Category: Books

“Play Dirty” written/directed by Shane Black; starring Mark Wahlberg and Lakeith Standfield / Z-View

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Play Dirty (2025)

Director:  Shane Black

Screenplay: Shane Black, Charles Mondry, Anthony Bagarozzi; based on the PARKER novels by Richard Stark

Stars: Mark Wahlberg, LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, Keegan-Michael Key, Chukwudi Iwuji, Gretchen Mol, Tony Shalhoub, Hemky Madera, Alejandro Edda, Claire Lovering and Thomas Jane.

Tagline: Even robbers get robbed.

The Plot…

Parker is a professional thief.  He was part of a crew that robbed a horse track count room.  The heist went sideways, but they got away with the cash.  At the hideout as Parker and the team are getting ready to divide the loot, Zen, the getaway driver betrays them.  She shoots them all and makes off with the dough.

Parker, left for dead, survives.  Once he recovers he makes it his mission in life to track down Zen, get the money back and take her life.  It won’t be easy.  Especially when Parker decides to also rob a crime syndicate known as the Outfit.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The film was originally supposed to reteam Robert Downey, Jr. and writer/director Shane Black.  They had worked together before on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.  When Downey dropped out, Mark Wahlberg was chosen to replace him.

Play Dirty is the fifth movie adaptation of Richard Stark’s Parker character.  The other films are: Point Blank (1967) starring Lee Marvin; The Outfit (1973) starring Robert Duvall; Payback (1999) starring Mel Gibson; Parker (2013) starring Jason Statham and now Play Dirty starring Mark Wahlberg.

Play Dirty is okay, but your time would be better served watching one of the other Parker adaptations.

Play Dirty (2025) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Angel Heart” (1987) written & directed by Alan Parker; starring Mickey Rourke, Robert DeNiro & Lisa Bonet / Z-View

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Angel Heart (1987)

Director:  Alan Parker

Screenplay: Alan Parker; based on FALLING ANGEL by William Hjortsberg

Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling, Dann Florek, Kathleen Wilhoite and Pruitt Taylor Vince.

Tagline: Harry Angel has been hired to search for the truth… Pray he doesn’t find it.

The Plot…

1955.  Louis Cypher wants money owed to him.  Before the War, Cypher entered into a contract with a singer who went by the stage name Johnny Favorite.  Favorite became a very popular crooner… then World War II hit and Favorite’s star waned.  But for a time, Johnny Favorite was the flavor of the day.  Favorite never paid Cypher his due.  And you don’t run out on Louis Cypher.

So Cypher hires New York Private Eye Harry Angel.  He’s to track down Johnny Favorite and report back to Cypher.  What sounds like an easy assignment becomes anything but.  Angel will find the trail leads to New Orleans and black magic, voodoo and more than one murder.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Unless you were around at the time of the film’s release it’s hard to imagine the controversy the casting of Lisa Bonet caused.  At that time she was one of the stars of The Cosby Show.  The show was a network juggernaut.  Bill Cosby (despite what came out about him later) always promoted comedy for the entire family. Bonet’s role in Angel Heart, was very sexual with a prolonged nude sex scene. Plus it was her first feature film role.  She more than held her own.

Angel Heart is an under-rated horror film.

Angel Heart (1987) rates 4 of 5 stars.

LAST HUNT: BOOK THREE IN THE HUNTER TRILOGY by James Byron Huggins!

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HUNTER by James Byron Huggins is one of my all-time favorite novels.  The sequel, HUNTER’S MOON was just as great.  Now the third tale in the trilogy is about to be released.  It’s titled LAST HUNT.  Here’s the lowdown…

International bestselling author James Byron Huggins delivers LAST HUNT, the third and final book in the Hunter Saga.

Nathaniel Hunter has faced nightmares most men can’t imagine. In Alaska’s frozen wilderness he confronted a primordial killer. On England’s haunted moors he fought a beast born of legend. Each time he walked away scarred but unbroken. Now the battle comes to his own doorstep.

Scipio Dante, the brilliant, ruthless mind behind the experiments that created those monsters, has perfected a serum that transforms men into savage, unstoppable predators. Backed by limitless wealth and a private army, he will stop at nothing to rid the world of its greatest threat: the hunter who has foiled him twice before.

From his remote mountain cabin, Hunter must prepare for the ultimate confrontation. The wilderness he calls home bristles with danger; the predators he respects may soon turn against him. To survive, he’ll need every weapon at his disposal, every ally he can trust, and every ounce of his primal fury.

The world’s last true hunter is about to face his final, most terrifying prey.

LAST HUNT drops November 3rd.  Get your order in now.  I did.

LAST HUNT Paperback

LAST HUNT Hardback

LAST HUNT Kindle

“A Single Shot” (2013) starring Sam Rockwell, Jeffrey Wright, Kelly Reilly, Jason Isaacs & Willam H. Macy / Z-View

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A Single Shot (2013)

Director:  David M. Rosenthal

Screenplay: Matthew F. Jones; based on A SINGLE SHOT by Matthew F. Jones

Stars: Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Kelly Reilly, Jason Isaacs, Joe Anderson, Jeffrey Wright, Ophelia Lovibond, Amy Sloan, W. Earl Brown, David Flannery, A.C. Peterson and Ted Levine.

Tagline: One mistake.  One secret.  One chance.

The Plot…

John Moon has lost a lot.  First it was the family farm.  Then his wife and child.  His work at the factory doesn’t pay enough.  Times are tough.

It’s not hunting season, but John decides to risk it. He needs the meat.  John hikes deep into the woods.  He spots a big stag and takes a shot.  The wounded beast runs off.  John doesn’t want the buck to suffer and tracks it.  Deeper in the woods, John bends down to check the trail.  He hears movement and looks up to see a flash of brown and white.  John fires and hears the animal fall.

John pushes through the brush to where he heard the animal fall.  It’s a young woman.  She’s dead.  Killed by John. John considers his options.  Turning himself in won’t change anything for the girl.  It’ll destroy his family.  And put him in prison.  Why was she out here anyway?

John decides to bury her.  He looks around for a spot and John discovers a box full of money.

John makes another decision.  It’s an easier one.  He takes the money. Then does his best to remove any evidence he was there.  Finished, John hikes out.

John is paranoid as the days pass.  Bad men have a way of finding what’s theirs.  And soon they will.

Then they will come for it.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Both the novel and movie are worth a look.

William H. Macy and Jeffrey Wright are always good.

A Single Shot (2013) rates 3 of 5 stars.

RIGHTEOUS TRASH by Nick Kolakowski!

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I just ordered a copy of RIGHTEOUS TRASH by Nick Kolakowski.  Here’s the lowdown…

Jake Halligan tried living the quiet life.

After years of war and crime, Jake has settled down with his wife and daughter in rural Idaho. But in a country that pushes people to the brink, Jake soon makes a bet to get ahead that will have disastrous consequences.

Spurred by his sister Frankie, the West’s most dangerous arms dealer, Jake is pulled into a chaotic conspiracy that involves a pregnant teenager, gangs of gun-toting thugs, a wetwork specialist from New Orleans, high-powered politicos, and a backwoods shooting competition just begging to be robbed.

Jake Halligan tried living the quiet life, but when the bullets start flying and everything he knows is at risk, he’ll have to decide who he really is and what he really wants. The wrong choice might kill him and everyone he cares about.

Kolakowski’s tales always entertain and I expect RIGHTEOUS TRASH to be no different.  If it sounds like something you’d enjoy, you know what to do.

RIGHTEOUS TRASH paperback

RIGHTEOUS TRASH Kindle

THE MAKING OF QUENTIN TARANTINO’S ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD by Jay Glennie is Coming!

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Quentin Tarantino fans are gonna love this.  THE MAKING OF QUENTIN TARANTINO’S ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD by Jay Glennie premieres soon.  Here’s the lowdown…

Legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino personally introduces the definitive and official examination of his entire oeuvre with the Quentin Tarantino Library written by Jay Glennie.

In the first book in the series, THE MAKING OF QUENTIN TARANTINO’S ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, writer Jay Glennie pulls back the curtain on the visionary writer/director/producer’s ninth film, with unprecedented access to the filmmaker, cast, and crew. This epic tome is a stunning and faithful deep dive into the mind of a masterful auteur and a must-have book for all film lovers and Quentin Tarantino fans.

For the first time ever Academy Award winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has granted respected journalist and author Jay Glennie unique access revealing the never-before-told behind-the-scenes making of one of the most iconic films of all time, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.

Quentin Tarantino personally introduces the volume, as well as providing hundreds of behind-the-scenes photographs, along with production memos, concept art, and costume and production design sketches. There are also exclusive reproductions of letters, studio documents and film ephemera. The result is an account of the monumental effort undertaken to produce Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood and is the official record of how it was achieved, from inception to the world premiere and on to ten Academy Award nominations, resulting in two Oscars.

The book includes new and exclusive interviews undertaken by Jay Glennie with key cast and crew members, including Oscar winning actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, Oscar nominee Margot Robbie, and the brilliant supporting cast including Oscar winner Mikey Madison, Margaret Qualley, Oscar nominee Austin Butler, Lena Dunham, Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Emile Hirsch, Damian Lewis, Maya Hawke, and Sydney Sweeney.

First book in the series!!

THE MAKING OF QUENTIN TARANTINO’S ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD  Hardcover

THE MAKING OF QUENTIN TARANTINO’S ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD  Kindle

PUSH THE WALL: MY LIFE WRITING, DRAWING, AND THE ART OF STORYTELLING by Frank Miller is Coming!

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Frank Miller the genius behind Sin City, 300, The Dark Night Returns, Batman: Year One, Ronin and so many more great comic tales has a new book coming.  Here’s the lowdown…

From the all-time bestselling mind behind Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil, 300, and Sin City, Push the Wall is part memoir, part master class for budding artists and writers by one of the greatest living creators whose work has influenced pop culture for decades.

Frank Miller is our greatest living comic book writer and artist.

Frank Miller shares his life, and through, his artistic process. Miller’s artistic influence is evident in so very much of our popular culture, perhaps most notably with Batman — every film adaptation from the past forty years has been influenced by Miller’s work with the Dark Knight.

Simply, Frank Miller has transformed the way comics are told.

Here, Frank’s mix of autobiographical lessons evokes Patti Smith’s Just Kids as it weaves his struggles as a seventeen-year-old kid fresh from Vermont into a seedy 1970s New York City with his eventual success on reimagining Daredevil and Wolverine. From there to Miller’s rescue and revitalization of Batman, to his time in Hollywood, the Sin City comics and film adaptations he would codirect, and the retelling of the Spartans’ last stand in 300. Miller, by constantly challenging himself as an artist and writer on his terms, built an iconoclastic career.

With over a dozen illustrations of Miller’s art, PUSH THE WALL is the work of his career—it is a masterclass as it encapsulates his life in sixteen lessons for the aspiring creative reader.

This will be a must-have for aspiring writers and artists, as well as die hard Miller fans.

PUSH THE WALL Hardcover
PUSH THE WALL Kindle

“Brothers by Blood” aka “The Sound of Philadelphia” (2020) / Z-View

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Brothers by Blood aka The Sound of Philadelphia (2020)

Director:  Jeremie Guez

Screenplay: Jeremie Guez; based on BROTHERLY LOVE by Pete Dexter

Stars: Matthias Schoenaerts, Joel Kinnaman, Maika Monroe, Nicholas Crovetti, Antoni Corone, Michael McFadden, Joshua Lacey and Ryan Phillippe.

Tagline: Loyalty Has a Price

The Plot…

Peter and Michael are cousins raised together in a family of criminals from childhood.  Now adults, the two of positions of power within the Irish mob.  Tensions have been high between the Irish and Italians.  To make matters worse, Peter’s behavior has grown increasingly erratic.  Michael will need to make some tough choices before they are made for him.  He will also have to come to grips with the tragedy that cost his sister and father’s lives years ago.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I was expecting more.

Brothers by Blood aka The Sound of Philadelphia (2020) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“The Outfit” (1973) starring Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker and Robert Ryan / Z-View

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The Outfit (1973)

Director:  John Flynn

Screenplay: John Flynn, Walter Hill (uncredited); based on THE OUTFIT by Richard Stark

Stars: Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker, Robert Ryan, Timothy Carey, Richard Jaeckel, Sheree North, Felice Orlandi, Marie Windsor, Jane Greer, Henry Jones, Joanna Cassidy, Tom Reese, Bill McKinney, Anita O’Day, Archie Moore, Tony Young and Elisha Cook Jr..

Tagline: Nobody plays rougher than The Outfit…Except maybe Earl, Cody and Bett!

The Plot…

When Earl Macklin gets out of prison, his girlfriend Bett picks him up.  She drives to a motel and informs Earl that his brother was recently murdered.  Late that night a man breaks into the hotel room and attempts to kill Earl.  Earl survives and gets the upper hand.  He then tortures the man for information.

Earl’s brother robbed a syndicate bank.  That’s the reason he was killed.  They sent the killer to take out Earl so he wouldn’t seek revenge.  Earl lets the killer live on the condition he takes a message to the people that hired him.  The message: The Outfit owes him $250,000.00.  If they pay, Earl will go away.  Until they do, Earl is going to cost them money that he’ll keep.  And they will still owe him the quarter million.

Earl wants his money.  And he doesn’t care how many people he has to kill to get it.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Film legend, Robert Ryan’s last released film. He was also in Executive Action filmed after The Outfit, but released first.

The Outfit features Joanna Cassidy’s film debut.

Former Light Heavyweight Champion Archie Moore has a role as a tough guy.  Moore held the light heavyweight boxing title for ten years — longer than any champ in that division.

The great (and eccentric) character actor Timothy Carey appears in a supporting role.  Same could be said of Elisha Cook, Jr.

The Outfit (1973) rates 4 of 5 stars.

CEREMONY: A SPENCER NOVEL by Robert B. Parker / Z-View

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CEREMONY: A SPENCER NOVEL by Robert B. Parker

First sentences…

“She’s a goddamned whore,” Harry Kyle said.  “And I don’t want her in this house again.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

April Kyle, a high school student ran away from home.  Although her parents don’t know exactly where she is, they know what she’s become.

A teenage prostitute.

Susan Silverman, a counselor, meets with her parents.  Susan’s lover, a hard case private eye named Spenser could find April.  Spenser could bring her home.  But April’s dad is too self-righteous to care for his daughter because of what she’s become.  Dad doesn’t want April back.  April’s mom is too weak to stand up for her child.  Spenser is ready to walk away.  He can’t stand April’s father.

But Susan cares.  She convinces Spenser to find April.  If April stays on the streets she certain for an early grave.  Spenser agrees to find April, but will only bring her home if she agrees.

What sounds like an easy job, find a high school girl who has gone down the wrong path, turns out to be anything but.  Spenser is soon at odds with Trumps, a pimp with a stable of hoes, as well as people (some who are very “connected”) who specialize in trafficking kids.

Spenser and Hawk are on the case.  Let the fun begin.

+++

CEREMONY was published in 1982.  It’s as relevant today as it was over 40 years ago.  Maybe even more relevant now since it deals with child-trafficking.  Also if written today, I have no doubt that many would make accusations that Parker was making a comment by naming a pimp Trumps.

I’m a huge fan of Robert B. Parker’s tales… especially those involving Spenser.  Not many authors would be willing to have their main character save a teenage girl from a life on the streets using Spencer’s solution.

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“Tom Horn” (1980) starring Steve McQueen / Z-View

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Tom Horn (1980)

Director:  William Wiard

Screenplay:  Thomas McGuane, Bud Shrake; based on LIFE OF TOM HORN, GOVERNMENT SCOUT AND INTERPRETER by Tom Horn

Stars: Steve McQueen, Linda Evans, Richard Farnsworth, Billy Green Bush, Slim Pickens, Peter Canon, Elisha Cook Jr., Roy Jenson, Harry Northup, Steve Oliver, Bill Thurman, Bert Williams, Bobby Bass, Mickey Jones and Geoffrey Lewis.

Tagline: Before they could settle the West, they had to hang the man who tamed it.

The Plot…

Tom Horn was famous in his own time.  But his time has passed.  Known for his skills as a frontiersman, a U.S. Army scout, a tracker, and a crack shot… Horn is now a drifter.  The Indian Wars are over.  A man with Tom Horn’s skills aren’t in demand.  So Horn just drifted from place to place scrapping by.

Horn is in a small town, when he meets cattle rancher John Coble.  Coble is impressed with Horn’s legend and surprised to find him without work and struggling.  He offers Horn a job.  Coble is a member of a Cattle Rancher Association that has been plagued by rustlers.  The Association agrees to hire Horn to rid the territory of cattle thieves… by whatever means needed.  Horn is assured by the group as well as the US Marshall that once he gives the rustlers fair warning, he is legally allowed to do whatever it takes to get rid of them.  Horn takes the job.

Horn does what he was hired to do.  He rids the area of rustlers.  His methods are violent but effective.  Many men are killed.  The rustling stops.  The Cattle Association  no longer needs Horn.  Especially since they’ve been getting bad press.  When a young boy is found murdered by a rifle shot of the same caliber that Tom Horn uses,  some Association members see a way out.

Horn is set up to take the fall for the murder.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Tom Horn was a troubled production.  Steve McQueen wasn’t happy with the script and ordered multiple rewrites.  The original director, Don Siegel decided to move on.  Siegel was replaced by replaced by Elliot Silverstein.  Silverstein was replaced by James William Guercio.  McQueen fired Guercio after just three days.  McQueen wanted to direct, but since filming had started, union rules prevented an actor to replace a director.  So William Wiard, a television director was brought in to finish filming.  Tom Horn is the only feature film on Wiard’s resume.  Many believe that McQueen directed much of the movie himself.

In addition to the troubles listed above, Steve McQueen’s health was suffering.  He was often short of breath and towards the end of filming even began coughing up blood.  McQueen would learn that he had advanced cancer.  Just a couple of weeks before Tom Horn premiered, The National Enquirer broke the story that Steve McQueen had terminal cancer.  When asked at the premiere, McQueen denied reports of his cancer.

Tom Horn was a real-life legend.  The movie is based on his autobiography that he wrote while in jail awaiting trial.

Tom Horn (1980) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“The Black Camel” (1931) starring Warner Oland and Bela Lugosi / Z-View

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The Black Camel (1931)

Director:  Hamilton MacFadden

Screenplay:  Barry Conners, Philip Klein, Dudley Nichols (uncredited); written by Hugh Stanislaus Stange (adaptation), based on THE BLACK CAMEL by Earl Derr Biggers

Stars: Warner Oland, Bela Lugosi, Victor Varconi, Murray Kinnell, J.M. Kerrigan, Mary Gordon, Dwight Frye and Robert Young.

Tagline: The unsolved secrets of Hollywood

The Plot…

Shelah Fayne is a movie star.  Her friends are beginning to worry about her.  Shelah is thinking of marrying a man she has only known a week.  Shelah will make a decision once she speaks to her favorite psychic, Tarneverro.

When Shelah is murdered Inspector Charlie Chan gets the case.  There are many suspects.  One is the killer.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Bela Lugosi plays the psychic.  Dwight Frye appears uncredited as Jessop.  Lugosi and Frye appeared together in Dracula which was released the same year.

Warner Oland made five Charlie Chan films based on novels written by Charlie Chan creator Earl Derr Biggers.  Sadly The Black Camel is the only one that survived.  The other four were lost due to studio fires.

Robert Young who went on to fame playing Marcus Welby, M.D., makes his film debut in The Black Camel.

Most folks enjoy The Black Camel more than I.  Keep in mind your mileage may vary.

The Black Camel (1931) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Casino” (1995) directed by Martin Scorsese; starring Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci / Z-View

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Casino (1995)

Director:  Martin Scorsese

Screenplay:  Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese; based on CASINO: LOVE AND HONOR IN LAS VEGAS by Nicholas Pileggi 

Stars: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Frank Vincent, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Melissa Prophet, Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows, Jerry Vale and Frankie Avalon.

Tagline: Luck has nothing to do with the games they play.

The Plot…

The year is 1973 and Las Vegas is booming.  Especially for the Chicago Mob thanks to Sam “Ace” Rothstein.  Rothstein has doubled profits for his Chi-town buddies.  Skimmed cash is sent back weekly.  All is great.

Then Rothstein’s childhood pal shows up.  Nicky Santoro is a hothead and mob enforcer known by the cops for his past crimes.  Nicky’s come to Vegas to make his fortune.  Rothstein tells Nicky all will be good if he keeps a low profile.

Of course Nicky’s gotta be Nicky.

Add Ginger McKenna to the mix and things get, uh… explosive.  Ginger is an ex-showgirl, ex-prostitute and con artist.  Rothstein loves her dearly.  She loves what Rothstein can give her.

Let’s roll the dice.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Sharon Stone was nominated for a Best Actress in a Leading Role Academy Award.

Martin Scorsese allowed Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci to improvise much of the dialogue in their scenes.

Scorsese,  DeNiro and Pesci are gold.

Casino (1995) rates 4 of 5 stars.

MYSTIC by Jonathan Maberry / Z-View

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MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES by Jonathan Maberry

First sentences…

I see dead people.
Make a joke.  Go ahead, people do.
Fuck ’em.
I see dead people.
Not all of them.  My life would be too crowded.  Just some.  The ones who need to be seen.
The ones who need me to see them.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Monk Addison is ex-military.  Ex-Private Military Contractor.  A shooter.  If a high stakes target needed to be done, the government wanted Monk on the trigger.  But the killing took a toll.

Monk left the work and the world behind.  He decided to travel the world to find redemption.  And maybe save his soul.

What Monk learned instead was that he had a gift.  He can see and communicate with the spirits of recently murdered people.  Communicate doesn’t really convey what happens.  Monk can see the recently dead.

Yeah.

Once the murdered spirit (ghost?) appears to Monk, there’s a process.  Blood of the victim and holy water are combined.  The mixture is used as ink for Monk’s new tat… of the victim’s face.  His body is covered with faces.  Of the dead.  Of murdered souls who have come (been sent?) to Monk.  As the new body art is finished, Monk experiences (see, hears, feels) everything the victim felt when he/she was being murdered.

The process takes a toll.  But once Monk recovers, he usually knows who the murderer was.  And then Monk goes to work.  And a sniper shot would be too kind.  No, Monk has other skills he learned as a soldier and bounty hunter.  He puts them to use to meet the killer.   Then justice will be served.

+++++

MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES features a forward by Jim Butcher.  Jonathan Mayberry brings readers up to speed with About Monk Addison which is followed by eleven Monk Addison tales.

Monk Addison joins the ranks of classic Maberry characters (many who make appearances in some of the tales presented).

Jonathan Maberry has created another winner.  Bring on a Monk Addison full length adventure!

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