The Philadelphia Series
Kevin Byrne is a veteran detective on the edge. Jessica Balzano is a new detective to homicide division. Two proud Philly cops, forced to work together, must learn to trust each other in the face of the serial killers racing up high bodies counts in the mean streets of Philadelphia.
Title List | Links | Author Page
 The Rosary Girls  |
The Rosary Girls (The Philadelphia Series #1)Author: Montanari, Richard |
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 The Rosary Girls  |
The Rosary Girls (The Philadelphia Series #1)Author: Montanari, Richard |
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From the Editors of Barnes and Noble: Kevin Byrne has years of experience with the Philadelphia Homicide Unit, a reputation for working a case for as long as it takes to solve it, and a nasty gift that sometimes gives him a vision of the perp he’s after. Now that his longtime partner is sidelined by a heart attack, he has someone new riding shotgun, and it remains to be seen how she’ll deal with his less-than-orthodox methods. At least Jessica Balzano is no rookie detective . . . but three years of experience in Auto isn’t the same as a stint in Homicide. But as Kevin sees it, she’s earned her chance to prove herself. She’s as eager as he is for a case that will push her to the limit and beyond. Jessica doesn’t expect to get her big break the first day out, but that’s what happens when she and Kevin are called to the scene of the murder of a parochial school student. The dead girl, clasping a rosary, has been mutilated in a way that shocks even the hardened medical examiner. And when a second teen’s body is discovered and a task force is formed, Jessica is determined to make sure that she stays on the case. And if that means going the extra mile and risking her own life and sanity by immersing herself in the dark, dangerous mind of a serial killer, that’s what she’ll do to close the case of the Rosary Girls. |
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 The Skin Gods  |
The Skin Gods (The Philadelphia Series #2)Author: Montanari, Richard |
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 The Skin Gods  |
The Skin Gods (The Philadelphia Series #2)Author: Montanari, Richard |
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From the Editors of Barnes and Noble: Videotaped footage of the reenacted murders begins showing up, spliced into rental videos that have been stolen from and then replaced in independent video stores, and Byrne and Balzano — who are both dealing with life-changing issues — must somehow track down an ingenious madman dubbed the Actor, a man of a thousand guises, skilled in the arts of dialect and stage movement. Byrne, who is recovering from a near-fatal gunshot wound to the head, and Balzano, who is struggling with a crumbling marriage, follow a meandering evidence trail that leads them through seedy no-tell motels, big-budget movie sets, the subterranean realm of fetishist pornographers, and, eventually, the stuff of their worst nightmares . . . Montanari’s newest thriller — arguably his most thematically explosive work to date — not only examines humanity’s dark side, it wallows in it. From masochism to misogyny and slavery to sadism, this blood-splattered journey through the underbelly of the motion picture industry is as repulsive as it is riveting. Antibacterial soap not included. |
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 Merciless  |
Merciless (The Philadelphia Series #3)Author: Montanari, Richard |
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 Merciless  |
Merciless (The Philadelphia Series #3)Author: Montanari, Richard |
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When the first body is found, mutilated and strangled on the riverbank, homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano suspect yet another case of random 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. |
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 Badlands  |
Badlands (The Philadelphia Series #4)Author: Montanari, Richard |
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In each soul, a secret . . . Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano’s first assignment from the Cold Case files is the brutal murder of a young runaway. The lifeless body of Caitlin O’Riordan was found carefully posed in a glass display case in the desolate Philadelphia Badlands but, as Byrne and Balzano rapidly discover, she was just the first pawn in the killer’s twisted game . . . A mysterious phone call leads them on a scavenger hunt for a second victim. This time a young girl has been dismembered, her body parts left in three boxes in the basement of a deserted house. More clues lead to other victims and, as the body count rises, it becomes clear that there is a serial killer on the loose, hell-bent on completing the ‘performance’ of a lifetime. As more runaways vanish, Byrne and Balzano come to realize that the homicidal mastermind plans to complete seven depraved tricks in his dark and dangerous magic act. With Balzano increasingly obsessed by a case that haunts her, and Byrne struggling with a loss of his own, the stakes are mounting. But this is one game they can’t afford to lose . . . |
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Summary:
Title List:
1. The Rosary Girls
2. The Skin Gods
3. Merciless
4. Badlands
Weblinks Lists:
Richard Montanari — Official Website
Richard Montanari: Fear the Next Page (UK)
Book List for:
Richard Montanari
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