Badlands (2008)
From the dust jacket ...
Philadelphia police detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano are working a new beat: the Special Investigations Unit, AKA the cold case squad. Ironic, given it’s the height of a blazing hot August. But even these hardened homicide veterans are chilled to the bone as the dormant murder case of Caitlin O’Riordan stirs to shocking new life — leading Byrne and Balzano into the dark heart of their city, their souls, and a psyche of pure evil.
They’d seen it before: a teenaged runaway succumbing to the city’s mean streets, her body found in the desolate, dangerous North Philly district called the Badlands. What’s surprising is the corpse’s condition: peering out of a glass display case in a rancid, waterless apartment . . . and inexplicably dead by drowning.
When a man calls and confesses to the murder, the police rush in to arrest him. But instead of a killer, they find a ghastly scene — a jar containing human remains — along with a cryptic clue leading to an unlikely witness.
Laura Somerville lives far from the squalor of the Badlands, and seemingly light-years from any connection to a murdered runaway. But moments after discussing the case with this elegant, elderly woman, Byrne and Balzano make another grisly discovery, and find an enigmatic word spelled out in Scrabble® tiles.
Across town, another victim’s shallow grave reveals deeper mysteries. Her secret diaries portray a woman haunted by a shocking past, and obsessed with finding a wanton killer.
Now, as the body count grows, a terrifying design literally takes shape. Pieces of a gruesome puzzle are being fit in place by the cruel hands of a madman using the city as his game board; whose playthings are the innocent; and whose opponents — and pawns — are Byrne and Balzano. With time running out, they must decipher the truth about a mysterious house of horrors and its shadowy master: the man who makes the rules . . . and takes the lives.
Internationally acclaimed author Richard Montanari works his black magic to spine-tingling perfection in Badlands—conjuring all the relentless suspense, dark twists of intrigue, and full-throttle action that make his brilliant, engrossing novels required reading for thriller fans.
Praise for Badlands
"With this novel, Montanari's reputation is set in stone - or written in blood - alongside the likes of Connelly, Slaughter and Ellroy." Chris High
"The new Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne mystery is also, by far, the best in the series, a novel worthy of comparison with such elite procedural authors as Michael Connelly. Philadelphia homicide cops Balzano and Byrne are working a cold case, the disappearance of a young girl. Following some new evidence, the partners discover that a serial killer is stalking runaways, abducting and killing them in bizarre ways. This is a stunning novel, combining the best elements of the police procedural with the most unsettling aspects of the psycho serial killer genre. The villain is not merely a psychopath but a fully realized human being, with a backstory that explains his obsessions. We feel a certain amount of compassion for him even as we’re seriously creeped out by his actions and what goes on inside his head. Along with such Connelly jewels as The Narrows (2004), this outstanding, truly memorable novel will remind readers of Ridley Pearson’s Lou Boldt and Daphne Matthews series, especially The Pied Piper (1998), which also includes a riveting portrait of a deranged serial killer. Montanari seems poised to take his place on the top ranks of the mystery field." - Booklist (Starred Review)
"Arcane puzzles and magic tricks older than the hills, ingeniously dropped clues that challenge, a bit of Philly history, and a cast that soars above the norm all flawlessly combine to create this astonishingly clever read that might just be Montanari’s best." - New Mystery Reader
"Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano take on a high-profile cold case in Montanari's superior thriller, which combines a genuinely creepy villain with fully fleshed-out victims. The dead-end inquiry into the drowning death of 17-year-old Caitlin O'Riordan four months earlier gets a boost when someone, privy to details never made public, tips the police to an abandoned building in a bad neighborhood that later turns out to house a second corpse. The stakes are raised even higher when another body turns up, an ex-girlfriend of Byrne's who'd worked for the local district attorney. Segments from the killer's perspective increase the tension, and Montanari (Merciless) does a nice job of concealing one of the murderer's alter egos. The fiend's methods, modeled after elaborate magical tricks, are a welcome change from the gore typical of the serial killer subgenre. Likewise, Byrne and Balzano possess a psychological depth all too rare in such fiction." - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"If you loved Montanari's The Rosary Girls and Skin Gods, you simply have to read this too! A great plot, some truly gruesome killings, and Balzano and Byrne are in fantastic form. A great beach read for any crime fan!"
- Claire Drury, WATERSTONE'S (UK)
"Gory and fast-paced." - Murder One (UK)
""Badlands is dark, with an expertly written, creepy bad guy, and a group of cops who are dealing with their own demons. There are surprises at every turn, and suspense that continues to mount with each turn of the page."
-The Free-Lance Star
