17 Apr 2010

THE ROSARY GIRLS.

THE ROSARY GIRLS by RICHARD MONTANARI. In the most brutal killing crusade Philadelphia has seen in years, a series of young Catholic women are found dead, their bodies mutilated and their hands bolted together. Each clutches a rosary in her lifeless grasp.

Veteran cop Kevin Byrne and his rookie partner Jessica Balzano set out to hunt down the elusive killer, who leads them deeper and deeper into the abyss of a madman's depravity. Suspects appear before them like bad dreams - and vanish just as quickly. While the body count rises, Easter is fast approaching: the day of resurrection and of the last rosary to be counted...

... from the outer back cover.

First Sentence: There is a wintry sadness about this one, a deep-rooted melancholy that belies her seventeen years, a laugh that never fully engages any sort of inner joy.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: And while any immediate threat, at least from a living human being, was over, and the detectives could have holstered their weapons, they hesitated, as if they could somehow vanquish the profane vision in front of them by deadly force.

After being given another book by this particular friend and finding it not to my taste, I'm really pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed The Rosary Girls - after all, with it's wonderfully fast paced plot and cleverly penned, complex characters what was there not to like?

Set in Philadelphia, someone is killing young Catholic women in what can only be described as a macabre fashion and whilst this could have made for an overly blood-thirsty novel, the author avoided this by not including any really gratuitous violence and by not dwelling on this one aspect of the story too much.

Very well written - the psychological element being especially impressive as were the multitude of twists and turns to the story - it was a roller coaster of a read, well observed, with lots of details and a climatic ending.

Character wise - I particularly liked the fact that as much credence was given to Jessica (the female half of the partnership) as there was to Kevin (the main character) though there was one point in which the author had her acting in a particularly 'strange' way that wasn't consistent with what we knew of her. However, that said, it in no way spoilt the story as a whole, being much too well written and thought through by the author for that to happen.

The Rosary Girls was a gift from a friend.

16 comments:

NabilaHazirah said...

Hi.Um. I know I'm random,but I gave you an award. Because I think you're awesome like that.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Thanks, Little Flower, your award is much appreciated.

chitra said...

I am not a voracious reader but read and stick to more of light and humour stuff. Still like to know about various book reviews . Thanks for sharing.

Pam said...

This sounds like a James Patterson book I read recently. Of course, at the rate he is cranking out books (one per month) his plots are beginning to run together.

I thought that "hint, hint" on my post was the height of subtlety. lol

Dorte H said...

Though the plot seems somewhat brutal, your review sounds very tempting.

Kissed by an Angel said...

The books sounds interesting to a mainly Chic Lit reader!!!
xxxx

Heather said...

great review.

as an aside, my daughter named her laptop Nigel, they tried to get me to name my sewing machine, but it didn't happen.

Anonymous said...

I love books like this! Sounds good. I am writing it on my list!

"social, logical skills of a 5 year old-- think about this: 5 year olds are pretty much masters of all those areas and more so than adults the majority of the time!!! -" Saw this on your side bar...I have a 5 year old and this is so true!

Jen said...

I'm looking for lighter reading to take on my vacation, but I'll keep this in mind when I'm in the mood for something with a little more substance. Good job with the review.

Áine said...

Looks like an interesting read,I'm glad it was one you enjoyed :)

Oddyoddyo13 said...

That sounds so awesome. I'm going to have to see if the bookstore has it the next time I go...

Kelly said...

I use to read more books along this line, but not as much in recent years. I still like to throw one in every so often, though, and this one sounds quite good.

Been away a few days (isn't scheduling posts ahead of time nice?) so I'm just now catching up.

Traci said...

I am adding this to my library order list RIGHT now - your review has completely won me over!
:-)
Traci

Jenners said...

I'll have to check this out as I was born in Philadelphia and live right across the bridge from it now (sadly).

Gina said...

Intriguing plot point there....brings me back to one of fave genres of old, Crime Fiction. Thanks for sharing....and happy reading!

kathryn said...

Wow...I'll definitely keep this one in mind. Sounds like a great story.
Thanks for sharing...I'm sure your friend is glad you ultimately liked it.