The Killing Room by Richard Montanari

Detectives Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne have a good partnership in the Philadelphia Police Department despite their differences.  Outside of the obvious gender difference, Byrne is a veteran, old of the oldest detectives still working, while Jessica is much younger.  Jessica is happily married with kids, while Byrne lives alone, his daughter already grown and gone.  Yet the respect they have for each other makes them a good pair to investigate the grisly crimes they encounter.

Jessica gets the call.  A voice she doesn't recognize predicts deaths; one for each of seven churches.  She is tempted to ignore the call as a crank call when the report comes in.  A man has been found in the basement of a deserted church.  His death is gruesome and has ritual aspects.  As she and Byrne investigate, more deaths occur.  Each murder is committed in the basement of a deserted, abandoned church and each victim has a criminal record.  As the deaths pile up, can the detectives uncover the killer before the plan is complete?

Richard Montanri has written several criminal series.  This is the sixth novel in the Balzano/Byrne series.  The connection between two widely disparate individuals who have found a way to work effectively as partners is compelling.  The reader is taken inside the world of investigations and watches the race against time as the crime is investigated.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.