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The Violet Hour
Johnny Angel is found brutally murdered with a dead prostitute in his bed and a needle full of heroin in his arm. It's all the more shocking because he's a priest. But when Dr Bennett Marc Crane, a prestigious plastic surgeon, is the next victim of a vicious attack of the same manner, it becomes clear that there is a serial killer on the loose...
And as this homicidal maniac exacts his vengeance upon more innocent victims, evidence of another long-buried crime is uncovered. One that starts with a Halloween celebration at an exclusive college party twenty years ago and ends with a murderous plan for delayed revenge.
For Nicky Stella, a hungry journalist, this is just the sort of sordid story that could land him a cover article. But when he digs a bit too deep, the killer's attention turns towards Nicky and he must find the killer before he becomes the next victim...
And as this homicidal maniac exacts his vengeance upon more innocent victims, evidence of another long-buried crime is uncovered. One that starts with a Halloween celebration at an exclusive college party twenty years ago and ends with a murderous plan for delayed revenge.
For Nicky Stella, a hungry journalist, this is just the sort of sordid story that could land him a cover article. But when he digs a bit too deep, the killer's attention turns towards Nicky and he must find the killer before he becomes the next victim...
322 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
36 people are currently reading
612 people want to read
About the author
Richard Montanari
25 books885 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
October 4, 2017
FANTASTIC!!
What we have here is a diamond in the dark. A 'sleeper', passed over by the masses. As far as I'm concerned, this hidden gem can rival any current thriller/suspense book and still come out shining bright. A strong contender, indeed.
This was my first time reading this author and it will not be my last. In fact, I'm tempted to dive right in and binge read his 'Jessica Balzano & Kevin Bryne' series.
Don't let this one pass you by!!! Highly recommend!!
**Not for everyone! Contains sexual & graphic content that may be uncomfortable for some.
What we have here is a diamond in the dark. A 'sleeper', passed over by the masses. As far as I'm concerned, this hidden gem can rival any current thriller/suspense book and still come out shining bright. A strong contender, indeed.
This was my first time reading this author and it will not be my last. In fact, I'm tempted to dive right in and binge read his 'Jessica Balzano & Kevin Bryne' series.
Don't let this one pass you by!!! Highly recommend!!
**Not for everyone! Contains sexual & graphic content that may be uncomfortable for some.
November 19, 2014
Johnny Angel is found brutally murdered with a dead prostitute in his bed and a needle full of heroin in his arm. It's all the more shocking because he's a priest. But when Dr Bennett Marc Crane, a prestigious plastic surgeon, is the next victim of a vicious attack of the same manner, it becomes clear that there is a serial killer on the loose.
And as this homicidal maniac exacts his vengeance upon more innocent victims, evidence of another long-buried crime is uncovered. One that starts with a Halloween celebration at an exclusive college party twenty years ago and ends with a murderous plan for delayed revenge.
For Nicky Stella, a hungry journalist, this is just the sort of sordid story that could land him a cover article. But when he digs a bit too deep, the killer's attention turns towards Nicky and he must find the killer before he becomes the next victim.
We start off in the mind of a killer who has subtly plotted revenge for an event that occurred on Halloween night, 1978. From there we're taken through the methodical killings of all those involved in the event. Nicholas Stella, a freelance writer, thinks he's stumbled onto a story of the week, when one of those killed is a priest he knew personally. Little does he know how deeply he will become involved.
This is a tense, engrossing thriller which kept me reading until it was finished, the last third of this book was like a rollercoaster ride with many shocks and nothing more than the brutal and strong last few chapters.
My first book by this author, now I know I would like to read more.
One of my November book reads, now onto the next Tom Wood's The Hunter.
And as this homicidal maniac exacts his vengeance upon more innocent victims, evidence of another long-buried crime is uncovered. One that starts with a Halloween celebration at an exclusive college party twenty years ago and ends with a murderous plan for delayed revenge.
For Nicky Stella, a hungry journalist, this is just the sort of sordid story that could land him a cover article. But when he digs a bit too deep, the killer's attention turns towards Nicky and he must find the killer before he becomes the next victim.
We start off in the mind of a killer who has subtly plotted revenge for an event that occurred on Halloween night, 1978. From there we're taken through the methodical killings of all those involved in the event. Nicholas Stella, a freelance writer, thinks he's stumbled onto a story of the week, when one of those killed is a priest he knew personally. Little does he know how deeply he will become involved.
This is a tense, engrossing thriller which kept me reading until it was finished, the last third of this book was like a rollercoaster ride with many shocks and nothing more than the brutal and strong last few chapters.
My first book by this author, now I know I would like to read more.
One of my November book reads, now onto the next Tom Wood's The Hunter.
February 9, 2015
A popular priest lies dead of a heroin overdose in a Cleveland apartment, following an apparent tryst with a high priced call girl. A freelance journalist recognizes a great stow -- salacious and saleable -- in the cleric's demise...and follows it into the twisted, terrifying mind of a psychopath. While in an affluent suburb a world away, a cryptic threat written in a great poet's words appears on the computer screen of a long-suffering wife and mother. And suddenly she knows that a nightmare stands just outside her door, waiting to devour everything she loves. Because twenty years ago, something terrible happened at a Halloween night gathering of brilliant, arrogant youths ... Because it is reunion year, a time of remembrance and celebration; a time of reckoning and poetic justice. And the party is just beginning.
This is another enthralling, addictive page turner from Richard Montanari.
The man never ceases to amaze me!
This is another enthralling, addictive page turner from Richard Montanari.
The man never ceases to amaze me!
June 12, 2024
I picked up one of the first editions of this book at a second-hand shop, and something stood out that really bothered me. On the cover of my book, it says "he's waited twenty years. He'll wait no longer". The book, was published in 1998-1999, so I assume, the book is written in "present day" and based on the tech described in the book, it really seems like it takes place in 1998-99. The tragic event that transpired that pushed this serial killer to wait "20 years" to get his revenge, took place in 1988. Ten years... Not twenty. Throughout the book, there is this back and forth between the event taking place 10 or 20 years ago. It lead to a lot of unnecessary confusion.
Another comment I have to make is the writing style. It's so overly descriptive in a way that is simply not necessary. Sentences like "the blue bruise of sky over Cleveland" is not adding to the book. It's like this throughout, and so unnecessary.
But enough with my petty complaints. I didn't mind the story. It was fun to see a flash from the past as the author describes the tech from 1999.
----SPOILER AHEAD----
Last little complaint (and here comes the spoiler): why the heck didn't Gil know that Julia survived this entire time? He was her boyfriend, or at least a really close friend. The university would've at least informed the student body if a student had died on campus. So how is it that Gil wasted "20" (actually 10) years plotting his revenge when there wasn't even a funeral?
Also, Garth, who is barely visible in the book; he was the pirate all along? Why was he never on Gil's hit list? Where was Roger during the party? Was he dressed in another costume? Does that mean Gil killed one person that was never even in the room when Julia fell out the window?
This book needed a better editor.
Another comment I have to make is the writing style. It's so overly descriptive in a way that is simply not necessary. Sentences like "the blue bruise of sky over Cleveland" is not adding to the book. It's like this throughout, and so unnecessary.
But enough with my petty complaints. I didn't mind the story. It was fun to see a flash from the past as the author describes the tech from 1999.
----SPOILER AHEAD----
Last little complaint (and here comes the spoiler): why the heck didn't Gil know that Julia survived this entire time? He was her boyfriend, or at least a really close friend. The university would've at least informed the student body if a student had died on campus. So how is it that Gil wasted "20" (actually 10) years plotting his revenge when there wasn't even a funeral?
Also, Garth, who is barely visible in the book; he was the pirate all along? Why was he never on Gil's hit list? Where was Roger during the party? Was he dressed in another costume? Does that mean Gil killed one person that was never even in the room when Julia fell out the window?
This book needed a better editor.
December 4, 2013
Before his Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne series , came a few single novels and one of them was The Violet Hour. This one reminded me of those horror movies like Urban Legends : Bloody Mary or I Know What you did Last Summer. The type of movies that a tragedy happens and someone will die and the remaining of those involved in the incident will try and cover it up, forget it never happened. Though years later, there is still someone who remembers it like yesterday - someone who had an attachment to the victim but was on the outside so the group never really paid attention to them. Then one day the person with the attachments snaps and decides to exact revenge on those involved with the incident those many years ago and of course they die. Not before of course receiving a warning from the killer that they are next - the warning tends to be something that the killer will know that the victims will connect to the incident or the person who died years ago and wham bam - you know the rest. That my friends and readers, is the synopsis of The Violet Hour. An incident happened twenty years ago, a female victim occurred. Now the people involved in her death are being hunted and the clue is a poem that they are all being sent by T.S Elliot.
The Violet Hour was a predictable read, but if you are wanting something to read to pass the time like I did as I read this on the aeroplane and you enjoy your mysteries and like myself read all of Richard Montanari's work and enjoyed the majority of it - then The Violet Hour is for you.
The Violet Hour was a predictable read, but if you are wanting something to read to pass the time like I did as I read this on the aeroplane and you enjoy your mysteries and like myself read all of Richard Montanari's work and enjoyed the majority of it - then The Violet Hour is for you.
February 6, 2014
ok so just finished this book, and the fact that it took me over 2 weeks to read it generally means that I didn't really get into it. However ,itbdid turn out to be quite good, but I had to force myself to stick with it for the first half of the book. I have read all of Montanari's books and this was the worst in my opinion. .
December 29, 2010
Thriller about the bitterness of revenge planned over many years. Somewhat gruesome with a few twists. However it left me with a sense of pointlessness.
August 25, 2020
Good thriller, kept me guessing to the end.
February 26, 2016
ive been on the hunt for books for an elderly relative in a care home and as a result have endead up with a few books that also appeal to me (well maybe more than a few!) This one was sent by a generous bookcrosser and I dont think it's an author I've come across before so though if give it a bash. The opening scene is prerry descriptive and of a sexual nature and it's at this point I thought of my 93 year old aunt reading it (eek, although one of the staff leant her 50 shades so I don't feel quite so bad!) It is pretty graphic in places but the story line had me hooked, what did happen on Halloween 20 years ago to set this maniac on his rampage of revenge? On the whole a gripping read (only two days!) that had you guessing until the end, the only let down was the way the pirate was revealed.
March 28, 2012
This demonstrates Montanari's development. terrific plot.... a bit too much at the end thrown in to resolve the convoluted plot. I definitely think he has evolved as a writer and for his type of book, I don't know that he has too many peers. I confess to liking the fiction of Vacchs as well... similar kind of despair/realism/darkness. It's only a book....
August 11, 2009
All of Montanari's books take you for a wild ride and hit you right between the eyes with the premise of the killer. There is just no way you can figure things out until the very end.
What a masterful writer of mysteries!
What a masterful writer of mysteries!
January 3, 2011
Personally don't think this is RM's best but a few good twists and poetry, drugs and murder.... what more could you want,
February 27, 2021
“Tell me what happened that night,” the younger man said.
“Tell me in your own words”
Keller knew it was time. He began.
“It was Halloween night, 1988...”
.
Imagine one night, twenty years ago, it is Halloween and you went crazy with your friends on a trick-and-treat night. And twenty years later, you forgot about it and life went on, except for that one person nobody paid attention to. And twenty years later, he’s down for a revenge against all the people involved. Now scattered all over different places, Gillian sends an email through World Online, an online site that you can send anything to a whole lot of people. Now, the receipts, each had a role in the murder of his secret lover, Julia and they must pay the price of their own involvement in her drug addiction and death. With the kind of death reported on the news, Nicky the journalist must uncover the murderer before he rubs out of time and before the list gets exhausted. Only to get the surprise of his life when he finds out who the mastermind of the raid is...
.
.
One thing about people who plan murders, is that they are timely conscious, every step is calculated and every move thoroughly thought of. No villain is trying to get caught before accomplishing his mission, no matter what it takes. And this novel is no different.
.
What I didn’t like so much was the introduction of different characters in every opportunity. So much unnecessary drama in the execution of the murders and moderate development of character.
“Tell me in your own words”
Keller knew it was time. He began.
“It was Halloween night, 1988...”
.
Imagine one night, twenty years ago, it is Halloween and you went crazy with your friends on a trick-and-treat night. And twenty years later, you forgot about it and life went on, except for that one person nobody paid attention to. And twenty years later, he’s down for a revenge against all the people involved. Now scattered all over different places, Gillian sends an email through World Online, an online site that you can send anything to a whole lot of people. Now, the receipts, each had a role in the murder of his secret lover, Julia and they must pay the price of their own involvement in her drug addiction and death. With the kind of death reported on the news, Nicky the journalist must uncover the murderer before he rubs out of time and before the list gets exhausted. Only to get the surprise of his life when he finds out who the mastermind of the raid is...
.
.
One thing about people who plan murders, is that they are timely conscious, every step is calculated and every move thoroughly thought of. No villain is trying to get caught before accomplishing his mission, no matter what it takes. And this novel is no different.
.
What I didn’t like so much was the introduction of different characters in every opportunity. So much unnecessary drama in the execution of the murders and moderate development of character.
March 14, 2021
The first time I came across Richard Montanari's books were when I read The Rosary Girls which was excellent. I liked this book but found the various characters quite hard to follow (and remember) but perhaps that was just me.
The story and writing was good and I definitely liked the little twists he put in, which I did not expect at all. I enjoy stories which do this.
Not the worst book I have read but would probably be more suitable as a holiday / pass the time read.
The story and writing was good and I definitely liked the little twists he put in, which I did not expect at all. I enjoy stories which do this.
Not the worst book I have read but would probably be more suitable as a holiday / pass the time read.
June 19, 2023
Found this book at a second hand book shop abroad; one of the only books in English so thought I’d give it a go.
Although I liked the plot and the overall story, there was just too many depictions of rape and unnecessary descriptions of women (wow she has boobies awooga!).
Overall, an interesting plot but had to skip over some parts with the rape. It just felt a bit unnecessary and made me uncomfortable.
Although I liked the plot and the overall story, there was just too many depictions of rape and unnecessary descriptions of women (wow she has boobies awooga!).
Overall, an interesting plot but had to skip over some parts with the rape. It just felt a bit unnecessary and made me uncomfortable.
October 28, 2017
This was a good read with plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing....who is the pirate?... who is the guy with dark curly hair?... & more to the point who is the killer?
Just when I thought I had it figured, another bit of info popped up to kill the idea & it kept me intrigued (I was right about the pirate though!)
Just when I thought I had it figured, another bit of info popped up to kill the idea & it kept me intrigued (I was right about the pirate though!)
June 6, 2018
It took me relatively long to finish the book and couldn't get 'involved' in the characters nor the storyline. I read Montanari before (Rosary Girls) and liked it well enough.
I found this book disturbing and gruesome. Not really my kind of book.
Anyway, The Dollmaker is still on my to read list.
I found this book disturbing and gruesome. Not really my kind of book.
Anyway, The Dollmaker is still on my to read list.
June 7, 2018
Thrilling
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Was a little confusing at the beginning with all the different characters but very intriguing. Best Montanari I've read so far and i love all of his book. Had me guessing all the way through, truly thrilling and a nice sneaky line introducing Detective Paris. A definite must read
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Was a little confusing at the beginning with all the different characters but very intriguing. Best Montanari I've read so far and i love all of his book. Had me guessing all the way through, truly thrilling and a nice sneaky line introducing Detective Paris. A definite must read
September 8, 2017
Maybe could have been titled "The Violent Hour" instead, this is fairly macabre stuff written into a revenge plot scenario. I thought the book seemed average for the genre but was good enough that I will try another by this author when I'm in the mood for a little blood 'n' guts.
December 14, 2017
Brilliant crime thriller. Not exactly a literal page turner but definitely worth a read. Great ending to a book. Only bit I found totally irrelevant/pointless was Amelia's brother.....no need for him to be in the story at all
January 25, 2017
Took a little while to get into, but once in totally hooked until the last page. Like the twist too.
September 3, 2017
Too much gratuitous violence coupled with a weak and odd plot made this a tedious and disappointing read.
September 5, 2018
Sorry but not great. I simply got too muddled up as there are too many character changes.
January 29, 2019
Another great read from Richard Montanari.
November 27, 2019
there is unnecessary details in some part, which makes it a very long book
liked the story though
liked the story though
October 27, 2020
Probably more like 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it overall, but it didn't keep me as enthralled as some other books.
February 16, 2021
I really like this author's style of writing. He pulls you straight into the story and does not let go until the final page.
May 13, 2021
This book did not flow for me. I ended the book with lots of questions
August 1, 2021
It took me a little while to get into this book. The writing style didn't flow for me however I really enjoy the story and I'm glad I stuck with it, I was addicted by the end!
April 28, 2022
Not as gripping as the Bryce and Balzano series but still a good read. Very graphic and thrilling as we learn the motive of the killer and the plot twist at the end, what a shock!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews