Max Freeman Mysteries
7 primary works • 9 total works
Book 1
Max Freeman's old life ended on a night that will haunt him for ever. The night he killed a twelve-year-old child in self-defence in a Philadelphia shootout. The night he stopped being a cop. Now he lives an existence of solitary confinement on the edge of the Florida Everglades, where he answers to no one but the demons that eat away at his conscience. And then he finds the corpse of a child beside an ancient river, and Freeman's past explodes into the present. He is thrust into the centre of the search for a serial killer, distrusted as an outsider by the longtime residents of the Glades and considered a suspect by the police. Freeman must walk a tightrope of distrust on both sides of the law. When another child goes missing, all eyes turn to Freeman, and the ex-cop, driven by his old habits and the memories of that long-ago Philadelphia midnight, knows that he has no choice but to hunt down the murderer himself.
Book 2
Max Freeman is seeking refuge from the familiar demons of his former life as a Philadelphia police officer in his secluded shack deep in the Everglades. But his self-imposed isolation is interrupted when he receives a desperate call from his best friend, attorney Billy Manchester. There has been a recent string of homicides - all elderly women, all from a poor neighbourhood, and all with sizeable and recently sold-off insurance policies - which the police have been unable, or unwilling, to investigate. Billy suspects something sinister may be at work, and so, to help his friend, Max must reluctantly pry where he's not wanted, and act like the cop he's trying to forget he was. To discover an unseen killer, Max will confront not only the dangers of a forgotten Florida cityscape, but also the unexpected and dark corners of his own past. Filled with twists, turns, and a breathtaking evocation of a rarely glimpsed underside of modern America, A VISIBLE DARKNESS confirms Jonathon King's place at the forefront of a new generation of crime novelists.
Book 3
It begins with an 80-year-old mystery. Three men - a father and his two sons - vanished without a trace while working as labourers on a dangerous project to build the first road through the Florida Everglades. Now, years later, a series of letters are unexpectedly discovered by a descendent of these men. Driven by the need to know what happened to these lost members of his family, he starts asking questions - and is quickly stonewalled. With nowhere else to turn, he enlists the help of former Philadelphia police officer, Max Freeman. Living in his isolated shack on an ancient river in the Glades, Max starts his investigation into the fate of these men. A newly minted PI working with his friend and attorney, Billy Manchester, Max is surprised to meet resistance at every turn. The search for the truth quickly turns violent - and Max finds he has more to worry about than just 80-year-old ghosts. For there are powerful interests that want to make sure that the shadows of the past remain undisturbed, including some who will kill to ensure that they do.Combining powerful storytelling and rich characters, SHADOW MEN firmly establishes Jonathon King as a new master of modern crime fiction.
Book 4
Max Freeman has been working more or less officially as a private investigator in South Florida when he gets a call from Detective Sherry Richards, who was once his lover. Three female bartenders have gone missing and Sherry thinks that there may be a serial killer out there working the bars, targeting potential victims. A former cop buddy of Max's called O'Shea has become the prime suspect and Sherry asks Max to check him out. Colin O' Shea has a history of violence, rule-breaking and alcoholism. The man has a reckless side to his character, an angry and unpredictable nature kept just under control. Colin and Max grew up together on the streets of Philadelphia. Both third generation cops, in O' Shea, Max sees a younger, edgier version of himself. Max wants to believe in his innocence, but when it emerges that O' Shea previously dated two of the missing women, he's not so sure. Torn between the evidence and his gut instinct, Max decides to back O' Shea. Could he be taking the side of a killer? As Max delves into O'Shea's past, he finds himself pulled back into some history of his own.
Back to Philadelphia, to a rookie cop with a boiling temper and his fingers round the handle of a gun. Who exactly is Max trying to save? Meanwhile, the killer's victims are somewhere out there, waiting at the dark edge of the glades...
Back to Philadelphia, to a rookie cop with a boiling temper and his fingers round the handle of a gun. Who exactly is Max trying to save? Meanwhile, the killer's victims are somewhere out there, waiting at the dark edge of the glades...
Book 5
Undertaking a technology-free vacation in an isolated region of the Florida Everglades, private eye Max Freeman and detective Sherry Richards are caught in the path of a violent hurricane that tests their survival skills and pits them against murderous looters.
Book 6
Book six of the bestselling Max Freeman mystery series: Max investigates a conspiracy involving corrupt cops, fraud, and a drug kingpin from his past as he fights to save what he loves most Max is back, trawling the trailer parks and waterways of South Florida, where amid the gorgeous beaches and abundant foliage there lies a stunning range of brutality. After Max is hired to investigate a conspiracy involving fake claims to Medicare, he quickly realizes the scheme is much more dangerous than anyone assumed. And when the Brown Man, a former drug kingpin who once helped Max nab a serial killer, reappears in a slick new guise, Max must reclaim his street instincts to protect not just the citizens of South Florida, but also his girlfriend, Detective Sherry Richards-the one person he can't afford to lose. This ebook features rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author's life. "King adds new dimensions of depth and substance to the modern crime novel." -Michael Connelly "Whether taking us to the dark corners of the Everglades or the hard streets of Philadelphia, King's writing is gritty, vivid, and suspenseful."
-Harlan Coben "Jonathon King captures the intrigue, lyrical beauty, and darkness of the Florida Everglades better than any other writer I know of." -James Lee Burke Jonathon King is an Edgar Award-winning mystery novelist and the creator of the bestselling Max Freeman crime series. Born in Lansing, Michigan, in the 1950s, King worked as a crime reporter in Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale for twenty-four years before becoming a full-time novelist. Along with the six books of the Max Freeman series, King has also authored the thriller Eye of Vengeance (2007) and the historical novel The Styx (2009). He lives in South Florida.
-Harlan Coben "Jonathon King captures the intrigue, lyrical beauty, and darkness of the Florida Everglades better than any other writer I know of." -James Lee Burke Jonathon King is an Edgar Award-winning mystery novelist and the creator of the bestselling Max Freeman crime series. Born in Lansing, Michigan, in the 1950s, King worked as a crime reporter in Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale for twenty-four years before becoming a full-time novelist. Along with the six books of the Max Freeman series, King has also authored the thriller Eye of Vengeance (2007) and the historical novel The Styx (2009). He lives in South Florida.
Book 7
When a pregnant judge is abducted, a PI follows her trail into the Florida Everglades in this novel by "the master of the high-stakes thriller" (Michael Connelly).
US district judge Diane Manchester has looked across the courtroom into the eyes of evil before. But today, as she presides over the extradition hearing of a notorious Colombian drug lord, she is also eight months pregnant. Her chair is uncomfortable, her robe is constrictive, and her due date is fast approaching. If she shows a single sign of weakness, Diane risks jeopardizing the biggest trial of her career and setting a vicious murderer free.
In seconds, her situation takes a harrowing turn for the worse. Walking to her favorite lunch spot, Diane is grabbed off the street, thrown into the back of a white van, blindfolded, and threatened with death. She has no idea who her kidnappers are or what they want. Maintaining a strict code of silence, they refuse to give her even the smallest glimmer of hope.
But Diane's captors have overlooked a crucial detail: Her husband, Billy, is the employer and best friend of Max Freeman, Philadelphia cop turned South Florida private investigator. Tossing off the rule of law, Freeman sets out to determine which of a rogues' gallery of suspects took Diane-and to save her and her unborn child before it's too late.
From the author of the Edgar Award winner The Blue Edge of Midnight, whose "descriptions of Florida's backwaters put him right up there with James W. Hall and Randy Wayne White" (Chicago Tribune), this is a mystery with "the kind of clock-driven suspense seen in the best of Harlan Coben" (Booklist).
US district judge Diane Manchester has looked across the courtroom into the eyes of evil before. But today, as she presides over the extradition hearing of a notorious Colombian drug lord, she is also eight months pregnant. Her chair is uncomfortable, her robe is constrictive, and her due date is fast approaching. If she shows a single sign of weakness, Diane risks jeopardizing the biggest trial of her career and setting a vicious murderer free.
In seconds, her situation takes a harrowing turn for the worse. Walking to her favorite lunch spot, Diane is grabbed off the street, thrown into the back of a white van, blindfolded, and threatened with death. She has no idea who her kidnappers are or what they want. Maintaining a strict code of silence, they refuse to give her even the smallest glimmer of hope.
But Diane's captors have overlooked a crucial detail: Her husband, Billy, is the employer and best friend of Max Freeman, Philadelphia cop turned South Florida private investigator. Tossing off the rule of law, Freeman sets out to determine which of a rogues' gallery of suspects took Diane-and to save her and her unborn child before it's too late.
From the author of the Edgar Award winner The Blue Edge of Midnight, whose "descriptions of Florida's backwaters put him right up there with James W. Hall and Randy Wayne White" (Chicago Tribune), this is a mystery with "the kind of clock-driven suspense seen in the best of Harlan Coben" (Booklist).
