King, Jonathon

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King, Jonathon

PERSONAL: Married; children: one daughter, one son.

CAREER: Journalist and writer. Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia, PA, former reporter; South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, feature writer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel, Mystery Writers of America, 2003, for The Blue Edge of Midnight.

WRITINGS:

SUSPENSE NOVELS

The Blue Edge of Midnight, Dutton (New York, NY), 2002.

A Visible Darkness, Dutton (New York, NY), 2003.

Shadow Men, Dutton (New York, NY), 2004.

A Killing Night, Dutton (New York, NY), 2005.

Eye of Vengeance, Dutton (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: Jonathon King is a journalist whose debut novel, The Blue Edge of Midnight, features Max Freeman, a former Philadelphia cop who has moved to the Florida Everglades to put behind him his killing of an unarmed boy during a convenience store robbery. Max lives in an isolated shack in the swamps. When he finds the canvas-wrapped body of a child, another in a series of murders, loner Max himself becomes a suspect. In order to clear his name, Max investigates the whereabouts and possible motives of environmentalists, hunters, trappers, and long-time residents who are opposed to development, aided by his good friend, attorney Billy Manchester of Palm Beach.

"King's debut tells a familiar story with somber authority and a keen appreciation for the wildness of the Glades and its people," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Booklist's Connie Fletcher called The Blue Edge of Midnight "a fine fit of setting with action." A Publishers Weekly writer noted that a scene in which Max approaches a group of natives "reeks with atmosphere," and compared King's use of descriptions of place "to reveal character and attitude," with the styles of James W. Hall, Robert B. Parker, and James Lee Burke. "Skillful writing, original characters, and evocative settings initiate a welcome new series," concluded the reviewer.

Freeman must track down a serial killer in A Visible Darkness, the follow-up to The Blue Edge of Midnight. Contacted by his old cohort Manchester, Freeman launches an investigation into the murders of several elderly African-American women whose insurance policies were bought just before they died. "King seems well on his way to creating a knockout series," Booklist reviewer Connie Fletcher stated. Shadow Men, the third volume in the "Max Freeman" series, concerns three men who went missing in the Florida Everglades some eight decades earlier. As Freeman searches for answers to their disappearance, he becomes a target for those who want the past to remain a secret. "This fine novel resonates with the atmosphere and immediacy of the Everglades, as well as with Max's struggle to define himself in an often hostile world," wrote a Publishers Weekly reviewer. In A Killing Night, Freeman is asked to locate a former colleague, an ex-cop named Colin O'Shea, who once saved Freeman's life but is now suspected of murdering a number of local barmaids. Though he doubts O'Shea's guilt, Freeman takes the case and journeys back to the gritty streets of Philadelphia, where he confronts his inner demons. According to Booklist critic Fletcher, King's private eye "is still quirky and complicated, and the plotting remains eerily precise."

Eye of Vengeance introduces Nick Mullins, a crime reporter in South Florida who is haunted by the deaths of his wife and daughter at the hands of a drunk driver. When Mullins learns that several criminals whose stories he covered have been killed by a sniper, he digs deeper and realizes that the gunman's next victim could be the driver who caused the fatal car accident. "Mullins soon finds himself confronted with a choice that will have serious repercussions with him personally—one that will either bring him the peace he so desperately needs, or spin his life into deeper turmoil," noted Joe Hartlaub in a review posted on Book Reporter.com.

"In my best journalistic writing, I use description and quotes and detail that take the reader with me to places they will never see or hear or stand in," King told interviewer Jon Jordan on the Mystery One Bookstore Web site. "I try to carry that same lesson over to fiction writing. Show them the story, don't just tell them what happens."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 2002, Connie Fletcher, review of The Blue Edge of Midnight, p. 926; February 1, 2003, Connie Fletcher, review of A Visible Darkness, p. 975; January 1, 2004, Connie Fletcher, review of Shadow Men, p. 833; January 1, 2005, Connie Fletcher, review of A Killing Night, p. 827.

Entertainment Weekly, May 26, 2006, Timothy Gunatilaka, review of Eye of Vengeance, p. 110.

Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2002, review of The Blue Edge of Midnight, p. 145; February 1, 2003, review of A Visible Darkness, p. 189; February 1, 2004, review of Shadow Men, p. 112; March 15, 2006, review of Eye of Vengeance, p. 255.

Library Journal, March 1, 2002, Bob Lunn, review of The Blue Edge of Midnight, p. 139; March 1, 2003, Craig Shufelt, review of A Visible Darkness, p. 119; January, 2004, Craig Shufelt, review of Shadow Men, p. 166; December 1, 2004, Nicole A. Cooke, review of Shadow Men audiobook, p. 180; March 1, 2005, Roland Person, review of A Killing Night, p. 72; May 15, 2006, Roland Person, review of Eye of Vengeance, p. 95.

People Weekly, April 12, 2004, Rob Taub, review of Shadow Men, p. 68.

Publishers Weekly, February 25, 2002, review of The Blue Edge of Midnight, p. 45; January 20, 2003, review of A Visible Darkness, p. 53; February 24, 2004, review of Shadow Men, p. 54; February 7, 2005, review of A Killing Night, p. 46.

School Library Journal, October, 2002, Pam Johnson, review of The Blue Edge of Midnight, p. 197.