Rating: 
Summary: Deep in the Glades With the Gators
Review: Author King's Edgar-nominated debut novel has a lot going for it. His descriptive scenes of the Everglades, the darkness, dampness, infernal haze of insects and the never-ending heat pervade every page of the book. King's knowledge of Everglades and a good feel for the swamp rats as well as the glitzy city dwellers give him a toehold in the crowded field of mystery writers who pen guy-gets-away-from-it-all-in-Florida tales.Max Freeman, a Philadelphia cop, killed an unarmed boy during a robbery attempt. He was a lackluster cop before, and the killing undoes him psychologically. He quits the force, lets his marriage go without a murmur and in quiet desperation decides to start over in Florida. Fortunately, for him financially, he was badly injured in the robbery and received a big settlement brilliantly invested by his lawyer friend Billy. Max chooses a stilt house so far in the swamp; you have to reach it by canoe. It has none of the amenities (heat, electricity, a/c, running water). When we enter the scene, Max has been in his shack for over a year. While canoeing home one evening, he spots a wrapped package that turns out to be a dead child. He is suspected because of his background and finds this is the 4th child-murder that the body has been dumped in the Everglades. A serial killer is at work, and Max must clear his name. In the process, he has a "meet" with some native swamp rats that is the true highlight of the book. The trouble with Max is he is so humorless, dismal and depressed; we have a hard time empathizing with him. He takes terrible physical punishment throughout, yet I was unmoved. The plot is a bit contrived and the ending is a little flat. Still, Mr. King's powerful imagery makes "The Blue Edge of Midnight" highly readable. I think with a more experience, he will round out his protagonist's character. I am looking forward to the next book.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: A Fine First Effort...With One Complaint.....
Review: First, let me say this is a great first effort. Wonderful plot line, well-developed characters, and it all takes place in an unexpected and new environment: the FL Everglades. Definitely worthwhile reading! Now my complaint: Early on in the story, our author brings forth his metaphor for deep thought, GRINDING. It has to do with problems being like sharp-edged stones in the mind that need to be smoothed down. A great metaphor...a few times. After the 5 or 600th reference, GRINDING begins to GRIND on the reader. So keep the great plot lines and characters coming. Just not so much grinding please.
Rating:
Summary: A Fine First Effort...With One Complaint.....
Review: First, let me say this is a great first effort. Wonderful plot line, well-developed characters, and it all takes place in an unexpected and new environment: the FL Everglades. Definitely worthwhile reading! Now my complaint: Early on in the story, our author brings forth his metaphor for deep thought, GRINDING. It has to do with problems being like sharp-edged stones in the mind that need to be smoothed down. A great metaphor...a few times. After the 5 or 600th reference, GRINDING begins to GRIND on the reader. So keep the great plot lines and characters coming. Just not so much grinding please.
Rating:
Summary: first novel, really?
Review: Having recently re-discovered the mystery genre, I was guided by my subscription to Alfred Hitchcock magazine to the list of Edgar Award winners. I started off with the best novel, Winter and Night by S.J. Rozan. Making my way down the list (posted on the mystery writers of America website) brought me to this book. This won the award for the best first novel by an American author. It is hard to believe this is his first because Jonathon King displays an expertise of familiarity with setting description and character development. He includes allusions to prior events that made me want more from the author's thought process. Definitely recommended and can compete for best mystery novel overall, not just best first.
Rating:
Summary: The Start of a Great Series
Review: I found it hard to believe that this was King's first mystery novel. He has created a couple of great characters in Max Freeman and his friend, Billy. Then he tops it off with a neatly plotted mystery, written with great assurance. Max is a former Philadelphia cop who, after shooting a juvenile criminal, retires to the Flordia Everglades where he lives the life of a semi-hermit. Trouble soon finds him however, and he's forced to track down a killer when he becomes implicated in the kidnapping and serial murder of young local children. It's a tough crime to read about that's for sure, but it's handled deftly by the author. The characters and the action ring true, and the Everglades is a unique setting that lends a lot to the story. I can't wait for the next installment.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to the hype
Review: I looked forward to this read, as it was Amazon recommended based on my reading habits. King tries, but the plotting is complicated, there are too many charracters, few of the characters are realistic. In short, this book was a dissappointment. I didn't think much of Max Freeman.
Rating:
Summary: Does not measure up - I was disappointed!
Review: IMHO, this book falls flat. I just couldn't get into it. I found it borderline boring, but was determined to keep reading after all the hype & the Amazon.com rating thinking that with each turn of the page there would be something to capture me. It didn't happen. I did not find it suspenseful or particularly mysterious & it was no page-turner for me!
Rating: 
Summary: Finding the Edge
Review: Max Freeman is desperately trying to get his previous life as a police officer in Philadelphia behind him. Hiding out in one of the last solitary places on Earth, the Florida Everglades, Max has finally found some peace. Still haunted by his shooting on a nasty night as well as the aftermath, Max has learned to cope by canoeing through the dark hours from midnight to dawn when he can't sleep. The dreams don't come as often anymore but as the book opens, his inability to sleep has driven him once more into the night. His quest for peace this night ends when he finds a child's body in the roots of a tree just down river from his home. Not only does this dead child bring his past to life once again internally for Max, it also brings him to the attention of a task force. A task force chasing a child killer who has killed before and of which Max knew nothing about thanks to his self imposed exile. Already considered a suspect because of what happened in Philadelphia along with his finding the body, Max soon finds that the killer is planting additional clues, all pointed towards Max. The killer seems to have target Max as the fall guy and begins to manipulate him toward a violet confrontation. This is a first novel by this author and was simply an incredible read. Using very descriptive language in the style of James Lee Burke to create intense imagery, along with strong characters, and steady pacing, this author works all the angles for the enjoyment of his readers. Missing the flaws that often weaken a first novel, this book at 259 pages becomes a fast intense read and well worth the effort. There are not too many books that get me to stay up late to finish and this was the first one in a very long time. The author has created a sequel featuring Max Freeman entitled " A Visible Darkness." If as good as the original, this author has created a new series well worth reading. I will be reading and reviewing this book soon.
Rating:
Summary: Lush and intriguing debut.
Review: Max Freeman was a lackluster cop in Philadelphia when he shot and killed a 12-year old boy who was committing an armed robbery. Unable to get over causing the death of one so young, Freeman retired from the force and moved south to Florida, taking up residence in an abandoned shack on the edge of the Everglades. Max is trying to lose the demons that plague him and regain some semblance of a healthy psyche, but that hope is shattered when he discovers the body of a young girl wrapped in cloth and dumped in his river. Debut author Jonathon King is a veteran journalist, having written for newspapers in both Philadelphia and Florida, so he definitely knows the territory. As is common in the books of fellow Florida writer and newspaperman Carl Hiaasen, the lush, varied environment of the state is a prominent fixture in "The Blue Edge of Midnight," as is the danger that lies in the destruction of that environment. "The Blue Edge of Midnight" is the best debut mystery of 2002 so far...
Rating:
Summary: Death in the Glades
Review: Max Freeman, damaged cop, flees Philadelphia for the tranquility and solitude of the Everglades. His pursuit of privacy is short-lived as his discovery of a child's body draws him in as an investigator, crime victim, and sometime subject into the pursuit of a cunning serial killer working on the marge of civilization and Everglades. In a much darker sense this impressive first novel is reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen's early classic Tourist Season, and like it pits development against nature with the bad guys on the side of nature. Even as the frantic chase to catch the shadowy foe quickens, Freeman's own grim past returns to haunt him and confuse the investigators. It is not hard to see why Jonathan Kind won an Edgar for this novel. If the others in the series are as good, he should have a pair of Raven bookends in no time.
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