Crossing the Line » (Reissue)

Clinton McKinzie is the acclaimed author of The Edge of Justice, Point of Law, and Trial by Ice and Fire. He was raised in Santa Monica, California, and he now lives in Colorado with his wife and son. Prior to becoming a writer, he worked as a peace officer and deputy district attorney in Denver. His passion is climbing alpine walls.Visit our website at www.bantamdell.com and the author at www.clintonmckinzie.com.

Clinton McKinzie writes powerhouse thrillers that are like nothing you’ve ever read— novels that crackle with raw emotion and brilliantly explore the nature of risk: the risk that lovers take, adventurers seek, and men and women live with on both sides of the law. In an unforgettable new novel, set against the breathtaking Rocky Mountain landscape he has made his own, the acclaimed author of Trial by Ice and Fire brings back Special Agent Antonio Burns and his renegade brother, Roberto—two men who have chosen very different lives, now coming together to make a treacherous descent into a world of loss, betrayal, and terror.

Antonio Burns is a cop, not a saint. Having earned the scornful nickname “QuickDraw” for a shooting that went very wrong, the Wyoming narcotics agent is fighting for redemption and holding on to his family with all the strength he possesses. His brother, Roberto, is another story. His quicksilver heart, hair-trigger temper, and unquenchable hunger for adrenaline rushes have landed him prison—and make him the right person for an FBI agent with a plan. Agent Mary Chang—cool, collected, and always under control—wants to go after Hidalgo, a murderous drug lord who has moved his operation from Mexico to a Wyoming canyon. In Roberto, Chang has found someone who can penetrate Hildago’s heavily guarded crime ranch. And she has found a man who can quickly take her to her own wild side.

Now, while Mary and his brother watch over him, Roberto goes to work for Hidalgo for the promise of a free pass from prison. But Roberto can’t stay withany script for long, and soon starts making up the game as hegoes along. With Antonio sure that his brother is taking the ultimate death trip, and Chang guarding a secret of her own, the perfect plan starts to veer wildly off course. And no one is prepared for the dark forces that are about to engulf them—or the final betrayal that will send them to the dizzying heights and abysmal depths of love and loss. A novel that plunges like a knife, Crossing the Line is vintage McKinzie: brilliant, breathless, and utterly impossible to put down.

Publishers Weekly

Antonio "Ant" Burns, special agent with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, is back with his trusty wolf-dog Mungo, rusty Land Cruiser the Iron Pig and berserker brother Roberto in the fourth installment of this adrenaline-juiced mountaineering, crime-busting series (The Edge of Justice; Trial by Ice and Fire; Point of Law). Roberto, a dope addict, is on the lam when he is taken into custody by two FBI agents, the beautiful Mary Chang and the overbearing Tom Cochran. These two are planning to use Roberto to get the goods on Mexicali drug lord Jesus Hidalgo. After a tough turf war with rival gangs in Mexico, Hidalgo has moved to Wyoming, where he intends to set up a meth lab deep in an abandoned potash mine. Antonio is a straight shooter, both physically and morally-"That was why I'd become a cop. To enforce the rule of law"-and he joins the Feds, tracking Hidalgo down and sending in Roberto, who once rescued novice climber Hidalgo off a mountainside. Roberto's job is to get enough evidence to persuade a judge to issue a warrant for Hidalgo's arrest. The recalcitrant judge hampers the team's efforts and puts Roberto in grave danger, forcing Antonio to charge in and attempt a rescue. Antonio spends too much time agonizing over his relationship with the law, his crazy brother, his boss, the Feds and his pregnant girlfriend, but when the Burns brothers are high up on a rock face or hunting down evil banditos, the pace and intensity shoot skyward. Readers will find themselves hanging on by their fingernails as they wait to see who will fall and who will live to climb again. (May 3) Forecast: Those interested in rock climbing and mountaineering provide a natural foundation for this series, though booksellers could profitably recommend all of McKenzie's books to thriller readers of any stripe. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.