I'm all for Brit noir and have a bunch of books on hand to be
read, but what I read most recently
(in fact, over the weekend) was a pair of books that turned
out to have a theme in common: C.J. Box's second Joe Pickett
novel, _Savage Run_, and Jonathon King's _The Blue Edge of
Midnight_, the first in what looks to be a promising series
about Max Freeman, a retired Philadelphia policeman who's
hiding out in the Florida Everglades. The common theme was
radical environmentalism having something to do with the
crimes at each book's core.
In _Savage Run_, a group of ranchers hire an old stock
detective to wipe out a list of top environmental
activists
(this isn't a spoiler, as we know this from the early going).
In each case the death is arranged to be as embarrassing or
ridiculous as possible, so that the person is
discredited--only the manner of their death is going to be
remembered (one character is apparently killed by an
exploding cow). Pickett gets involved when the killers show
up in his area of Wyoming, on the trail of an activist who
used to be his wife's boyfriend. There is some memorable
stuff here: the characterizations are believable and honest;
there are great descriptions of setting and environment; and
the latter part of the book consists of an extended chase
through the wilderness which is believably brought to
life--you're there with the trio on the run. One of the
things I like about Box so far is that he makes sure the bad
guys get what's coming to them, and the ultimate bad guy here
suffers a suitable fate--he's not able to wriggle off the
hook at the last minute. Also, Box is pretty fair in his
presentation of both sides in the argument--he doesn't seem
to favor either the ranchers or the environmentalists. Each
side has its strengths and its weaknesses and these are
brought out in the book.
In _The Blue Edge of Midnight_, Max Freeman is canoeing his
way back up river to his remote home--a former biological
research shack on a backwater tributary--when he comes upon
the canvas-wrapped body of a child. When he turns around and
heads back to the nearest ranger station to report his
discovery, he discovers a group of police officers and FBI
agents gearing up to head upriver. Apparently, the killer has
been sending GPS coordinates to the police to help them
locate the bodies (this is the fourth child he's killed) and
because of Freeman's proximity, he becomes a logical suspect.
It also helps that Max retired from the Philadelphia force
after he shot and killed an eleven year old in a hold-up. It
doesn't matter that Freeman himself was shot and injured--he
can't help but remember the kid he shot and has tried his
best to get as far away from familiar surroundings as he
can.
Where the environmental angle comes in is that it appears
these killings are the work of an old-time "Gladesman" who is
resentful of the encroaching developments all around the
Everglades, developments which carve up more land every year
and are creeping in on the locals' livelihood. This
particular killer seems to have something against Freeman,
who is being framed for the murders. A good first novel, with
some memorable settings and descriptions of place. The
characters are interesting, particularly Max's lawyer friend
who is a "stress stutterer," perfectly capable of holding a
conversation on the phone, but nearly incomprehensible when
the conversation is face-to-face. This hasn't prevented him
from being very successful. I also liked the fact that
Jonathon King has found a new angle to the overpopulated
ranks of Florida mystery authors by setting his work in the
Everglades, rather than on one of the coasts. This was a good
first outing for his sleuth and I'll be looking for the next
one.
Craig Larson Trinidad, CO
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