Clinton McKinzie has carved out his own unique territory with suspense novels that blend the heart-pounding thrills of extreme mountain climbing with gripping legal intrigue. “One of the strongest debuts in years” raved the Chicago Tribune about his debut novel, The Edge of Justice, which was hailed as “action-packed…a page turner” by USA Today. Now the acclaimed author of The Edge of Justice and Point of Law ratchets up the suspense even higher with a third high-altitude thriller, set against a breathtaking Rocky Mountain landscape, and capturing the unique world of men and women who pit their lives against the world’s most forbidding mountainsides. Now, Antonio Burns — climber, lover, brother, and cop — returns, and walks into a world of glamour, obsession and terror.

Haunted by a reputation he earned by killing three men under questionable circumstances, Antonio Burns finds himself scorned by good cops and admired by bad ones. Unable to shake the tag of “QuickDraw,” Burns steps closer to the edge of the society while still doing the job he’s paid to do and loving a woman who doesn’t understand him — and may not want him anymore. And with his charismatic but dangerously antisocial brother, Roberto, in trouble with the law, Burns has to manage his loyalties carefully: he is a cop, ‘Berto is a fugitive, and they would die for one another.

When Burns is sent to protect Wyoming prosecutor Cali Morrow, a former ski racer being threatened by an unknown stalker, it seems like an easy job. But Cali is also the daughter of one America’s hottest movie stars, and the stalker may well be a fellow cop. Antonio has a hard time resisting the woman he’s supposed to be protecting—and stomaching the social swirl of those who make Jackson Hole their playground. With the Feds closing in on his brother, Burns can feel his own personal lifeline slipping out of his grasp—until he himself becomes the target of a enraged madman’s vengeance.

Antonio was sure he had a bead on Cali’s stalker. Now he knows that the list of suspects is longer and deeper than he ever imagined, and that the real perpetrator is waiting for his final moment to strike, willing to kill whomever gets in his way, and preparing to go out in a raging blaze of fire.

Trial by Ice and Fire combines extreme menace with extreme action—from a breathless ski adventure down a near-vertical ice chute to a night climb up the Grant Teton above the Snake River. In this powerhouse of a thriller, Clinton McKinzie brings us characters who are living on the edge, a plot that delivers one body-slamming surprise after another, and a novel that is his most fully realized and exciting to date.

Hardcover Release by Delacorte Press 2003
Paperback Release by Dell Books 2004
Large Print Edition
Published in French

RECOGNITION for TRIAL BY ICE AND FIRE

Denver Post Bestseller List
Rock and Ice Magazine Book of the Month
Rocky Mountain News Bestseller List

REVIEWS

"The author, a former prosecutor (and avid rock climber), plays the complications off against each other, using one to distract us from the others while he cleverly builds his story. The novel unfolds like an elegant juggling act, and McKinzie's literary gymnastics pay off splendidly."
-- David Pitt, Booklist

"McKinzie's forte: action, adventure, and a multi-layered chase and rescue...fires on all cylinders..."
-- Publishers Weekly

"Trial by Ice and Fire sizzles...suspenseful."
-- The Herald-Sun

"This series has great characters, and his descriptions of the land, the sport of climbing and extreme skiing in the wilds of Wyoming are mesmerizing and compelling. ... McKinzie again has integrated intriguing and riveting elements to create a compelling book with that extra edge of tension making it difficult to put down."
-- Leslie Doran, The Denver Post

"What worked in The Edge of Justice works doubly well in McKinzie's latest thriller, Trial by Ice and Fire. Not only is there more stunning scenery atop Wyoming mountains, there's also skiing down a near-vertical ice chute, and a fire that rages through the countryside."
-- Oline Cogdill, Chicago Tribune

"Mixing legal intrigue with the breathtaking excitement of extreme mountain climbing, Trial by Ice and Fire goes where no other writer has gone before. With characters who live on the edge and a plot that delivers surprise after surprise, this novel shows why McKinzie is in the vanguard of thriller authors."
-- Barnes and Noble

"The rock-climbing scenes, which offer taut descriptions of the process, are gripping (no pun intended) and suspenseful, reflecting McKinzie's climbing experiences. Even from the comfort of your favorite easy chair, your fingertips will curl vicariously, trying to grasp a few precious inches of a crevice that hopefully won't come loose, and your toes will tense, trying to help Antonio balance on a narrow ledge a couple of thousand feet in the air. ... But the real strength of this book is the complexity of the characters, starting with Antonio (Burns)…The book, like its two predecessors, is written in present tense. This technique gives an air of immediacy, a 'you are there' feeling, to the action."
-- Chuck Brownman, Boulder Daily Camera

"The rough-hewn mountain man with the sensitive soul is always an appealing hero, and McKinzie's Antonio Burns (Edge of Justice, Point of Law) has the right stuff to keep readers turning the pages of this adrenaline-charged thriller...fans will be rooting for...McKinzie to bring the Burns boys back for a sequel."
-- Jane Adams, Amazon.com

"... Within two weeks of reading one book, I'd finished the other two."
-- Alison Osius, Rock and Ice Magazine

"Juicy new summer beach book ... old-fashioned American thriller ... starring fictional Wyoming law enforcement officer as tough as the Grand Teton is high. ... Pack this one away for the portaledge."
-- Kim Kurian, Outside Magazine

"Sports addict McKinzie ... infuses his passions into his prose along with his savvy about law enforcement and courtrooms. Best of all, he has a gift for knocking you out with his majestic landscapes and his wickedly crafted villains."
-- The Poisoned Pen Book News

"Grab this book for an easy summer read and McKinzie will pick you up and transport you to Jackson's Hole, Wyoming, and make you feel the icy cold of an early spring on the slopes. Then he will sear you with the whorling flames of a forest fire and by the end he will loosen you up with a laugh or two." .....................
-- Al Carson, The Herald-Sun

The Antonio Burns series by Clinton McKinzie: three great ways to feel what it's like to have 1,800 feet of air under your heels.
-- Myles Knapp, Contra Costa Times

"One can’t help but think when reading a McKinzie thriller that it would make a great movie. This latest is no exception. With heart-stopping suspense, breath-taking climbing scenes, vulnerable yet untamed characters, and just a tad of romance, this one has it all. The wildly stunning climax is in itself worth the read. One can’t help but like Antonio Burns, flaws and all, which only make him captivating. And one can’t help hoping that he gets it together and marries the girl, and then again, hoping he doesn’t. Another success in a great series from McKinzie, this comes highly recommended."
-- New Mystery Reader

"Trial by Ice and Fire isn't just vivid descriptions of scenery, McKinzie works in a suspenseful plot full of twists. … McKinzie takes the reader to the mountain several times and he's prepared to make the most of it in breathtaking scenes suffused with an exhilarating sense of danger. ... Trial by Ice and Fire puts the reader on the edge -- literally. And there's no better guide up that mountain than Anton."
-- Oline Cogdill, Florida Sun-Sentinel