Richard Montanari at Tangled Web UK

Page Updated: 09/07/2007

Richard Montanari

05 Apr 07

Interview with Tangled Web

Email: author@richardmontanari.com

WebPage: http://www.richardmontanari.com

About the Author

Bibliography

First British Edition Heinemann (2007)

Broken Angels
Here are maidens, young and fair,
Dancing in the summer air.
Like two spinning-wheels at play,
Pretty maidens dance away.
When the first body is found, mutilated and strangled on the riverbank, Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano suspect yet another random case of 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.
Praise for Richard Montanari
‘A relentlessly suspenseful, soul-chilling thriller that hooks you instantly’ Tess Gerritsen
‘Readers of this terrifying page-turner are in the hands of a master storyteller. Be prepared to stay up all night’ James Ellroy
‘A spine-tingling, fast-paced thriller which will have you on the edge of your seat’ The Good Book Guide
‘A no-holds-barred thriller that thrusts the reader into the black soul of the killer… those with a taste for Thomas Harris will look forward to the sure-to-follow sequel’ Library Journal

Paperback - HarperTourch (2002)

First British Edition Morrow (2001)

Kiss of Evil
See Review by Liz Lees
Love is a legacy. Evil is a breed …
Detective Michael Ryan died in Cleveland's Renaissance Hotel two years ago, murdered with his own weapon. A stunning fashion model was accused of the crime, then cleared, leaving a good cop's good name forever tainted by damning words: corruption, greed, betrayal. . . .
Since that time, homicide Detective John Salvatore Paris has worked long and hard to salvage his good friend Mike Ryan's reputation, but with no success. Now the beautiful suspect who walked away has perished in a fiery suicide.
The circle is closed.
But the rash of brutal slayings that is rocking Paris's city suggests otherwise, 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 -- a street hustler, a suburban career woman, a dealer in religious artifacts, each victim and crime connected only by a strange symbol carved into their flesh.
And, perhaps, one name: Michael Ryan
The truth Detective Paris's investigation uncovers is that these murders are the grim handiwork of one maniac, a merciless killer hard-wired into the soul of something ancient and terrible, brilliantly coaxing Paris's personal demons out of hiding, cunningly leading Paris to the edge of the abyss . . . and over. Even those closest to the tortured cop -- his colleagues, his friends, the enigmatic young woman who is rapidly becoming his obsession -- are suddenly not to be trusted.
As Paris is pulled into a place of shadows and sexual deviance, he finds himself right where the murderer wants him: broken and desperate, with the barrel of his gun at his temple and the whole world watching.
But there is one last hope for Detective John Paris, one profound and frightening secret he must ultimately come to discover about himself: Sometimes, in order to catch a monster, one must be willing to summon the monster within. . . .
With his two previous novels, Deviant Way and The Violet Hour, author Richard Montanari established himself as a contender for the heavyweight crown in suspense fiction. With Kiss Of Evil, his most relentlessly chilling, stunningly crafted, and ingeniously twisting work to date, he has undeniably earned his way into the ranks of Thomas Harris, John Sandford, Jeffery Deaver and the other champions of the thriller genre.
Visit the website at www.kissofevil.com
‘In Kiss Of Evil Richard Montanari has produced an intelligent, terrifying thriller that never follows a predictable path.’ The Buffalo News
‘While Kiss Of Evil works well as a police procedural, Montanari pumps up the kinetic suspense for a story that is more akin to the no-holds-barred thrillers by Thomas Harris:’ South Florida Sun Sentinel
‘Razor-sharp plotting with a powerful narrative ... Kiss Of Evil thrills to its very satisfying end.’ The Chicago Tribune
‘Montanari’s most exciting and compelling read to date’ Cleveland Free Times
‘Montanari represents a stunning new kind of suspense; stylish, sensual, gripping and direct. Kiss Of Evil is a pulse quickening, deftly-crafted page turner.’ The Denver Post
‘Kiss Of Evil is a no holds barred thriller ... sexually charged ... a sinister tale of delayed revenge ... those with a yen for viscera and violence will appreciate Montanari’s scalpel-like narrative skills.’ Publishers Weekly
‘Kiss Of Evil is a complex, intelligent thriller filled with genuinely suspenseful twists and turns . . . as Paris tries to uncover several truths, he crosses paths with grifters, con artists and crooks, all of whom become more than stock characters in Montanari’s gifted hands.’ The Cleveland Plain Dealer
‘Exciting and filled with non-stop action ... fans will clamor for Mr. Montanari to return with more Paris psychological police procedurals in the near future.’ Casa Mysterioso
‘Montanari has raised the bar dramatically with Kiss Of Evil ... the plot is loaded with reversal, surprise and the constant challenge to keep pace ... the suspense quotient is off the charts.’ The Free Times
‘With a style reminiscent of George Pelecanos -- only better - Montanari chums out a masterpiece in suspense, chocked with ultraviolence, sexual tension and darkened clues thrown in at odd angles. Like a Dali painting, the stylized weirdness all begins to make sense. Then it’s too late. The trap is set; your jaw drops, your pupils dilate. You wonder how the hell this guy can be so good.’ The Planet Weekly
‘[A] fascinating thriller ... exploring the intersection of sex and violence ... Richard Montanari has the stark images of hardboiled noir down pat.’ Mystery Ink
‘A compelling story that will captivate you from the first to the last page ... a masterfully crafted thriller.’ Robert Aiello, author of Shadow In The Mirror
‘[A] tremendous police procedural ... spine-tingling ... when it comes to psychological suspense, no one does it better than Richard Montanari.’ Eclectica Magazine
‘A dark, threatening, spine chilling read ... one of the most riveting psychological suspense novels that I have ever read ... to read Kiss Of Evil is just to say WOW and wipe the sweat from your brow.’ The Romance Readers Connection
‘Intense, spellbinding ... Richard Montanari had the pages flying through my hands ... [he] is rapidly becoming one of my favorite suspense writers.’ newbookreviews.com

British Pbk Original - Penguin (1999)

The Violet Hour
See Review by Liz Lees
A Time of Remembrance. A Time of Reckoning
A popular priest lies dead of a heroin overdose in a Cleveland apartment, following an apparent tryst with a high-priced call girl. Nicholas Stella knew the man, and he knows saleable news when he finds it.
But there is something waiting for the struggling freelance journalist on the dead cleric's e-mail that suggests that this is not just another sordid case of fatal human frailty.
A clue, a warning, a threat in the words of a great poet cries out that this was no accident. And it's beckoning Nick Stella into the dark, twisted and terrifying mind of a psychopath.
In an affluent Ohio suburb a world away, Amelia Saintsbury's computer screen carries the same cryptic message. Someone is watching her . . . and waiting. A nightmare stands just outside her door, ready to devour everything and everyone she cares about - her life, her home, her wayward husband, her innocent little girl - uniting Amelia and an unorthodox city reporter in a desperate hunt for a killer.
Because twenty years ago, an elite group of brilliant, arrogant youths gathered for a Halloween night celebration of life, sex, art, drugs and freedom . . . and something terrible happened. Because a beautiful young woman was abased and destroyed that night - and all who participated must die in appropriate ways . . . but only after watching their worlds die before them.
Because it is reunion year, a time of remembrance, a time of celebration, a time of reckoning and poetic justice. And the party has just begun. . . .
A novel of unrelenting suspense and surprise, Richard Montanari’s The Violet Hour is a masterful new work by an exceptional talent; a riveting tale of secrets, serial terror and ingenious revenge that moves at breakneck speed with a chilling and powerful grace.
‘Consistently surprising . . . Montanari keeps the reader deliciously off balance throughout, letting the novel accrue horrors and deft misdirections, right until its gory end.’ Publisher’s Weekly
‘A taut, chilling revenge thriller from the author of Deviant Way. Thomas Harris meets Iain Banks.’ Pickabook
‘A lot of novelists have trouble pulling off a last-minute surprise; in his second novel Montanari pulls off three of them, and they’re real shockers. But unlike some writers, Montanari doesn't use suspense as a substitute for craftsmanship. The novel is, like the nameless killer's victims, well executed. And like the killer himself, fiendishly twisted. A real page turner.’ Booklist

British Pbk Original - Signet (1996)

Deviant Ways
See Review by Liz Lees
Something has come over Andrea Heller.
After seven years of marriage to her voyeur husband, Matt, it seems she has a few ideas of her own. Like calling herself Abigail. And dressing a little sexier. And sitting on the other side of the bar, pretending to be single. And watching what happens. . . .
But there's another couple watching, too. They call themselves Saila and Pharaoh, but only after sundown. And it is after sundown that some terrible things are happening in the singles clubs in Cleveland. In six months, three women in their twenties have been found brutally murdered - their flower tattoos ceremoniously removed.
And each step that homicide detective Jack Paris takes to bring the madness to an end takes him closer to the heart of his own forbidden impulses, and nearer the understanding that no one - not the man standing next to him at the precinct, nor the woman in his bed - is who he or she appears to be.
When Paris ultimately discovers the terrifying secrets of The Swing Set, and the stakes become personal, he comes to know one certainty: to enter the minds of Saila and Pharaoh is to enter a world from which no one ever fully returns.
Deviant Way probes the primal fantasies that live within us all, and pushes the boundaries of modern sexual etiquette to a fiery new limit. Richard Montanari boldly invades Thomas Harris' territory, creating a Red Dragon-like atmosphere of unrelenting sexual tension, murder, perversity and an evil that grabs and won't let go.
‘Montanari skillfully retains the element of high suspense . . . the harrowing climax and enigmatic epilogue wisely leaves the door open for further Jack Paris adventures.’ Mostly Murder
‘Richard Montanari's debut novel is savvy and sharp and as well written a thriller as The Silence Of The Lambs. Psychologically dark, strangely erotic and definitely hard to put down. A winner.’ Nelson DeMille, author of Plum Island and The Lion's Game
‘Tough, bloodthirsty, sexually explicit US serial killer tale . . . one hell of a read, though not for the squeamish.’ Sarah Broadhurst / Bookseller

About The Author
Richard Montanari is the Top Ten Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rosary Girls and The Skin Gods, as well as the internationally acclaimed thrillers Kiss of Evil, Deviant Way and The Violet Hour. He is a novelist, screenwriter and essayist and his work appears regularly in national and regional publications in America. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
In his own words…
I started writing fiction in 1989. I had an idea for a short story entitled "Mixer", a sort of coming of age story of two twelve-year-olds at a dance, told from both the girl's and the boy's point of view, told in real-time. Pretty ambitious structure, now that I think about it. But I wrote it, submitted it to the Sunday rotogravure magazine here and, lo and behold, they published it. Little did they know what that would do to me. As to genre, my short fiction runs from satire to fantasy to horror for some reason. My longer-form efforts seem to gravitate to suspense.
My first novel, Deviant Ways, was published in 1995 and won the OLMA (Online Mystery Award) for Best First Mystery. It introduced homicide detective John Paris, and is currently on the shelves in more than twenty countries. My second novel The Violet Hour, is a one-off, and introduced freelance writer Nicholas Stella.
My third novel Kiss Of Evil, continues the John Paris series, and will be published by Harper Collins in the U.S. in April, 2001. As of this writing, a U.K. publication date has not been set.
In addition, my short fiction, profiles, features, essays and both film and literary criticism have been published in The Chicago Tribune Magazine, The Detroit Free Press Magazine, WordPerfect Magazine, St. Anthony Messenger and scores of other regional and national publications. I have also sold clothing on London's Oxford Street, worked a construction crew, run an escort service and offended thousands as weekly film critic for a pair of big-city alternative weeklies.
I currently live in Cleveland, Ohio, where I am slavish only to the high arts of boxing, Italian food and independent film.
Visit the official website http://www.richardmontanari.com

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Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.

Broken Angels (Heinemann, 2007)

Kiss of Evil (Morrow, 2001) HarperTourch Pbk Mar 02 (Jack Paris)

The Violet Hour (Penguin Pbk, 1999)

Deviant Ways (Signet Pbk, 1996) (Jack Paris)