Tommy Martini receives a voicemail that sends him racing home from the monastery. His best friend is murdered while leaving a message: "Take care of Bridget. My heart is in your hands." In William Kotzwinkle's Bloody Martini, the dynamic mystery thriller and standalone sequel to Felonious Monk, the newly committed monk is about to learn the hard way that you can't go home again.
Tommy may have found peace at a Mexican monastery after killing someone in a bar fight, but hearing someone shoot Finn changes all that. Tommy can no longer help Finn, but he might be able to help Bridget, Finn's wife, and unravel the who and why behind Finn's demise. But avenging Finn means returning to the Rust Belt town of Coalville, the scene of his own crime and where the family of the guy Tommy sent to the morgue seeks payback. Making matters worse, the bullies of his youth are now running Coalville. One such bully is a district attorney who enlists local police to test the monk's vow of nonviolence. Tommy's temper gets a little out of control and bodies start to pile up long before he's able to find Bridget or Finn's murderer.
Kotzwinkle's second visitation with our tough guy turned monk is more nuanced. Tommy still wrestles with his violent past, but the author makes the character face his current predicament and acknowledge the need for smarter choices to ensure his own survival. Luckily, none of the dark humor is sacrificed during the navel-gazing. --Paul Dinh-McCrillis, freelance reviewer