This is the second book that I have read from Montecino...this was his first book that he ever wrote apparently...and it was excellent! The characters were well done...I felt so bad for one particular character...Esther....she goes through so much...the only fault that I found was that I wish that the author would have focused a bit more on the relationship between Esther and Clarke Johnson....otherwise the book was great! Heartstopping...kept me guessing what was going to happen next....and in some parts it definately throws you for a few spins! I am going to read "Big Time" now...which is also by Montecino...... Happy Reading to all!

Never have I read a book where the multiple plots and characters tie together and link so successfully without being disjointed and hard to comprehend. It was a hard book to read in that it was finely printed and so laden with characters that all link to the protagonist Jack Gold. Despite this, it was so harrowing and full of unmitigated violence and suspense that it was hard to put down! I suggest you start reading it in the morning to avoid the late night, straining over the fluroescent lights, want to put it down but can't because I have to know what's going to happen scenario. Some pretty graphic imagery in there too- not for the tender hearted or hypersensitive types. Pretty good for a first novel too- perhaps Montecino has tried a little TOO hard to include every possible element of a murder novel, making it very intense- still excellent though.

This is the best police thriller I've read in ages.... Well written, great dialoge and a totally uncompromising hero... read this book!

Mr. Montecino has one strange obsession. He believes that when one is shot, no matter where, blood gushes forth from one's body like beer from a keg that has just been plugged with a bullet from a 45. And believe me this book has a large cast of perforated people with blood gushing, spurting, flowing, and streaming from them. In this novel a newly punctured torso should prompt someone to run forth with one of those yellow signs that state "Caution! Wet Floor!"

Sacred Heart is essentially an historical Western that takes place in Mexico in the early 1930s when that country was going through one of its anti-clergy cycles. Two American brothers, one a priest and the other a murderous gangster refugee fight for religious freedom in the Mexican state of Jalisco. It is a tale of a saint who becomes a sinner, and a vile sinner who seems to be on the road to sainthood. I found it a bit difficult to accept some of the character changes encountered, but you may feel otherwise.

Mr. Montecino is an above average writer, although this book, in my opinion, is not equal to his other two novels, the excellent "The Crosskiller", and "Big Time". Yet this is a more intelligently written story of the desert than most, and is a thriller with a non-formula plot. Remember, though, if you can't stand the sight of blood, you will probably faint several times while reading the book.

Just finished this book today...and it was really good..not the best...at times I was confused between the plots...he did change time spans quite a bit, and it was a bit jumpy as well. It did keep me reading to see what was going to happen next...There was a lot of action...alot of blood as a previous reviewer had stated. I would read another book by this author...I would just ask him not to jump around so much.

I picked this book up thinking it was going to be a book similar to the Sicilian by Mario Puzo. I was wrong! This book was so good that i stopped reading the other three books that I was very involved in. This book has culture, violence, suspence, and many instinces were you dont know what to feel. It pulled me in from the start, being a fan of the Gangster genre. I would suggest this book to anyone who loves mobland type stuff or are fans of Puzo or Pilleggi. This book is definitly worth the price.

I wondered if I ever would get through this book. I did, but running a marathon is easier. I found it very boring. Don't buy it if you don't mean it.

For those of you who liked "Crosskiller" you will almost certainly enjoy "Big Time." Set in Louisiana, the high seas, Brazil, and L.A., it spans the globe to give you the constant variety of a man relentlessly pursued. What makes this book better than "Crosskiller" is the convincing interplay between the protaganist and that teenybopper, sexpot, Madonna wanna-be Isabel. Montecino makes them work well, oh so well, together, and also convincingly pulls them apart. The book's only problem was its first 100 or so pages, which mainly consist of the protaganist being hysterical with himself ("I gotta get outta here!" etc. etc.). But enjoy, enjoy everything else. And for Brazilophiles there's even the added bonus of having the leading lady be a Brazilian. Que bom!

If you want to judge Big Time go to page 264 where the musician is hiding as a piano player on "the Love Boat" and discovers a young South American singer with a voice like Billie Holiday. The scene moves. It doesn't have the Pirandello intricacies of a Puzo plot, nor is there any particular point to the novel: but it is a plan good well written read. Forgetting about Elmore Leonard and Eugene Izzi for a moment, the only writer of suspense that I know who equals Montecino is Gerald Petievich. And if you have never read Paramour by Petievich then you are in for a second treat.