The Skin Gods

A Novel of Suspense

By: Richard Montanari

Narrated by: Scott Brick

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)

Story all over the place

I enjoyed The Rosary Killer, but this book was all over the place. I had a hard time keeping up and just could not get hooked. In the end, I still could not quite figure out the connections.

Book #2 is another excellent read.

Loved this story and Montanari has me engaged with this series. Now I am going to read the 3rd novel of the series. I rate The Skin Gods with top five stars. I would recommend anyone to read it and the 1st book of the series. Scott Brick narrates beautifully the audio book.

Editing please?

I really liked the story and Scott Brick is a stellar storyteller, but the editing seemed a bit off. The chapters were randomly repeated and even several sentences were repeated twice in a row. I thought maybe I had accidentally tapped on something and went back a few chapters but no, I double checked, everything is scrambled. Is there such a thing as a bad download?
I had a bit of trouble keeping track of the characters, there seemed to be too many. In spite of all that, I really enjoyed it.

This is much better

We reported this recording as needing some editing due to repeating sections of the book. We then received an email stating it had been corrected. This was mostly true. It still contains a couple of repeated sections but not entire chapters. This is great service.

As far as the story goes it is another masterpiece narrated by Scott Brick. Man can this guy perform or what?

Brick is a wonderful narrator...

Like another person said, Scott Brick could make a phonebook interesting! He's just a very talented narrator and I try to listen to books he's done.
The story overall was good. And I liked the characters from The Rosary Girls.... this was a natural choice...... good characters.... great narrator!
Enjoy this book..... both by Montanari are worth it.....
Try Kill the Messenger by Tami Hoag... you won't regret it.

Niks sdog

A serial killer and a disillusioned cop. This could have dropped into a predictable formula, but the author injects some complexity with a liberal sprinkling of red herrings. Perhaps the author tries a little too hard, as the storyline got a little confusing at times, and a few loose ends remained unresolved. Scott Brick does his usual first-class narrative. Not only would he turn a phone book into a thriller, but he'd make you rush out to buy the next edition!

An insight into human evil and depravity

Sometimes a little too drawn out, but a good read of good eventually conquering. Great characters.

Need better editing on the audible version

Most of the chapters ended and for some editing reason the sentences were re-read again in the beginning of the next chapter. Quite annoying.

Wonderful edge of your seat.

As always the book is full of twists and turns as well as emotions of the police. The author does a wonderful job of keeping true police issues in the forefront of the book. And Scott brick is I wonderful narrator

Couldn't stop reading

You will not believe who done it until the last page. Pick it up and listen