A Killing Night

February 7, 2005
In his fourth outing (after 2004's Shadow Men
), King's pensive hero, Florida PI Max Freeman, spends more time tooling around Fort Lauderdale and his native Philadelphia than in his beloved Everglades. Max is protecting a dozen immigrant cruise ship employees, who were injured in a boiler explosion, while his pal, attorney Billy Manchester, tries to exact additional compensation for them from the ship's owners. Then Fort Lauderdale police detective Sherry Richards, a former lover and colleague, asks Max's help in tracking down Philadelphia ex-cop Colin O'Shea, whom Sherry suspects killed three pretty female bartenders. Max takes on the job, though he doubts O'Shea, with whom he once worked, is the guilty party. King skillfully alternates between the search for the murderer on the one hand and Max's attempts to guard the ship employees on the other. Max returns to Philadelphia, where he learns more about O'Shea and allays some of his personal demons. Though King's basic plots aren't particularly original, his smooth pacing, which creates tension, vivid place descriptions (for instance, a haunting search through a swamp) and insight into human behavior make this series a welcome addition to the Florida PI subgenre. Agent, Philip Spitzer. (Mar. 21)

FYI:
King's debut,
The Blue Edge of Midnight, won an Edgar Award.