June 18, 2007
Florida, hurricanes and crime make a potent mix, as shown in Edgar-winner King’s fifth entry in his Max Freeman PI series (The Blue Edge of Midnight
, etc.). The vacation trip that Max and his cop girlfriend, Sherry Richards, take to his Everglades cabin and then to a friend’s even more remote fishing camp turns into a struggle for survival when hurricane Simone shifts course unpredictably. A trio of unscrupulous thieves scavenging in the hurricane’s wake and a pair of deadly security guards out to protect an illegal asset compound the danger. King vividly describes the hurricane’s force and the different ways people respond to it. Sherry displays her grit and Max his ingenuity in a series of desperate gambles as the story builds to an explosive climax. This is a worthy addition to a Florida subgenre that includes Carl Hiaasen’s Stormy Weather
and Tim Dorsey’s Hurricane Punch
.
September 24, 2007
King delivers suspense in spades in this gritty entry to the Max Freeman series. Max, King's ex-cop now private eye, and his girlfriend, Det. Sherry Richards, are taking some time off to relax at a friend's fishing cabin, located deep in the Florida Everglades. Plans for a romantic getaway are interrupted by the vicious onslaught of a hurricane that devastates the cabin and everything around it. As Max and a severely injured Sherry fight for survival while they try to return to civilization, two ruthless groups of men are converging on their location. Foster's reading keeps the tension taunt as he expertly follows King's shifting points of view; whether it's Max's earnest first-person narrative, a pragmatic corporate mercenary or an opportunistic old swamp rat and his slacker followers, Foster manages to give each individual an authentic natural delivery. He does falter a bit with his interpretation of the slackers that, though rendered with exuberance, is often over the top. Still, a small quibble with an overall fine performance. Simultaneous release with the Dutton hardcover (Reviews, June 18).