Bloody Martini

A Felonious Monk Mystery, Book 2

By: William Kotzwinkle

Narrated by: Chris Henry Coffey

Award-winning and bestselling author William Kotzwinkle is back with the second in the darkly comedic Felonious Monk series featuring Tommy Martini, a Benedictine monk with an anger management problem. Felonious Monk was praised as “amiably satirical” (Washington Post) and “a whiplash adventure” (Wall Street Journal).

Coalville is on fire—from below. The old mines are burning, and everyone has poison gas in their brain. Maybe that’s why the town is so corrupt. Now that he’s a Benedictine monk, Tommy Martini never wants to see the place again—hell-raisers there hold a grudge till they die, and he’s on their wish list. But a girl he once loved has gone missing, and his best friend from childhood has been murdered. Among the living is a shy girl from Tommy’s past, who wants to help. Together, they learn the secret of the elephant’s graveyard, and it’s not in Africa.

At the heart of Coalville is Parade Square, with plenty of pigeons, drugs, and child prostitution. It’s the new small-town America, where Dionysus is dancing once again. William Kotzwinkle’s insight into this paradigm shift is shot through with the humor he is famous for, and the result is a spicy brew, a bloody martini—just one sip may keep you up all night.

©2023 William Kotzwinkle (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

Bloody good storytelling

I cannot remember if I reviewed this after the first listen. My husband and I enjoyed it equally well the second time around. The protagonist attracts catastrophe among old grudges, crooked cops, lost souls and lost love as he avenges a friend’s death in his hometown. Excellent descriptions. A few sentences stand out so well, I smiled. Universal appeal for folks who are open-minded.