I KNEW IT!!

Sorry, I just shouted that out when a certain twist was revealed.

Another tense one with the Monkeewrench crew and police rallying together when a frightening plot is unveiled. I have to say that I am ready for some relationships to progress. Just saying. ( )

Dang it. I liked this one less than the last. I thought a little break from the series might do the trick, but alas, no.
It started out pretty well, and the premise was interesting, but I wasn’t very impressed with the characterization, especially of Chief. And I guess I hoped there would be more development of the main characters too. Grace has changed significantly, but since it happened over a time jump, it just feels like she changed overnight. And I thought maybe there would be a better explanation of why she ran off with John Smith at the end of the last book, but there never was. A lot of the John Smith stuff in this book made no sense to me. And then he runs off into the woods only to get immediately shot? What the hell?
We still only get hints of what’s under the surface with the other Monkeewrench characters, and wanting to know more about them is one of the reasons I keep reading these books. I like the Minneapolis cops too, but they aren’t really developing either. And the POVs change without any warning.
I haven’t quite talked myself out of reading the next book, but I think another long break is in order. I want to know what happens next—I just want it to be with more fleshed out characters. ( )

This book was, as usual with the series, strong on character interaction and humor, but a little short on plot development. Unfortunately, I forgot to write a review after starting the next in the series, and I've gotten this particular story a little confused with the next one.

I enjoyed this book, but the plot was a little scattered, I think. One possible source of confusion might be that the action that opens the story, a kidnapping of young girls on an Indian reservation, isn't really a major part of the main story.

I enjoyed the addition of the Native Americans from the reservation. I enjoyed their humorous outlook and way of thinking about things that I think of as typical of Native Americans, although this is mainly derived from books, movies, and TV, so I don't know if it's at all accurate.

If you like the Monkeewrench series, I think you'll probably like this one. ( )

I really did enjoy the earlier books in this series, I think I'm done. Where the characters used to be interesting, now they are boring and tedious. The plots have never been too credible requiring giant leaps of faith and this time they were even more unbelievable than ever. The main thing is that I just don't care about these people or what happens any more. ( )

Grace MacBride has been sailing off the Florida coast with retired FBI Special Agent John Smith and has finally been able to put aside her outfit of riding boots and all black clothing when an unexpected assassination attempt on John by two Saudi nationals ruins their idyll. It seems John has been tracking potential terrorists and alerting local police when he finds their locations.

Meanwhile in Minneapolis, Rolseth and Magozzi are dealing with the kidnapping and murder of a young Native girl and two houses where the inhabitants have been murdered. It looks like military Vet Joe Hardy killed them and died himself before his pancreatic cancer finally killed him.

Found in the two houses with murdered terrorists are calendars with October 31 circled and major weapons caches. They learn that these houses were on the lists John sent on to law enforcement and, when checking other addresses, find that many of them also have dead terrorists inside.

When terrorists threaten John Smith and the Monkeewrench gang, they find themselves heading north to the Elbow Lake Indian Reservation where Magozzi and Rolseth have gone to retrieve Joe Hardy's computer. And they are trailing terrorists behind them who want them all dead.

This was a totally engaging episode from the Monkeewrench series with topics ripped from the headlines: kidnapping Native girls for the sex trade and terrorists bringing their war to the United States. The pace was fast and furious. ( )