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Critics' Opinion:
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First Published:
Apr 2003, 384 pages
Paperback:
Apr 2004, 432 pages
The odd-ball crew of a software company create a computer game where the good guy always wins, but their game becomes a nightmare when someone starts duplicating the fictional murders in real life.
Haunted by a series of horrifying and violent episodes in their past, Grace McBride and the oddball crew of her software company, Monkeewrench, create a computer game where the killer is always caught, where the good guys always win. But their game becomes a nightmare when someone starts duplicating the fictional murders in real life, down to the last detail.
By the time the police realize what's happening, three people are dead, and with seventeen more murder scenarios available online, there are seventeen more potential victims. While the authorities scramble to find the killer in a city paralyzed by fear, the Monkeewrench staff are playing their own game, analyzing victim profiles in a frantic attempt to discover the murderer's next target.
CHAPTER 1
The brandy had been absolutely essential. It always was on Sunday nights, when Sister Ignatius took it upon herself to cook and serve Father Newberry a "proper meal." In this part of Wisconsin, that usually translated to hamburger cooked in canned cream soup.
The shape varied with the good sister's whims-sometimes meatballs, sometimes meat loaf, and on one memorable occasion, rolled tubes that looked disturbingly like a casserole of severed penises-but the basic ingredients and the resulting indigestion were always the same.
Father Newberry had learned long ago that antacids couldn't touch it. Only the brandy helped, blessing him with a quick sleep where he passed the time in happy oblivion while his stomach fought the demons of Sister Ignatius's kindness.
On this particular Sunday night the demons had been multiple. In some sort of aspiring gourmet fit the sister had baked meat loaf in God only knew how many different kinds of canned soups. When he'd asked ...
Harlan Coben
Fast, fresh, funny and outrageously suspenseful ... debut thriller of the year. Jayne Ann Krentz
An exhilarating, roller-coaster ride of a story... Can't wait for the next book! Nevada Barr
This book is not only original but genuinely funny...a truly satisfying, terrific read. Robert B. Parker
Funny and convincing. P.J. Tracy's taut storytelling makes me jealous.
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