Jonathon King

THE BLUE EDGE OF MIDNIGHT won the Edgar Award for best first novel in 2003.

One of the interesting features of the novel, given that it is published at the beginning of the 21st century, is the use of a GPS tracking device, left as a clue to detectives near the site of each child's body. For me that was a distraction because I am not sure that it worked as the author thought it might. Nor was I sure that the murderer would be able to afford to do that. Surely GPS devices in 2003 were very show more expensive?

The murderer appears to be trying to pin the series of murders that he is committing of children on to Max Freeman. And therein lies one of the puzzles. Apart from accidentally killing a child himself, what has Max Freeman done to become a target for a serial killer? And then secondly, why is he killing children? The answers are there, and make sense in the end.

A very dark novel painting an interesting picture of life in the Everglades, newly opened up to tourists by the road built from Tampa to Miami. show less

If you want an abundance of attention really quickly, abduct a Federal Judge … better yet, abduct one who is eight months pregnant. Diane Manchester, US District Judge in south Florida, called for a recess for lunch shortly after the defendant made a veiled threat against her and her unborn child. She’d been presiding over Juan Manuel Escalante’s extradition case. He was a Colombian drug lord. As she steps off the curb heading for a café, a van screeches to a halt in front of her. show more Before she has a chance to react, a figure steps from the sliding door and roughly pulls her inside.

Billy Manchester, Diane’s husband, and a business lawyer wastes no time in contacting Max Freeman. Max is a friend of both Billy and Diane and he’s also a PI (formerly a Philadelphia cop). Max doesn’t argue with or get in the way of the police or the FBI. Yet, he has his own connections and his own agenda to follow. Diane certainly has confidence in Max’s abilities. She knew instinctively Billy would contact him. While she is being held captive, she mentally chastises her abductors — “You’ve screwed up … stepping into Max Freeman’s world. He will track you and find you and if history repeats itself, he will hurt you.” The biggest question becomes what do they want? They make no ransom demands.

I really liked the character of Max Freeman. He doesn’t consider himself perfect. In fact, I felt like he beat himself up over past mistakes. He’s got ‘street smarts’, he’s trustworthy and unpretentious. The plot is engrossing and the action satisfying with just a bit of a lag midway. The story is told from three points of view. Max’s portion is told in first person; and chapters are given over to Diane and also to one of her abductors. This is the seventh book in the Max Freeman series. It is the first one I’ve read – I have to ask myself ‘where have I been?’ Max is a wonderful character and I intend to go back and pick up books 1 through 6 as soon as I can fit them in. Even though it is a series, this story was complete in itself. Rating 4 out of 5. show less

Review from Badelynge.
This is the 5th book featuring Max Freeman. An ex Philadelphia cop who has retired to a remote cabin in the Florida Everglades. Over the last 4 books Max has been getting his life back together after a fateful night when he shot a 12 year old kid at a convenience store hold-up and was badly injured himself. No longer on the force, he spends his days in solitude at his cabin or occasionally doing investigative work for his best friend Billy Manchester.
In this one Max is show more taking some time out to try to rescue his relationship with local cop Sherry Richards by spending some quality alone time with her out at his cabin. Unfortunately there's a storm coming. A Hurricane rips through the Glades, badly injuring one of the pair. Throw in a gang of opportunistic house-breaking Gladesmen, a couple of ex-military hired guns and an ornery alligator named Wally and you know this is going to all end in blood. By this time I've realised that this one has gone off track. No slow burning mystery with Max grinding away at the rough edges this time. Now I don't mind long running series breaking the formula, but this one just had set-up written all over it. Jonathon King writes great confrontation scenes it has to be said and Max v. the Gladesmen is as sparky as you would expect. I'm not keen on the split point of view though, establishing all the different characters so thoroughly could be described as padding. Contrary to the cover blurb, nobody is being stalked by persons unknown, as everyone's motivations are comprehensively explored with no stalking being part of the agenda. Ok, I can't speak for Wally. The plot is what it is: people coming together in the wrong place at the wrong time - a storm of consequences, you might say. It all being said, King's writing is good, going down like the first cold beer on a hot afternoon and I always enjoy Max's company. King's description of the Glades is, as ever, very good, mindful of the environmental issues and the conflicting forces of the natural world and the nature of mankind. It's just a shame the plot was so thin, considering how much the events in this one are going to impact on the series. show less

Max Freeman is desperately trying to get his previous life as a police officer in Philadelphia behind him. Hiding out in one of the last solitary places on Earth, the Florida Everglades, Max has finally found some peace. Still haunted by his shooting on a nasty night as well as the aftermath, Max has learned to cope by canoeing through the dark hours from midnight to dawn when he can't sleep.

The dreams don't come as often anymore but as the book opens, his inability to sleep has driven him show more once more into the night. His quest for peace this night ends when he finds a child's body in the roots of a tree just down river from his home.
Not only does this dead child bring his past to life once again internally for Max, it also brings him to the attention of a task force. A task force chasing a child killer who has killed before and of which Max knew nothing about thanks to his self imposed exile. Already considered a suspect because of what happened in Philadelphia along with his finding the body, Max soon finds that the killer is planting additional clues, all pointed towards Max. The killer seems to have target Max as the fall guy and begins to manipulate him toward a violet confrontation.

This is a well plotted debut novel with intriguing characters and a believable story. Max is easy to sympathize with after his bad experiences return to haunt him. He's honest, intelligent and determined in his search for the people who are guilty for the crimes against the children.

As a first novel it has promise of even better future novels. It earned it's 3 stars. show less