Mystic: The Monk Addison Case Files

Mixing equal parts grit and sentiment, bestseller Maberry collects nine stories and two poems featuring tattooed paranormal skip tracer Gerald “Monk” Addison (last seen in 2020’s Ink). Poking into the seamy side of haunted Pine Deep, Pa., brings Monk his toughest clients: ghosts who employ him to stop their killers before they strike again. The perpetrator may be a simple human monster such as an abusive partner (“Faces”) or a duplicitous drug dealer (“Grit”), but sometimes a shape-shifting Filipino jungle creature (“Collector”) or a cannibal hit man (“Needles”) challenges Monk. Maberry plays fair, putting his characters into situations that arise from hard choices not easily made. A tendency to celebrate vigilante rough justice can grate, and the physical violence is graphic. Still, sympathy for the ghosts, whose deaths Monk must relive; for the long-suffering Monk himself; and even a bit for the devil (“Dead to Me”) keeps the reader turning pages. For longtime Monk fans, this is a treat. Agent: Sara Crowe, Sara Crowe Literary. (Dec.)