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Jack Paris #2
Kiss Of Evil
Christmas is just around the corner; the season of peace and goodwill.But this year, for Detective Jack Paris, the Christmas spirit is eclipsed by the hunt for a sadistic and twisted serial killer...When an accused murderer is acquitted on a technicality then found dead of an apparent suicide, a spree of brutal murders terrorizes the citizens of Cleveland.This vicious and vengeful killer tortures his seemingly unrelated victims in unimaginably violent ways, leaving them all with a strange symbol carved into their flesh. When Detective Paris discovers that these murders are the grim handiwork of one maniac obsessed with the dark side of the ancient religion, Santeria, he's pulled into a web of danger and sexual deviance.Jack must catch the killer before he kills again.But on Christmas Eve, Jack finds himself right where the homicidal maniac wants questioning his loyalties, facing an impossible choice, with the barrel of a gun pointing at his temple and the whole world watching...
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
33 people are currently reading
555 people want to read
About the author
Richard Montanari
25 books881 followersRichard Montanari is the Top Ten Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rosary Girls, The Killing Room, The Stolen Ones and the upcoming thriller, The Doll Maker.
Series:
* Jack Paris
* Jessica Balzano & Kevin Byrne
Series:
* Jack Paris
* Jessica Balzano & Kevin Byrne
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
May 28, 2012
It took a lot to get into this book. For the first half I put it down a lot. For some reason I just couldn't get into it. There were a few occasions where I almost gave up but I forced myself to finish it.
Once I got past about 70% of the way through the story got a lot more interesting and I finished the last 30% in about 3 days. Now that I've read the whole I can see that the story was interesting but it didn't grab me from the start. I struggled with his writing too. There is something about his style that I can't get on with and I found myself re-reading sentences. I hate that. I'm not exactly sure what it was about this book but it did put me off this author a little. The shame is that I read Devil's Garden a while ago and really enjoyed it.
Once I got past about 70% of the way through the story got a lot more interesting and I finished the last 30% in about 3 days. Now that I've read the whole I can see that the story was interesting but it didn't grab me from the start. I struggled with his writing too. There is something about his style that I can't get on with and I found myself re-reading sentences. I hate that. I'm not exactly sure what it was about this book but it did put me off this author a little. The shame is that I read Devil's Garden a while ago and really enjoyed it.
December 7, 2017
A good gripping read but not my favourite from this author. The style is as previous novels - first person narration by the killer & the rest, Paris & other characters, in the third person but this time I found it a little muddling keeping track of the characters. Nevertheless well worth a read.
September 5, 2013
It was a good read, although it certainly never me looking forward to get back into it, the other books have. It took a while infact to be honest i think it was only once i was 3 quarters into the book that i even thought was OK! No I wasn't captivated by the characters and surrounding story. I feel as though it has been a while since I've read a book and been entranced by the story. I must say I really do miss that feeling you get when a book gets under your skin and anything can be happening around you, but nothing matters but you and the book. I really need an excellent book to get engrossed in ;-/ Xx
April 5, 2010
I bought this book, thinking it was a new novel and not realising it was released years before. This book wasn't as good as Montanari's more recent novels, the story was often confusing and there was often almost too much going on, but overall the story was good. The lead characters in Montanari's later books are much better developed but it was still a good read.
December 24, 2013
Like many other readers, I thought that this wasn't as good as other books written by Montanari and I too didn't actually get into the story until well over halfway through. However, the book certainly picks up pace from the midpoint.
June 5, 2022
First of all, while the whole serial-killer toying with the police is not my favourite trope, in this book it works and makes sense, considering what are the killers goals and motivations.
The book was a pretty good read, though with the three lines we were following there wasn't really that much of the investigation. Some actions were taken, yes, but then it got abruptly cut off as the killer moved to his endgame. Too many story arcs led nowhere and while I know there have to be red herrings, it was a bit grating. And while I didn't like this switch happening so fast, it was a nice surprise that even though (as in all books of this type) the killer was almost supernatural, knowing everything and being everywhere at the same time, it has been made clear that he had to abandon some plans and improvise in other places.
While the ending felt to abrupt for me, I really liked the final twist. Oh, and all the characters are waaaaay too obsessed about sex. I wonder if the other volumes are like that as well?
I'll need to check them out... one day.
The book was a pretty good read, though with the three lines we were following there wasn't really that much of the investigation. Some actions were taken, yes, but then it got abruptly cut off as the killer moved to his endgame. Too many story arcs led nowhere and while I know there have to be red herrings, it was a bit grating. And while I didn't like this switch happening so fast, it was a nice surprise that even though (as in all books of this type) the killer was almost supernatural, knowing everything and being everywhere at the same time, it has been made clear that he had to abandon some plans and improvise in other places.
While the ending felt to abrupt for me, I really liked the final twist. Oh, and all the characters are waaaaay too obsessed about sex. I wonder if the other volumes are like that as well?
I'll need to check them out... one day.
August 30, 2014
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".
This is probably 4 1/2 stars.
Another one of his gripping page turners.
At the risk of sounding twisted, "enjoyable" seems like the wrong word to use but I did enjoy it - greatly - Richard Montanari writes are compelling - just try putting one down. I generally fall asleep mid sentence.
This is probably 4 1/2 stars.
Another one of his gripping page turners.
At the risk of sounding twisted, "enjoyable" seems like the wrong word to use but I did enjoy it - greatly - Richard Montanari writes are compelling - just try putting one down. I generally fall asleep mid sentence.
August 7, 2011
The book started off great. Nice touch with the killer's point of view. But as the book neared its end the story got more and more blurry and a little hard to comprehend. Just too much in the end, I'm afraid.
May 1, 2012
good, intense thriller, but i felt it overall lack a connection between all the characters, i only managed to figure out the whole story only towards the few chapters and i still have some questions lingering after i finished the book.
October 13, 2013
Took a bit to get into initially and kept putting it down, at about halfway through though it picked up speed and started to become clearer! Love his style of writing but a bit sad that Jack Paris stops here, would of liked to know more of his story?
May 3, 2020
A brilliant trashy crime novel that made me feel like a detective. If I was to go back in time I'd give myself a tip and say, note down some names, nicknames and character memory joggers. Even though my memory is terrible for names this one gets a tad complicated with character similarities.
February 15, 2010
Not his best in my opinion... The Violet Hour and his Byrne/Balzano series are much better.
March 25, 2016
Montanari is one of the finest thriller writers around today, just as good as people like Kathy Reichs or Harlan Coben. He never disappoints and Kiss of Evil is no exception.
August 12, 2016
In a nutshell Brilliant
January 21, 2025
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.
This is the first book for me by this author. It has been sitting on my shelf for sometime as I had bought it and never got around to reading it. Having read it and finished it, I was quite surprised.
The story is a very gory and pacy thriller. It offers a lot of twists and turns with plenty of red herrings along the way. I didn’t actually guess which character was the sister but did work out who was the brother.
Jack Paris our leading guy seems like a nice guy. He didn’t come over a sex god like some of the leading detectives in some of the crime novels I have read. He has appeared in previous book but felt as I was reading this one it didn’t matter I hadn’t read the first.
Would I recommend this book ? Yes I would, a well worthy read to keep you guessing.
This is the first book for me by this author. It has been sitting on my shelf for sometime as I had bought it and never got around to reading it. Having read it and finished it, I was quite surprised.
The story is a very gory and pacy thriller. It offers a lot of twists and turns with plenty of red herrings along the way. I didn’t actually guess which character was the sister but did work out who was the brother.
Jack Paris our leading guy seems like a nice guy. He didn’t come over a sex god like some of the leading detectives in some of the crime novels I have read. He has appeared in previous book but felt as I was reading this one it didn’t matter I hadn’t read the first.
Would I recommend this book ? Yes I would, a well worthy read to keep you guessing.
December 16, 2018
Detective Jack Paris returns in the sequel to Richard Montanari's first novel, 'Don't Look Now'/'Deviant Way'.
Christmas is fast-approaching and a serial killer is beginning his work. A woman drawn into an online fantasy world is brutally murdered. A con artist finds herself cornered when one of her cons goes wrong. Someone is watching her and someone is also watching Jack Paris.
Another case playing on Jack's mind is that of the murder of Mike Ryan, a police officer murdered two years before by a woman who has recently been found dead, her lawyer determined to give Jack a hard time. As the body count rises, Jack is drawn into the worlds of Santeria (an ancient religion comprised of elements of Yoruba religion and Christianity) and sexual deviance. Unbeknownst to him, the killer has an endgame in mind with Jack as its star performer.
Relentlessly fast-paced with multiple twists and turns, all of the strands come together for a heart-stopping finale, neatly tying all the loose ends in what at first appears to be a novel featuring multiple cases, but is revealed to be far more complicated, with potentially deadly consequences for Jack.
'Kiss of Evil' is a masterstroke in suspense, told in gruesome detail and with some surprises along the way - a superbly plotted and complex psychological thriller.
Christmas is fast-approaching and a serial killer is beginning his work. A woman drawn into an online fantasy world is brutally murdered. A con artist finds herself cornered when one of her cons goes wrong. Someone is watching her and someone is also watching Jack Paris.
Another case playing on Jack's mind is that of the murder of Mike Ryan, a police officer murdered two years before by a woman who has recently been found dead, her lawyer determined to give Jack a hard time. As the body count rises, Jack is drawn into the worlds of Santeria (an ancient religion comprised of elements of Yoruba religion and Christianity) and sexual deviance. Unbeknownst to him, the killer has an endgame in mind with Jack as its star performer.
Relentlessly fast-paced with multiple twists and turns, all of the strands come together for a heart-stopping finale, neatly tying all the loose ends in what at first appears to be a novel featuring multiple cases, but is revealed to be far more complicated, with potentially deadly consequences for Jack.
'Kiss of Evil' is a masterstroke in suspense, told in gruesome detail and with some surprises along the way - a superbly plotted and complex psychological thriller.
June 4, 2020
At the beginning it was really hard to get into it. But I didn't want to quit, because I already done this for two other books before this one. And half way through the book I got hooked and finished it quickly. Detective Paris trying to find out who is that serial killer which hurts his victims so bad and leaves some religious signs on their bodies. He becomes the killers target himself. It turns out the roots of all this is in the past...
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Iš pradžių sekėsi gana sunkiai įsivažiuoti. Bet nesinorėjo numesti, nes jau prieš šitą knygą dvi mečiau į šoną. Maždaug nuo pusės užsikabinau ir tada jau pabaigiau greitai. Detektyvas Paris bando išsiaiškinti kas yra tas serijinis žudikas, kuri aukas taip baisiai sužaloja ir palieka religinės sektos ženklus ant jų kūnų. Jis pats tampa žudiko taikiniu. Pasirodo viso to šaknys slypi praeityje...
.
Iš pradžių sekėsi gana sunkiai įsivažiuoti. Bet nesinorėjo numesti, nes jau prieš šitą knygą dvi mečiau į šoną. Maždaug nuo pusės užsikabinau ir tada jau pabaigiau greitai. Detektyvas Paris bando išsiaiškinti kas yra tas serijinis žudikas, kuri aukas taip baisiai sužaloja ir palieka religinės sektos ženklus ant jų kūnų. Jis pats tampa žudiko taikiniu. Pasirodo viso to šaknys slypi praeityje...
July 25, 2020
I love the Byrne and Balzano series, and I liked the first in the Jack Paris series but this left me cold. I just couldn't get into this at all and because it wasn't holding my interest I found that I constantly didn't remember who the characters were. This wasn't helped by a number of chapters starting with he or she and it would be a number of pages before it became evident who the book was referring to.
I haven't really got much to say about this except that I wouldn't bother with the Jack Paris series (a bit harsh on the first book) and go straight for the Byrne and Balzano series which is terrific. I'm not surprised that there haven't been any other books in this series since or that there haven't been any others for 19 years and that there were only two in the series.
I haven't really got much to say about this except that I wouldn't bother with the Jack Paris series (a bit harsh on the first book) and go straight for the Byrne and Balzano series which is terrific. I'm not surprised that there haven't been any other books in this series since or that there haven't been any others for 19 years and that there were only two in the series.
April 18, 2019
Du 3.5 a 4 c'est le deuxième Roma de Montanari que je lis bien que je préférai son roman "seven" plus
C'était une lecture haletante un tueur en série qui fait des rituels de sentaria avec ses victimes
L'auteur jette la lumière sur le passé de l'assassin le passé de ces certaines personnes qui ont souffert qui ont subi des atrocités dans la vie des tournats les rendant des killers quoique vraiment l'histoire étai bien tissée et je n'ai pas lâché le livre les 150 dernières pages malgré les études qui m'attendent
Ceci me pousse davantage a vouloir lire d'autres livres de Montanari surtout ceux des enquêteurs Kevin Byrne et Jessica Balzano
C'était une lecture haletante un tueur en série qui fait des rituels de sentaria avec ses victimes
L'auteur jette la lumière sur le passé de l'assassin le passé de ces certaines personnes qui ont souffert qui ont subi des atrocités dans la vie des tournats les rendant des killers quoique vraiment l'histoire étai bien tissée et je n'ai pas lâché le livre les 150 dernières pages malgré les études qui m'attendent
Ceci me pousse davantage a vouloir lire d'autres livres de Montanari surtout ceux des enquêteurs Kevin Byrne et Jessica Balzano
January 14, 2024
I’m sorry, but this book took a while to read.
The book, which is set in Cleveland, sees Detective Paris investigate a series of murders that are severely marked with strange symbols, after death. It’s told from multiple points of view (the killer’s, Paris’s, other detectives on the squad), as Paris works his way to finding his man.
The book was an okay read. It’s just there were long periods when I wasn’t telling myself “Oh go on the, one more page.”
The book, which is set in Cleveland, sees Detective Paris investigate a series of murders that are severely marked with strange symbols, after death. It’s told from multiple points of view (the killer’s, Paris’s, other detectives on the squad), as Paris works his way to finding his man.
The book was an okay read. It’s just there were long periods when I wasn’t telling myself “Oh go on the, one more page.”
May 6, 2025
Not the best of the Richard Montanari books. This was a re-read as I start his series again. Maybe it’s that I struggled to like the characters- not really caring if the main character lives/dies/gets justice.
This however doesn’t carry through to the other books. Read the next series with Byrne and Balzano. They are fantastic
This however doesn’t carry through to the other books. Read the next series with Byrne and Balzano. They are fantastic
Read
April 6, 2022Full of dark atmosphere and interesting characters, both heroic and villainous. Engrossing, although uneven. One can see great things are to come from this author.
I read this just after Every Wicked Man by Steven James and sometimes confused myself with all the killings and killers!
I read this just after Every Wicked Man by Steven James and sometimes confused myself with all the killings and killers!
September 18, 2022
Took a while for me to get into this book, the starting chapters were good but timelines and characters swayed around so much in the initial chapters it was hard to keep track. Glad I persisted as I liked the book overall.
August 12, 2018
Addictive!! I really enjoyed this one and looking forward to reading more in the series
June 29, 2019
Really gripping, a definite page-turner.
July 14, 2020
Fascinating.
Montanari’s plots are so good. There’s always several subplots and gosh lots of action. One of my new favorite finds!
Montanari’s plots are so good. There’s always several subplots and gosh lots of action. One of my new favorite finds!
April 7, 2021
Difficult book to get into, but more annoyingly why did Detective Paris name keep changing from jack to John throughout the book?! So confusing.
May 9, 2021
I tried so hard. Just not for me. Couldn't finish it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews