The Deepest Cut by P. J. Tracy is the tale of a police detective on the brink of retiring who is embroiled in a final case that has him rethinking his plans. I had never read a Monkeewrench novel, more's the pity, but found that not only does this newest one in the series stand alone brilliantly, it is a gripping thriller that sweeps the reader along to the very end.
Beautifully written, with excellent pacing and compelling characters, #TheDeepestCut is non-stop action full of twists and turns. The main villain of the story is surprisingly multi-dimensional; evil and vicious on one hand, and surprisingly protective and caring on the other. The camaraderie of the police forces pulled in to deal with his escape is a not often seen side of everyday crime fighters, and refreshing.
I am happy to have received an ARC of #TheDeepestCut from #CrookedLaneBooks through #NetGalley.

I love the Monkeewrench series and was glad to see a new book coming out. It is great to reconnect with the characters. There is plenty of suspense and twists in the story. This book is part of a series and could be read as a stand alone but I would also recommend the previous books. Thank you to net galley for an adanced readers copy.

I believe this book is the final one in the series. The Gustavus Adolphis Security Hospital is a sanitarium for the mentally ill in the country in Minnesota. During a raging storm, the lights go out, the generator also fails. An employee trying to fix things is found unconscious in the basement. Worst of all, Wolfgang Mauer, a vicious sadistic criminal has escaped. Magozzi and Rolseth, the Monkeywrench group, and the new local sheriff begin searching for Mauer. They soon find out that Mauer has kidnapped a young boy after killing the boy's parents. Mauer goes to stay with Zelda at her large estate.

At one point Grace and Annie are unknowingly at Zelda's home at the same time as Mauer is there. Fortunately they don't meet up. Zelda makes Wolfy Mauer leave her house, and he drives to the city where the police and Monkeywrench are looking for him. The last part of the book is very exciting!

I thank Netgalley and Crooked Lane for the ARC so that I could read the book before publication.

Having read the all of the other books in the Monkeewrench series, I was looking forward to reading this one. Unfortunately, it didn't excite me quite as much as its predecessors.
Don't get me wrong, it's a great book in its own right, it's just that there's no mystery here. We know from the get-go who the bad guys are, what they've done, and what they plan to do. It's basically an account of the investigations by Minneapolis PD, Dundas County Sheriff's Office and Monkeewrench. An action packed account, but alas, no mystery. No suspense.
The Deepest Cut is a follow-on from book 10, Ice Cold Heart, and for context, I recommend reading Ice Cold Heart. Indeed, I would recommend reading the entire series, if only to get the back stories of the primary characters.

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

This have it all: action, fast pace and sadistic killers. I loved it. It works as a standalone because I had not read the previous books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Twined with the hunt for the escaped prisoner is the background and present of the law enforcement professionals who took him to the court that determined that he was criminally insane. I had not read the earlier books in the Monkeewrench series, but that did not interfere with finding it scary and totally absorbing. Some of the scariest books seem to be coming out of Minnesota lately!
Pub Date Sep 09, 2025
I requested and received a temporary electronic review galley from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.
#TheDeepestCut by @pjtracyauthor #MonkeewrenchBk11 #NetGalley @crookedlanebooks
#tense #suspense #vengeance #escape #sadism #serialkiller #psychologicalthriller #criminallyinsane
@barnesandnoble @booksamillion @kobo @waterstones @bookbub @goodreads #librarything #Minnesota #crimenovel #policeprocedural #action #unputdownable

I haven’t read any other book in the Monkeewrench series, but this one worked well enough as a standalone. The premise is intense and had plenty of action, and I was especially intrigued by the concept of a sadistic killer escaping a mental facility with revenge on his mind. it’s a decent thriller with high stakes and some chilling moments, but it didn’t fully grip me the way I hoped. Might work better for longtime fans of the series.

Leo Magozzi is on the verge of retirement, he is looking forward to spending time with Grace MacBride, part of Monkeewrench and their daughter.

Unfortunately he and his partner Gino, receive news that one of their high profile murderers has escaped from the secure facility and appears to be heading his way.

Wolfgang Mauer blames Magozzi, Gino and the Monkeewrench team for the death of someone he called father and is out for revenge, and is happy to leave a trail of death and destruction in his path, and will do anything to get to those he wants to harm.

I have always enjoyed the Monkeewrench books, but it has been a long between books so took a while for me to cast my mind back, I am not sure it could be read as a standalone, and to be fair, why would you, the books are all worth reading.

Lots happening in this “monkey wrench “ newest book. This is my first experience with this series and no problem with this as a standalone. Some really bad guys and gals in this one, many moving parts. Very entertaining and engrossing, you pretty much know whodunnit but you get the chase Liked this a lot. Do not hesitate to pick this one up.

Several years ago, Leo Magazzi and his partner, Gino Rolseth, arrested two murderers. One of them died in prison; the other was sent to a mental hospital. When Wolfgang Mauer escapes from custody, the entire Monkeewrench crew is put on high alert. Leo is getting ready to retire to stay home with Grace MacBride and their daughter, Elizabeth. Turns out Mauer has a few bones to pick with the Monkeewrench crew. Mauer came to this country after the Serbian War along with several other soldiers who escaped trials at The Hague for war crimes and various horrendous treatment of prisoners. Mauer's mother is living in the Twin Cities, working as a famous dress designer, but she is anxious to help her son, too. Lots of intrigue as an inexperienced small town sheriff has to work on the biggest case of her life along with Monkeewrench. It is great to catch up with the crew. I have missed them. Highly recommended and start from the beginning; the whole series is great reading.

I was issued this book by NetGalley for my unbiased review.

It had been a long time since I read a "Monkeewrench" book. It took a moment, but a lot of memories came back about the crew. This was a very good story with plenty of twists and turns. Just like I remembered! It has given me the idea to go back and reread some of the other books.

A decade or more ago the Monkeewrench series was one of my favorite mystery/thriller series. I recently re-read four or five books from the first part of the series and they held up fairly well. This latest title though, oof. Most of it follows up on the events that took place in the previous title, Ice Cold Heart, which I read when it was first published six years ago. Hundreds of books later, I don't remember the events of that book and so what transpired in this book lacked punch. Because the two titles are so closely tied together, I do not recommend reading this one without having read the previous book.

The story in this new title is not a mystery, as much of the action is from the perspective of the antagonists. Two potential romantic pairings were hinted at, which was weird for this series, and the characters seemed less fleshed out than in other Monkeewrench books. I think it may be time to leave Monkeewrench alone. Recommended for series completionists only.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy.

I honestly had a hard time getting into this book. There was too much going on at once. The story line was muddled and didn't flow very well.

Welcome back to the Monkeewrench gang including Gino and Magozzi.

How I have missed you all.

The book draws you in slowly but surely then doesnt let go until the final chapter is over.

Wolfgang Mauer has escaped from maxium security and leaves a trail of bodies in his wake.

Revenge is high on Mauer's list and he must be stopped at all cost.

The tension mounts with every page and the gang is hard at work desperatley trying to find and capture Mauer.

P.J. Tracy once again takes the reader on a roller coaster of a ride and I really hated the book to end.

Highly recommend any book by P.J. Tracy and The Deepest Cut is no exception.

Cant wait to add The Deepest Cut hard copy to my collection.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the privilege of reading and reviewing one of my favourite series.

The return of the Monkeewrench cyber sleuth team and Detectives Mogozzi & Rolseth working together to find an escaped serial killer who is hell bent on extracting his revenge on them all for his imprisonment and the death of his ‘father’. This is a well established series where each book is well written and offers a fast paced and exciting read. The characters are interesting and information on their personal histories and current relationships have been very well developed throughout this series.
This book provides plenty of action and suspense . This could be read as a stand alone but as the villains featured in the previous book I would recommend that Ice Cold Heart be read as well as this book. I have purchased and read the entire series over the years and have enjoyed the plots, the interesting quirky and complex characters and how the storylines and relationships have developed. Reading this book has made me want to re read the whole series. I recommend this series and this book to those who like fast paced crime thrillers.with interesting and likeable main characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy.

Wonderful having the Monkeewrench gang and detectives Magozzi and Rolseth back and catching up with their lives
When a sadistic killer escapes form a maximum security mental hospital, the hunt is on as he leaves a trail of
dead bodies behind while he attempts to retrieve the millions he hid. He also hopes to exact revenge on
Monkeewrench and the two detectives as he holds them responsible for the death of his father. The hunt
intensifies when the killer kidnaps a young boy As Magozzo and Rolseth continue the iinvestigation, Monkeewrench
works on locating the stolen money and where the killer is hiding. Twists and turns - an engrossing read .
#TheDeepestCut #CrookedLaneBooks #NetGalley

Loved being back with Magozzi, Rolseth and Monkeewrench again. I have loved this series from the very beginning and this one was great like the rest.
Only wish it had been a bit longer and had a bit more of a bang to it.
But I Can't wait to see what the crew get upto in the next one.

It's great to have another book in the Monkeewrench series, to reunite with well loved characters.

This picks up from the last book, with a dangerous criminal they had put in prison escaping and seeking revenge.

I enjoyed the story but it wasn't quite as good as some of the other books in the series hence the 4 star rating instead of 5.

Finally a new book in this series with its excellent characters! The plot is very interesting with a story that follows several characters, but it's still very easy to read. The writing is very good, but maybe a little too much with the descriptions of characters that are not very important.

The Monkeewrench series has done it again. This was a suspenseful read with amazing characters that kept me hooked from the beginning.