The Devil's Garden
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Product Description
Book Description
One family's fight ... to the death. The terrifying first stand-alone thriller from the Sunday Times bestseller.
Product Description
Michael Roman is finally living the life he always dreamed of - he has a successful career, a beautiful wife and adorable twin daughters. But his idyllic life is about to come crashing down around him - because Michael is a man with a past.
A rising star in the New York District Attorney's office and on the cusp of enormous success, Michael's perfect life begins to unravel when he finds himself the target of a depraved madman, a man who covets everything Michael has and will stop at nothing to take it all away.
In a desperate fight to survive, Michael is forced to confront the dark secrets of his past in order to save his family. He must hunt down the psychopath who is targeting his family and, before it is too late, face the devil himself . . .
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Michael Roman is finally living the life he always dreamed of -- he has a successful career, a beautiful wife and adorable twin daughters. But his idyllic life is about to come crashing down around him - because Michael is a man with a past. A rising star in the New York District Attorney's office and on the cusp of enormous success, Michael's perfect life begins to unravel when he finds himself the target of a depraved madman, a man who covets everything Michael has and will stop at nothing to take it all away.
In a desperate fight to survive, Michael is forced to confront the dark secrets of his past in order to save his family. He must hunt down the psychopath who is targeting his family and, before it is too late, face the devil himself...
This is a standalone thriller that is almost painfully slow to begin with and doesnt really get going until about a hundred or so pages in. The writing is good and the story line has a good amount of twists which I have come to expect from a Montanari story but there's just something missing. The characters seem a bit flat and as I was expecting a more police procedural style novel I was surprised by The Devil's Garden slightly supernatural element.
All in all not a bad read and readers unfamiliar with Montanari's previous work should be sufficiently impressed. However to those who have read and enjoyed his Philadelphia set Byrne & Balzano series it's unfortunately a bit of a let down. The story, characters and even the plot twists are most definately not up to scratch for Montanari.
In a desperate fight to survive, Michael is forced to confront the dark secrets of his past in order to save his family. He must hunt down the psychopath who is targeting his family and, before it is too late, face the devil himself...
This is a standalone thriller that is almost painfully slow to begin with and doesnt really get going until about a hundred or so pages in. The writing is good and the story line has a good amount of twists which I have come to expect from a Montanari story but there's just something missing. The characters seem a bit flat and as I was expecting a more police procedural style novel I was surprised by The Devil's Garden slightly supernatural element.
All in all not a bad read and readers unfamiliar with Montanari's previous work should be sufficiently impressed. However to those who have read and enjoyed his Philadelphia set Byrne & Balzano series it's unfortunately a bit of a let down. The story, characters and even the plot twists are most definately not up to scratch for Montanari.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Devils Garden - Richard Montanari
Synopsis
Michael Roman and Abby Roman and their 4 year old twin daughters are just a normal working family living in suburbia. Their peace is destroyed when a lawyer is tortured to death. This lawyer is known to them. He worked illegimate adoption of their twin daughters from Estonia, the birth place of Michael's parents. The twins' biological family wants his daughters, who were snatched from their mother's bed, back. This psychopath will stop at nothing to get them back. Believing he can live forever he needs them to make this happen. He goes on a killing spree across the city. A NYPD detective is looking into the murder of the lawyer and is lead to Michael and his family. Will Michael and his family survive or will the psychopath get what's rightfully his.
My Opinion
This was a stand alone book of Richard Montanari. The first since the Balzano and Byrne series and I didn't know what to expect, and for me it wasn't as great as his previous books. I am normally sitting at the edge of my seat and shouting at anyone who interrupts. But with this book I could get that normal flow of reading. Yes there were gruesome torture scenes that Montanari writes so well. But it was the characters that just didn't do it for me. I hope he goes back to the Balzano and Byrne series as they were thoroughly entertaining.
I would give this 3 out of 5.
Synopsis
Michael Roman and Abby Roman and their 4 year old twin daughters are just a normal working family living in suburbia. Their peace is destroyed when a lawyer is tortured to death. This lawyer is known to them. He worked illegimate adoption of their twin daughters from Estonia, the birth place of Michael's parents. The twins' biological family wants his daughters, who were snatched from their mother's bed, back. This psychopath will stop at nothing to get them back. Believing he can live forever he needs them to make this happen. He goes on a killing spree across the city. A NYPD detective is looking into the murder of the lawyer and is lead to Michael and his family. Will Michael and his family survive or will the psychopath get what's rightfully his.
My Opinion
This was a stand alone book of Richard Montanari. The first since the Balzano and Byrne series and I didn't know what to expect, and for me it wasn't as great as his previous books. I am normally sitting at the edge of my seat and shouting at anyone who interrupts. But with this book I could get that normal flow of reading. Yes there were gruesome torture scenes that Montanari writes so well. But it was the characters that just didn't do it for me. I hope he goes back to the Balzano and Byrne series as they were thoroughly entertaining.
I would give this 3 out of 5.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It was slightly disappointing to discover that Richard Montanari's new book was a diversion from the successful and superb series featuring detectives Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne. That said, I settled down to give it a go and in the end, it proved to be a good choice.
The plot is somewhat far-fetched, but the same could be said of most thrillers. The chief villain, while somewhat extreme, does have almost empathetic qualities, which is quite an achievement for Montanari to accomplish given that the character is trying to steal back the children he fathered, who were later adopted. There are some violent scenes here but they're also interspersed with slightly fantastical, dreamlike moments.
The Devil's Garden is a pretty good story but needs some perseverance to get into. The opening perhaps doesn't grab the attention as it should, and fans of Montanari might worry that he's going off the boil. However, all the qualities he brings to his writing are still there, and it soon comes to life. More meaty than the regular series, but with enough likeable characters and solid enough plot development to make it a good addition to Montanari's collection - even if it's not quite up there with the very high standards of the rest.
If you haven't read the author before, you don't need to have read the other books first as this is a stand-alone novel. But in my opinion, it's not the ideal starting point - go for the superb The Rosary Girls first. Otherwise, go ahead and read The Devil's Garden too.
The plot is somewhat far-fetched, but the same could be said of most thrillers. The chief villain, while somewhat extreme, does have almost empathetic qualities, which is quite an achievement for Montanari to accomplish given that the character is trying to steal back the children he fathered, who were later adopted. There are some violent scenes here but they're also interspersed with slightly fantastical, dreamlike moments.
The Devil's Garden is a pretty good story but needs some perseverance to get into. The opening perhaps doesn't grab the attention as it should, and fans of Montanari might worry that he's going off the boil. However, all the qualities he brings to his writing are still there, and it soon comes to life. More meaty than the regular series, but with enough likeable characters and solid enough plot development to make it a good addition to Montanari's collection - even if it's not quite up there with the very high standards of the rest.
If you haven't read the author before, you don't need to have read the other books first as this is a stand-alone novel. But in my opinion, it's not the ideal starting point - go for the superb The Rosary Girls first. Otherwise, go ahead and read The Devil's Garden too.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
THE DEVIL'S GARDEN
Jim Munchel
Once again...one of my favorite authors is for the most part only available at Amazon Books UK. Richard Montanari is a class act. Read more
Once again...one of my favorite authors is for the most part only available at Amazon Books UK. Richard Montanari is a class act. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jim Munchel
confusing and not his best (for me)
To be honest I don't know where to start, I normally love Richard Montanari books but it just didn't happen with this one. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Lainy
Fast-paced thriller
A high-flying and ambitious new York Attorney, Michael Roman, who is one step away from the top DA job and appears to have all that he could wish for, suddenly finds his life... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Lance Mitchell
Not part of a series
I love the previous Jessica Balzano series, this however is NOT part of that series, it is a stand-a-lone book. Read more
Published 18 months ago by EJ77
A Good Thriller
This is my first time reading Richard Montanari and I was glad I did. It was a great read start to finish. Read more
Published 19 months ago by G. Nolan
Pretty dire
Fan's of Richard's work will be sadly disappointed with this novel. It's slow, the characters are more 2D than 3D, the description is pretty dire and to be honest the overall plot... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
Who dunnit
Mr. Montanari is one of my favorite authors. This book is good and I have enjoyed reading it very much. I am looking forward to the next instalment.
Thanks. Read more
Thanks. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Suz
What Happened, Rich?
I'm a huge fan of Montanari's Byrne and Balzano series, and while I think he is among the most talented and original writers in the crime genre, this stand alone is almost ghastly... Read more
Published 20 months ago by B. Turnbull
A poor showing from a good author
Other reviewers have very competently laid out the plot for this book so I won't bother. I'll just give my overall impressions. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2010 by Telboy
A change of direction
I agree with many reviewers before me, that Montanari' s latest wasnt his best effort to date. I wouldnt go as far to say it is the weakest one, but it certainly is the most... Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2010 by L. Bezzina
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