THE BLURB...
God Help Them ...
In the most brutal killing crusade Philadelphia has seen in years, a series of young Catholic women are found dead, their bodies mutilated and their hands bolted together. Each clutches a rosary in her lifeless grasp.
Veteran cop Kevin Byrne and his rookie partner Jessica Balzano set out to hunt down the elusive killer, who leads them deeper and deeper into the abyss of a madman's depravity. Suspects appear before them like bad dreams - and vanish just as quickly. While the body count rises, Easter is fast approaching: the day of resurrection and of the last rosary to be counted ...
THE REVIEW...
Although the first book chronologically in Montanari's Byrne and Balzano series, THE ROSARY GIRLS is actually the second I've read. I started off with the third in the series, the most excellent BROKEN ANGELS. And while I enjoyed TRG a great deal, it doesn't reach the dizzy heights of the third book.
That's not to say it isn't a great book in its own right - it is great. With bells on, great, in fact. But, for me, this was a book where the author was still getting to know his protagonists. The Kevin Byrne of TRG is quite a different Byrne to who we meet in BA. Less reserved, more gun-toting and pulpy. Not a bad thing, per se, but lacking the subtleties and finesse of book 3's Byrne, for sure.
That aside, this is as tightly written a crime novel as you'll find and, while Byrne may have fallen a little short for me in this one, Montanari's characterisation in general is second-to-none. It's a well researched book, the police procedural element both accessible and credible. The mystery itself will lead you round the houses of the book's cast of suspects and, right up until the very end, leave you guessing as to who's dunnit.
THE ROSARY GIRLS is yet another example of where crime fiction has delivered more horror than a lot of horror fiction I've read. As a serial killer novel, it ticks all the boxes and joins all the dots with style. Montanari's writing really comes alive in places, painting a more vivid picture of the victims than you'd perhaps ask for...
And for a round-the-block gorehound such as I, that's a great thing.
3 comments:
Hey, GB, does this mean we're out of a job?
Nice review, Wayne. I look forward to reading more - and to reading the book you recommend.
Thanks for reading, Michael! Glad you enjoyed the review :)
Aye, Mike, 'fraid so. Your P45's in the post.
gb
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