Past the Line By E. T. Milligan Manuscript 440 Pages

During the past week, this reviewer has had the rare opportunity and pleasure to read the manuscript of a first novel. Past the Line is as exciting and suspenseful as those from James Patterson, Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, Nora Roberts/J. D. Robb, John Sandford, Linda Howard, and many of my favorite authors.  In the first of a new series, Edward Milligan, with Past the Line, has already been added to that list!

Blake Cutter, a law man, broken after the violent murder of his wife, is on his way back to recovery and, hopefully, full reinstatement in his previous position with the Miami PD, when murder happens. In the small town of Bullett, Georgia, where he has been serving a probationary position with the State Bureau of Investigations, he has become, during the past year, one of their lead agents.  He also happens to have been on call when a body is found on the beach of Devil Island.  Phillip Drummond, a well-known real estate tycoon has been murdered.  Preliminary results from the autopsy shows he was drowned, he was drugged, and he was bludgeoned.  But what killed him?

And who killed him?

The first hurdle Blake has to overcome is the controversy between his frustrated boss and the sexually aggressive mayor who wants Blake to head up the investigation.  Too, he has partners who know that he is still experiencing dream flashbacks of his wife’s murder and are worried that he is hiding this from his police-appointed psychiatrist. Can he be trusted to handle a major murder case?

The second hurdle comes when there are so many possible suspects, including a wife in the midst of a bitter divorce, a jilted girlfriend, a young waitress who has revenge on her mind or the Mafia legend, Bennie DeSalvo, with whom Drummond had been involved.  Cutter gathers lots of evidence but never enough to hone in on just one suspect.

The third hurdle is that suspects are constantly revealing more, but not enough, to determine “whodunit.”  And the prime suspect, Drummond’s wife, is also murdered. Another suspect is wanted for the murder of a known drug seller and gang leader.  And the Feds want the local police to hold off on action against DeSalvo, since they are building a case against him, one of the men on the “Top Ten Wanted List.”

Blake falls in love with the final suspect.  Penelope Lane, who looks so much like Blake’s murdered wife, that he is drawn in, first, by her startlingly familiar beauty and then by her aggressive play for his attention.

Past the Line is a suspenseful whodunit, this time bringing all of the possible suspects right to the reader in the first few chapters.  I found this to be an interesting and effective presentation since it allowed me to think along with the investigator—considering which one might really be the murderer. 

Milligan has created exceptional characters for his book and provides an in-depth look at each, so much so that the reader will find the desire to start choosing who “should” be the murderer, rather than believing that this one or that one “could” murder.  Milligan entwines the evidence needed to solve the case into the interactions with suspects so effectively that you never really are quite sure…

Blake Cutter is a man you automatically want to see win—his job, his new love, and, yes, his revenge for his lost one.  This book is full of twists and turns, forcing the reader to reconsider who the murderer could be.  The story includes terroristic-type actions so realistic that the reader is caught up with what is happening…and, at the same time, sees a successful kidnapping of the police-guarded suspect and Blake’s new love, Penelope Lane, during that crisis.

So, how far would you go if tragedy strikes your beloved?  And, if by some miracle, someone comes along that can fill that hole inside, perhaps allowing you to love again—how far would you go to grab for that new chance?  Would you be willing to Pass the Line? That line that falls somewhere between the strict letter of the law and those that blatantly go against it?  Blake Cutter, in the first of a new thriller series, faces those questions when he meets Penney Lane, a primary suspect¾of murder

With a surprise ending that you won’t quite believe, Milligan has created a series that will leave you thirsting for more.  This first book is a Must-Read for lovers of romantic suspense and action!

G. A. Bixler

IP Book Reviewer