The Skin Gods

A Novel of Suspense

By: Richard Montanari

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

It is the steaming heart of summer in the City of Brotherly Love. Back on the force after taking a bullet during the arrest of a sadistic murderer, Detective Kevin Byrne warily returns to police headquarters. He cannot shake the memory of the Rosary Killer's innocent victims or his growing sense that the evil has not been vanquished. And when he and his partner, Detective Jessica Balzano, are called in on a bizarre case, Byrne's gravest suspicions are confirmed.

A madman, dubbed The Actor by the homicide unit, is meticulously recreating Hollywood's most famous, and most gruesome, death scenes. The first murder is caught on film, spliced into a rented VHS edition of the Hitchcock black-and-white masterpiece Psycho. But in place of Janet Leigh is a real-life woman, and this time, the blood is red and the knife is real. Soon, more thrilling classics are turned into terrifying snuff films and placed on video store shelves for an unsuspecting public to find.

The key to this horrific puzzle could lie with any of The Skin Gods' supporting cast: the A-list Hollywood director; the ruthless executive assistant; the convicted mass murderer; or perhaps someone else who has made a sinister art of gruesome violence.

Hot on the psychopath's trail, Balzano and Byrne descend into the mouth of madness and beyond, deep into the depraved underworld of S&M clubs and the porn industry, where the worship of flesh leads to malevolent evil. Before the final credits roll, the investigators will discover that none of The Actor's victims are as innocent as they appear to be, and that the clue the police need to prevent future murders might be found in Detective Byrne's own dark past.

©2006 Richard Montanari (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"A grisly, atmospheric thriller." (Publishers Weekly)
"The Skin Gods is perfect for anyone who enjoys a well-crafted thriller." (Booklist)

not good

this book is pretty lame. it has more than your average number of super cringe-worthy lines and totally unbelievable characters. the worst part is that even though the author is clearly trying to write about heroic and dedicated police officers, the dialog and actions of these characters are more reminiscent of the jerk-face cop with a chip on his shoulder power tripping on busting up a party or writing you up a jay walking ticket. i've enjoyed my fair share of cheesy mysteries, but this one is so bad it's bad.

Lukewarm

Having read the previous book, by this author, I was looking forward to another "can't stop listening" experience. Didn't happen. Way to many "unbelievable" events. It became tiresome and predictable which took the excitement out of the book and the ending.

Great book, bad editing

This was really good, but the recording needs to be edited....severl chapters repeat and the several chapters are repeated after the epilogue.

Not produced right, skipping between chapters

Although a good story, it skips between chapters repeats several times. The book ends with two hours left. Starts over somewhere halfway..... Impossible to truly understand the storyline

skin gods

not very good. I have liked the other books by this author, but this one is not good