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Jonathon King, with his new novel A KILLING NIGHT, just may rightfully claim the title as the successor to John D. MacDonald. Although MacDonald was a successful novelist in a number of genres, he was best known for his Travis McGee series. The McGee novels were, at their most basic level, detective stories, but they serve as a subtle yet sharp chronicle of south Florida in the mid-twentieth century. A KILLING NIGHT is only King's fourth novel, yet he consistently demonstrates a talent that runs strong, deep, and true.
King's protagonist is Max Freeman, a former Philadelphia police officer who comes unhinged after shooting an unarmed juvenile. Freeman, retired to an abandoned fishing shack deep in the Everglades, ventures out only on rare occasions and usually at the behest of his friend, attorney Billy Manchester. A KILLING NIGHT finds Freeman actually spending more time within society, slowly and reluctantly dwelling among people in an oceanfront cottage owned by Manchester.
Freeman cannot escape the past, however, and it collides with his present circumstances when he is asked to investigate an ex-cop named Colin O'Shea. O'Shea and Freeman have a brief but intense history: O'Shea was on the Philadelphia police force with Freeman and saved Freeman's life during a bust gone bad. But O'Shea is now suspected of being involved in the disappearance of two barmaids in Broward County, and he was investigated for a similar disappearance back in Philadelphia. Freeman is reluctant to roll a fellow ex-officer, particularly when there is no indication that a crime has actually been committed.
Meanwhile, Freeman is in the crosshairs on another front when Manchester retains him as an assistant in a lawsuit involving a group of injured cruise ship attendants. The attendants are being intimidated and harassed, and Freeman's involvement in the case puts him, along with Manchester and his fiancée, in danger. Freeman narrates most of the story, with some third-person interludes to give the reader a bit more information that Freeman has concerning what's occurring. This accordingly gives the reader a heads-up when Freeman makes an occasional, if understandable, misstep.
Manchester has grown into an extremely strong secondary character, to the extent that one cannot help but wish to see him used more frequently. South Florida is a strong and potent backdrop for A KILLING NIGHT, with King serving as a documentarian of the cultural and social mores of the area in the same manner --- and with, dare I say, the same quality --- that MacDonald did four decades ago.
The quality of King's work has increased exponentially with each successive novel, and his craftsmanship is gradually becoming the standard to which many of his peers must aspire. If you are unfamiliar with this man's work, now is the time to get acquainted.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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