6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful police procedural will keep you awake., May 1, 2006
A blurb on the dustjacket touting one of the author's earlier works says "Be prepared to stay up all night." I can tell you that James Ellroy was indeed right on the money where "The Skin Gods" is concerned. Though I had to be up earlier than usual, I didn't get to sleep until I finished the book: the sun was just a few minutes from rising. "The Skin Gods" is that good.
Detective Kevin Byrne, of the Philadelphia Police Department, is still recovering from wounds. His leg is not what it should be, not what it was. He returns to very limited duty and his partner, Detective Jessica Balzano.
A copy of "Psycho" has been found in a local video rental store. Spliced into the rental copy of the movie is a real life murder scene. The corpse start piling up quickly as a murderer seems intent on proving that life follows art. The killer stages scenes of famous movies as he strikes down one victim after another. The killer videotapes their handiwork and edits them into the namesake movies, leaving them at various video rental stores.
Slowly, as the result of solid police work by Byrne and Balzano, a story of death emerges, its tentacles ensnaring in some way each of the victims. Throughout, we are led to believe that we are in the killer's mind . . . or, more accurately, in the minds of killers because Montanari deploys a powerful backstory involving Byrne on a mission of personal revenge.
Montanari is essentially flawless. His plot is absolutely lush with twists and turns, each of them perfectly executed. The reader is brought into a labyrinth and Montanari never misses a step as he guides you where he wants you to go, all of which increases the power of the little and not-so-little surprises he pulls off along the way. The author is truly a master of plot.
The characters are well developed as well. Kevin Byrne is weighed down with a few devils of his own, but Montanari is wise in his treatment. None of these problems leave Byrne's character stereotyped, but rather make him more interesting. Balzano isn't as deep as Byrne, but she gets plenty of time onstage and is believable.
Montanari handles several backstories well. Some of them you know are going to become important and they do. Some of them are just backstories.
I don't like to describe the action of a novel in detail, especially when it's as good as "The Skin Gods." For me, that kind of advance knowledge takes away from my reading pleasure.
Suffice it to say that there's plenty of action in "The Skin Gods and lots of surprises. James Ellroy is right about Montanari's writing: be prepared to stay up all night.
Jerry
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Entertaining Book, March 23, 2007
"The Skin Gods" is the first novel I've read by Richard Montanari and I got two words for you...Great book! It's a detective story laced with movie history and is totally original. The main characters are Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne, two Philadelphia Homicide detectives who are searching for The Actor. The Actor is a serial killer, who has recently stolen the video "Psycho" from an independent video store. When it was rented and the scene where Janet Leigh is killed finally arrives, the tape cuts to a real murder committed exactly like that one. As the detectives try to find out what he'll pick next and figure out his motive (as well as who the victim is), The Actor stikes again...The movie is filled with movie references and is really fun to read for a movie fanatic, but you don't REALLY need to know anything about movies to enjoy the book. It's got short, brisk chapters (there's 98 chapters and an Epilogue) with the story progressing from several different perspectives. It's actually pretty suspenseful. Some of the story is told from The Actor's perspective, but, wisely, Montanari doesn't tell us anything that the police don't know. The book is filled with false leads, making us second guess ourselves the entire time while never seeming forced. I highly recommend this book...It's the first book I've read by Montanari, but it's certainly not the last.
GRADE: A-
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be Prepared to be Terrified, February 14, 2007
Richard Montanari was born in Cleveland, Ohio. As a young man Richard travelled Europe extensively and lived for a time in London, before returning to work in the family construction business. Five years and a few damaged thumbs later, he decided that writing may be a less painful occupation. He has now written several very successful suspense novels.
The Skin Gods is a suspense novel in the true sense of the word, sometimes violent and brutal, but not just for the sake of it It delves into the seedy world of cheap nightclubs and even cheaper women, pornography and all the other things that make a large city tick. Detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano are trawling the streets of Philadelphia in the blazing summer heat. A series of crimes has shattered the quiet of the city. A secretary has been slashed to death in a seedy motel shower and a street hustler has been brutally murdered with a chain saw.
Someone is recreating copy cat murders from famous Hollywood murder scenes and placing the clips in videos for the unsuspecting public to find while they are eating their pizzas and popcorn in their own living rooms. Is this some local psycho or is it something even more sinister . . .
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