THE ROSARY GIRLS (2005)



"Readers of this terrifying page-turner are in the hands of a master storyteller. Be prepared to stay up all night." - James Ellroy

"A relentlessly suspenseful, soul-chilling thriller that hooks you instantly."
-Tess Gerritsen

From the dust jacket . . .

In his sleek, visceral novels Deviant Way, Kiss of Evil, and The Violet Hour, Richard Montanari slammed into the suspense field like a force of nature. Now, Montanari has written an astounding novel that pits two besieged detectives against an extraordinary mystery of violent evil — played out against a backdrop of human faith.

Beneath the statue of William Penn, Philadelphia is a city of downtrodden crack houses and upscale brownstones. Somewhere in this concrete crazy-quilt, one teenaged Catholic girl is writing a diary, another is pouring her heart out to a friend, and yet another is praying. And somewhere in this city there is a man who wants these young women to make his own macabre fantasy become real.

In a passion play of his own, he will take a whole city over the edge.

Kevin Byrne is a veteran cop who already knows that edge: he’s been living on it for far too long. His marriage failing, his former partner wasting away in a hospital, and his heart lost to its own mad fury, Byrne is breaking every rule in the book.

Now, he has been given a rookie partner, the daughter of a famous Philly cop. Jessica Balzano doesn’t need Byrne’s kind of help, but they need each other desperately. Because they’ve just caught the case of a lifetime. Someone is killing devout young women, bolting their hands together in prayer, and committing an abomination upon their otherwise perfect bodies.

Byrne and Balzano spearhead the hunt. Suspects appear before them like bad dreams—and vanish just as quickly. And while Byrne’s sins begin to catch up with him, and Balzano tries to solve a blood-splattered puzzle, their serial killer is leading them on a methodically planned journey.

For as the body count rises, the calendar is approaching Easter and the day of the resurrection. Then a madman’s methods will be revealed, the last rosary will be counted, and the final crime will be the one that hurts the most.

Relentlessly paced and vividly told, The Rosary Girls is a smart, emotionally complex, fiercely gripping thriller from an author who takes chances, breaks new ground, and leaves readers haunted and moved long after the last page is turned.

Read an extract.  Click here for UK edition.

Visit Richard at the Random House website.