The Violet Hour (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Richard Montanari combines some unusual ingredients (the ethnic sociology of Cleveland, Ohio; the poetry of T.S. Eliot; the eccentricities of e-mail and chat rooms) with some of the more familiar elements of genre fiction (the hungry journalist who lucks into a good story; a series of current crimes linked to an old atrocity) to excellent effect in The Violet Hour. Writer Nicky Stella--beseiged by debts and responsibilities of his own--tries to save his career by finding out why poetry students who went to a party at Case Western Reserve University 20 years ago are suddenly dying in very nasty ways. With its ecclectic mixture of new technologies and classic mystery plotting, The Violet Hour is a sleek and dark story of delayed revenge. Montanari's equally chilling, well-received first thriller, Deviant Way, is available in paperback. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

A serial killer takes long-delayed revenge on the friends whom he blames for his girlfriend's heroin overdose in this consistently surprising if somewhat implausible novel of suspense. When Cleveland freelance reporter Nicky Stella hears from his cousin, Father Joseph LaCazio, of the messy heroin-related deaths of Father John Angelino and a young prostitute, Nicky smells a story that could get a loan shark off his back. Clued by brand marks on the drug wrapper, he calls in markers from black undercover narc Willie T. in order to get an interview with the dealer. Soon Nicky's legwork links more Cleveland murders to Fr. Angelino's, and a T.S. Eliot poem e-mailed to the priest's laptop provides a list of future victims. Nicky's underworld contacts lead him down a slime trail to the killer's lair, while the killer himself stalks the wife and daughter of his next intended victim. The likable, bumbling hero, the competent female characters and the distinct voices of a diverse, if cartoonish, cast distract from certain nagging questions about the premise. (Why, for example, does the killer wait 20 years to take his revenge?) Montanari (Deviant Way) keeps the reader deliciously off balance throughout, letting the novel accrue horrors and deft misdirections right until its gory end.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (September 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380795329
• ISBN-13: 978-0380795321
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #771,709 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Violets are Red, September 30, 2000

By	Michael Butts (Martinsburg, WV USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Wow! This is one fantastic novel! Richard Montanari has created a complex, suspenseful and frightening look at a serial killer. "The Violet Hour" opens with a shocking beginning, and then just moves on, page to page, with one twist after another. It's almost Jeffery Deaver-like, but Montanari's twists are a little subtler and not as "unbelievable" (but don't get me wrong, Deaver is one of my favorite writers!).

The story centers around this killer getting revenge on five people who twenty years earlier did something awful to the girl he loved.

There are many good clues in this book, but he has camouflaged them so well, you only remember then once the book is read. One of the most amazing is this: you won't get one of the clues unless you say a particular word out loud to yourself. Great plot device there!

The identity of the killer is surprising, yet if you read back, you can see all the evidence pointing to them. There are also some great subplots, and an ending that floored me! I wasn't expecting it.

The characters are well-developed, and interesting. Nick Stella is a compassionate hero, who sheds his "scoop of the century" mode to assist in a bizarre series of deaths. Amelia Saintsbury is a good heroine, and her private dilemmas are intermingled well with her potential doom.

All in all, can't say too much, would not want to give anything away! But, this is a GREAT book and I eagerly await Mr. Montanari's next. Am also going to go back and read "Deviant Way." If it's half as good, it's worth the bucks!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!, October 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: VIOLET HOUR H (Hardcover)

Since I loved Deviant Way so much, I was hesitant about reading The Violet Hour. I thought it couldn't possibly be as good. I was wrong! If you are in the mood for spine-tingling, page-turning excitement, read this wonderful thriller. As a matter of fact, they should put a picture of The Violet Hour beside the definition of thriller. It had it all - wonderful characters, twisty plot and an unbelievable pace. It was a fantastic thrill ride, and I highly recommend it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, June 29, 2001

By	"rileymae" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This book was a heart-stopper. It grabbed me right from the beginning. Then for a few chapters it did jump from character to character and you had to read carefully to keep them straight. But it was well worth it. My mind was working through this whole book trying to figure who was doing the murders and also who was responsible for what happened 20 years ago. Just when I thought I knew who it was I would read something that would make me go "Whoa" and I had to rethink my ideas.

I have read several books where someone is getting revenge on a group of people for something they did years ago. But none of them were written quite this way. New characters kept popping up to challenge my thinking. At times I suspected everyone. And even when you think the story is over there is still a surprise. I will be going out to buy Richard Montanari's other books. He is a great writer.