Richard Montanari - V.O.



Richard Montanari


Hello Richard Montanari; your novel Kiss of Evil (Cérémonie in french) will be published by Le Cherche Midi soon. Can you tell us more about it ?
Bonjour.  Kiss of Evil was first published in 2001 in the US by William Morrow, and it represents the second book in the series that follows Detective John Paris (the first in the series was Deviant Way) in his very dark adventures in and around my home town of Cleveland, Ohio.  Last year I was asked to update the story.  In this book, Detective Paris becomes personally involved with the evil he is attempting to vanquish, and comes very close to stepping into the dark side himself.
The book was a challenge in many ways, not the least of which was its present tense, even including the flashbacks.


This novel has been written a long time before Byrne & Balzano’s adventures. What is changed in your way to write?
I don’t think much has changed in terms of style.  What might be different now is the efficiency with which I connect the disparate story elements (not always, believe me), and the depth to which my characters go inside themselves.  Hopefully, with age comes wisdom.


The killer who is described in Cérémonie is so cruel. How can you imagine/create this kind of monster?

When writing a character like this, you have to remember that his or her actions do not seem cruel or insane to them.  I think the depth of cruelty is directly proportionate to the depth of the perceived wrong.  In my books, if you take away the life of a loved one, I will kill you.  If you destroy a loved one in a slow, deliberate, cruel manner — well, all bets are off, my friend.   You will feel every lash of my whip.  And that will just be the aperitif.


In this novel, as in all others, you investigate a new part of evil. What makes you go so far in darkness?

Because evil is infinite.  Each time I venture into the darkness, I never come to a wall.  And if I did, I would do my best to climb over it, and see what is on the other side.


Do you think your French fans will have a day the chance to read all your novels in French?

Yes!  We are in talks right now to bring my first and second novels (Deviant Way and The Violet Hour) to France next year, along with The Echo Man, the fifth novel in the series featuring Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano.

And what about Jessica Balzano & Kevin Byrne?
The Echo Man was just released in the UK, and I am thrilled to announce that the novel, likes its four predecessors, made the Sunday Times Top Ten hardcover list.  For those who have read the other books in the series, you know there is always a deep and disturbing pathology to the killers.  In The Rosary Girls (Deviances) it was the mysteries of the Catholic church.  In The Skin Gods (Psycho) it was famous cinema murders.  The Echo Man is no different.  This time the story takes us deep into the world of classical music.


And now, what are now your projects?

I am currently writing the sixth book in the Philadelphia series, which will be published by Random House in 2012  In addition, I am also writing a one act play, which will go into workshop this summer, as well as two episodes for an American television crime show.

Thanks a lot, Richard Montanari. Now again, we let you the final word.
Again that word is merci!  Thanks to all my friends and readers in France for their friendship and support over the years.

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