Customer Reviews

Kiss of Evil: A Novel of Suspense

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In this story, we meet another evil psycho who not only likes to kill his victims, but mutilate them as well. Pursuing this monster is the jaded cop, Jack Paris. This is an engrossing tale, with a down to earth hero who has his own share of problems in addition to tracking down an elusive, vicious murderer. The story is frightening and graphically violent, so if you are the least bit squeamish, think twice about reading the book. Interesting characters, fast moving plot and a monstrous villian make for a quick, tension filled read.
This is the first book I've read by Mr. Montanari. I plan to read the others to find out what I have been missing.

Rick Montanari's "Kiss of Evil" is his best yet, and his two previous novels, "Deviant Way" and "The Violet Hour" were pretty damn good to begin with. Detective Jack Paris (who debuted in "Deviant Way") returns in "Kiss," this time in a manhunt for a serial killer who executes his victims in gruesome, quasi-religious rituals. In the midst of the present-day chase, though, Paris is also obsessed with the mysterious circumstances surrounding a fellow detective's death a couple years earlier. Montanari expertly weaves present-day narrative and flashback in a tale that's guaranteed to throw even the sharpest reader off the scent until the very last page. And in those brief moments when he does let up on the pace and let you catch your breath, he adds satisfying layers of depth and humanity to his original sketch of Jack Paris. If you're into Thomas Harris, or John Sanford's "Prey" series, you'll dig "Kiss of Evil."

"Kiss of Evil" is a grim thriller exploring the twisted intersection of sex and violence. The nominal hero is Cleveland homicide detective Jack Paris, a troubled man trying to survive life, divorce, and fatherhood, all while attempting to solve a series of brutal murders which seem to be connected to the mysterious death of a brother officer.

Author Richard Montanari has the stark images of hard-boiled noir down pat. His story is fairly gruesome, somewhat confusing, and quite interesting. His prose is dark and sparse, but thankfully ungimicky. He plays with the structure a bit, intercutting the first person POV of the killer with the more standard third person narrative following the investigator. This technique--one I'm not often fond of--works well at heightening both the tension and the revulsion factor. Definitely not for the weak-stomached.

Although the dust jacket bills "Kiss of Evil" as "a novel of suspense" it's not particularly suspenseful or gripping. The emphasis is more on character and the psychological aspects of the case. There are elements of "cat and mouse" detection, but those aren't the focus. Montanari is more concerned with plumbing the depths of the psycho-sexual morass that Paris encounters, and the book is the better for it.

I like this author and his subject. It is spellbinding and holds your interest. Hard to put the book down until you've finished it!

Detective John Paris returns in this dark, psychological thriller that has all the sinister appeal of Montanari's DEVIANT WAY, and further cements Paris's place as one of the more enigmatic series detectives in hard-boiled crime fiction today.

Two years ago, in an expensive hotel suite, Detective Michael Ryan was executed with his own gun. The beautiful woman who was acquitted at the time has now died in an apparent suicide. Karma? Maybe. Case closed? Not by any means. The suicide is only the beginning of a series of bizarre and seemingly unrelated deaths; ritualistic murders that terrorize the city, and weave in and out of the lives of a grifter with a five year old daughter, a Latina reporter on the career fast-track, a dealer in religious icons and the private life of John Paris.

The setting again is the darkest side of Cleveland, and, as Paris investigates, he finds himself drawn into a deviant underground culture, deep inside the mind of an educated killer, and closer to the terrible truth of what really happened in that hotel room two years ago. KISS OF EVIL is a fast, disturbing read, a true city noir, and arguably the first literary thriller of the decade. I hope there are more Paris books to come.

For those liking the mystery and suspense of a great detective novel, this book is for them. It ranks top in all the detective novels I've read over many years. It's definately a candidate for the top ten best seller list.

You'll be enthralled with the characters, and the twists and turns of the plot will keep you reading until you finish the book. Detective Jack Paris is sure to become a legendary character in the literary world.

Richard Montanari is a gifted writer. I've read his other two books, Violent Hour and Deviant Way and I anticipate his next book with exuberance.

WOW

Montanari's "Kiss Of Evil" truly puts this master of suspense at the head of the class.

It's his second Jack Paris book, and I say that it has been to long a wait, Although I read his " The Violet Hour ,"and even though it was not a Paris book, It was a book with an ending without parallel, I carried the ending around with me for several months, It kinda held me over until "Kiss Of Evil " came out.

The Characters are developed in such a way by the back-story Mr. Montanari gives them; we feel that we know them.

The road Jack Paris takes to solve this mystery that grows colder by the day,is almost missed until he notices one clue that opens the door slightly. But it makes no sense until Jack ties it to a particular event.

The killer outsmarts Paris every time but one,and that one time is pure gold, which only a master storyteller can conceive and excecute.

It is truly a complex story, with all of the clues provided for us to flush out the Killer.

EvenWith the savagery and gore Montanari writes about, there are such tender moments,that makes your heart hurt.

Resign yourself to pull an all nighter on "Kiss Of Evil " because it won't let you go.

Please Don't keep us waiting so long for the next paris book Mr. M.

Kiss of Evil is a novel of suspense and murder that takes place in Cleveland Ohio. The main character Jack Paris a homicide detective on a scarce string of murder cases. The murders are vicious acts of crime and have nothing in common except for a small symbol found on the victims. However as the novel progresses Jack realizes that the murders have something to do with the murder of a cop and friend that occurred two years earlier.

Richard Montanari's style consists of gruesome yet unique murders. Combing flashbacks with present writing. As well as, switching between the points of views from Jack Paris, and the murderers. Looking At things form the murders point of view and seeing them happen then transfers to Jack Paris where the reader sees things, as they are unraveled. These transformations keep the reader intrigued and wanting to continue to reed. Montanari introduces many different kinds of human torture and unique techniques to slaughter people. The chapters are plentiful and short, so that it moves quickly and the reader won't want to put the book down when reading. This is a great novel of suspense.

Given the number of serial killers who roam the US, one sometimes wonders how the police still finds time to hand out speeding tickets. In this novel yet another serial killer meets yet another hardboiled middle age policeman, who, as is nowadays standard fare, has some personal problems. (usually this problem is a broken marriage or a murdered daughter/wife or the inability to in the past having been able to protect an innocent life or a brother who in childhood went unaccountably missing. Generally, these problems are compounded by alcohol and midlife crisis. Take your pick). It goes without saying that all the women are gorgeously attractive (in such novels the obesity rate is miraculously reduced from over 50% to nearly nil).
Readable, fast paced, popcorn for the frequent traveller.

Richard Montanari's third book (the second in the John Paris series) is a masterpiece of rhythm, style, substance and emotion. This time out, while a ritual killer is on the loose in Cleveland, detective Paris begins to uncover new clues to a dead cop's murder.

Kiss of Evil is one of those books that, just when you're certain you have it figured out, you have to rethink everything. It is a book of dark corridors, feverish sex and genuine fear. I read it in two sittings.

No one writing dark crime fiction today does this type of book better. The acclaim may go to names like Lehane, Connelly, Crais, Deaver and Klavan (and deservedly so).

Kiss of Evil proves, once and for all, that Richard Montanari belongs at their table. He may not put out a book every year, but every time I read a new one, I realize it was worth the wait.

I decided that Richard Montanari was a buy-in-hardcover author after discovering The Violet Hour a few years ago, and I'm glad I did. You will be hard pressed to read a better thriller than Kiss of Evil this year.

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