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Product Description
The Edgar Award-winning debut of the bestselling Max Freeman mystery series: A tormented ex-cop's mission to solve a grisly murder and earn redemption for his dark past After a shootout during a convenience store holdup led to the accidental death of a twelve-year-old, Max Freeman left behind the Philadelphia police department for a life in exile in the Florida Everglades. Since then, he has lived in seclusion, haunted by guilt, with the humid night and the nocturnal predators of the swamp as his only company. But everything changes when Freeman discovers a young girl's body floating in the muddy waters and becomes the prime suspect for her murder. To prove his innocence, Freeman must uncover the real murderer-and confront his own tortured soul-before it's too late. This ebook contains an illustrated biography of the author featuring never-before-seen photos. "A remarkable debut . . . The beginning of an exciting new series." -Harlan Coben "A tough, compassionate novel." -The Boston Sunday Globe "Full of true character and jagged surprises. King adds new dimensions of depth and substance to the modern crime novel." -Michael Connelly "King's descriptions of Florida's backwaters put him right up there with James W. Hall and Randy Wayne White-excellent company indeed." -Chicago Tribune Jonathon King is an Edgar Award-winning mystery novelist and the creator of the bestselling Max Freeman crime series. Born in Lansing, Michigan, in the 1950s, King worked as a crime reporter in Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale for twenty-four years before becoming a full-time novelist. Along with the six books of the Max Freeman series, King has also authored the thriller Eye of Vengeance (2007) and the historical novel The Styx (2009). He lives in south Florida.
Amazon.com Review
Penzler Pick, March 2002: This is the first entry in what I hope will be a series by journalist Jonathon King, who has written for the Philadelphia Daily News and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The story features Max Freeman, who was a cop in Philadelphia until he shot and killed a 12-year-old boy who was helping to rob a convenience store. Max was shot in the neck himself and now he keeps away from most people, living in a cabin in the backwaters of South Florida.
While canoeing on the river near his home, Max spies a bundle floating near the shore which turns out to be a dead child wrapped in a sheet. Max's first reaction is that the nightmare he thought he left behind has caught up with him. Pulling the bundle into his canoe, Max paddles downstream to the ranger station where he is met by the head ranger together with three detectives--almost as if they were waiting for him. Billy Manchester, a lawyer and friend to Max, tells him that the body of the girl he found is the third in a series of abductions that is terrifying South Florida communities. Because of his training as a cop, Max wants to help out with the investigation, but his offer of help is rebuffed by local law enforcement. He discovers that the killer is leaving global positioning system addresses with the bodies, which is why there was a team of detectives at the ranger station--they were on their way up-river to where they knew a body would be when Max brought it in. Max himself is now a suspect and, when he returns to his cabin to discover that a GPS unit has been planted, he knows he is going to get involved anyway. If he doesn't find the murderer, the police are going to charge him. His search takes him deep into the Everglades, off the beaten track into communities closed to outsiders and hostile to questions. King gives a vivid portrayal of a Florida still not exploited by developers and also treats us to a wonderful cast of characters--Max and Billy especially, but also to some folks who have hardly been touched by the modern world. --Otto Penzler
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