Richard Montanari

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BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR


Title: The Rosary Girls: Description:
In the most brutal killing crusade Philadelphia has seen in years, a series of young Catholic women are found dead, their bodies mutilated and their hands bolted together. Each clutches a rosary in her lifeless grasp. Veteran cop Kevin Byrne and his rookie partner Jessica Balzano set out to hunt down the elusive killer, who leads them deeper and deeper into the abyss of a madman's depravity. Suspects appear before them like bad dreams - and vanish just as quickly. While the body count rises, Easter is fast approaching: the day of resurrection and of the last rosary to be counted .............................

Title: The Skin Gods: Description:
Philadlephia is sweltering in the summer heat. A series of crime shatters the city. Someone is recreating famous Hllywood murder scenes on video and leaving them to be found by the unsuspecting public...

Title: Broken Angels: Description:
When the first body is found, mutilated and strangled on the riverbank, homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano suspect yet another random case of urban violence. Until it happens again. And again. One by one, women are lured to the old Schuylkill River, their violent and increasingly staged deaths the only clues to the killer's twisted imagination. All are wearing oddly old-fashioned dresses, holding a prop of some kind. And each one seems to have a story to tell, speaking of nightmares that are not just the stuff of fairy tales... Desperately, Byrne and Balzano try to uncover the fragile link between the murders, until they realise they are up against two different kinds of evil. A ruthless killer is preying upon the citizens of Philadelphia. And someone else is killing the suspects. From the Publisher The new spell-binding, unputdownable thriller from the bestselling author of The Rosary Girls and The Skin Gods From the Inside Flap Darkness has fallen on the streets of Philadelphia, sparkling red and green lights and festively decorated windows shining thinly through the cold, wintry city. That same night, the strangled corpse of a woman in an oddly old-fashined dress is found on the banks of the Schuylkill River, her feet mutilated and torn. Homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano know that this Christmas won't be much of a holiday for them. There are no leads, no motive, and just when it begins to look like yet another case of random urban violence … it happens again. Another young woman, dressed in vintage clothing, is found strangled on the bank of the river. This time the victim holds a bird in her lifeless grasp. The second murder exposes a fragile link between the two and Byrne and Balzano begin to peel away the layers of the victims’ lives, only to discover a twisted chain of events stretching back in time, to a series of even more sinister crimes. Flash back six years, to 2001: A serial rapist turns up brutally murdered. Flash back further, to 1995: Two girls are followed into the forest and disappear. As, piece by piece, a chilling legacy of malevolence and retribution is revealed, more bodies start surfacing – every single one of them connected to the five murders. Moving cautiously along the dark banks of the old Schuylkill River, towards what they think is the heart of the madness unleashed upon their city, Kevin and Jessica know they’re fast running out of time. Someone is preying upon the citizens of Philadelphia. And someone else is killing the suspects. From the Back Cover Praise for Richard Montanari 'A relentlessly suspenseful, soul-chilling thriller that hooks you instantly’ Tess Gerritsen‘Readers of this terrifying page-turner are in the hands of a master storyteller. Be prepared to stay up all night’ James Ellroy'A specialist in serial killer tales . . . a wonderfully evocative writer' Publishers Weekly'A no-holds-barred thriller that thrusts the reader into the black soul of the killer . . . those with a taste for Thomas Harris will look forward to the sure-to-follow sequel' Library Journal About the Author Richard Montanari:Richard Montanari is the Top Ten Sunday Times bestselling author of Rosary Girls and Skin Gods, as well as the internationally acclaimed thrillers Kiss of Evil, Deviant Ways and The Violet Hour. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Title: The Skin Gods: Description:
The streets of Philadelphia are blistering in the summer heat, the homicide rate is soaring and the nights belong to the mad. Detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano are prowling the streets with a growing sense of unease. Where next will evil rear its ugly head? When a series of seemingly unrelated crimes shatter the restless silence of the city, their worst fears are confirmed. A beautiful secretary is slashed to death in a grimy motel shower. A street hustler brutally murdered with a chainsaw. Piece by piece, a strange and sickening puzzle presents itself: someone is meticulously recreating Hollywood's most well-known and horrifying murder scenes, capturing them on film and inserting the clips into videos - for an unsuspecting public to find. While Kevin Byrne begins furtive investigations of his own, Jessica Balzano goes undercover to work the steaming back alleys of Philadelphia, entering a violent world of underground film, pornography and seedy nightclubs, hidden to all but the initiated. Discovering that none of The Actor's victims are as innocent as they appear to be, the two detectives arrive at a terrifying reality: they are not just chasing a homicide suspect. They are stalking evil itself... From the Publisher The Rosary Girls author Richard Montanari delivers another spell-binding, unputdownable thriller From the Inside Flap It will be said that I am a psychopath, a madman, an evil force from the bowels of hell. As the bodies fall and the rivers run red, I will receive some horrendous reviews. Don’t believe a word of it. I wouldn’t hurt a fly. The streets of Philadelphia are blistering in the summer heat, the homicide rate is soaring and the nights belong to the mad.Detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano are prowling the streets with a growing sense of unease. Where next will evil rear its ugly head? When a series of seemingly unrelated crimes shatter the restless silence of the city, their worst fears are confirmed. A beautiful secretary is slashed to death in a grimy motel shower.A street hustler brutally murdered with a chainsaw.Piece by piece, a strange and sickening puzzle presents itself: someone is meticulously recreating Hollywood’s most well-known and horrifying murder scenes, capturing them on film and inserting the clips into videos – for an unsuspecting public to find. While Kevin Byrne begins furtive investigations of his own, Jessica Balzano goes undercover to work the steaming back alleys of Philadelphia, entering a violent world of underground film, pornography and seedy nightclubs, hidden to all but the initiated. Discovering that none of the Actor’s victims are as innocent as they appear to be, the two detectives arrive at a terrifying reality: They are not just chasing a homicide suspect. They are stalking evil itself … From the Back Cover Praise for Richard Montanari’s The Rosary Girls 'Readers of this terrifying page-turner are in the hands of a master storyteller. Be prepared to stay up all night' James Ellroy‘A relentlessly suspenseful, soul-chilling thriller that hooks you instantly’ Tess Gerritsen ‘There's only one word that can adequately describe Richard Montanari's The Rosary Girls: incredible ... Ranks with The Silence of the Lambs and Kiss the Girls … a breath-taking rollercoaster ride full of plot twists and suspense that keeps the reader begging to know what's next’ CelebrityCafe.Com‘Utterly savage and frightening . . . this riveting and smart thriller provides a heavy dose of adrenaline and diversion’ New Mystery Reader ‘If you like Thomas Harris, your prayers have been answered with The Rosary Girls’ Book of the Month Club About the Author Richard Montanari:Richard Montanari's essays, profiles and features have appeared in scores of national nd regional publications, including THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE PLAIN DEALER, THE DETROIT FREE PRESS and many others.

Title: Broken Angels: Description:
When the first body is found, mutilated and strangled on the riverbank, homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano suspect yet another random case of urban violence. Until it happens again. And again. One by one, women are lured to the old Schuylkill River, their violent and increasingly staged deaths the only clues to the killer's twisted imagination. All are wearing oddly old-fashioned dresses, holding a prop of some kind. And each one seems to have a story to tell, speaking of nightmares that are not just the stuff of fairy tales... Desperately, Byrne and Balzano try to uncover the fragile link between the murders, until they realise they are up against two different kinds of evil. A ruthless killer is preying upon the citizens of Philadelphia. And someone else is killing the suspects.

Title: The Skin Gods: Description:
The streets of Philadelphia are blistering in the summer heat, the homicide rate is soaring and the nights belong to the mad. Detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano are prowling the streets with a growing sense of unease. Where next will evil rear its ugly head? When a series of seemingly unrelated crimes shatter the restless silence of the city, their worst fears are confirmed. A beautiful secretary is slashed to death in a grimy motel shower. A street hustler brutally murdered with a chainsaw. Piece by piece, a strange and sickening puzzle presents itself: someone is meticulously recreating Hollywood's most well-known and horrifying murder scenes, capturing them on film and inserting the clips into videos - for an unsuspecting public to find. While Kevin Byrne begins furtive investigations of his own, Jessica Balzano goes undercover to work the steaming back alleys of Philadelphia, entering a violent world of underground film, pornography and seedy nightclubs, hidden to all but the initiated. Discovering that none of The Actor's victims are as innocent as they appear to be, the two detectives arrive at a terrifying reality: They are not just chasing a homicide suspect. They are stalking evil itself ...

Title: The Violet Hour: Description:
Twenty years ago a group of students celebrated their daring and freedom at an exclusive college party, where something terrible happened. For most the memories are buried until a respected priest is brutally killed. For journalist Nick Stella this could be a chance to hit the big time again.