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Summary
Summary
With his first novel The Blue Edge of Midnight, Jonathon King was praised for his "powerful storytelling" (San Diego Union-Tribune), for his "stunning" and "superb" writing (Pittsburgh Tribune), and for adding "new dimensions to the modern crime novel" (Michael Connelly). And, in a starred review, Publishers Weeklycompared King to James Hall, Robert Parker, and James Lee Burke. Now, in A Visible Darkness, King delivers another gripping, unforgettable story. Max Freeman is seeking refuge from the familiar demons of his former life as a Philadelphia police officer, in his secluded shack deep in the Everglades. But his self-imposed isolation is inter-rupted when he receives a desperate call from his best friend, attorney Billy Manchester. There has been a recent string of suspicious deaths-all elderly women, all from a poor neighborhood, and all with sizable and recently sold-off insurance policies-which the police have been unable, or unwilling, to investigate. Billy believes something sinister may be at work, and so, to help his friend, Max must reluctantly pry where he's not wanted, and act like the cop he's trying to forget he was. To discover an unseen killer, Max will confront not only the dangers of a forgotten Florida cityscape, but the unexpected and dark corners of his own past as well. Filled with twists, turns, and a breathtaking evocation of a rarely glimpsed underside of modern America, A Visible Darknessconfirms Jonathon King's place at the forefront of a new generation of crime novelists.
Author Notes
Author and journalist Jonathon King began his journalism career at the Philadelphia Daily News. During his career he has covered the crime and criminal courts beat and currently works for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel as a news feature writer. He writes the Max Freeman series and his debut novel, The Blue Edge of Midnight won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
King's first book about former Philadelphia cop Max Freeman turned loose in the Florida Everglades (The Blue Edge of Midnight) boasted several strengths-a protagonist who shimmered with life in spite of a cliched backstory (he was wounded in a shootout at a robbery scene, where one of his shots killed a 12-year-old boy), a riveting supporting cast of local weirdos and a fully credible subplot about an urban man learning to love the hardships of the natural world. A few traces of those strengths survive in King's second book about Freeman, but not enough to give the series the feeling of inevitable success it originally enjoyed. For one thing, Freeman has little opportunity to commune with nature this time around. He spends much of his days and nights driving his pickup truck down the seedier streets of West Palm Beach in search of whoever is knocking off a bunch of very old African-American ladies who sold off their insurance policies early. The Florida hermits and con men of the first book have been supplanted by a rather ordinary crew of street thugs and drug dealers. But if the lackluster setting and cast disappoint King's fans, it's only because the standard set by his first book was so high-there's still plenty here to reward the reader: the rapid-fire, gritty dialogue and the charms of our hard-living, earthy hero. Freeman's lawyer chum, Billy Manchester, a genius who stutters in public, reprises his fascinating role, and a new love interest, a sad-eyed lady cop, adds a pleasing twist. Though not as inspired as its precursor, this still is satisfying fare. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
King, a longtime police and criminal courts reporter in South Florida, proves that the success of his first detective novel, The Blue Edge of Midnight [BKL F 1 02], was no fluke. This one stars the same ex^-Philly cop with the shattered psyche dragged into doing some sleuthing; features the same evocative detective digs, a one-room stilt shack hidden in the middle of the Everglades; and is shot through with the same burgeoning suspense and rich, brooding atmosphere. There is one important difference, though. This time detective hero Max Freeman, traumatized from the memory of a shooting that left a 12-year-old dead, takes a few steps toward recovery, moving slowly toward the light and away from what he calls the "dead zone time," when it seems the dark silence will never lift. It begins with a call from Freeman's oldest friend, an ex-cop who needs help investigating the murders of five elderly women in the Fort Lauderdale area. Freeman uncovers an elaborate insurance scam and a serial killer as the plot moves toward a chilling climax. King sets up a powerful parallel between the primordial feel of the Everglades and the mean streets of South Florida, with civilization seeming much more cutthroat. King seems well on his way to creating a knockout series. --Connie Fletcher
Kirkus Review
Though he's buried himself in a shack on the edge of the Everglades, Max Freeman still can't forget the death of his father, his years as a Philadelphia cop battling the likes of Gary Heidnik and Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the shooting that left an underage robber dead and him headed south on disability. But events are conspiring again to pull his present into sharper focus than his past. His longtime friend and attorney, Billy Manchester, comes to him with a wild tale of elderly black Fort Lauderdale women being murdered for their insurance policies--policies that have been bought up by an eminently reputable viatical investment firm that has every reason to want the policyholders dead. And if that story fails to get Max's attention, the government is trying to evict him from his shack and force him to live among his own kind. Because the evidence indicates a killer who can move among the black neighborhoods virtually invisible, Max's challenge--which he shares with Tidewater Insurance investigator Frank McCane and, once more, with Sherry Richards of the Strategic Investigations Division--is to find the links between a law-abiding Delaware corporation and a stone killer who's known some of his victims since childhood. He finds them uncomfortably close to home. King continues to write as powerfully as in his striking debut, The Blue Edge of Midnight (2002). But Max had better husband his horrific memories of the City of Brotherly Love, or he may find that he's using them up faster than he can catch new cases. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
King's second novel (after The Blue Edge of Midnight) again finds reclusive retired cop Max Freeman pulled from his Everglades hideaway to help solve a series of murders. This time around, it's lawyer pal Billy Manchester who calls upon Max after noticing that an unusually high number of poor, older, heavily insured black people are dying. Billy is suspicious because the deceased all had their policies bought out shortly before their deaths. With police cooperation not immediately forthcoming, it's up to Max to investigate. Complications soon ensue, as Max must fight through the black community's distrust while also working with an insurance investigator whose background seems shady. Along with this disturbing case, Max must also balance his developing relationship with a love interest whose sullenness at times almost matches his. This excellent effort proves that there's still room for another detective in the crowded Florida fiction landscape. A good choice for public library crime fiction collections.-Craig Shufelt, Lane P.L, Oxford, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.