A prequel to McKinzie's hardcover debut, The Edge ofJustice, this testosterone-driven thriller melds the author's passion for extreme sports with his knowledge of the law (McKinzie is a former deputy district attorney). Even though the book features only two courtroom scenes, its fast-paced plot is rife with legal references, law-enforcement lingo, smart dialogue and vivid characters. Drug-enforcement agent Antonio Burns, his father and his brother, Roberto, have come together in a final effort to convince Roberto, whose life is a simmering mess of drugs and felonies, to clean up. For three decades, father and sons have shared an addiction to mountain climbing, so they reunite at Colorado's Wild Fire Valley—a site that is slated for commercial development in a matter of days. On their first night in the valley, a bitter dispute between local environmental activists and developers turns deadly. When Roberto stands accused, Anton and a beautiful one-eyed environmentalist take it upon themselves to find the real killer, navigating jagged mountain peaks and mysterious ancient caves along the way. A few predictable twists and convenient last-minute rescues mar the plot, but this highly readable thriller is still guaranteed to set readers' hearts racing and establish McKinzie as a rising voice in the genre. (May 6)
