Richard Montanari is an American crime writer who debuted with his novel ''Deviant Way'', published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, in 1995. It won the Online Mystery Award (OLMA) for Best First Mystery. He has since published seven more novels, which are now available in almost 30 languages. In 2005 he began his

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

crime series with '' The Rosary Girls'', a police procedural thriller set inside the homicide unit of the

Philadelphia Police Department The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD or Philly PD) is the law enforcement agency, police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police a ...

, introducing detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano. Montanari was born in

Northeast Ohio The region Northeast Ohio, in the US state of Ohio, in its most expansive usage contains six metropolitan areas ( Cleveland–Elyria, Akron, Canton–Massillon, Youngstown–Warren, Mansfield, and Weirton–Steubenville) along with eight m ...

, where he still resides.

Publishing history

Cleveland Series

* '' Deviant Ways'' (1995) * '' Kiss of Evil'' (2001) In 1995 Montanari wrote ''Deviant Way'', introducing

Cleveland Police Department The Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) is the governmental agency responsible for law enforcement in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Karrie Howard is the Director of Public Safety and Dornat "Wayne" Drummond is Chief of Police. In 2014, the Jus ...

homicide detective John Paris. The story, a suspense novel chronicling a pair of thrill killers, earned him a two-book deal from

Michael Korda Michael Korda (born 8 October 1933) is an English-born writer and novelist who was editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster in New York City. Early years Born in London, Michael Korda is the son of English actress Gertrude Musgrove and the Hungarian ...

. In 2001 Montanari published the sequel, ''Kiss of Evil''. Both novels have been published worldwide, and were recently reissued by

Random House UK Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

Philadelphia Series

* ''The Rosary Girls'' (2005) * ''The Skin Gods'' (2006) * ''Merciless'' (2007) (UK title ''Broken Angels'') (2007) * ''Badlands'' (UK title ''Play Dead'') (2008) * ''The Echo Man'' (2011) * ''The Killing Room'' (2012) * ''The Stolen Ones'' (2013) * ''The Doll Maker'' (2014) * ''Shutter Man'' (2015) Set inside the homicide unit of the

, these novels include the alternating narratives of veteran police detective Kevin Francis Byrne, and his younger partner Jessica Balzano. The stories, which "possess a psychological depth all too rare in such fiction" (

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

), also include other recurring characters, most notably Detective Joshua Bontrager, who was, at one time, a member of the

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

church. This series is published in France by Le Cherche Midi, in Italy by Editrice Nord, in Germany by Verlagsgruppe Lübbe, and in Denmark by People's Press.

Other works

In addition to his crime series, Montanari has penned two stand-alone novels. In 1998 he published ''The Violet Hour'', a thriller featuring freelance writer Nicky Stella. In 2009 he published ''The Devil’s Garden'', a psychological thriller introducing

New York District Attorney New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Michael Roman. As a journalist Montanari has written essays, profiles, articles, and both film and literary criticism in more than 200 publications, including ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'', ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'', ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'', and many others. According to a 1997 interview published in Volume XI, Issue 4 of Ohio Writer, Montanari's first screenplay "The Skin Gods" made it as far as the 1996 quarter-finals of the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting Awards. The novel of the same name was published in 2003.

References

"Interview, Richard Montanari" Book Reporter 2006
* ttp://www.shotsmag.co.uk/interviews/2008/r_montanari/r_montanari.html "Interview, Richard Montanari" Shots Magazine 2009

External links

Richard Montanari website

Richard Montanari at Random House US

The Rosary Girls mini-site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montanari, Richard 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American crime fiction writers American male novelists Novelists from Ohio Living people 1952 births 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers