PJ Tracy is the pseudonym of the mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht, winners of the Anthony, Barry, Gumshoe, and Minnesota Book Awards. Their cyberthriller “Monkeewrench” series (Monkeewrench, Live Bait, Dead Run, Snow Blind, Shoot to Thrill, Off the Grid, The Sixth Idea, and Nothing Stays Buried) were national and international bestsellers. After PJ’s passing in 2016, Traci wrote two more books in the Monkeewrench series (The Guilty Dead and Ice Cold Heart), and began the Margaret Nolan Detective series, set in Los Angeles, where she lived for many years. Deep into the Dark, Desolation Canyon, The Devil You Know, and City of Secrets have been lauded by critics and fans alike. The eleventh Monkeewrench novel, The Deepest Cut, will be released in September of 2025. She now resides in Minnesota and continues to write about murder and mayhem.
P.J. Lambrecht
P.J. Lambrecht always loved to tell people she was a college dropout and had no qualifications for being a writer except for a penchant for lying. She had her first short story published in The Saturday Evening Post when Traci was eight, still mercifully oblivious to her mother’s plans to eventually trick her into creating a family business.
Traci Lambrecht
Traci Lambrecht spent most of her childhood riding and showing horses. She graduated with a Russian Studies major from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she also studied voice. Her aspirations of becoming a spy were dashed when the Cold War ended, so she began writing to finance her annoying habits of travel and singing in rock bands. Much to her mother’s relief, she finally realized that the written word was her true calling. Together, they had a long, prolific career writing together in many genres until PJ’s passing in December 2016. Traci continues to write like a maniac, with PJ’s spirit sitting on her shoulder, cracking wise.
