SHADOW MEN
By Jonathon King
Dutton Press, 2004 ($23.95)
ISBN: 0525948074
Reviewed by Rick McMahan
SHADOW MEN is the third Max Freeman novel. Freeman, the wounded hermit who lives alone in an old surveying cabin in the Florida Everglades, is venturing out into the world. Along with his burgeoning relationship with the pretty police Detective Richards, Freeman is a newly licensed PI working for his friend Billy Manchester. This time, Manchester and Freeman are asked by a young man to investigate a family mystery that’s nearly a century old.
Eighty years before, a father and two sons were hired as laborers on the first attempt to build a road through the Everglades. The men never returned. The family loss has haunted a young man who’s only heard rumors and read yellowing letters, but now the young man wants answers. As Freeman and Manchester delve into the missing men, they hear ugly rumors of men who were murdered during the harsh building in the Glades. As Max delves into the past, he is also drawn back into the Glades to find out what really happened to three men eighty years ago.
Jonathon King weaves an excellent tale. Not only does he make the characters come alive, but he also makes Florida come alive and talk, whether it’s the bustling and overcrowded streets of Fort Lauderdale or the sultry and primitive wild of the Everglades. Max Freeman (and Jonathon King’s reach as a writer) grows with each new book. If you’ve not read King, I’d encourage you to pick up all three of his novels, including the Edgar winning THE BLUE EDGE OF MIDNIGHT. If you’re looking for a new PI series to read, you won’t be disappointed with any of the Freeman novels, including SHADOW MEN.
SHADOW MEN is scheduled for release in paperback from Signet Books in April 2005. It may be pre-ordered now.
Would you like to read a review of previous titles featuring Max Freeman? THE BLUE EDGE OF MIDNIGHT or A VISIBLE DARKNESS.
Return to Over My Dead Body! Online.
Copyright © 2004 Over My Dead Body! All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Over My Dead Body! is prohibited. OMDB! and OMDB! logos are trademarks of Over My Dead Body!