Human Monsters

In this fifth and final volume of the Jake Helman Files (after Tortured Spirits), Lamberson rushes to complete his circular design. Jake discovers no new threats, but plenty of old enemies return. Throughout his battles with the paranormal, Jake has been losing parts of himself, as well as friends and colleagues. His archenemy, CEO Tower, makes evil use of his company’s cloning technology and a paranormal ability to transfer memories from the dead. He revives his spider/human personal assistant, as well as Jake’s dead wife and her murderer. Most confusing is that Tower has also created versions of Jake and dispatched them to attack anyone with an interest in helping Jake survive. As Jake rejoins many battles he thought he had long since won, the story inevitably retreads old ground, but with plenty of strong moments of action and horror. There is less urgency than the sense of a fond farewell. The confident conclusion will satisfy both new and longtime readers. (Mar.)