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Loading... The Skin Gods: A Novel of Suspense (original 2006; edition 2006)by Richard Montanari
Work InformationThe Skin Gods by Richard Montanari (2006)
   Books Read in 2012 (501) No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) jdiggity83 | Jun 23, 2022 |   ) jguidry | Dec 1, 2020 | In the Skin Gods, broken but still-in-the-game Detective Kevin Byrne and his partner Jessica Balzano discover that the spliced-to-videotape murder of a young woman is just the beginning of a series of murders-by-film-homage. As Jessica follows ‘The Actor’s deliberately seeded clues and Byrne spends his enforced recuperation leave pursuing personal vendettas, the plot winds in seemingly random directions, the only straight line being from one murder to the next. There’s something punchy, grass-roots gutsy about Montanari’s storytelling, so that even when he moves over old ground (forensic procedure, relationships between cops, the habits of the cops themselves) they feel like important parts of the storyline rather than a writer deliberately trying to inject authenticity, thus gaining authenticity and freshening well-trodden routes. It helps that the stories themselves are fresh, diverting and quite gruesome. Two mild disappointments – [spoiler warning] for the second time, a principal character’s family is placed in danger and rescued last moment, and for the second time the motive is revenge for a cop’s actions. The details are different enough that I was still able to enjoy the story, but it did occur to me to wonder if Montanari’s plot wheel is stuck. And, finally, I still don’t know what to make of Byrne’s ‘prescient’ ability. It’s never used to solve the identity of the bad guy, but has bumped forward progress when time has been an issue, so is this deus ex machina, or a sort of sub-genre in play? It has not, so far, made me put down either story in disgust, so I guess I’ll keep going – I have the third book here, too, after all. (  ) eleanor_eader | Aug 30, 2011 | gmmakela | Sep 5, 2010 | This picks up right where The Rosary Girls leaved off. Bryne is in Recovery from being shot on the last book. He's trying to come to terms with everything that happened in Rosary Girls. While all of this is going on, it seems that there's a killer lose, and he has a horrific agenda. He wants to recreate famous murders that happen on screen, but make them a reality. The first one he copies is Psycho, and the nightmare starts. He doesn't just recreate them, he...well.... you'll have to read The Skin Gods to find out, but I will say this. The killers plan is unique. To make matters worse Bryne isn't working on this case full time, he still hasn't come back from being shot. He's getting better physically, but he's still limited on what he can do, so he's never really into the loop on what's happening. That's okay because the killer brings in Bryne in his own special way. He does something that sends horror, and chills right to the heart of Bryne. Again, if you want to find out what the killer has planned for Bryne, you need to read this. With all of this going on, Bryne has another mission he has to complete. It seems that someone he put way is out, and Bryne wants to put him away for good. Montanari is a very unique writer. He has the ability to hold the reader through plot twists, sharp dialogue, realistic settings, and fantastic characters that you can't help to care about. I can promise you that you'll lose a lot of sleep because you'll want to find out what happens next, and will keep you up to all hours of the night. The saga continues, and I'm glad I'm along for the ride. (  ) Reacherfan | Feb 9, 2010 | no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Series
Fiction.
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
HTML:BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Richard Montanari's The Echo Man. With the breakneck pacing and intricate plotting of his most recent novel, The Rosary Girls, Richard Montanari established himself as one of the most exciting suspense writers working today. Now he proves himself a virtuoso with The Skin Gods, an explosive new thriller featuring Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano. It is the steaming heart of summer in the City of Brotherly Love. Back on the force after taking a bullet during the arrest of a sadistic murderer, Detective Kevin Byrne warily returns to police headquarters. He cannot shake the memory of the Rosary Killerâ?? s innocent victimsâ??or his growing sense that the evil has not been vanquished. And when he and his partner, Detective Jessica Balzano, are called in on a bizarre case, Byrneâ??s gravest suspicions are confirmed. A madman, dubbed The Actor by the homicide unit, is meticulously re-creating Hollywoodâ??s most famousâ??and most gruesomeâ??death scenes. The first murder is caught on film, spliced into a rented VHS edition of the Hitchcock black-and-white masterpiece Psycho. But in place of Janet Leigh is a real-life woman, and this time, the blood is red and the knife is real. Soon, more thrilling classics are turned into terrifying snuff films and placed on video store shelves for an unsuspecting public to find. The key to this horrific puzzle could lie with any of The Skin Godsâ?? supporting cast: the A-list Hollywood director, the ruthless executive assistant, the convicted mass murdererâ??or perhaps someone else who has made a sinister art of gruesome violence. Hot on the psychopathâ??s trail, Balzano and Byrne descend into the mouth of madness and beyond, deep into the depraved underworld of S&M clubs and the porn industry, where the worship of flesh leads to malevolent evil. Before the final credits roll, the investigators will discover that none of The Actorâ??s victims are as innocent as they appear to be, and that the clue the police need to prevent future murders might be found in Dete No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing AuthorRichard Montanari is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.77)
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