This was the first Montanari I read and my god did I enjoy it, the fast paced, twist filled plot and believable and intriguing characters. I enjoyed the occasional over-the-top gothic statements and given the position of each kill felt they added to the depth and depravity of the storyline. This book definately got me hooked into Montanari as an author

So I randomly stumbled across this on Amazon one day and bought it and then (imagine) me forgetting all about it. I was searching for something to read the other day and saw this in my library and figured why not? Couldn't remotely recall what it was about or why I bought it, and I headed in blind and man, let me say I was impressed. This book has everything in it that I usually want from a book, and has it in spades.

This is a really satisfying read in the sense that it flows well, introduces you to a lot of characters, but never gets too much. It isn't excessively complicated, and a solid introductory book to a fresh series (something I have been hankering for). I liked Jessica, though the book really seems to gloss over how she has become a homicide detective and is never around for her daughter anymore and her babysitting neighbour seems totally fine with constantly having a kid dumped on her by a neighbour.

There were a lot of characters introduced and written off with no fanfare whatsoever, so you never really get attached to anybody, and constantly have it in the back of your mind that any/all character are disposable. I quite enjoyed Montanari's writing style. It is descriptive, immersive, and it flows well, which is something that doesn't always happen. Maybe because I am so used to the brutality in Karin Slaughter's books, I thought that Montanari might be a bit more... vicious like that, but I found it not to be the case. The ick was there, but hurried over in a sense, which might make this book appeal more to people who usually enjoy a thrill but not the gore.

The case for this novel is interesting and barrels along. I liked our main peanut characters, and have already purchased the next five books in this series and a standalone. I am hoping there will be more growth for the characters now that we have been introduced to them all, so we will see how it goes. Well worth the read, especially if you are into something a little more dark.

The Rosary Girls by Richard Montanari

Right from the off, I didn't like Kevin Byrne which was one of the main reasons I only gave this three stars. I thought he was a thug and he twisted the law to suit himself, but the addition of Jessica saved this book. She's a likable character, even if she's unrealistic. There were also more characters than necessary, extra cops that I don't think added anything to the book.
The plot on the other hand was good. I felt like Montanari had done his research about the Catholic church as well as the Philadelphia Police Force. I thought I'd figured out who the murderer was, but Montanari was one step ahead of me and actually surprised me. I also love how he tied everything together. A few words mentioned at the beginning of the book were more relevant than I ever realised! I will read some more Montanari books, in hope that I grow to like Detective Byrne.

I read this on the recommendation of a friend. I loved the setting~Philadelphia. The neighborhood references and descriptions of locations brought back many memories of growing up in Philly. While liberties were taken with school names to fictionalize them, it did not distract from the overall affect of being in the city during the time of the events.

The story kept me interested and the characters were believable.

A gripping novel however let down by the cinematic climax !