Homicide detectives Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne team up to solve some of the most harrowing–and gruesome–murders to rock Philadelphia in these relentlessly suspenseful thrillers.
The City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia is home to the Liberty Bell, Rocky, upscale brownstones, downtrodden crack houses, and ruthless, cunning killers. A veteran cop, Kevin Byrne is no stranger to the city’s underbelly; as the daughter of a Philly cop, his rookie partner, Jessica Balzano, is also familiar with the city’s dark and twisted sides. On their beat through Philly’s mean and seedy streets, these tenacious homicide detectives encounter heinous and macabre murders committed in an abandoned church, a derelict mental hospital, and assorted back alleys and parks. Balzano and Byrne track down seriously disturbed and meticulous serial killers who transform their lifeless victims into ice sculptures or dress them up like dolls, use nursery rhymes or movie reenactments to carry out their criminal fantasies, and continue legacies of revenge and carnage. Taut, vividly told, and terrifying, this series is not for the faint of heart.
Hall of Fame Narrator Scott Brick commands every sudden turn and horrific twist of the Balzano and Byrne series, his voice resonating with tension. The award-winning narrator raises hairs when performing exchanges between deranged suspects and the engaging detectives as they furiously work to solve each crime. His outstanding performance of this gripping and chilling series wins high praise from listeners. “Cut Scott Brick loose on a mystery and hang on to your hat,” declares one listener. Another listener comments: “Scott Brick is—hands down—the BEST narrator out there! I love his style, his intonation, his sarcasm, his everything!”
Richard Montanari worked in sales (men’s clothing and foreign language encyclopedias in London) and construction (his family’s firm in Cleveland, Ohio) before setting out to build a career as a writer. After contributing essays and articles to more than 200 publications, he broke into fiction with his debut thriller, Deviant Way.
