The Rosary Girls

By: Richard Montanari

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

In his sleek, visceral novels Deviant Way, Kiss of Evil, and The Violet Hour, Richard Montanari slammed into the suspense field like a force of nature. Now, Montanari has written an astounding novel that pits two besieged detectives against a fiercely intelligent serial killer.

Sprawling beneath the statue of William Penn, Philadelphia is a city of downtrodden crack houses and upscale brownstones. Somewhere in this concrete crazy quilt, one Catholic teenage girl is writing in her diary, another is pouring her heart out to a friend, and yet another is praying. And somewhere in this city is a man who wants these young women to make his macabre fantasy become reality. In a passion play of his own, he will take the girls - and a whole city - over the edge.

Kevin Byrne is a veteran cop who already knows that edge: He’s been living on it far too long. His marriage failing, his former partner wasting away in a hospital, and his heart lost to mad fury, Byrne loves to take risks and is breaking every rule in the book. And now, he has been given a rookie partner. Jessica Balzano, the daughter of a famous Philly cop, doesn’t want Byrne’s help. But they will need each other desperately, since they’ve just caught the case of a lifetime: Someone is killing devout young women, bolting their hands together in prayer, and committing an abomination upon their otherwise perfect bodies.

Byrne and Balzano spearhead the hunt for the serial killer, who leads them on a methodically planned journey. Suspects appear before them like bad dreams - and vanish just as quickly. And while Byrne’s sins begin to catch up with him and Balzano tries to solve the blood-splattered puzzle, the body count rises. Meanwhile, the calendar is approaching Easter and the day of the resurrection. When the last rosary is counted, a madman’s methods will be revealed, and the final crime will be the one that hurts the most.

Relentlessly paced and vividly told, The Rosary Girls is a smart, emotionally complex, fiercely gripping thriller from an author who takes chances, breaks new ground, and leaves listeners haunted and moved long after the last moment.

©2005 Richard Montanari (P)2005 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The Rosary Girls is a well-written, fast-moving thriller with twists and turns galore that will keep you guessing until the end." (Phillip Margolin)
"A relentlessly suspenseful, soul-chilling thriller that hooks you instantly." (Tess Gerritsen)

Story good until

Last 1.5 hours the female detective becomes an idiot. This is my first book by this author. It was good enough to give him another chance. But the conclusion of this book was improbable.

In the top 5 mystery books I have ever read!!!!

Slow start but worth sticking to it, you will not want to put it down! !!

Great story with some unneeded elements

I really liked this book. I think it spins a very good serial killer story and has interesting characters who are very well developed. I feel however that one particular character related to a newspaper story thread felt superfluous and unneeded. If you took that thread out completely nothing would change in the story. Even worse, the thread ends up ripping off Red Dragon, when the book stands well on its own and didn't need to do that.
All of that said. Very recommended and the series itself is great.

Another good one

This is the second one of Montanari's books I've listened to and I'm glad this time I went back to the beginning of Byrne's and Jessica's partnership. I'll move forward from here, now (back toward the Dollmaker where I started) :)

Jessica Balzano is stupid

Where does The Rosary Girls rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Its an excellent plot. Four to five stars

What did you like best about this story?

It keeps pulling at you

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Scott Brick is the best!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Not sure

Any additional comments?

The ending of this story is poor. Jessica Balzano is portrayed as stupid cop who leaves her child undefended and then her Glock so that the killer can have at it and her. One more thing: Can one really believe that after the first or at least the second killing that all students would be warned to travel in pairs and indeed do so? But hey, this is a first book.

Can't believe I missed this author!

Richard Montanari does a nice job writing a mystery/thriller. His duo of Balzano/Byrne are believable for the most part. Byrne does go outside what is legal at times. I find myself looking forward to the next book in the series. Scott Brick, as usual does a wonderful job bringing Balzano and Byrne to life, as well as other characters. I highly recommend this book and series to those who are interested in the mystery/thriller genre.

Could have been good

The story line is ok. However Julie is an idiot. Never put your gun in your purse so where’s her’s. Let’s the man she believes is a killer into her home, puts her gun on top of the refrigerator. Instead of going to her car to get her cell phone (yes she left it in her car)
She leaves her daughter in the house ( with the supposed killer) to go out into a storm to ask a stranger to call 911. Her character’s incompetence ruined this book
I won’t be reading any more of this series

A great mystery!

I found this book, because I listen to all books read by Scott Brick. Well, having been born and bred in a small suburb outside of Phila....what a treat this book was! For me, the city of Phila became a character in this book and I loved that I could actually visualize the settings, because for the most part, I had actually been there at one time or another. But fear not, even if you are not a Philly native, this story's great, and Scott Brick as always is AMAZING! I found the story so intriguing, I went out and bought the hardcover for my husband who could not put it down.

Good book, great reader

"The Rosary Girls" was a good book. The book was made even better by Scott Brick. The story taught me a lot about the Catholic religion. It is a good suspense story. But as I said, Mr. Brick really puts the story out there for our enjoyment. I have made an effort to get books read by Mr. Brick.

Read (listen) to this book and enjoy the story and Mr. Brick.

excellent

Completely enjoyed this one enough to listen to it twice. Definitely one to get if you haven't yet