Great book! Hamilton's Alex McKnight books just keep getting better and better (and the very first was excellent)! A real page-turner; highly recommended.
Great book! Hamilton's Alex McKnight books just keep getting better and better (and the very first was excellent)! A real page-turner; highly recommended.
Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
Sheriff Roy Maven has been riding private investigator Alex McKnight since he took office. Now, he needs his help. Maven's partner during his days on the Michigan State Police is seeking independent research into his son's suicide, found hanging from a tree overlooking Lake Superior. A little digging by McKnight reveals that he isn't the only former state cop's kid to have recently killed himself or herself. Further developments strongly point to a pattern ...
It is tough to review this book without providing any spoilers, so this may be a bit vaguer than usual. Hamilton's characterization of the people in and around Paradise, Michigan continues to be the most enjoyable aspect of this series; he obviously loves them and wants the reader to do the same. BUT, he also knows that they're human, and as such have their own personal quirks and flaws. In this book, somehow Hamilton manages to humanize Sheriff Maven, and allows him to interact with other characters while making it clear that the lawman's curmudgeonly nature is only temporarily suppressed. McKnight's attempts to overcome recent personal tragedy are also examined through his interactions with others and his reflections on their own situations.
Another winner from an accomplished author.
RATING: 5 stars
It is tough to review this book without providing any spoilers, so this may be a bit vaguer than usual. Hamilton's characterization of the people in and around Paradise, Michigan continues to be the most enjoyable aspect of this series; he obviously loves them and wants the reader to do the same. BUT, he also knows that they're human, and as such have their own personal quirks and flaws. In this book, somehow Hamilton manages to humanize Sheriff Maven, and allows him to interact with other characters while making it clear that the lawman's curmudgeonly nature is only temporarily suppressed. McKnight's attempts to overcome recent personal tragedy are also examined through his interactions with others and his reflections on their own situations.
Another winner from an accomplished author.
RATING: 5 stars
Reading this book is a lot like driving fast on a twisty road with snow and ice, although you personally know that you the reader will arrive safely. Worth the ride.
What the author(s) do with this series: Steve Hamilton started off slow but gets better and better this is part of the series called the Alex McKnight Novels. This paragraph applies to all books in this series. Alex is a former pro baseball player and a former cop. Both of those careers ended before they barely got started. McKnight becomes a very reluctant private investigator and brings a level of expertise not seen in most books.
The author always gives us a tour of Michigan as he does his investigation and invariably it's cold. His description of the weather is almost visceral.
Do you need to read this series in order: YES or you miss out on too much of the back stories.
Triggers: Suicides, homicides and the regular ample supply of violence â Our erstwhile private detective often ends up in the hospital. Many of the crimes investigated are homicides caused by guns, fires, beatings and so on. Child abuse in the past. Cruelty, helplessness
On a frozen January night, a young man hangs himself in a lonely corner of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; in a place they call Misery Bay. Alex McKnight does not know this young man, and he won't even hear about the suicide until two months later, when the last person Alex would ever expect comes to him for help. What seems like a simple quest to find a few answers will turn into a nightmare of sudden violence and bloody revenge, and a race against time to catch a ruthless and methodical killer. McKnight knows all about evil. Mobsters, drug dealers, hit menâhe's seen them all, and they've taken away almost everything he's ever loved. But none of them could have ever prepared him for the darkness he's about to face.
What the author(s) do with this series: Steve Hamilton started off slow but gets better and better this is part of the series called the Alex McKnight Novels. This paragraph applies to all books in this series. Alex is a former pro baseball player and a former cop. Both of those careers ended before they barely got started. McKnight becomes a very reluctant private investigator and brings a level of expertise not seen in most books.
The author always gives us a tour of Michigan as he does his investigation and invariably it's cold. His description of the weather is almost visceral.
Do you need to read this series in order: YES or you miss out on too much of the back stories.
Triggers: Suicides, homicides and the regular ample supply of violence â Our erstwhile private detective often ends up in the hospital. Many of the crimes investigated are homicides caused by guns, fires, beatings and so on. Child abuse in the past. Cruelty, helplessness
On a frozen January night, a young man hangs himself in a lonely corner of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; in a place they call Misery Bay. Alex McKnight does not know this young man, and he won't even hear about the suicide until two months later, when the last person Alex would ever expect comes to him for help. What seems like a simple quest to find a few answers will turn into a nightmare of sudden violence and bloody revenge, and a race against time to catch a ruthless and methodical killer. McKnight knows all about evil. Mobsters, drug dealers, hit menâhe's seen them all, and they've taken away almost everything he's ever loved. But none of them could have ever prepared him for the darkness he's about to face.
