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I know a family with two adult children, a boy and a girl, separated by only a couple of years. The parents have been married for 50-plus years, and have no substance abuse problems. Everyone was raised on Donna Reed and Ozzie and Harriet. The daughter is a sweetheart, married with a couple of ankle biters of her own, a midlevel executive in a mid-sized company. However, the son has been a piece of work since he was two years old. When he was four, he deliberately broke my favorite toy. He continued on a path of self-destruction, thievery and embezzlement --- you name it, he has done, and is doing, it to this very day. Siblings --- same heredity, same environment. One cake rises, the other goes flat. Why?
Clinton McKinzie has been sort of exploring that same territory with the Burns Brothers, Antonio and Roberto. Antonio is a Special Agent for the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation, while his brother Roberto has been what might be generously referred to as a renegade, assisting drug mules during dangerous desert transport and happily sampling their wares, always in search of the next artificial rush. The brothers, notwithstanding their differences, are close, sharing a passion that borders on a pathology for climbing. Indeed, the act of climbing is a metaphor that is infused throughout McKinzie's latest novel, a herald of passion, betrayal, trust, cooperation and ever-present danger.
CROSSING THE LINE begins with Antonio Burns on the threshold of some resolution of a number of personal issues. He is in a stable if somewhat uneasy relationship with Rebecca, his intended; he still has his badge and position, even if he is walking on tenterhooks; and his beloved brother Antonio appears to be on the verge of completing a deal that will get him out from under some troubles with the law. All Roberto has to do is help the FBI take down a drug dealer named Jesus Hidalgo, a murderous kingpin who is hiding in plain sight at a fortress-like ranch in the mountains of Wyoming. To do this, he must infiltrate Hidalgo's compound and gather evidence against him.
Roberto, it seems, saved Hidalgo's life during a rock climb several years previously, and the murderous drug dealer in a twisted way regards Roberto as a friend. While Roberto's end of the deal isn't exactly a cakewalk, it doesn't seem to be impossible. In return, Roberto will be granted leniency with respect to several criminal charges that are outstanding against him, do his time in a minimum care facility with an exercise room and a salad bar, and receive some federally sponsored drug rehabilitation treatment.
The Feebs bring Antonio in to help them keep an eye on Roberto. But from the beginning, the setup looks like ... a setup. The FBI agents, a young woman named Mary Chang and a veteran with a mad-on named Tom Cochran, are at odds with the Burns Brothers and each other almost from the gitgo. Also, it turns out that they have a program of their own. When things go sideways for Roberto, Antonio takes matters into his own hands --- unaware that he is doing exactly what was expected of him.
McKinzie does a fine job here of delineating the characters of Roberto and Antonio. While they function on opposite sides of the law, Antonio has a wild, uncontrolled side to him that has earned him --- unjustly --- the unfortunate nickname of "QuickDraw," while there is a fierce but subdued nobility within Roberto. McKinzie leaves a number of significant issues hanging at the conclusion of CROSSING THE LINE, an indication that another novel concerning the Burns Family will be in the offing. Considering the tension that infuses CROSSING THE LINE from beginning to end, McKinzie's next installment will have a built-in audience.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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