Monkeewrench

...the scrawled red message appeared on her screen... WANT TO PLAY A GAME?

This thriller introduces an ensemble cast of characters including the Monkeewrench gang led by Grace McBride, two Minneapolis homicide detectives, and a rural Wisconsin Sheriff and Deputy. The primary story is about the Monkeewrench gang, a group of technology specialists who have made a name for themselves developing educational software, but they are trying to exorcise old demons with their latest project by creating a game where the player tries to track down a brutal serial killer. When the bizarre and over the top murders start being copied out in grisly detail in Minneapolis the gang is forced to work with the police and face their past.

This has a big cast but if you like the CSI or any of the Law & Order series this should appeal. This is the first in a series that has improved with each title. I had to pick it up for a re-read after finishing J. D. Robb’s, Fantasy in Death, which also has a game programmer/murder mystery plot.

Series: Monkeewrench, Live Bait, Dead Run, Snow Blind, Shoot To Thrill, and Off the Grid