Kevin Byrne / Jessica Balzano
3 primary works
Book 5
He's coming to get you. The fifth thriller in the compelling Byrne and Balzano series from the Sunday Times bestseller.
It is fall in Philadelphia and the mutilated body of a man is found in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of the city. The victim has been viciously tortured to death. It's the work of a sadistic mind in free fall.
When homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano investigate, they soon realise that their crime scene is linked to the past. Eight years ago, another body was found in the same place, in the same position, killed in the same manner. That case was never closed. Apart from their killer's unusual calling cards, the crime scene photos - past and present - are identical.
As another brutalised body appears, then another, it becomes horrifyingly clear that someone is recreating unsolved murders from Philadelphia's past in the most sinister of ways. And the killer is closer than they think...
Book 6
In the heart of Philadelphia's badlands, Homicide Detectives Byrne and Balzano are called out to a particularly chilling crime scene. Once the pillar of the neighbourhood, an abandoned church has become a killing room.
At first it looks like a random act of violence. But then a second body is found, and a third. Each crime scene more disturbing than the last, each murder more brutal. And it soon becomes horrifyingly clear that a cold, calculating and terrifyingly precise mind is at work.
With very few leads, and a mastermind who always seems to be one step ahead, Byrne and Balzano are faced with challenges they could never have imagined as they race against time to hunt down their killer, before it's too late...
Book 9
'You turn the pages as if your very life depends on it'
Daily Mail
Face your fears in the latest terrifying novel by the hugely acclaimed, bestselling master of the psychopath thriller.
The Farren family has been a plague upon Philadelphia's most dangerous neighbourhood, the Devil's Pocket, for generations. There, row after row of tumbledown houses hide dark secrets - none darker than Billy, the youngest Farren.
Afflicted by a syndrome that means he can't recognise faces, Billy must use photographs to identify his family - and his victims. And when your life has bled away, he takes a final, gruesome picture for his wall.
But what is the meaning of the horrific ritual Billy enacts with every murder? And is there any connection to a childhood event Detective Kevin Byrne has buried so well it's hidden even from his former partner Jessica Balzano?
Praise for Richard Montanari
'A relentlessly suspenseful, soul-chilling thriller that hooks you instantly'
Tess Gerritsen
'The author's elegiac tone takes the curse off this blood-drenched thriller . . . Gripping'
New York Times (the 10 best crime novels of 2016)
'A master storyteller'
James Ellroy
'Scary good!'
Lisa Gardner
'Taut, propulsive and darkly gripping, Montanari is a master of suspense'
Chris Ewan
'A specialist in serial killer tales . . . a wonderfully evocative writer'
Publishers Weekly
Amazon readers love Richard Montanari
***** 'One of the best detective stories I have ever read'
***** 'If you haven't read these books yet.... START READING THEM!'
***** 'Great plot and incredible pace. A real page turner'
***** 'I couldn't put it down - utterly absorbing and compelling!!'
***** 'The last 20 pages had me biting my nails and sitting on the edge of my chair!'
***** 'Absolutely brilliant - almost impossible to put down'
***** 'Every once and while I read a classic which I'll NEVER forget.This is a book I'll never forget'
***** 'This is a chillingly good read with a fast-paced storyline full of twists and turns'
***** 'From start to finish, you never want to stop! You have to know what happened!'
***** 'An outstanding tale with as many twists as a game of snakes and ladders'
***** 'One of the best crime/thriller writers'
***** 'Amazing'
***** 'Richard Montanari never lets you down. The ending is always a surprise'
***** 'So easy to pick up, so hard to put down'