Shutter Man by Richard Montanari

Billy's a cold-blooded killer.  He also has a neurological condition that makes him not recognize faces.  His brother helps him find his victims and he carries pictures of them inside his jacket so he can check to see if they match.  It helps if the brother puts them in the clothes they were wearing in the picture...

Mulholland Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published February 9th.

Mr. Montanri writes complex tales with a lot of characters in them.  I enjoy reading them because I'm not sure what kind of story he is building and he always throws in complications on the cop's side, too.

The story is set on the wrong side of town, where the immigrants did what they could to make money.  They stole what they couldn't afford.  From that background, some turned out good and some turned out bad.  The problems began when a young girl was killed.  The boys accused a confused man of killing her.  He denied it and ran.  They chased him down and someone shot him.  The man that died belonged to a family of killers.  Without even knowing it, they have created a war.

When people start showing up dead, the cops get involved.  The cop that was part of that group is on the case.  The people have nothing in common that they can see, but they are shot, their faces are taken off and their birth certificates are stolen.  No one knows why.  As the cops put the case together, they have more victims.  Clues finally start tying together.  Once they know who the killer is, they have to find him.

This is a tense, suspenseful read with a twist at the end.  There are a lot of surprises and no end of odd characters.  This author keeps you reading.  

The Doll Maker: A Byrne and Balzano Mystery by Richard Montanari

There are magic mushrooms involved in this story and, as you read it, you begin to wonder if you've taken some, too.  Prepare yourself for an odd journey through a psychological minefield.

Mulholland Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It's going to be published April 28th.

This is the first one I've read in this series.  The two cops are great detectives that listen to their instincts in cases.  It's what has kept them alive.  In this case, it becomes a matter of life and death.

It all starts when a young girl is murdered.  Her throat is cut and her skull has number embroidered on it.  It's horrific and frightening and there are no clues except an envelope that invites them to another tea party on a future date.

The death reminds Byrne of the missing children he's searched for in the past.  He never found them, but he knows who took them.  The woman is on death row and he tries to get permission to speak to her.  Maybe now that she knows she's dying, she'll tell him where they are.  

There is more than one dysfunctional family in this story.  What's scary is how dangerous they are.  They feel no guilt, they are "fixing" them.

This is a complex story with lots of details tying together the tale of love, hurt, heartache, and a bit of insanity.  Many things could have turned out differently depending on how they responded to their crises.  Unfortunately, everyone made the wrong choices.

This is a fight until the end.  I was almost holding my breath by the time we got to the end of the story.  Mr. Montanari's characters have depth even if they don't have sanity.  I'll be watching for more of his work.

The Echo Man by Richard Montanari

This book could have easily been titled:  "Evil."  Someone has become a vigilante and he/she is killing people who got away with murder.  The bodies are located in the same place the victim was found...

Ballantine, a division of Random House Publishing and Net Galley gave me a copy of this book for review (thank you).  It was published on the 19th of September, so you can grab a copy now at your local bookstore.

This is a complex tale of a sick mind.  The killer is working up to a finale on Halloween, and the cops are trying to stop him.

The plot goes into the past and works forward into the future.  Many of the characters are interconnected.  There are clues that make no sense.  Any possible witnesses are killed.  There is no trail to follow, just some good cops trying to out think a psycho. One of those cops has black outs and is in poor mental health, but he's doing his best to solve the case.  

Mr. Montanari's story was 1,119 pages.  I read the entire book in two nights.  It's mesmerizing.  You don't want to set it down.  It's action packed, with little hints here and there that made no sense until the end.  I was totally surprised by the identity of the killer.  I saw no connection at all as I read the story; the killer didn't come to the surface until the end of the book.  This author had me glued in my chair.

I highly recommend this book.  It's an very good read!

Happy reading.