The people of Pine Deep are used to strange things happening in their small town; after all, that’s what the town is famous for. But now things are starting to just get creepy. It all starts with Patty Cakes, the local tattoo artist. Her daughter was viciously murdered, but Patty tattooed her face on the back of her hand so she would always be able to see it. But it’s starting to fade away, and along with it are Patty’s memories of her daughter.
Private investigator Monk Addison is Patty’s best friend, and he gets the feeling that something is not right, especially when Patty starts acting strange over the phone. He’s also not the only person to notice something is not right, and stranger things than usual are happening around town. But when memories are fading and confusion arises, there is nothing the town won’t do to make sure it all stops before everyone forgets exactly what is going on.
While the story was a bit longer than I would have preferred, I absolutely loved the idea and originality of the plot. It truly shows how ordinary people can become heroes in someone else's life, and make the huge changes that you usually only hear about in movies and books. Maberry truly created memorable characters that you may not always be able to relate to, but can certainly understand and admire.

Great story, unique story telling and plot that kept me turning the pages. Would definitely recommend to others!

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

When you go into a book written by a giant like Jonathan Maberry you have high expectations. Fair or not, it's the truth. Now, to be honest, I did not read more than a couple chapters of this one; but my husband read the whole thing. We bought a print copy of it prior to reading as Maberry always delivers! We had no reason to think this would be any different. Unfortunately it was.
While billed in the horror section, and marketed like a horror book, Ink is unfortunately very bland and has a weird sexual component to it reminiscent of Stephen King's early works like IT. Where the horror is really just bizarre and not horrific the way you might hope or want; but instead in an icky way that is just a turn off.
Additionally, from the first few chapters I can tell you that I was not super taken with the writing on this Maberry novel. It just didn't capture me like his others usually do. Thus knowing my husbands experience was subpar I chose to put it down.
That said, I give it three stars because it did keep my husbands attention to the end at least (not a small feat some days) and so it must be just good enough.
Overall I can't recommend this one, as I didn't finish it, but I can caution that it's not to the level you might be used to for Maberry.

What a unique concept from Jonathan Maeberry. He brings it all: fantasy, magic and supernatural. A young man has multiple tattoos. The creative take is the tattoos reveal another world field with those qualities. Leading to a good vs evil battle that is ongoing. I have enjoyed many books of Maeberry. This was engaging and a decent read.

*Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the DRC.

Memories shape who we are. So what happens if those pivotal moments in our lives start to disappear? Ink asks not only that, but what if, rather than fading gradually over time due to age or illness – what if they were ripped from us by an outside force? Lots of people get tattoos to memorialize lost loved ones or important, and often life-altering moments in their lives. Now imagine that tattoo began to fade – and as it faded, so too did your memory of the story behind it. I’ll tell you this: every single person in Ink who is besieged by the memory thief suffers unbelievably. Not all of them remember losing their tattoo(s) or their memories, but they all know they lost something that used to be extremely meaningful to them.

Honestly, I find this entire premise terrifying. It’s not bad enough when an important memory begins to fade, but also losing the physical totem you can use to help jog your memory? Unthinkable. I’ve known enough people in my life who have memory issues due to injury or illness to know that it is incredibly challenging for them, and often incredibly emotionally painful.

The biggest problem Ink’s protagonists run into is putting a stop to the thief. How do you find them? And once you do, how are you going to stop them? You can’t very well arrest someone on suspicion of memory stealing. But what else can you do when the thief can steal whatever he wants from you with just a touch? I mean, I suppose a sniper is as good an option as any, but is that really feasible? Sorry – I’m not going to start listing all of the possible solutions. I’ll stop at the one.

Like I mentioned before, this is a premise that truly scares me. I’ve lived a transient life – most of what I’ve got is my memories. I don’t have special places, I don’t have anybody I’ve known my whole life, I’m not tied to physical locations, etc. If I didn’t have my memories, I pretty much wouldn’t have existed until high school when I actually stayed in the same state for more than a year (although still quite a lot of cities – but some folks had cars at that point, so nbd). I just can’t imagine how awful it would be to have what little exists to make you feel like part of the world around you just ripped away.

This is an extremely complex sort of villainy in Ink, and Maberry did one hell of a job making it feel approachable. And he did it without making (me) the reader feel stupid or slow on the uptake. He took something unfathomably awful and somehow made it fun to read about.

I like Jonathan Maberry, and this was another good one. Fans of the author should give this one a go, it’s different from his ledger series. Maberry knows how to bring the chills and he certainly does so here

I LOVE Jonathan Maberry! He is a masterful story teller. His stories keep me on the edge of my seat and the writing is amazing! I love how the chapters shift to allow the reader to get into the minds of each character. It kept me engaged and guessing until the very end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the advanced reader copy of Ink. Jonathan Mayberry is an author that I’ve been hit or miss with in the past. Not everything has always resonated with me. However, Ink hit home and was a hell of a ride. Being mostly tattooed myself I understand the connection to stories or people that a persons ink can mean to them. Should someone want to consume all of those stories by possessing the ink then this seems like the way it would be done. This was a thrill ride start to finish with some romantic interludes here and there. All in all I think it’s one you should check out!

Ink by Jonathan Maberry is a standalone horror filled supernatural thriller. In today’s society we all know we need to lock away our valuables or they may just be stolen but what if your most precious memories could be taken too?

Monk Addison is a private investigator who has moved to Pine Deep, Pennsylvania to be closer to tattoo artist Patty Cakes. Both have tattoos on their bodies that remind them of people and times in their lives but those tattoos have begun to fade. Somewhere in Pine Deep is a monster that is feeding on those precious memories that it’s victims hold close.

As a fan of horror I keep finding myself picking up stories hoping for something to give me the chills and finding myself more bored than anything. Ink felt like the type of book I think of as trying too hard with weird sexual content that was more a turn off than the chills I’d want. There were also just too many points of view to follow to get me connected which to me makes the story drag. Overall I came away wishing I had just passed on this one as it seemed to check all the wrong boxes for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The cover is what caught my attention and got me to read the description of the book, then the combo made me very interested in this book. Insanely terrifying. The characters came alive on the pages and the plot had me hooked from the start.

This was my first Jonathan Maberry book, but will definitely be looking for more. If you love Stephen King and Dean Koontz this is an author you have to check out. Creepy, thrill tides that have you jumping at all noises. So good and will have you coming back for more.

Thank you NetGalley, Jonathan Maberry and St. Martin’s Griffin for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

Dark, vivid, and twisty in the best possible way. Jonathan Maberry is a master of the macabre and Ink does not disappoint.

The townspeople of Pine Deep are having their most precious memories stolen, erased from their minds without a trace left behind. Who or what is targeting the loneliest among them, the misfits who have nothing else? Can they fight against an entity that they cannot remember?

The horror of the situation gets completely lost in the details: the play on word names like Patty Cakes and Cyke-Lones. The choppy writing style and questionable word choices get in the way of the story as a whole. The creepiness does not come through in a meaningful way, leaving me with the feeling that the author decided to write a tongue-in-cheek version of a horror novel instead of a knock-your-socks-off thriller. Overall, I was not a fan of the story as a whole or the characters, so I would not recommend it to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of Ink by NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press. The decision to review this book was entirely my own.

How does he do it? And how does he sleep at night?
Jonathan Maberry is beyond a brilliant writer. With the ideas that he pours onto the page I ponder how he can sleep well...or maybe that's his secret.
Ink is a standalone style book, but if you've read any of Maberry's Pine Deep novels, you will recognize the town. Without spoiling it all, if you love a little bit of the mysitic, this book is for you (in a good way of course, no cheese here!). As you read you will consider what in the heck is going on, and more than once you will choose the wrong conclusion.
This is a thriller that captivated me for days. Once again, Maberry drags you into the pages, never letting go until the end.

This was one of the most chilling novels that I have ever read. Monk's character is fantastic and the antagonist is absolutely terrifying. I had to put it down a few times because it creeped me out.

Another intriguing novel from Jonathan Maberry featuring Monk Addison. I love the blend of Horror and Noir and Monk is one of my favorite recent characters. This time he heads to Pine Deep and squares up with a truly chilling villain.

It's been a while since I've actually sat down and been able to read a text version of a book instead of listening to them, but I'm finally able to start making time for it now. Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for providing a review copy.

Ink is ostensibly a standalone novel from Maberry, from whom I've read only one series (Joe Ledger) and I'm glad I've had the chance to branch out and sample some of his other work. Let me first say that after reading 10+ of his other books (albeit only in that one series) I feel like I have a pretty good handle on his writing style and the way he likes to structure his stories. Ink, at least, doesn't deviate from that established formula. Chapters usually focus on only one character, and are usually pretty short - sometimes only a few words. Somewhat counterintuitively in my view, this has the effect of actually pulling you into the story as while it is really just a rather obvious mechanism for transitioning characters or to another part of the story, it is always well executed, keeping you as the reader nicely centered in the story.

Another thing Jonathan is really good at is getting inside the heads of his antagonists, and making sure the reader is just as goddamn uncomfortable as the events occurring in the scene are to the characters involved. While it may have sometimes felt out of place in the Ledger series, just because there is a very clear delineation between who is good and who is evil - so we don't necessarily have to spend a lot of time inside antagonists heads, exploring - up close - their motivations and proclivities, it makes perfect sense for a horror novel. Make no mistake here, the chapters dealing with the villains here are brutal. They are not fun, yet somehow you can't bring yourself to stop reading. This is a testament to how good Maberry is at this sort of thing, and its on full display here and it fits beautifully.

I said that this is <i>ostensibly</i> a standalone novel, because it actually does take place within one of his other established universes - Pine Deep - and there's no indication that you need to have any familiarity with that existing universe in order to enjoy this novel. And you don't - I say that as someone who doesn't have any. The main plot follows two characters, Monk and Patty, who came to Pine Deep for their own reasons, and who's shared history binds them together. Throughout the novel, they interact with characters that readers familiar with the Pine Deep universe will no doubt appreciate all the more because of that knowledge of preceding events. All of these are very well developed, even to those like me who haven't read the Pine Deep trilogy before, and Maberry does a very good job of slowly setting up the characters, and the town that links them all, and the story they're all involved in, using those trademark alternating chapters, each usually a different point of view. In fact, the disparate threads only ever start pulling together at the halfway point of the novel. But here is where I had some problems.

As I said, Mayberry does a very good job setting up his characters (good characters and evil ones, both) throughout the front half of the novel. But my main issue here is that by the time they actually start working together, you've hit the climax of the novel and that's the only time you get to see them work all together. And that's where the pre-existing universe comes into play. The way this novel plays out, it seems that the audience that will get the most out of this book are those that see this novel not as a way to meet the new characters in that universe, but to reunite with their old friends and favorites, with the protagonists existing only to facilitate that happening. Now, it is being grossly unfair to the novel to state that that's actually how things play out. Like I said, Maberry does an excellent job of exploring everyone's motivations and keeping you squarely in the shoes of the new characters he introduces, even while he's jumping into what for some people will be old favorites. But when all is said and done I can't help thinking that that's what this ultimately was, because by the time all the setup is done you get that one climactic sequence and then you're done. It seems like a way shorter payoff than all that glorious setup deserves.

In fact, maybe it is just a case of running out of space or time and having to cut a longer plan short. For example, there is one particular character arc (Alexa) which is set up just as slowly and carefully as everyone else, only to be relegated to one meaningful action at the end of the story, and even that comes off as an afterthought. Similarly, the final confrontation with the villain is just as short and happens mostly off-page. It actually stands as stark contrast because every other character ultimately has a very good arc and overall payoff. My overall feeling that I just can't help is that Maberry had something longer planned here but for whatever reason had to cut it short, which is why everything that happens after one particular set piece is wrapped up altogether within about a dozen pages.

Still, all told, for me this is actually a relatively minor gripe when set against the rest of the story Maberry has penned here, which is actually quite the accomplishment as a rushed climax is usually one of the things I hate most in a story. It's a testament to the strength of this book (and all his other novels that I've read) that the reason that you get invested is his characters and not simply their actions within the course of the story. So all told, while this stands out because it doesn't happen in any other of his stories I've read, the book is still good in spite of that, and still worth reading as everything else is executed so well.

So go ahead and pick this one up if you know what you're getting into. (Actually, at this point, you probably already have). I wouldn't strictly recommend that you read the prior books before reading this one. I haven't read them so I can't make that call. But I feel like the rushed climax and falling action will bother you less if you do, because you'll be approaching things from a different context than I was. I will leave that decision up to you, just know that I think this one is worth reading either way.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

Jonathan Maberry is known for his zombie and young adult horror novels. His latest, Ink, a standalone supernatural thriller, could be considered a spin-off of his Pine Deep trilogy. It contains some of the same characters but takes place years after the trilogy ends. To give a fair review, I read the Pine Deep trilogy before reading Ink.

In Ink, trouble again comes to Pine Deep. This time it is in the form of a thief that steals people's most precious possessions - their memories. Newcomers Patty and Monk team up with Crow, and Mike Sweeney, the now grown-up boy, and other locals to find the thief before he can steal any more memories.

I enjoy Jonathan Maberry's writing style, sense of humor, and choice of settings for his novels. The Pine Deep trilogy and Ink are based in Bucks County, where he used to live. I live in Philadelphia, minutes from Bucks, and am a sucker for novels set in places I know. Maberry correctly describes real locations and includes well-known landmarks. He brings the area alive and accurately.

While it is not necessary to read his trilogy before this standalone novel, I strongly encourage you to read it first.

This 200-word review will be published on Philomathinphila.com.

Ink is a superb, standalone suspense story.

I haven't read too many books by Jonathan Maberry but after reading Ink I know I want to rectify that immediately.

The author knows his craft. He writes such well-written characters that have depth. Apart from that, there is an interesting plot where the story line sucks in the reader in and the story takes off and how completely hooking the reader.

"Tattoo-artist Patty Cakes has her dead daughter's face tattooed on the back of her hand. Day by day it begins to fade, taking with it all of Patty's memories of her daughter. All she's left with is the certain knowledge she has forgotten her lost child. The awareness of that loss is tearing her apart.

Monk Addison is a private investigator whose skin is covered with the tattooed faces of murder victims. He is a predator who hunts for killers, and the ghosts of all of those dead people haunt his life. Some of those faces have begun to fade, too, destroying the very souls of the dead.'

The storyline is so compelling and a creepy villain with the ability to sneak in and access the mind of victims, especially in such a way as to be unnoticed, is downright terrifying. And in Ink, like the name suggests the villain gets in by way of the victim’s tattoos.

The story is based in the small town of Pine Deep, Pennsylvania which lends a lot of character to the book.
The characters are fascinating, believable and compelling. I was completely sucked into the world.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the characters.i enjoyed the book very much.i love the cover of the book. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY.