Monk Last Rite (Axel Monk 4) by Chase Austin-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 25, 2025

Axel’s this mission isn’t sanctioned — it’s personal.
Axel Monk wanted to disappear. To vanish into the deserts of Afghanistan and leave behind the ghosts, the bodies, and The Conglomerate that made him a monster.

But the past does not forgive.
And when they take Sanam Bajwa, the person he ever swore to protect, the world’s deadliest assassin is angry.

Now Monk is deep inside the badlands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a lawless frontier ruled by warlords, smugglers, and traitors. Every side wants him: the Pakistan Army, the tribal militias, and the very assassins he once trained beside. But Monk does not care.

Because this time, it is not about duty.
It is about redemption.

As the Conglomerate hunts its rogue asset, Monk cuts his way through the underworld one bullet, one betrayal, one blood-soaked promise at a time. From the ruins of Peshawar to the mountain fortresses of the border, the message spreads like wildfire:

Axel Monk is coming.

And this time, he is not taking prisoners.

••••••

REVIEW:MONK LAST RITE is the fourth instalment in Chase Austin’s contemporary, adult AXEL MONK THRILLER suspense series focusing on assassin / police officer/ freelancer/ ghost Axel Monk aka Ali Ansari. MONK LAST RITE can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading the series in order for backstory and cohesion, as there is an ongoing premise throughout.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives including Axel Monk, MONK LAST RITE follows several pathways including the search for a missing woman. Axel Monk is struggling in the wake of a botched assignment in Pakistan, and our hero has gone rogue. A group known as the Conglomerate is offering twenty million dollars to take down Axel Monk but Axel finds himself the lone witness to an abduction, a human trafficking ring, and he is determined to save the women unable to save themselves.

Meanwhile, two other assassins have accepted the contract in an effort to earn the twenty million dollars but as the assassins begin their journey towards becoming millionaires, they find themselves always one step behind, or following a dead end.

MONK LAST RITE is a detailed and dark story of power and control, religious rites and beliefs in the wake of questionable family dynamics, torture and abuse, acceptance and aggression. Axel Monk’s role is only a part of the current story line as the numerous pathways take the reader on several different journeys. The premise is complex and dramatic-the search for Monk ,the bounty and The Conglomerate is akin to the John Wick™ and the High Table. The characters are desperate and determined. MONK LAST RITE ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

I would like to note that the title appears to flounder grammatically -perhaps MONK’S LAST RITE would have been more appropriate. Even my ‘spell check’ and ‘grammar check’ highlighted a problem.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy