THE TOOLS OF THE GHOST

In Nayak’s urban fantasy series starter, a federal agent aligns herself with a powerful entity to combat an unspeakable evil.

FBI Special Agent Kiran Patel is a rookie working a kidnapping case in Seattle. Her skills lead authorities to an abandoned church where a cult is holding 11 abducted children. However, a formidable supernatural being foils the rescue attempt, and Kiran’s veteran partner Anatol Zagorski is gravely injured. On the verge of death, Anatol gives Kiran an incredible responsibility—the binding of a different entity called “the Ghost.”Specifically, he gives her a new, tattoolike mark on her arm, created by the combined effort of angels and forces of Hell, which gives the younger agent certain powers, including the ability to exert some control over the lanky, silver-skinned, and hard-to-kill Ghost. As the ritualistic binding requires a “trinity,” Kiran gets help from local detectives Greg Reese and Enrique Gonzales. If they lose control, the Ghost could incite more terror than the villain who’s spearheading the abductions. Much of Nayak’s tale involves getting to know the enigmatic Ghost. He’s surprisingly charming, with a gleefully bizarre preoccupation with pie and cake and the ability to grant wishes, such as fixing Gonzales’ trick knee (“Do you wish it healed? Wish the speed of the wind and lost youth?” ask the Ghost). Still, it’s Kiran’s tenacity that drives the investigation (and the narrative), as she makes ensuring the kidnapped kids’ safety her primary objective. She, the Ghost, and the detectives fall into a string of diverting action scenes, battling nefarious humans and paranormal beings. All the while, various details gradually come to light, including about what happened when Anatol bore the mark, the villains’ unsettling motive, and the Ghost himself. This story, which launches a series, builds to a blistering final act with a fury of powers on display and a distinct Lovecraftian flavor.

A vibrant cast and a tangled mystery fuel this kinetic supernatural tale.