Ink is a fascinating story about a human predator who feeds on memories associated with tattoos that people get inked. I have read a couple of books about memories and loss of memories, and it was this unique element of someone stealing memories that drew me to this book. I am happy to say that it did not disappoint though it was much darker than I had expected. Take a look at the synopsis and content notes below and then I will share my thoughts on the book.
From New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry comes a standalone supernatural thriller Ink, about a memory thief who feeds on the most precious of dreams.
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.
All through the town of Pine Deep people are having their most precious memories stolen. The monster seems to target the lonely, the disenfranchised, the people who need memories to anchor them to this world.
Something is out there. Something cruel and evil is feeding on the memories, erasing them from the hearts and minds of people like Patty and Monk and others.
Ink is the story of a few lonely, damaged people hunting for a memory thief. When all you have are memories, there is no greater horror than forgetting.
Content Notes: Violence, Murder, Coarse language, alcohol abuse, suicide, hedonism.
Themes for Thought in Ink
“When all you have are memories, there is no greater horror than forgetting.” Ink does a phenomenal job of driving this point home through this book. The small town of Pine Deep has been in the news before for weird happenings but it’s been many years since that spotlight. However, some dark entity has made the town its home, and one by one, it is targeting people with tattoos. When this person touches the ink, it’s like the reason the tattoo was made and all memories associated with it, fade away. We follow Patty, a tattoo artist herself, Dianna, a psychic, Monk, an ex-military turned investigator and the local police of Pine Deep. We meet people who have no idea that they had a tattoo to commemorate a milestone in their life. Some of them don’t even know what they are missing.
On the Crime
Ink is a well written story that kept me guessing at a number of aspects of the storyline – how are all these characters connected? How are these memories fading away? What happens to someone when they are completely gone? The book explores these questions, as well as the moral side of stealing those memories (it’s not a crime per se) and the loss of oneself.
The local police gave me a glimpse into thinking more about catching such a villain. Theft of physical objects are investigated by police regularly but when confronted with the loss of something intangible, yet more important than physical artifacts, it is easy to label this as one-off supernatural happenings. But theft is still theft and losing memories, and in some cases, oneself, is a much bigger and serious crime. I had not thought about that before I read this book so I appreciate the new perspective!
On the Predator
Ink is also a psychological thriller, letting the reader into the mind of this predator who devours the memories. The story is told in third person with multiple points of views. Though most of it is focused on the present, for the predator himself – this human vampire if you would like to call it – I learned how he came to discover these powers and what led him to the town of Pine Deep.
The kind of twisted mind that would explore and exploit these powers and take pleasure in reliving memories is well portrayed by the book. He was so well written that I hated him with a passion. His actions, his way of thinking and his hunger – everything spoke “danger”.
On Memories
Our experiences in life make us who we are. We might not remember every single one of them, but that does not mean that they have not influenced us in becoming ourselves. It is only when I started to read about loss of memory in this book and seeing the effect that this had on not just the people to whom the memories belonged but also the people with whom the memories were made, that I started to understand how important memories are. Tattoos are tokens that represent an important time or even a long period of time. If you have a tattoo, you know exactly why you got it and what it represents. These permanent pieces of art on our bodies are reminders. Through the characters and the story lines, Ink reflects on these aspects of us, while being a fast-paced, high tension plot with some hair raising events.
Overall, Ink was an engaging read. It took a while to get into it because of the sheer number of perspectives. With a big cast of characters that have dark histories, this is the perfect book to read around Halloween. It’s spooky in its own unique manner and portrays the importance of memories and how the supernatural is integrated into our world in an interesting manner.
** Ink is now out in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! Be sure to check your local library too. **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Many thanks to the publisher for providing me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review through The Nerd Daily. This review was first published there on November 16, 2020.
For other thriller and supernatural novels, check out my Book Review Index!
Cover image: Photo by Pascal Meier on Unsplash
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