Book Reviews and More: A Fistful of Relics - Declan Finn

A Fistful of Relics

Saint Tommy NYPD Omnibus, Vol. III

Declan Finn

Tuscany Bay Books

eISBN 9781865243467

ASIN B0HFDTK2WS

A Fistful of Relics - Declan Finn - Saint Tommy NYPD Omnibus Vol. III

This is the third of the new Omnibus editions of this excellent series I have read. I must again state that Declan Finn is one of my favourite contemporary authors. I have read all the published books and short stories, and many contributions to anthologies. I had been planning to reread this series for a while now, especially as I await the republication of the Pius series. These new omnibus editions look amazing! My son and I both absolutely love these new editions. Without the words on the covers we would both do them as prints and put them up on our wall with Icons we have.

The description of this omnibus edition states:

“In the mean streets of New York—and beyond—evil has a scent. And one cop can smell it.

Detective Thomas “Tommy” Nolan is a good man: devoted husband and father, faithful Catholic, and an NYPD officer who shows mercy to the desperate while hunting the truly wicked. Then the gifts arrive—the charisms of the saints. He can smell evil. He can bilocate. He heals fast, levitates when needed, and stands as a living target for the legions of Hell.

From a demon-possessed serial killer tearing through Queens to death cults, warlocks in high office, Nazi vampires, sex-trafficking succubi, witches, zombies, Lovecraftian horrors, and worse, every force of darkness marks Tommy for destruction. They learn the hard way that “good” does not mean “harmless.” With prayer, fists, firearms, allies from the Vatican to the streets, and an unshakable faith, Tommy sends them all back to Hell—or dies trying.

This complete collection gathers every novel and short story in Declan Finn’s acclaimed Saint Tommy, NYPD series: the full arc of Tommy’s battles across New York, Europe, and the supernatural underworld, plus the connecting tales that fill the gaps between major cases. Experience the Catholic action-horror that readers call a streamlined, faith-fueled answer to urban fantasy classics—fast-paced, gun-and-grace-filled, and unapologetically on the side of the light.

One saint. One badge. An army of demons. The war against Evil starts here.

The third volume of the omnibus collection of the St. Tommy, NYPD series includes:

Coven: Nolan is back in New York, where an old-fashioned murder leads to an army ready to go to war.

Hussar: A supernatural terrorist opens a training camp in America, putting Nolan hot on his trail.

Destiny: When Heathen terrorists try to slaughter him and his family while on vacation in Rome, NYPD Lieutenant Thomas Nolan must call upon every trick he knows to send the terrorist leader back to Hell.

Succubus Blues: When the femme fatale is a succubus, only one cop can take that police report.

Saints and Monsters: When Nolan receives training in Rome, he and a fellow student have to survive Etruscan catacombs together. If they don’t kill each other, maybe the mummies will.”

About the author we are informed:

“As penance for his sins, Declan Finn spent over 40 years in New York City. He has since made his escape from New York to Texas. He is the author of books ranging from thrillers to urban fantasy to SciFi, including the Dragon Award Nominated Novel for Best horror in 2016, Honor at Stake, and the 2017 follow-up, Live and Let Bite. He was also nominated for "Best Apocalypse" novel at the Dragons in 2017. He also won the book of the year award with his novel Hell Spawn from CLFA.

Finn is known for being annoyingly Catholic, his action sequences, and writing faster than most readers can keep up with. In less than a decade, he has written over 30 novels, and is waiting for all of them to be published. He's been part of multiple anthologies, and will write for anyone.”

This is yet another incredible collection. I was even more impressed reading these stories the second time. And greatly enjoyed the new offering. Spiritual warfare and the war on crime collide. Officer Nolan thought he had his work cut out for him.

In Coven:

This story in some ways reminded me of Tom Clancy’s Clear and Present Danger, in that there are several different subplots that start out separately and come together in the end. Tommy and his partner Alex are investigating a murder of a military man. They son find out there is a link to the Triple D’s and a newly reactivated military base. We also have the CPS threatening to take Tommy’s kids, with both his precinct and the Church helping to hide his wife and children. An epic battle underground in the subway featuring vampires, werewolves, hell hound’s, people in body armour, ghouls, and “something that was one part crab (the legs), one part scorpion (the claws), and one part Abrams tank. Its head nearly scraped the tunnel wall, and its width took up over half the width of the passage. The head was misplaced on the body—that of a praying mantis.” And that is just some of the action.

In this story we find out more about Tommy’s time in Rome, and the training that he and his family received. But when we get to the climatic battle a mystic artefact is used against Tommy and he finds out his ring has even more power than he had expected.

The action in this story was nearly non-stop. It is part mystery, part action, and part thriller. It is an excellent read!

In Succubus Blues:

I read this in the original anthology it appeared it, and at the time it was like a visit with an old friend. A creature as the title indicates appears in the stations. Tommy decides to figure out if it is a try or real. And soon Tommy, the woman, and her man are fighting a demon. A great little story with some very interesting twists.

In Hussar:

Tommy and Bokor heading to Texas to tackle a human trafficking ring. There they encounter Texas Ranger, Lloyd Lerman, who joins them on a trip back to New York and then overseas as they follow the evidence trail. Tasking resources from an old friend in Europe, and performing a miracle or two always changes the landscape of these stories, but this time in a very different way. Tommy’s son, Jeremy, his ward Lena and their friend have been getting in on the action as well.

This story is action packed. From beginning to end the story races at a break neck from beginning to end, and I will be honest it leaves you wanting to jump into the next story right away. The story is fiction but deals with some very heavy themes. Themes not often talked about in mainstream media and often not even society. Finn does an excellent job of weaving current events into this Catholic Action Horror novel. The characters are masterfully written. Seeing Jeremy and Lena come into their own is fascinating, and leaves the reading wondering what they will be up to next.

In Destiny:

Tommy and Bokor end up teaming up again as partners,, the Boker working off his redemption. And this time they have Jeremy and Lena, XO, and others as back up. The battles this time include, a former Jesuit Doctor Roberto D’Almeida, a giant bronze statue, Vodyanoy, an armoured fire breathing bear, necrophage’s, bruxa and of course Bergolio!

This story is packed full of action. Sort of Like a Die Hard film with the whole family in on the action. From beginning to end the story races it leaves you wanting to jump into the next story right away. Finn again does an excellent job of weaving current events into this Catholic Action Horror novel. The characters are masterfully written. Wondering what will happen to them next leaves you hanging big time!

In Saints and Monsters:

We are informed at the beginning that this story is not official canon. But that being said, what a great story. This is a crossover with the Love at First Bite series. Or I should say specifically a reworking of part of the Honeymoon from Hell story called Cross Over. Specifically parts of middle chapters called Saint, Meet Monster to After Action. It is a really fun story of Tommy and Marco both being at the Vatican training, and as happens to both of them often, trouble just seems to find them. It is surprising how well they worked together! A great read.

This is another outstanding collection to read. Great stories in a series that are now available in 4 Omnibus editions and a collection of all the short stories. I highly recommend this series for mature readers. I have recommended these books to dozens of people and all have loved them. Therefore I recommend them to you. Pick this up and read this awesome series!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan!

Books by Declan Finn:

Love At First Bite Series:

Short Stories:

Blood Stained Cliffs of Dover

Bad Date

Mad Dog Moon

…

Novels:

Honor at Stake

Demons Are Forever

(Murphy's Law of Vampires)