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Synopsis

Jonathon King, award-winning author of acclaimed novels The Blue Edge of Midnight, A Visible Darkness and Shadow Men returns with his most thrilling mystery to date.

Max Freeman has been working more or less officially as a private investigator in South Florida when he gets a call from Detective Sherry Richards, who was once his lover. Three female bartenders have gone missing and Sherry thinks that there may be a serial killer out there working the bars, targeting potential victims. A former cop buddy of Max’s called O’Shea has become the prime suspect and Sherry asks Max to check him out.

Colin O’Shea has a history of violence, rule-breaking and alcoholism. The man has a reckless side to his character, an angry and unpredictable nature kept just under control. Colin and Max grew up together on the streets of Philadelphia. Both third generation cops, in O’Shea, Max sees a younger, edgier version of himself. Max wants to believe in his innocence, but when it emerges that O’Shea previously dated two of the missing women, he’s not so sure.

Torn between the evidence and his gut instinct, Max decides to back O’Shea. Could he be taking the side of a killer? As Max delves into O’Shea’s past, he finds himself pulled back into some history of his own. Back to Philadelphia, to a rookie cop with a boiling temper and his fingers round the handle of a gun. Who exactly is Max trying to save?

Meanwhile, the killer’s victims are somewhere out there, waiting at the dark edge of the glades…

Press reviews

'King writes with lean and supple prose that captures the region in vivid and ominous detail… Shadow Men excavates new and fertile terrain in Florida thriller fiction, and finds nuggets of pure gold' - James W Hall

'Well into James Lee Burke territory, Jonathon King’s second novel… is top class. This is an author with a big future' - Independent on Sunday

'A terrific book that begins the run of a great new talent in Jonathon King. From start to finish it is full of true character and jagged surprises. King adds new dimensions of depth and substance to the modern crime novel' - Michael Connelly

'A remarkable debut. Whether taking us to the dark corners of the Everglades or the hard streets of Philadelphia, King is natural storyteller and The Blue Edge of Midnight is the beginning of an exciting new series' - Harlen Coben

About the Author

Jonathon King is the author of The Blue Edge of Midnight (winner of the Edgar Award), A Visible Darkness and Shadow Men. A journalist for over twenty years, he covered crime and criminal courts. He has recently quit journalism to write fiction full time. He lives in Florida.