false 140458 1178310 0345470966 9780345470966 31 <![CDATA[The Rosary Girls: a Novel]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181671993m/1178310.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181671993s/1178310.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1178310.The_Rosary_Girls_a_Novel 3.96 145 --Jane Adams]]> 140458 3.85 576 113 2005 1073141 0345470974 9780345470973 15 <![CDATA[The Skin Gods: a Novel of Suspense]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180749643m/1073141.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180749643s/1073141.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1073141.The_Skin_Gods_a_Novel_of_Suspense 3.72 101
It is the steaming heart of summer in the City of Brotherly Love. Back on the force after taking a bullet during the arrest of a sadistic murderer, Detective Kevin Byrne warily returns to police headquarters. He cannot shake the memory of the Rosary Killer’s innocent victims–or his growing sense that the evil has not been vanquished. And when he and his partner, Detective Jessica Balzano, are called in on a bizarre case, Byrne’s gravest suspicions are confirmed.

A madman, dubbed The Actor by the homicide unit, is meticulously re-creating Hollywood’s most famous–and most gruesome–death scenes. The first murder is caught on film, spliced into a rented VHS edition of the Hitchcock black-and-white masterpiece Psycho. But in place of Janet Leigh is a real-life woman, and this time, the blood is red and the knife is real. Soon, more thrilling classics are turned into terrifying snuff films and placed on video store shelves for an unsuspecting public to find.

The key to this horrific puzzle could lie with any of The Skin Gods’ supporting cast: the A-list Hollywood director, the ruthless executive assistant, the convicted mass murderer–or perhaps someone else who has made a sinister art of gruesome violence.

Hot on the psychopath’s trail, Balzano and Byrne descend into the mouth of madness and beyond, deep into the depraved underworld of S&M clubs and the porn industry, where the worship of flesh leads to malevolent evil. Before the final credits roll, the investigators will discover that none of The Actor’s victims are as innocent as they appear to be, and that the clue the police need to prevent future murders might be found in Detective Byrne’s own dark past.]]> 140458 3.85 576 113 2006 1287516 0345492404 9780345492401 17 <![CDATA[Merciless: A Novel of Suspense]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182521968m/1287516.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182521968s/1287516.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1287516.Merciless_A_Novel_of_Suspense 3.86 70
Homicide cops Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano take the lead on the case, uncovering a plethora of eerie clues–each more warped and spine-chilling than the last. Yet the identity of Karen’s pitiless killer remains a mystery. Then the next victim is found upriver at an abandoned waterworks, posed with an unlikely object in her clasped hands. Struggling to link the victims and make sense of the madman’s agenda, Byrne and Balzano follow his twisted trail, which stretches into a past of dark crimes forgotten by all but a few.

Now the past roars back into the present with a vengeance as the ingenious killer unleashes a torrent of rage upon the streets of Philadelphia. As Byrne and Balzano sift through suspects and clues, they unearth a shocking secret history: a legacy of malevolence and cold-blooded retribution dating back twenty years. And the farther they make their way up the body-strewn banks of the Schuylkill River, the closer they get to a villain from their worst nightmare, an evil as patient as it is merciless.

Lightning fast and razor sharp, this jolting thriller from acclaimed author Richard Montanari coils back in time to deliver a fiendish mystery, a shattering revelation, and one hell of a wild ride. Lock your doors and turn up the lights. Montanari’s terrifying bedtime story will keep you up all night.]]> 140458 3.85 576 113 2007 2946411 0345492420 9780345492425 8 <![CDATA[Badlands: A Novel of Suspense]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2946411.Badlands_A_Novel_of_Suspense 3.85 33
Months before, a teenage runaway’s body was found in the desolate, dangerous North Philly district dubbed the Badlands. Dead runaways were no novelty on these mean streets, but the Caitlin O’Riordan case was different. Her corpse was found in the basement of a rancid tenement apartment, the inexplicable cause of death: drowning. In the end, nothing was solved and the case was closed.

Now a confession to the bizarre murder on the police tipline sends Byrne and Balzano rushing to make an arrest. But instead of a killer, they discover a ghastly scene: a jar containing human remains–along with a cryptic clue leading to an unlikely witness. Laura Somerville lives far from the squalor of the Badlands, and seemingly light-years from any connection to a murdered runaway. But moments after discussing the case with this elegant lady, Byrne and Balzano make another grisly discovery, and find an enigmatic word spelled out in Scrabble tiles.

Across town, another victim’s shallow grave reveals deeper mysteries. Her secret diaries portray a woman haunted by a shocking past, and obsessed with finding a depraved killer.

Now, as the body count grows, a terrifying design literally takes shape. Pieces of a gruesome puzzle are being set into place by the cruel hands of a madman using the city as his game board. His playthings are the innocent, and his opponents–and pawns–are Byrne and Balzano, who must, before time runs out, decipher the truth about a shadowy house of horrors and its elusive master.

Internationally acclaimed author Richard Montanari works his black magic to spine-tingling perfection in Badlands, conjuring all the relentless suspense, dark twists of intrigue, and full-throttle action that make his brilliant, engrossing novels required reading for thriller fans.]]> 140458 3.85 576 113 2008 1287518 0671511092 9780671511098 3 <![CDATA[Deviant Way]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182521970m/1287518.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182521970s/1287518.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1287518.Deviant_Way 3.73 22 K. "]]> 140458 3.85 576 113 1995 240014 0380795329 9780380795321 4 <![CDATA[The Violet Hour]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173031840m/240014.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173031840s/240014.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240014.The_Violet_Hour 3.56 16 The Violet Hour. Writer Nicky Stella--beseiged by debts and responsibilities of his own--tries to save his career by finding out why poetry students who went to a party at Case Western Reserve University 20 years ago are suddenly dying in very nasty ways. With its ecclectic mixture of new technologies and classic mystery plotting, The Violet Hour is a sleek and dark story of delayed revenge. Montanari's equally chilling, well-received first thriller, Deviant Way, is available in paperback. --Dick Adler]]> 140458 3.85 576 113 1998 1287517 0380795345 9780380795345 0 <![CDATA[Kiss of Evil]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182521969m/1287517.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182521969s/1287517.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1287517.Kiss_of_Evil 4.00 12 Police officer Mike Ryan was murdered with his own gun. A beautiful suspect walked away free after tainting his reputation with allegations of greed and corruption -- only to perish herself in a fiery apparent suicide. For two years Cleveland Homicide Detective John Salvatore Paris has been struggling to clear his friend Ryan's once-good name with no success. And now a rash of brutal slayings is rocking Paris's city, a plague of terror and ritual sacrifice savage enough to shatter even the most street-hardened cop's faith in justice and a rational world. Each murder is different yet equally horrific -- each victim and crime connected only by a strange symbol carved into their flesh.

And by one name: Michael Ryan.

]]> 140458 3.85 576 113 2001 6391533 0099538628 9780099538622 2 <![CDATA[Play Dead]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6391533-play-dead 3.67 15 140458 3.85 576 113 2009 2595622 2 <![CDATA[Rosary Murderer]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2595622.Rosary_Murderer 3.75 4 140458 3.85 576 113 2008 6391534 0434018899 9780434018895 3 <![CDATA[The Devil's Garden]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6391534-the-devil-s-garden 3.00 5 140458 3.85 576 113 2009 3105795 3404155548 9783404155545 0 <![CDATA[Crucifix]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3105795.Crucifix 3.67 3 140458 3.85 576 113 2006 6661711 0753131587 9780753131589 0 <![CDATA[Broken Angels]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6661711-broken-angels 4.50 2 140458 3.85 576 113 74164 4.14 7 0 2008 4444930 3404156773 9783404156771 0 <![CDATA[Mefisto]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4444930.Mefisto 4.00 1 140458 3.85 576 113 2007 6752443 0099544784 9780099544784 0 <![CDATA[3 book box set Broken Angels, The Rosary Girls The Skin Gods]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6752443-3-book-box-set-broken-angels-the-rosary-girls-the-skin-gods 3.00 1 140458 3.85 576 113 2008 6249466 2744196088 0 <![CDATA[Déviances]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6249466.D_viances 0.0 0 140458 3.85 576 113 3105792 2749107881 9782749107882 0 <![CDATA[Psycho]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3105792.Psycho 0.0 0 140458 3.85 576 113 2007 4444931 3785723245 9783785723241 0 <![CDATA[Lunatic]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4444931.Lunatic 0.0 0 140458 3.85 576 113 2008 6712406 0641937369 9780641937361 0 <![CDATA[Skin Gods]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6712406-skin-gods 0.0 0 Pub. Date: June 2008.

From the Publisher:

With the breakneck pacing and intricate plotting of his most recent novel, The Rosary Girls, Richard Montanari established himself as one of the most exciting suspense writers working today. Now he proves himself a virtuoso with The Skin Gods, an explosive new thriller featuring Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano.

It is the steaming heart of summer in the City of Brotherly Love. Back on the force after taking a bullet during the arrest of a sadistic murderer, Detective Kevin Byrne warily returns to police headquarters. He cannot shake the memory of the Rosary Killers innocent victimsor his growing sense that the evil has not been vanquished. And when he and his partner, Detective Jessica Balzano, are called in on a bizarre case, Byrnes gravest suspicions are confirmed.

A madman, dubbed The Actor by the homicide unit, is meticulously re-creating Hollywoods most famousand most gruesomedeath scenes. The first murder is caught on film, spliced into a rented VHS edition of the Hitchcock black-and-white masterpiece Psycho. But in place of Janet Leigh is a real-life woman, and this time, the blood is red and the knife is real. Soon, more thrilling classics are turned into terrifying snuff films and placed on video store shelves for an unsuspecting public to find.

The key to this horrific puzzle could lie with any of The Skin Gods supporting cast: the A-list Hollywood director, the ruthless executive assistant, the convicted mass murdereror perhaps someone else who has made a sinister art of gruesome violence.]]> 140458 3.85 576 113 2008 6649007 0099522454 9780099522454 0 <![CDATA[Crime collection Three vol. box set: Rosary Girls ; Grave Secrets ; Blindsighted]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6649007-crime-collection-three-vol-box-set 0.0 0 140458 3.85 576 113 12504 3.94 7825 1025 26372 3.77 27363 2536 2006 6295957 3785723652 9783785723654 0 <![CDATA[Septagon]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6295957.Septagon 0.0 0 140458 3.85 576 113 557190 4.50 4 0 2009