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On Edge
Konstantin Slovo knows his way through the dark. He knows what it’s like to live on the edge--of tragedy, of sanity, of humanity. A Chicago cop, Slovo’s own life had come violently apart with the shooting death of his partner. Here on the picture-perfect Maine coast, he thought he could outrun his past. But amid the crying of gulls, he has found something even worse.
Twenty years ago in Brimsport, Maine, police investigated a ring of sexual predators--and left behind a town seething in secrets and rage. Now children are disappearing from Brimsport--in ways that buckle the knees of hardened investigators...and plunge the town back into a nightmare. Now Slovo, a man who’s already seen too much, must peer into the darkness of a town torn apart by fear...to glimpse the secrets in the shadows--the glitter in a killer’s eyes.
Twenty years ago in Brimsport, Maine, police investigated a ring of sexual predators--and left behind a town seething in secrets and rage. Now children are disappearing from Brimsport--in ways that buckle the knees of hardened investigators...and plunge the town back into a nightmare. Now Slovo, a man who’s already seen too much, must peer into the darkness of a town torn apart by fear...to glimpse the secrets in the shadows--the glitter in a killer’s eyes.
- GenresCrime
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 26, 2002
3 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Fister
181 books10 followersI'm an avid reader, an academic librarian, and a writer of various things including crime fiction. My first mystery (or thriller if you like to categorize), On Edge, was published in 2002. In the Wind, introducing a new series set in Chicago, was published by St. Martin's in 2008. Reviewing it in the Chicago Tribune, Paul Goat Allen called it "an understated crime fiction gem." The second in the series, Through the Cracks, was published in May 2010. Library Journal said the story "packs a real punch. It will appeal to Sara Paretsky fans and mystery readers who long for tough and savvy female investigators."
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 15, 2020
Konstantin Slovo is running away from his life as a Chicago cop. His partner is dead and some people, including the father of his partner, seem to think Slovo killed Robin. But, his gun has disappeared and no one knows where it is. Brimsport MA is a very small town that had a moment of celebrity in the mid-80s when it was rumored a ring of child predators was operating there. The former police chief, McGavin, rode that rumor onto the TV talk show circuit and became quite famous, but the case quickly came to nothing and all charges were dismissed. But now, the bodies of abducted children are being displayed all over town. There are a lot of suspects but evidence is slim. Slovo is brought in because as an outsider, he has less of a stake in what is happening in town and he has experience with child abductions and murders. Everyone in town is on edge and Slovo is beaten severely because he is seen as an outside agitator. This was an interesting study in mass hysteria in a small town; Slovo is an interesting character. Fister writes a well-plotted book although I did figure out the guilty party about half-way through.
January 26, 2023
For a book titled "On Edge", you really are kept on edge. What a book, honestly, the entire time I spent reading it I was just so frustrated by what was happening, which is just how the author wanted it to be I assume. I may review a lot of books by saying they had me gripping the pages, anxious for more, but yet again I found myself wound up in this book doing just that. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in some very psychological thrillers. It was just the perfect amount of getting to your head.
October 20, 2019
Very good - especially it it’s really her debut. (It just seemed too polished, too good.). Very good writing, good pacing, good enough story, excellent “whodunnit” - except it just seemed to come to a final conclusion all of a sudden. The final wrap was good however.
November 30, 2021
Even though the subject matter was horrendous it kept you involved. The characters were very unique and I plan on reading another book by her.
April 23, 2012
On Edge
Barbara Fister
Random House/Dell, 2002
ISBN 0440237513
Suffering from a gunshot wound, Chicago cop Konstantin Slovo is running from his family, his friends and all the tragedy in his life. His partner was killed in the same shooting and the department is investigating the incident, apparently believing Slovo shot his partner in “friendly fire”.
Heading east, Slovo ends up in a small coastal town in Maine for no particular reason other than to see the sun rise over the water. Parked near the beach, he misses the sunrise when he falls asleep and is awakened by a trio of local cops. Unfortunately for Slovo, his bloody backseat immediately arouses their suspicions and his testy attitude doesn’t help
matters any. It seems that Slovo has wandered into a town that has a child missing, the third in recent months, and the police force is floundering with no leads in a situation far outside their experience.
After checking Slovo’s story, the police chief releases him in the care of a patrol officer who is to return him to his car. On the way, they stop at a site about to be searched and the child’s body is found shortly after. Wanting to get as far away from this as he can, Slovo stops in at a cafe on his way to his car and collapses with a raging fever from his infected wound. At the hospital, the doctor tells him he’ll have to stay in town for a while.
Taking a house as a temporary rental, Slovo settles in to rest but soon finds himself much more involved in the case than he wants to be. A few of the town’s residents are solicitous and friendly but, with emotions running high—inflamed further by the memories of a massive child-molesting investigation twenty years earlier—many more are
suspicious of him. Still, with his background as a big-city officer, he’s a natural consultant for the local force and the state and federal investigators. His bitterness and injury notwithstanding, Slovo soon becomes immersed in finding the next missing child before it’s too late.
On Edge is an apt title, considering not only Slovo’s state of mind but also the town’s fear and hostility. Child molestation, abduction and murder suspense novels are always difficult to read because of the emotions felt by the reader but author Barbara Fister handles these subjects well with no sensationalism except that to be expected in a
serial murder case. The descriptions of the bodies, while somewhat gruesome, are brief and are unfortunately realistic. Fister‘s ability to tell a tough story well is admirable and is a promising introduction to her work.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, 2002. Slightly revised 2010.
Barbara Fister
Random House/Dell, 2002
ISBN 0440237513
Suffering from a gunshot wound, Chicago cop Konstantin Slovo is running from his family, his friends and all the tragedy in his life. His partner was killed in the same shooting and the department is investigating the incident, apparently believing Slovo shot his partner in “friendly fire”.
Heading east, Slovo ends up in a small coastal town in Maine for no particular reason other than to see the sun rise over the water. Parked near the beach, he misses the sunrise when he falls asleep and is awakened by a trio of local cops. Unfortunately for Slovo, his bloody backseat immediately arouses their suspicions and his testy attitude doesn’t help
matters any. It seems that Slovo has wandered into a town that has a child missing, the third in recent months, and the police force is floundering with no leads in a situation far outside their experience.
After checking Slovo’s story, the police chief releases him in the care of a patrol officer who is to return him to his car. On the way, they stop at a site about to be searched and the child’s body is found shortly after. Wanting to get as far away from this as he can, Slovo stops in at a cafe on his way to his car and collapses with a raging fever from his infected wound. At the hospital, the doctor tells him he’ll have to stay in town for a while.
Taking a house as a temporary rental, Slovo settles in to rest but soon finds himself much more involved in the case than he wants to be. A few of the town’s residents are solicitous and friendly but, with emotions running high—inflamed further by the memories of a massive child-molesting investigation twenty years earlier—many more are
suspicious of him. Still, with his background as a big-city officer, he’s a natural consultant for the local force and the state and federal investigators. His bitterness and injury notwithstanding, Slovo soon becomes immersed in finding the next missing child before it’s too late.
On Edge is an apt title, considering not only Slovo’s state of mind but also the town’s fear and hostility. Child molestation, abduction and murder suspense novels are always difficult to read because of the emotions felt by the reader but author Barbara Fister handles these subjects well with no sensationalism except that to be expected in a
serial murder case. The descriptions of the bodies, while somewhat gruesome, are brief and are unfortunately realistic. Fister‘s ability to tell a tough story well is admirable and is a promising introduction to her work.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, 2002. Slightly revised 2010.
Read
January 12, 2009On Edge, by Barbara Fister B-plus
This was a great debut mystery novel. However, I have to say, I’m glad that this isn’t going to be a series. The protagonist was a little too crazy for me. Maybe part of it was trying to fill in the back story. Publisher’s note:
A flip of a coin sends Konstantin Slovo, a Chicago cop who's had all he can take, eastbound on I-90 with no destination in mind. His impulsive flight ends
in Brimsport, Maine, where gulls cry, waves wash against a rockbound coast - and the town's worst nightmare is coming true.
Almost twenty years ago, an investigation into allegations of child abuse spiraled out of control, ending without convictions - leaving the community scarred
by suspicion, distrust, and anger. Slovo, all too experienced with crimes against children, arrives in Brimsport just as a search is on for a missing girl,
the third child to be abducted and murdered in recent months. He's drawn into the race to stop it from happening again - and to end the horror before the
town tears itself apart. Because whoever is behind these killings knows Brimsport's tortured past and is using its worst fears to push it over the edge.
The book was definitely a thriller, a page-turner. My partner read it out loud to the both of us and said that she was so tense to find out what happened that her fingers cramped on the book. Slovo is a man who apparently had an abused childhood, went into police work in Chicago investigating mainly abused child cases, many of them homicides, and then, when trying to get away from his past by leaving Chicago, he ends up in Maine in a town facing the nightmare of a serial child killer. A little too coincidental, in a way. And he seemed like such an angry man, I couldn’t see what the police chief’s daughter, Ruth, would see in him. But this book definitely portrayed a realistic character, bad language and all. It was very good. Barbara’s new series is going to feature a woman. I hope St. Martin Minotaur makes more of an effort to get its author’s book published in audio formats as well.
This was a great debut mystery novel. However, I have to say, I’m glad that this isn’t going to be a series. The protagonist was a little too crazy for me. Maybe part of it was trying to fill in the back story. Publisher’s note:
A flip of a coin sends Konstantin Slovo, a Chicago cop who's had all he can take, eastbound on I-90 with no destination in mind. His impulsive flight ends
in Brimsport, Maine, where gulls cry, waves wash against a rockbound coast - and the town's worst nightmare is coming true.
Almost twenty years ago, an investigation into allegations of child abuse spiraled out of control, ending without convictions - leaving the community scarred
by suspicion, distrust, and anger. Slovo, all too experienced with crimes against children, arrives in Brimsport just as a search is on for a missing girl,
the third child to be abducted and murdered in recent months. He's drawn into the race to stop it from happening again - and to end the horror before the
town tears itself apart. Because whoever is behind these killings knows Brimsport's tortured past and is using its worst fears to push it over the edge.
The book was definitely a thriller, a page-turner. My partner read it out loud to the both of us and said that she was so tense to find out what happened that her fingers cramped on the book. Slovo is a man who apparently had an abused childhood, went into police work in Chicago investigating mainly abused child cases, many of them homicides, and then, when trying to get away from his past by leaving Chicago, he ends up in Maine in a town facing the nightmare of a serial child killer. A little too coincidental, in a way. And he seemed like such an angry man, I couldn’t see what the police chief’s daughter, Ruth, would see in him. But this book definitely portrayed a realistic character, bad language and all. It was very good. Barbara’s new series is going to feature a woman. I hope St. Martin Minotaur makes more of an effort to get its author’s book published in audio formats as well.
May 1, 2010
Traveling while on leave after being injured in the line of duty, Chicago cop Konstantin Slovo finds himself drawn into the investigation of a serial killer who is preying on children in a small Maine town, first by being picked up as a suspect, then being grudgingly consulted by the local PD.
Slovo finds himself torn between wanting to help and wanting to get out of town as fast as he can, a decision made more complicated by the wildly varied reactions (suspicion, hatred, friendship, both professional jealousy and admiration) he receives from the locals. In the end, Slovo finds that confronting the town’s demons is the only way he will be able to confront his own and move on.
I found the writing to be refreshingly “real” and straightforward; all the people have believable reasons for their behavior and motivations, things don’t always go well for the “hero”, and there are no wild caricatures or stereotypes to be found.
Slovo finds himself torn between wanting to help and wanting to get out of town as fast as he can, a decision made more complicated by the wildly varied reactions (suspicion, hatred, friendship, both professional jealousy and admiration) he receives from the locals. In the end, Slovo finds that confronting the town’s demons is the only way he will be able to confront his own and move on.
I found the writing to be refreshingly “real” and straightforward; all the people have believable reasons for their behavior and motivations, things don’t always go well for the “hero”, and there are no wild caricatures or stereotypes to be found.
June 24, 2013
Konstantin Slovo knows his way through the dark. He knows what it’s like to live on the edge--of tragedy, of sanity, of humanity. A Chicago cop, Slovo’s own life had come violently apart with the shooting death of his partner. Here on the picture-perfect Maine coast, he thought he could outrun his past. But amid the crying of gulls, he has found something even worse. Twenty years ago in Brimsport, Maine, police investigated a ring of sexual predators--and left behind a town seething in secrets and rage. Now children are disappearing from Brimsport--in ways that buckle the knees of hardened investigators...and plunge the town back into a nightmare. Now Slovo, a man who’s already seen too much, must peer into the darkness of a town torn apart by fear...to glimpse the secrets in the shadows--the glitter in a killer’s eyes.
Was good - read it in a day but nothing really noteworthy! Not sure if I want to try any of author's other books!
Was good - read it in a day but nothing really noteworthy! Not sure if I want to try any of author's other books!
August 17, 2013
A tortured soul, a damaged body - Konstantin Slovo tries to escape his past, driving east from Chicago until he reaches the Maine coast and can't go any further. It's Slovo who is targeted as a child murderer, and who must search for the truth in Brimsport, Maine where old guilt conceals terrible secrets and a serial killer.
Great characters, good plotting and wonderful suspense in On Edge, librarian Barbara Fister's first mystery. Thanks PaperbackSwap.com for trading!
--Ashland Mystery
Great characters, good plotting and wonderful suspense in On Edge, librarian Barbara Fister's first mystery. Thanks PaperbackSwap.com for trading!
--Ashland Mystery
August 9, 2007
OMG!!!BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(and not just because my mom wrote it)
(and not just because my mom wrote it)
June 10, 2009
Well done. Some loose ends, too many red herrings. Unfortunately this book contains some gruesome details which I tried to read during a bout of stomach flu. Bad timing!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews