Shadow Men Part 19

"Well, my father was a carpenter, and his father before him," Griggs said. "So I come by it honestly."

We sat in an uneasy silence for a few seconds, both looking up and avoiding what truth might be in either of our eyes. The boats were gently rocking below us both. The quiet was a shared salve.

"Well, then," I finally said. "Let's carry on."

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

I would like to thank the following people for their fine work and support. Many thanks to Mitch Hoffman, a young editor with an old editor's work habit of making stories better, and to his colleagues at Dutton, particularly Erin Sinesky, the finest publicist in the business. Also to my agent, Philip Spitzer, for including me in his legendary stable.

My wife and children for their sacrifices to my mental and physical absence. My friend Michael Connelly, for his inspiration and immeasurable help. My longtime newspaper editor, Earl Maucker, for giving me the freedom to make this happen. And Richard Hall, my gra.s.sroots marketing machine.

I would also like to thank the many booksellers I've met in these first few years who have introduced my stories to their readers, especially my local friends Joanne Sinchuk and Rob Hittel.

A Biography of Jonathon King

Jonathon King is the Edgar Awardwinning author of the Max Freeman mystery series, which is set in south Florida, as well as a thriller and a historical novel.

Born in Lansing, Michigan, in the 1950s, King worked as a police and court reporter for twenty-four years, first in Philadelphia until the mid-1980s and then in Fort Lauderdale. His time at the Philadelphia Daily News Philadelphia Daily News and Fort Lauderdale's and Fort Lauderdale's South Florida Sun-Sentinel South Florida Sun-Sentinel greatly influenced the creation of Max Freeman, a hardened former Philadelphia police officer who relocates to south Florida to escape his dark past. King began writing novels in 2000, when he used all the vacation days he accrued as a reporter to spend two months alone in a North Carolina cabin. During this time, he wrote greatly influenced the creation of Max Freeman, a hardened former Philadelphia police officer who relocates to south Florida to escape his dark past. King began writing novels in 2000, when he used all the vacation days he accrued as a reporter to spend two months alone in a North Carolina cabin. During this time, he wrote The Blue Edge of Midnight The Blue Edge of Midnight (2002), the first t.i.tle in the Max Freeman series. The novel became a national bestseller and won the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery Novel by an American Author. (2002), the first t.i.tle in the Max Freeman series. The novel became a national bestseller and won the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery Novel by an American Author. A Visible Darkness A Visible Darkness (2004), the series' second installment, highlights Max's mission to identify a dark serial killer stalking an impoverished community. (2004), the series' second installment, highlights Max's mission to identify a dark serial killer stalking an impoverished community. Shadow Men Shadow Men (2004), the third in the series, revolves around Max's investigation of an eighty-year-old triple homicide, and (2004), the third in the series, revolves around Max's investigation of an eighty-year-old triple homicide, and A Killing Night A Killing Night (2005) tells the story of a murder investigation in which the prime suspect is Max's former mentor. After finis.h.i.+ng (2005) tells the story of a murder investigation in which the prime suspect is Max's former mentor. After finis.h.i.+ng A Killing Night A Killing Night, his fourth book, King left journalism to become a full-time novelist.

Since 2005, King has published his fifth and sixth Max Freeman novels, Acts of Nature Acts of Nature (2007), about a hurricane that puts Max and his girlfriend at the mercy of some of the Everglades' most menacing criminals, and (2007), about a hurricane that puts Max and his girlfriend at the mercy of some of the Everglades' most menacing criminals, and Midnight Guardians Midnight Guardians (2010), which features the dangerous reemergence of a drug kingpin from Max's past. He has also published the stand-alone thriller (2010), which features the dangerous reemergence of a drug kingpin from Max's past. He has also published the stand-alone thriller Eye of Vengeance Eye of Vengeance (2007), about a military-trained sniper who targets the criminals that a particular journalist has covered as a crime reporter. In 2009, King published the historical novel (2007), about a military-trained sniper who targets the criminals that a particular journalist has covered as a crime reporter. In 2009, King published the historical novel The Styx The Styx, which tells the story of a Palm Beach hotel at the turn of the twentieth century and the nearby community's black hotel employees whose homes were burned to the ground amid the violent racism of the time.

King currently lives in southeast Florida, where he writes, canoes, and explores the Everglades regularly.

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Jonathon King playing basketball for his high school team, the Waverly Warriors, in Lansing, Michigan, in 1972.

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King's yearbook photo from his senior year of high school in 1972.

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For seven summers, from 1974 to 1980, King was a lifeguard in Ocean City, New Jersey. He's shown here in 1974 or 1975 with his best friend and fellow lifeguard, Scott Erb.

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In 1976, King worked as part of a crew hired by boat owners to deliver sailboats from New Jersey to Florida at the end of the summer. He's shown here sailing a forty-foot vessel down the coast.

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King's children, Jessica and Adam, at ages ten and eight, respectively, with the mascot of the University of Florida in Gainesville in 2003.

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A handwritten ma.n.u.script page from King's debut novel, The Blue Edge of Midnight The Blue Edge of Midnight. Worried that his years as a reporter would make it difficult to write thoughtfully using a keyboard, King wrote his first two books with pencil on legal pads to avoid sounding like a journalist.

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King's Edgar Award for the Best First Mystery Novel by an American Author, which he won in 2002 for The Blue Edge of Midnight The Blue Edge of Midnight, the debut book in the Max Freeman series. The Edgars, which are given annually by the Mystery Writers of America, are considered the most prestigious awards in the mystery genre.

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King stands inside of Kim's Alley Bar, one of the oldest taverns in Ft. Lauderdale. Several scenes in the Max Freeman series take place here, particularly in A Killing Night A Killing Night, in which Max investigates the abductions of several bartenders. An actual bartender from Kim's Alley even made an appearance in the book.

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King at an isolated fis.h.i.+ng camp in the middle of the Florida Everglades.