Merciless

A Novel of Suspense

By: Richard Montanari

Narrated by: Scott Brick

On a frigid December night, Karen sits at the edge of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River, dressed in a flowing gown, like a visitor from the distant past. A beautiful and shining young woman, she gazes up at a bone-white winter moon like a fairy-tale princess frozen in time. At first glance, one might not even notice that she is dead, coated in a glistening patina of ice.

Homicide cops Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano take the lead on the case, uncovering a plethora of eerie clues–each more warped and spine-chilling than the last. Yet the identity of Karen’s pitiless killer remains a mystery. Then the next victim is found upriver at an abandoned waterworks, posed with an unlikely object in her clasped hands. Struggling to link the victims and make sense of the madman’s agenda, Byrne and Balzano follow his twisted trail, which stretches into a past of dark crimes forgotten by all but a few. Siftting through suspects and clues, they unearth a shocking secret history: a legacy of malevolence and cold-blooded retribution dating back twenty years.

This razor sharp and jolting thriller from acclaimed author Richard Montanari coils back in time to deliver a fiendish mystery, a shattering revelation, and one hell of a wild ride. Lock your doors and turn up the lights. Montanari’s terrifying bedtime story will keep you up all night.©2007 Richard Montanari; (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

Praise for Richard Montanari

The Skin Gods

“What makes The Skin Gods engrossing isn’t just the sustained suspense but the adept rendering of the characters.”
–Rocky Mountain News

“Perfect for anyone who enjoys a well-crafted thriller . . . bestselling Montanari has another hit on his hands.”
–Booklist

The Rosary Girls

“Readers of this terrifying page-turner are in the hands of a master storyteller. Be prepared to stay up all night.”
–James Ellroy

“Gripping . . . You begin The Rosary Girls out of curiosity but finish it out of compulsion.”
–Cleveland Plain Dealer

Great Book

I absolutely love the narrator Scott Brick because he brings the story to life. I love the characters in this book-you actually meet them in previous books. In Merciless, there is suspense, drama, action, comedy, dry humor and a feeling of knowing the characters. I am definately looking forward to his future books and hope that Scott Brick will be the narrator of them too.

Great Suspense!

This was a twisty turning and all together a great book to listen to. Suspensful plot and great narrator. I actually sat in my car in my driveway so I could hear the ending.

Montanari doesn't disappoint

And Scott Brick is - hands down - the BEST narrator out there! I love his style, his intonation, his sarcasm, his everything! Thanks to both Montanari and Brick for 13 hours of enjoyment.

worth a listen

This novel lives up to its title as a suspense novel. The bad guy is a bad guy, there are a number of intertwined plots that are mostly brought together well at the end and nearly all of the loose ends are tied up. Character development is only fair. That is the characters are strong with complex personalities but don't for the most part develop much further through the novel than at the beginning. Overall a most enjoyable suspense novel to listen to.

Interesting twists

This was a suspenseful listen and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were several plots/subplots going on and I kept guessing who the serial killer of the central plot was going to turn out to be. I was wrong a bunch! I like Scott Brick as a narrator and he delivered a solid performance. You can always differentiate between his characters by his accent. It was nice to have Pennsylvanian city/countryside/river described--it was very believable and certainly reminded me of visits to the area.
I would like to read more about the detectives in the story. I think you will be happy with this novel.