“There’s a search for a missing girl, and another for a serial killer: death holds all the cards . . .

When Marla Gustafson vanishes on her way to her father’s farm, her car left empty on the side of an isolated country road, even Grace MacBride and her eccentric team of analysts are baffled.

Meanwhile in Minneapolis, homicide detectives Gino and Magozzi have a serial killer on their hands – two women murdered in cruelly similar fashion, with playing cards left on the bodies. But one card is an ace, the other is a four – it seems the killer is already two murders ahead.

With both teams stumped, it slowly becomes clear the evidence is inexplicably entangled. And they have little time to unravel the threads: a twisted killer is intent on playing out the deck…”

I am absolutely delighted to welcome you to my stop on the Nothing Stays Buried blog tour.  Nothing Stays Buried was written by P.J. Tracy, a mother and daughter writing team and is the eighth book in the Monkeewrench series.  In my opinion, if you like crime fiction then you will have heard of P.J. Tracy before.  Their books feature the über intelligent crime fighting team, Monkeewrench, headed by the strong yet emotionally scarred superwoman that is Grace McBride.  I LOVE these books and I have a particular soft spot for Grace, so I was thrilled to be asked to join the blog tour.

I was excited to make a start on Nothing Stays Buried.  So much so I ended up walking across the Norfolk Broads while on holiday, trying to find a wi-fi signal so I could download the book!  I eventually managed and threw myself straight into the story.  And oh my, that prologue certainly grabs your attention!  I had so many questions after that opening chapter that I wasn’t going to let grumpy, squabbling kids in the back of the car distract me (bad mummy!).  I was hooked from the first page, from the moment Marla Gustafson was introduced to us.  Marla is pretty perfect.  So perfect, she wants to help others by removing dumped trash bags from the freeway.  What she doesn’t expect is…well, you’ll have to read the book for yourself to find out but let’s just say that she immediately regrets stopping.  Especially when she’s chased through the woods by a stranger (read: maniac!).

The Monkeewrench crew are drafted in by Jacob, the local Sheriff who has a romantic interest in the victim, and her desperate, elderly father, Walt.  It’s not on the scale of their usual cases and they tend to come with a high price tag but sometimes it feels good to just help people.  Meanwhile, Detectives Magozzi and Gino are investigating the case of what they believe to be a serial killer.  I love a serial killer thriller.  I mean, I REALLY love a serial killer thriller.  The only clue the detectives have is that the killer leaves a playing card on the victim.  It may just be me but if a book contains a serial killer who either collects trophies or leaves a calling ‘card’, then I am hooked!  Is there a link between the missing Marla and the frenzied serial killer?  Can a connection be found before another victim meets a horrific death…?

Nothing Stays Buried is packed full of lovely, edge-of-your-seat suspense.  Obviously, I love the Monkeewrench team anyway but this book reminded me how fond I am of Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth.  And how their relationship has become such a key part of the Monkeewrench series.  The humorous banter between the two characters added a wonderful lighthearted note to proceedings which I appreciated.  The supporting characters also won through for me.  I particularly liked Marla’s farmer father, Walt with his love and concern for his missing daughter and his undying love for his deceased wife. I found Jacob, the Sheriff, equally appealing.  All great characters who I would return to again and again.

Would I recommend this book?  Most definitely.  If you haven’t discovered the Monkeewrench series yet then what are you waiting for!?  There are eight wonderful books out there for your delectation.  It’s perfect crime fiction reading and a MUST READ for all crime thriller fans.  Nothing Stays Buried is a book I really thoroughly enjoyed as it reminded me exactly how much I LOVE this wonderful, suspenseful series.

Four and a half stars out of five.

I chose to read and review an ARC of Nothing Stays Buried.  The above review is my own unbiased opinion.  My thanks to Jenny at Michael Joseph for including me in the blog tour.

Nothing Stays Buried by P.J. Tracy was published in the UK by Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House on 24th August 2017 and is available in hardcover and eBook formats | amazon.co.uk | amazon.com | Waterstones | Goodreads |

Photo: © Pamela Stege

P.J. Tracy was the pseudonym for the mother-and-daughter writing team of P.J. and Traci Lambrecht. Together PJ and Traci were authors of bestselling thrillers Want to Play? (Richard and Judy Book Club pick), Live Bait, Dead Run, Snow Blind, Play to Kill, Two Evils and Cold Kill.

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