By Richard Montanari
On a frigid December night, Karen sits at the edge of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River, dressed in a flowing gown, like a visitor from the distant past. A beautiful and shining young woman, she gazes up at a bone-white winter moon like a fairy-tale princess frozen in time. At first glance, one might not even notice that she is dead, coated in a glistening patina of ice.
Homicide cops Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano take the lead on the case, uncovering a plethora of eerie clues–each more warped and spine-chilling than the last. Yet the identity of Karen’s pitiless killer remains a mystery. Then the next victim is found upriver at an abandoned waterworks, posed with an unlikely object in her clasped hands. Struggling to link the victims and make sense of the madman’s agenda, Byrne and Balzano follow his twisted trail, which stretches into a past of dark crimes forgotten by all but a few.
Now the past roars back into the present with a vengeance as the ingenious killer unleashes a torrent of rage upon the streets of Philadelphia. As Byrne and Balzano sift through suspects and clues, they unearth a shocking secret history: a legacy of malevolence and cold-blooded retribution dating back twenty years. And the farther they make their way up the body-strewn banks of the Schuylkill River, the closer they get to a villain from their worst nightmare, an evil as patient as it is merciless.
Official Summary
This is a lighting fast thriller that provides a wild ride and guarantees to be a petrifying bedtime story. Turn up the lights and get ready to be up all night with this one. This book deserves your undivided attention, and you will not want to put it down.
I read The Violent Hour and Deviant Ways by Richard Montanari around 2012 and this is the first time I have read anything by him since. I can kick myself for not returning to him earlier. This author tells his story brilliantly. There are a lot of characters in the book, but you never lose touch with anyone. The way he draws a 20-year-old case into the new homicide being investigated will keep you glued to every page.
The discovery of a young woman’s body on the bank of the Schuylkill River has Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano on the hunt for a merciless killer. As more bodies are found, the two detectives struggle to find a link between the victims, sifting through clues and suspects only to discover a shocking history.
I opted for the audiobook, and while I adore Scott Brick’s narrating – I can sit and listen to him for hours on end – I would have preferred to read the book myself. The only reason I say that is because the last couple of weeks have been busy for me and I have not spent as much time listening to audio as I would have liked too. As mentioned, this book deserves your full attention, and I did not give it that.
Merciless is an incredible story, fast-paced and filled with characters you simply cannot help but love. You are kept guessing and while you meet the killer early in the book, the author only reveals that fact right at the end. I liked that you must wait to find out who “Moon” really is.
Merciless has a vast cast, each unique and playing an important part in the story. The author created realistic, likeable characters who draw you deep into their world. I always pick a smaller character as my favourite and this time I found myself enjoying Byrne’s father. I have had my own experience with parents moving out of their homes and downscaling, making this part of the story easy to relate to.
Merciless is on my loved list – I regret that I have not read more books by Richard Montanari, something I hope to rectify.
Anyone looking for a thriller/suspense with colourful characters and a shocking storyline to escape into will love this book! Read it, and remember to let me know what you think.
Author: Richard Montanari – ISBN: 9780345492418 – Publisher: Ballantine Books – Pages: 416 – Source: Private Audio Book
Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne Series:
- The Rosary Girls – 2005
- The Skin Gods – 2006
- Merciless – 2007
- Badlands – 2008
- The Echo Man – 2011
- The Killing Room – 2012
- The Stolen Ones 2013
- The Doll Maker – 2014
- A Christmas Killing – 2014
- Shutter Man – 2015
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author bio from author’s website
Richard was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the scion of a traditional Italian-American family, which means he learned two things very early in life. One: ravioli tastes much better than baby formula. Two: if you don’t get to the table on time, there IS no ravioli.
After an undistinguished academic career in junior high and high school, culminating in an undistinguished five-year career as an English major at Case Western Reserve University, Richard travelled Europe extensively, living in London for a time, where he sold men’s clothing on Oxford Street, and foreign language encyclopaedias door-to-door in Hampstead Heath.
Needless to say, he hawked a few more ties than tomes. So, abandoning his dream (that being to become the next Bryan Ferry) he returned to the States and joined his family’s construction firm. Five years and a hundred smashed thumbs later, he decided that writing might be a better job.
After working as a freelance writer for years, during which time he was published in more than two hundred publications, Richard wrote three pages of what was to become the first chapter of Deviant Way. He was immediately signed to a New York agency. When he finished the book, Michael Korda signed him to a two-book deal at Simon & Schuster. Deviant Way was published in hardcover in 1995. Richard went on to publish The Violet Hour in 1998, Kiss of Evil in 2001, The Rosary Girls in 2005, and The Skin Gods in 2006. His books have now been published in more than a dozen countries. His next novel of suspense, Merciless, will be published by Ballantine Books in spring 2007.
Thank you to Scott Brick – his narrating of this book made it extremely enjoyable and difficult to hit the pause button.
And thank you to you, for reading my review of Merciless. Share your thoughts on the other Byrne / Balzano books – should I read them in order?
Until next time, Happy Reading!
