The Blue Edge Of Midnight (2002) - Plot & Excerpts
Former Philadelphia police officer, Max Freeman, is in his canoe on a river in South Florida. He seems something that doesn't look right. When he gets closer, he realizes it is the body of a young girl. He later finds that it is six-year-old Milissa Marks, who had been abducted and killed.Max has been living with the memory of a child he shot in self defense while Max was on duty in Philadelphia. His motivation for being a cop ended with the remorse he felt for taking the life of a twelve-year-old. Now, seeing the girl's body, it brings back the old memories.He knows that the police always look closely at the person who reports a crime and is ready for the tough questions. He is informed that there have been other children abudcted and murdered and left in remote areas, such as where he lives.Max's attorney advises him not to say anything but Max feels an obligation to tell the police what he knows. Then, when another child is abducted, the police don't hide their suspicions that there are too many coincidences and he may be a suspect.The author maintains the tension at a high level as we see Max attempting to investigate the abductions while trying not to give the police more reason to suspect him. When he visits a remote part of the Everglades, he places his own life in danger.This is a well plotted novel with intriguing characters and a believable story. Max is easy to sympathise with after his bad experiences in his past return to haunt him again. He's honest, intelligent and determined to find the killers.It was also interesting to meet characters like Nate Brown, a war vet who lives by nature and wants to do the right thing. I could visualize him in another time, helping wagon trains through the dangerous Indian territory.
Edgar Winner 2002 Former Philadelphia Cop Max Freeman has fled to an isolated cabin in South Florida's Everglades to forget. But he can't forget the night he was shot answering a Robbery in Progress Call. The memory of being shot and fatally shooting the 12 year-old accomplice haunts him to the point that he rows his kaiak nightly to his exhaustion point. This loner lives austerely: no television, no telephone, no electricity, and almost no human contact. But when he sees a bundle in his beloved river tied to a tree stump, Max knows he must find the killer of the little girl wrapped in canvas, disposed as river debris. He has no idea that a Serial Killer is working in his own "backyard" and he, has attracted the killer's interest. Is he being set up to be Law Enforcement's primary suspect or is he the killer's ultimate victim? Freeman must return to civilization to find the answers and elicits the help of his friend and attorney, Billy Manchester. Manchester is a brilliant attorney who has a tension stutter and is great as Freeman's sidekick. He also becomes alarmed when a GPS system is found in Max's cabin and is convinced that the killer is setting up his friend. Does the killer know Freeman's past? So, when another child is taken, Max throws his cop instinct out and goes after the killer.Jonathon King writes superbly. His discreptions of South Florida is right on the money. The reader can see Billy's plush penthouse, the Glades, Lauderdale, even the Blue Gulfstream. He tod me that he was influenced by Southern writers during a Goodreads.com Discussion and that influence is evident in the writing and pacing. I have found a new favorite mystery writer and can't wait to read the entire series.
What do You think about The Blue Edge Of Midnight (2002)?
First in a series of mysteries that take place in South Florida. Hard nosed detective with a past escapes to the Everglades to heal his wounds, but trouble is never far behind. King makes you feel like you are in the middle of the 'Glades with beautiful, descriptive prose that only someone who loves the area could write. Good, page-turning plot. What I particularly like about this author is that while writing fiction, there is usually a real event somewhere closely tied to the plot. He covered the crime beat for the Sun-Sentinel for years, and the authenticity shines through. Love the whole series!
—Quinnjl
Ex-Philadelphia cop, Max Freeman, has become somewhat of a recluse in his stilted shack "in a swamped lowland forest" of the South Florida Everglades. On his daily therapeutic ritual of canoeing, he finds the body of a young child and whispers, "Not again." Over a year ago back in Philly, he shot and killed a 12-year-old boy who was helping to rob a convenience store. Now Max is reliving the nightmare that's been haunting him ever since. Being the first to find the child's body makes Max a natural suspect. The Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement is working with the FBI to catch the serial killer who's now claimed his 4th victim from homes along the edge of the Everglades.The investigation toggles between two very different worlds, the overcrowded, fast-paced South Florida lifestyle you read about vs. the wild and dangerous Everglades where the killer is thought to reside. "How did the killer move from out there in the wild to a place like this? How did he operate so smoothly in both? This guy knew both worlds. And he had mastered the wall between them."What few clues the police have seem to point right at Max. The only way to clear himself is to do some investigating on his own to find the real killer. With the help of his lawyer friend, Billy Manchester, Max is in the saddle again.A journalist for 20 years, Jonathan King has written for the Philadelphia Daily News and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. In this debut novel, King details the undeveloped, raw side of South Florida, the Everglades. Without the glitz and glamour, we're left with interesting characters of an old-world Florida entwined in a good crime story. Not much suspense, but just a good, smooth story.
—Wendy
I waffled on this one's rating. I was very absorbed in the character of Max Freeman - his introspection and basic character and motivations - and while getting absorbed I realized something about myself and my natural tendency to be attracted to these dark, mysterious men who don't talk. But that is a whole different book or volumes, for that matter! I think the author did a great job in creating Max and his lawyer/friend Billy as two characters I want more of; giving me connections that run deep and my heart hope. I also loved the description of the Glades and while it isn't an area I have ever been drawn to; I felt it was being described by someone who deeply cared about the region; he made me believe. There were moments and decisions when I thought "amateur" and this is when my ratings issue started waffling....but so it goes. I am dedicated to more from this author and series.
—Swanbender2001
