from page one and so full of unforeseen twists I could not put it down. The characters get more depth with each book, cannot wait for the next one.

More monkeewrench, more please. This series stays as good as the first exposure to Minnesota. Gripping and pacy, the reveal is never the finale and my attention is held to the very end.

I've followed this series from the start and loved every one of them - I was extremely saddened to hear that PJ had passed away, but her legacy will live on through these novels as Grace, Leo et al will continue...

This one was a brilliantly addictive crime thriller which is exactly what I have come to expect from this series - whilst Grace and co head in country to try and track a missing girl, Gino has a serial killer on his hands - these two cases seemingly collide and the game is on once more.

The Monkeewrench books are really top notch and engaging stories within the crime genre - I'm not sure what I can say about them that won't come off a little cliche - but it is true that these are cleverly plotted, littered with intriguing and multi-layered characters and never ever even close to being dull. The set up is excellent, mixing tech with classic crime detection which is always a great way to twist up any mystery element - all in all a really excellent series that I hope continues on for many years to come. PJ's contribution will surely be missed but the voices are strong and are in good hands.

Recommended. Every one of them.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. II generally like this author and this is one of the best in the Monkeewrench series set in Minnesota. All the characters return and there have been some changes. Leo is preparing for his and Grace's baby at his new rural home, Grace is becoming more mellow as her past trauma loosens its ties on her, and she is seriously becoming enamoured of potentially moving to a rural location. It begins with the animal loving Marla, in Cottonwood, discovering a dead body in a bag and is being chased into the woods

I've read all of the previous books in the series and this one is just as good.

Grace and Leo are having a baby and it's interesting to see how the baby changes their characters and the dynamics of the monkeewrench team .

Marla goes missing and the sheriff asks for the monkeewrench crews help in finding out what happened to her . Meanwhile Gino and Leo are investigating a serial killer who's obsessed with playing cards.

Marlas father Walt is an interesting and well developed character .

The plot races along and i finished it in 2 sittings. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series to see how the baby changes the dynamics of the team.

I have waited and waited for the next instalment. I love this series! Didn't disappoint me at all and I was sad when I had finished it. Monkeewrench are back and are involved in a case looking for a woman who had gone missing, and Magozzi and Gino are investigating a serial killer! Exciting and full of surprises and twists. It's one not to be missed! Looking forward to the next one!

The story revisits the characters of Magozzi and Gino - two policemen - and the Monkeewrench crew who are computer geniuses who help to solve crime. The link between them is the relationship between Magozzi and Grace. At the start of the story, they are following different cases but, of course, these end up linked, The police are looking for a serial killer who leaves playing cards at the scene of his crimes. Grace and her friends are helping a father whose daughter disappeared.
I have followed the series all the way through and felt it lost its way a bit in the middle. However, the last couple have been a return to form. I like the way that he relationship between Magozzi and the scarred Grace continues to move forwards. He has he patience of a saint but it is nice to see it being slightly rewarded at last. I felt that the way they found the serial killer was quite realistic - proper leg work taking place on the part of the police with a healthy dose of intuition, I was very keen for the missing girl to have a happy ending but didn't feel that part of the story was realistic or paid any attention to the life-changing trauma of the events that have happened to her,
It would be good to see some of the other Monkeewrench members having some of their own story lines in future and their characters being fleshed out a little.
Overall, a good read and characters that I have grown to be very fond of..

In my opinion, if you like crime fiction then you will have heard of P.J. Tracy before. Their books feature the über intelligent crime fighting team, Monkeewrench, headed by the strong yet emotionally scarred superwoman that is Grace McBride. I LOVE these books and I have a particular soft spot for Grace, so I was thrilled to be asked to join the blog tour.

I was excited to make a start on Nothing Stays Buried. So much so I ended up walking across the Norfolk Broads while on holiday, trying to find a wi-fi signal so I could download the book! I eventually managed and threw myself straight into the story. And oh my, that prologue certainly grabs your attention! I had so many questions after that opening chapter that I wasn’t going to let grumpy, squabbling kids in the back of the car distract me (bad mummy!). I was hooked from the first page, from the moment Marla Gustafson was introduced to us. Marla is pretty perfect. So perfect, she wants to help others by removing dumped trash bags from the freeway. What she doesn’t expect is…well, you’ll have to read the book for yourself to find out but let’s just say that she immediately regrets stopping. Especially when she’s chased through the woods by a stranger (read: maniac!).

The Monkeewrench crew are drafted in by Jacob, the local Sheriff who has a romantic interest in the victim, and her desperate, elderly father, Walt. It’s not on the scale of their usual cases and they tend to come with a high price tag but sometimes it feels good to just help people. Meanwhile, Detectives Magozzi and Gino are investigating the case of what they believe to be a serial killer. I love a serial killer thriller. I mean, I REALLY love a serial killer thriller. The only clue the detectives have is that the killer leaves a playing card on the victim. It may just be me but if a book contains a serial killer who either collects trophies or leaves a calling ‘card’, then I am hooked! Is there a link between the missing Marla and the frenzied serial killer? Can a connection be found before another victim meets a horrific death…?

Nothing Stays Buried is packed full of lovely, edge-of-your-seat suspense. Obviously, I love the Monkeewrench team anyway but this book reminded me how fond I am of Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth. And how their relationship has become such a key part of the Monkeewrench series. The humorous banter between the two characters added a wonderful lighthearted note to proceedings which I appreciated. The supporting characters also won through for me. I particularly liked Marla’s farmer father, Walt with his love and concern for his missing daughter and his undying love for his deceased wife. I found Jacob, the Sheriff, equally appealing. All great characters who I would return to again and again.

Would I recommend this book? Most definitely. If you haven’t discovered the Monkeewrench series yet then what are you waiting for!? There are eight wonderful books out there for your delectation. It’s perfect crime fiction reading and a MUST READ for all crime thriller fans. Nothing Stays Buried is a book I really thoroughly enjoyed as it reminded me exactly how much I LOVE this wonderful, suspenseful series.

Four and a half stars out of five.

I chose to read and review an ARC of Nothing Stays Buried. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.