Snow Blind by P.J. Tracy (2006)

This is the 4th installment of the Monkeewrench Series
Started: 12/12/2007
Ended: 01/07/2008

Synopsis:
Minneapolis police detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth—are on hand for a snowman-building contest their department is sponsoring in a local park. The contest turns into a double murder investigation after the frozen bodies of two policemen turn up inside two of the snowmen. Meanwhile, computer expert and ace crime solver Grace MacBride, who has a loving relationship with Magozzi, and the rest of her high-powered Monkeewrench gang are called in for help when a rookie female sheriff in rural Dundas County runs across another murdered cop inside another snowman. Grace and company discover trouble on their Web searches through arcane chat rooms—and also find themselves in danger as the bizarre but believable plot unwinds.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<


Characters:
Leo Magozzi: Detective for Minneapolis Homicide; well dressed and follows men's fashion; dating Grace MacBride; divorced (Heather=ex-wife)
Gino Rolseth: Detective for Minneapolis Homicide; fall guy for every charity gig the MPD sponsors, thanks to some anonymous donor who doubles the proceeds on the condition Gino participates; 5'9 and stocky; married (wife: Angela) with children; smart-mouthed and hard-nosed; hates Winter; has a blond brush cut
Helen Rolseth: Gino's 15 y/o daughter
Grace MacBride: Computer expert; runs Monkeewrench; dating Leo Magozzi; still paranoid after all these years from her attack; lives in a snug little house she converted into a fortress; keeps a derringer strapped to her ankle; mid-30's; her Monkeewrench crew locate a private chat thread that alludes to the snowmen murders; works on breaking through the many firewalls to trace the origin/identity of the chat participants
Charlie: Grace's dog
Harley Davidson: Monkeewrench member; leather-cladded biker; black beard; working on a children's spelling PC game, where the proceeds go to charity; the Monkeewrench HQ is located in his Summit Avenue mansion
Roadrunner: Monkeewrench member; 6'7 and gangly; always wears a colored Lycra bike suit;also working on the children's spelling PC game; locates a chat thread that alludes to the snowmen murders
Annie Belinsky: Monkeewrench member; extremely fat yet extremely beautiful
Tommy Deaton: DEAD: Cross-country skiing fanatic; cop in the 2nd precinct; best friend to Toby; found dead inside a snowman during the Winter Fest Snowman Sculpting Competition, sponsored by the MPD for kids; shot point-blank, up-close to the head; married to Mary; revealed to have been physically abusive to his wife
Toby Myerson: DEAD: Cross-country skiing fanatic; cop in the 2nd precinct; best friend to Tommy; found dead inside a snowman during the Winter Fest in Theodore Wirth Park; shot in the back of the neck-direct hit to the spine that paralyzed him instantly; was alive when the killer built the snowman around him; 27 y/o; just moved in with his elderly mother to care for her; would accompany Mary to the ER after Tommy would beat the shit out of her
Jimmy Grimm: Bureau of Criminal Apprehension CSU; 3 kids
Mary Deaton: Tommy's wife; face banged-up good with a bandage over her nose; states she just had her nose done for her birthday; revealed to be physically abused by her husband; after her father beat up Tommy, she vowed never to speak to her parents again until he apologized to her husband; in order to not attract attention, Mary would go only once to different ER's around the city after being abused
Bill Warner: Mary's father; around 6'0 with a gray brush cut; well-lined face and trim body; retired MPD; suspected in being involved with the double murder since the crime scene was so clean since he is an ex-cop; suspected to have been involved in a private chat conversation where someone told someone else to kill someone and hide the body in a snowman; this chat lead to a 4th murder in Pittsburgh where a body is discovered inside a snowman
Alice Warner: Mary's mother; almost as tall as her husband; elegant & very self-possessed; strong handshake & gaze; was sexually abused by her father when she was young until her mother (Emily) sent her to Bitterroot to be raised by her grandmother and great aunt; suspected to have been involved with the double murder
Steve Doyle: DEAD: Parole officer; late 30's; killed by Kurt Weinbeck via knife stab; revealed to be 3rd snowman corpse; apparently Kurt had seen the media coverage of the double murder in the park, so he setup Steve's murder to look like it was part of it
Kurt Weinbeck: DEAD: Multiple felon; beat his wife (who was 7 months pregnant) almost to death; newly released parolee; killed Steve Doyle; stole his file and now knows where is wife is hiding; after breaking into Bitterroot to seek revenge against his wife, is shot and killed by Laura

Julie Albright: Kurt's wife; changed back to her maiden name; is in hiding from Kurt; lives at Bitterroot with her daughter; has scars all over her face from her husband's attack
Gloria: Homicide receptionist; big, black and sharp-tongued; fastidious about her appearance and slavish to a wild style that is uniquely her own
Johnny McLaren: Homicide detective; red-headed and lean-framed; big weekend drinker; partnered with Tinker Lewis
Tinker Lewis: Homicide detective; soft-spoken and overall gentle person; sad brown eyes; partnered with Johnny McLaren; married to Janis
Janis Lewis: Tinker's wife; heart surgeon
Chief Malcherson: Chief of MPD; face like a droopy bloodhound; organized; well-dressed and well-spoken; respected; white hair
Iris Rikker: Newly elected sheriff of one of the largest rural counties in Minnesota (Dundas County); petite blond with large blue eyes; procrastinator; last year her ex-husband (Mark) left her less than a month after he moved her into a broken-down old farmhouse for some 19 y/0 slut; once a city girl and substitute English teacher; has a 15 y/o cat named Puck
Sheriff Burlardo: Ex-sheriff of Dundas county; accosted Iris in a supply closet on her 2nd night of dispatch and she slapped him; threatened Iris that she would never move from the dispatch desk so she threw her hat in the ring in the election race for sheriff; revealed that because he was going to pull Bitterroot's gun permits, everybody there voted against him in the local election
Lieutenant Sampson: Works for Sheriff Rikker, but not thrilled she is the new sheriff; dark hair and squinty dark eyes; eventually warms up to the sheriff and they develop a good partnership; has a sister that lives in Bitterroot who was abused by her ex-husband
Deputy Neville: Works for Sheriff Rikker; all baby fat and blue eyes
Margie Jensen: Night janitor; found the 3rd snowman out on the frozen lake in Dundas County
Detective Chalmers: 2nd Precinct; was with Tinker Lewis when they discovered the crime scene where Steve Doyle was attacked
Bill Stedman: Runs the halfway house; big man-more muscle than fat; shaved head; smokes
Dr. Anatanand Rambacham: Chief medical examiner; Magozzi thinks highly of him
Dr. Dreadlocks (Rowland): Medical examiner; has dreadlocks
Tommy Espinoza: MPD computer geek
Bitterroot: Corporation that hired Monkeewrench to create and install their security system; mainly produce cosmetics and organic materials; employees live on site; revealed to be all women who had been battered and abused; haven where woman could live without fear
Liz: Guard at Bitterroot's front gate
Maggie Holland: Manager of Bitterroot; age appears to be anywhere from 45-65 y/o; has a noticeable scar across her neck; attacked 15 years ago by her husband (Ron) with a crowbar
The Snowman: Drug dealer awaiting trial for 3 counts of attempted murder; turns out Deaton and Myerson were witnesses to testify against him;however he was in the Stillwater prison facility when the murders took place; his ex-cellmate was Kurt Weinbeck
Laura: Victim of abuse at the hand of her husband (Edgar); old and growing senile; founded Bitterroot 60 years ago with her sister (Ruth); her and Ruth killed Edgar and disposed of the body (buried him)
Ruth: DEAD: Laura's sister; helped Laura kill Edgar when they were younger; was pregnant with Emily at the time of murder
Edgar: DEAD: Laura's husband; abusive & hateful; kept both sisters virtual prisoners on the farm; would beat them and treat them like cattle; got Ruth pregnant
Emily: DEAD: Elderly woman that drops dead from cancer on her way out to the barn to kill her imprisoned husband (Lars); lived on a farm that Iris now lives at; after discovering her husband was molesting their daughter, she locked him up in the basement under the barn; eventually his bones are found by Iris and it is determined that he starved to death some time ago

My Review: I thought this was another great installment of the Monkeewrench series. Each book seems to focus on different past characters and I found this story an easy fun read with likable (and sometimes very funny) characters. I appreciate the humor in their writing, offsetting the serious subject of abuse with the completely inexperienced new Sheriff in Dundas County. I hope this writing team revisits Iris Rikker in future books as she was a great character. The writing was tight, dialogue crisp, and the characters were engaging. These stories are fast-paced and make you want the next book as soon as you've finished. The only negative aspects of "Snowblind" was that the actual killers were never really revealed. It was alluded to who may have committed the crimes, but then on the other hand-were they only accomplishes or even just innocent? Also the story became predictable and the ending was very uneventful and flat. I wanted some shock or a twist ending, but got nothing but what I had suspected since the early chapters. Overall I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next.

Book Score: 8.5/10