A Visible Darkness (Max Freeman Novels) [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Jonathon King (Author), Nick Sullivan (Narrator)

Book Description

Series: Max Freeman Novels | Publication Date: April 2003

Tormented by the demons of his past, ex-cop Max Freeman rarely ventures beyond his secluded shack deep in the Florida Everglades. But he can't ignore the recent string of suspicious deaths of elderly, poor women that the police have been unable, or unwilling, to investigate. When his best friend urges him to get involved and act like the cop he's trying to forget he was, Max must confront the dangers of the city streets-and the unexpected shadows of his own past.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred 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
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: BBC Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792728688
• ISBN-13: 978-0792728689
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 4.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,888,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born into a blue-collar family in Lansing, Michigan in the mid 50s with the generational expectation of becoming an autoworker. Discovered John D. MacDonald as a teenage reader and unknowingly began a circuitous path that would eventually lead to Fort Lauderdale (home of Travis McGee) where I began my own mystery writing career.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing!, April 25, 2003

By 

nobizinfla "nobizinfla" (Windermere, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Visible Darkness (Max Freeman Novels) (Hardcover)

No sophomore slump for Jonathon King. His debut ("Blue Edge of Midnight") was nominated for an Edgar and "A Visible Darkness" is equally as strong.

The characters are realistic...you have seen or met all of them...the villains you have avoided and averted eye contact.

Protagonist Max Freeman has taken disability from the Philadelphia PD and moved to the Florida Everglades. A Fort Lauderdale lawyer he grew up with is his civilized world contact and anchor. He is serious, smart, studious and careful.

Max has not lost his investigative instincts and is compelled to avenge wrongs in an almost vigilante way. The crimes are particularly despicable...more a how and why dunit, as we know the perp from the start. Working with his lawyer and the FLPD, the investigation takes Max into Fort Lauderdale's drug market. There he forms a most unusual alliance.

The plotting is swift. The romantic subplot and flashbacks to his Philly days add depth and fill in a few blanks.

Mr. King writes like a veteran. This is a most provocative series.

Highest possible recommendation.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars actually, July 15, 2004

By 

Christopher Berry (Hale, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Visible Darkness (Paperback)

Very rarely do I give a book 5 star rating...but this one came really close!!! This is the first book that I have read from this author and I plan to read more as newer installments in this series come along...the characters in this book came to life. I felt as though I were watching a movie instead of reading a book!! Excellent, Excellent author with a mind that never stops....

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Close Your Eyes and Feel the Heat, August 23, 2004

By 

Lisa B. (Sewickley, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Visible Darkness (Max Freeman Novels) (Hardcover)

I've read the first two books of this series and will, without a doubt, purchase the newest. I don't know what else I can say that hasn't already been said better by other reviewers. Jonathan King is to Florida what I feel Michael Connolly and Robert Crais are to L.A. He writes the same beautiful music, just in a different setting.