A Cold Day in Paradise (Alex McKnight, #1) by Steve Hamilton

Oct 07, 2008 Craig rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Mystery lovers, Michael Connelly fans

Recommended to Craig by: http://www.crimepays.com/

"The Year of Mystery Continues!"... This book was a great surprise! I picked it up at Partners & Crime after discovering it on the "first in a series" display, after I noticed that a) it's set in Michigan (had just got back from a week's vacation there), b) it won the Edgar Award for best first novel, and c) it's relatively short and I was looking for a break from another book that I was having a hard time getting into. The overall premise seems formulaic at first - former cop now PI encount...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Roberta rated it 5 of 5 stars

I agree that the overall premise seems formulaic at first - former cop now PI encounters a killer reminiscent of the case that ended his career. None the less I found that Alex McKnight is a detective that I can care about and I didn't guess the end too soon. It was also one of those books that makes me start casting the movie in my head which is a good sign.

I would recommend this book to someone who likes to read something between Lee Child and James Lee Burke. And dress warm.

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Dec 07, 2010 Kirsty Darbyshire added it

These are my comments from an email book group discussion. They seem out of context because that's exactly where they are...

(On all detectives having upsetting pasts) I think books need to be about interesting people, and it's possiblethat people with "upsetting pasts" are, all other things being equal,more interesting to us as readers than those without. That said, offthe top of my head I can only think of Matt Scudder that fits thedescription. Who else is there?

(On Alex's emotional baggage)I g

...more These are my comments from an email book group discussion. They seem out of context because that's exactly where they are...

(On all detectives having upsetting pasts) I think books need to be about interesting people, and it's possiblethat people with "upsetting pasts" are, all other things being equal,more interesting to us as readers than those without. That said, offthe top of my head I can only think of Matt Scudder that fits thedescription. Who else is there?

(On Alex's emotional baggage)I get the impression that before the book opened he had more or lessdealt with the situation by running away to the cabin, by burying thepast, he'd forgotten all about it. The guilt wasn't part of his day today life any longer.

Seeing a dead body (and a rather gruesomely executed one at that) andgetting involved in a murder case has brought the buried past to lifefor him in the present day. Added to that is that the murderer of hispartner seems to be involved in this series of murders too. That'spretty frightening stuff to come up against so long after the firstevent.

I don't think that he should blame himself for the past, I can't see howhe or Franklin could have done anything different. But I can see thathe would blame himself, wouldn't anybody wonder if they had just donesomething slightly different that day then perhaps everything would haveturned out different? (I'll stop that train of thought before I driftinto chaos theory and bore you all to death...)

I think "running away" was a reasonable thing to do. It didn't soundlike he had much going for him in Detroit, his job was kaputt, his wifehad left him; I think going and living in his fathers cabin in (notquite) the middle of nowehere was a fair response to the situation. Itseemed to have worked out fairly well up until now.

I don't really think he needs any "help". He's certainly got problemsbut I don't think they are insurmountable or long lasting. I think oncethis case is over he'll be ok again, and probably better off than beforesince I hope some of his demons, to do with Rose, will be exorcised bythe end of the book.

I like him so far, he seems like a decent man and he didn't exactly askto get tangled up in the situation he's in.

The murders had better have something to do with Rose else I'm going tobe mightily annoyed at the amount of flashbacks to the Rose case thatwe're getting! I don't think Alex is obsessed, just upset and scared bythe connections to his shooting.

I think it's a setup of some kind, but I can't figure out who would knowenough to do so as Alex doesn't think he's told anyone. Maybe he's beentalking in his sleep to Sylvia. That seems like a reasonable guess tome, and she's nasty enough that i don't mind her murdering people.

(On how I would catch the killer)
Oh, set up a trap with me as the bait, lure the killer in to it, thenget them to confess all by professing to know exactly what happened whenI don't. No, perhaps not. I'll gather everybody within a hundred mileradius into my cabin and recreate the crime - the murderer will be soupset by the errors I make that they'll have to pipe up to correct meand then I'll have them. No, can't see that working either! Damn, it'sback to detective school for me I'm going to get myself killed at thisrate.

(On sense of place) From the snowy pic on the cover I thought the book was going to be niceand cool and an escape from the summer sun, but I haven't really got anysense of place or chilliness from the book. Apart from the log cabins,which sound rather pleasant, I haven't got an image of any of theoutside places in my head.

(less)

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Aug 29, 2012 Gloria Feit rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel was the debut, in 1998, of the long-standing popular Alex McKnight series, introducing him as a Detroit cop, shot three times by a lunatic, forced to take a disability retirement three-quarters pension because one bullet remained near his heart and too dangerous to remove. So he left the Motor City and moved to the town of Paradise in the Upper Michigan Peninsula where his father had built several cabins for rental to hunters and winter recreationers. The man who shot him, one Maximil...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Ruth rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-modern

C1998. FWFTB: cabin, rose, Paradise, former, police-officer. I can not remember why I got hold of this book. And it is just too easy to be cheesy and say “It left me cold”. I was motoring along enjoying the pace and the dialogue and all was good. And then the end....well, I wasn’t totally convinced. “There are no sand beaches on Lake Superior, nothing that easy and inviting. Instead there are rocks, more rocks than there are starts in the sky, pounded and washed by the waves ever since the glaci...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Howard White rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

First, a disclaimer: I grew up in Michigan. Which is relevant because Hamilton's Alex McKnight mystery novels are set in Paradise, a small (one stoplight) town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I mention this because Paradise and the UP are important characters in their own right in these beautifully written, character-driven, mystery/detective/crime novels. For those who have never been, the Upper Peninsula makes up between a quarter and a third of Michigan's overall area, but only has about 300,0...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Patty rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, readin-13

While traveling to the upper peninsula this weekend we listened to Steve Hamilton's first book in his Alex MeKnight mystery series. It takes place in the little town where we were going, Paradise.

I think Hamilton could have done so much more. McKnight is an ok main character but not very deep. I like it when a character has some little words that make me pause. (I did chuckle a few times though.) Or, if more of the silent type, then there better be some meaningful action. Driving back and forth...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Darrell Delamaide rated it 4 of 5 stars

Steve Hamilton's debut novel won both the Edgar and Shamus awards for first novel, and it is indeed very good. The writing is crisp, the voice fresh, the first-person main character, Alex McKnight, is well-drawn, able but flawed and mostly sympathetic.

And it is certainly a page-turner. After about the first third, you will want to finish the book at a single sitting because the author paces the suspense well.

But it is a first novel and not perfect. There are some big holes in the plot. The most...more Steve Hamilton's debut novel won both the Edgar and Shamus awards for first novel, and it is indeed very good. The writing is crisp, the voice fresh, the first-person main character, Alex McKnight, is well-drawn, able but flawed and mostly sympathetic.

And it is certainly a page-turner. After about the first third, you will want to finish the book at a single sitting because the author paces the suspense well.

But it is a first novel and not perfect. There are some big holes in the plot. The most gaping in my eyes, without giving too much away, is that when one of the characters who is a possible target of a serial killer goes missing, our able hero searches for him instead of immediately calling the police, who are already aware of the danger and taking precautions.

It is virtually impossible, given all the mystery and detective stories out there, to come up with an original back story for a new hero. Alex McKnight, however, checks a few too many of the usual boxes -- ex-cop turned PI, wounded in action, partner killed, retreats to rural setting, etc. It's not a bad formula, but it is a formula.

The other characters are not fleshed out that well, with the exception of Chief Maven of the local police department, who is an intriguing character though perhaps a bit too much like Rod Steiger in "In the Heat of the Night." Some characters seem to be belabored -- like Alex's love interest, Sylvia -- while others come up short, such as Alex's friend Edwin or his lawyer employer, Lane Uttley.

This is my first book in the 50-state mystery challenge. Its setting in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is very appealing to me, and shares a lot with the bleak landscapes of the Nordic mysteries. Particularly the brooding presence of Lake Superior adds a dimension to the novel. The wind whipping around, the biting rain, the whitecaps on a stormy lake -- great atmosphere!

Funny that Hamilton would set his mystery in a Michigan town named Paradise in the same way Robert S. Parker picks Paradise, Massachusetts for Jesse Stone's refuge. The difference is that there really is a town of that name in the Upper Peninsula, whereas Parker's fictional Paradise is reportedly based on a town called Marblehead. In both cases, though, the authors certainly enjoy getting Paradise into the title.(less)

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May 27, 2013 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fourteen years ago Alex McKnight was shot three times and his partner killed by a man named Rose. Alex now lives in a small Michigan town near the Canadian border. He works the occasional PI job for one of the local lawyers who also happens to be connected to a wealthy family, the Fulton's, in the area. Late one evening he is called out to a motel where the wealthy client, Edwin is standing over the body of a dead bookie. Turns out that Edwin has a bit of a gambling problem and Alex McKnight is...more Fourteen years ago Alex McKnight was shot three times and his partner killed by a man named Rose. Alex now lives in a small Michigan town near the Canadian border. He works the occasional PI job for one of the local lawyers who also happens to be connected to a wealthy family, the Fulton's, in the area. Late one evening he is called out to a motel where the wealthy client, Edwin is standing over the body of a dead bookie. Turns out that Edwin has a bit of a gambling problem and Alex McKnight is hired by his mother to protect him. Soon thereafter another Bookie turns up dead and as events transpire it appears that Rose has somehow escaped prison and come to the upper peninsula. The book has many of the familiar tropes found in detective fiction - Alex feels guilt over the death of his partner, has slept with the clients wife, Sylvia, and feels guilty that he hasn't behaved as the friend Edwin thinks he is.
However, while McKnight's character is flawed I enjoyed the fact that the flaw was something new, he isn't a hard drinker lost in cynicism but still a tough guy who doesn't scare easily. McKnight is pretty much the opposite. At one point someone comes to his door and his hands are shaking so badly he can barely hold the gun in his hand. He is definitely scared and I appreciated the fact that he isn't a tough guy. He isn't really a very good detective or PI for that matter, one of the funnier scenes comes when he and a man who had held his PI job before him attempt to break into a home. He not only cannot pick the locks but also brings the wrong type of gloves for the job. As an aside I hope he and Prudell the other PI reconnect in a future novel.
Hamilton also makes excellent use of where McKnight lives making the upper peninsula very vivid in terms of place.
My one quibble with the book is the fact that McKnight and Sylvia had had some type of relationship at one point but it was never really adequately explained as ot when or why. I felt a little as if I should have read an earlier book.
Overall I thought the story was a good solid debut and I look forward to reading more of Hamilton's books.(less)

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Dec 18, 2012 Dorothy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-day-mysteries

Alex McKnight had been a police officer on the mean streets of Detroit. Fourteen years earlier the streets had proved especially mean for Alex and his partner. They had confronted a psycho in his home and the man had killed Alex's partner, Franklin, and had shot Alex three times. Doctors had removed two of the bullets, but the third bullet, lodged close to his heart, had proved impossible to remove. Alex has lived with that metal reminder in his body for all the years since.

The killer, a man nam...more Alex McKnight had been a police officer on the mean streets of Detroit. Fourteen years earlier the streets had proved especially mean for Alex and his partner. They had confronted a psycho in his home and the man had killed Alex's partner, Franklin, and had shot Alex three times. Doctors had removed two of the bullets, but the third bullet, lodged close to his heart, had proved impossible to remove. Alex has lived with that metal reminder in his body for all the years since.

The killer, a man named Maximilian Rose, was caught a year later and sent to prison where he has spent all the intervening years.

After the incident, Alex left the police department on a three-quarters disability pension and returned to his home town of Paradise on the Upper Peninsula, on the shores of Lake Superior. There he took over management of a number of hunters' cabins that had belonged to his now deceased father. He took care of the cabins and lived nearby in the woods in a tiny cabin of his own that he had helped his father build years earlier.

Alex made some friends in the community. One of them was a rich man named Edwin Fulton who had a compulsive gambling habit. Another very good "friend," at least for a while, was Edwin's wife Sylvia. Edwin never knew about their affair and often referred to Alex as his "best friend."

A local lawyer (the Fulton family lawyer) contacted Alex about becoming a private investigator and doing some work for him. After mulling it over, Alex agreed, and so that is how we come to have Alex McKnight, P.I.

One night Edwin calls Alex to come to a motel where he has discovered a dead body. The body turns out to be a local bookmaker to whom Edwin owed money. He had been shot and had his throat cut. There was blood everywhere which gave Alex a flashback to the scene when he and his partner were shot.

A few days later, another bookmaker is killed - another bookmaker to whom Edwin owed money. Do we sense a trend developing here?

Not long after that, Edwin falls off the wagon and goes gambling at local casinos. Alex is sent out to search for him. He doesn't find him but he and his lawyer-employer eventually find his car and a boat nearby on the lake that has blood on it. Meantime, a crazy letter is stuck to the door of Alex's cabin in the woods indicating that Edwin has been killed and that his body is at the bottom of the lake. It is signed "Rose." Hmmm...

Alex is convinced that Maximilian Rose is somehow behind the killings and the harassment that he is receiving; i.e., crazy letters stuck on his cabin door, red roses left at his doorstep and on the boat where Edwin's body was NOT found, and phone calls in the night. But Rose is still in state prison. Maybe Alex is the one who's crazy.

A Cold Day in Paradise was the first in this series by Steve Hamilton. He created a fairly likable character in Alex McKnight, but not necessarily the sharpest knife in the drawer. I figured out who was behind the mystery long before he did, although I admit that I got the motive wrong.

Hamilton's writing is very evocative. I've never been to the UP of Michigan, but after reading this book, I felt that I had been there. I think it must be a wildly beautiful place, but not necessarily a paradise. (less)

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Jul 26, 2012 Lloyd rated it 2 of 5 stars

After being pleasantly surprised with The Lock Artist, I immediately jumped into this book. I kept in mind that this was the authors first novel, so I left my expectations low. The book reads well, but kind of lost me about 3/4 of the way through. The mystery itself comes across rather clunky and left me hollow at the end. Give that a big “whatever”. I’m also not sure how I felt about the main character. For an ex-cop he came across rather…unprofessional (I can’t really say stupid – but “foolish...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Jack rated it 2 of 5 stars

Well, this was a disappointment. I came across Steve Hamilton when I read The Lock Artist, which I though was an excellent novel. I had high hopes for A Cold Day in Paradise, Hamilton's first novel which won all sorts of awards and had all sorts of praise heaped upon it. The first in his Alex McKnight series will also probably be my last, unfortunately. I really detested the character of Alex McKnight and have no interest in reading any more about this horrible invention. The guy is a real jerk,...more

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Jan 20, 2010 Lyn M (readinghearts) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: mytery lovers

Recommended to Lyn M (readinghearts) by: Debi

Shelves: thriller, pick-a-shelf

This is the first of Steve Hamilton's Alex McKnight series. It is a typical mystery, more of the cozy mystery category. I'm not sure I would class it as a thriller since I figured out who the villain was and what the twists were about halfway through the book. Alex McKnight is an ex-cop from Detroit who moves to the small town of Paradise, Michigan to get away from the destruction of his career 14 years ago courtesy of a madman who killed his partner and left him with a bullet in his chest. He i...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Stacy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: political-fiction

I enjoyed the first 15 chapters of the book. In fact, I mentioned it to a friend as a book to look for. And then we reached chapter 16 and the entire book went weird. As in, I wondered if I had accidentally plugged in the wrong book. A suspect suddenly appears, the former cop makes a series of stupid B-movie decisions and an implausible showdown occurs. At that point, the end seems clear but I listed to the next few chapters while I waited for him to figure it out. I finally reached chapter 22 a...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Sandy Cox rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After being shot on the job as a Detroit police officer, Alex retires and choses to take the road less taken, which entails moving back home to Paradise, Michigan. He rents out the cabins his father built and eventually begins working as an investigator for a local lawyer. For fourteen years his life is simple and uninterrupted – that is until a friend needs Alex’s help after he stumbles onto a murder victim.

As the bodies begin to pile up, the murderer makes contact with our hero and Alex reali...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Harry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: detective-mystery

Cautionary note: this review was written after reading the first novel in this series. Series reviews are fickled, unpredictable, and sometimes downright wrong if you base the entire series review on just the first puzzled bite. Maybe the cold weather outside's is making me grumpy, or I just don't wanna go all the way downtown to work, or maybe I just don't feel like pouring honey over my cereal. Whatever!

Not that this isn't a good read. I finished it in record time. Frowning for an acceptable...more Cautionary note: this review was written after reading the first novel in this series. Series reviews are fickled, unpredictable, and sometimes downright wrong if you base the entire series review on just the first puzzled bite. Maybe the cold weather outside's is making me grumpy, or I just don't wanna go all the way downtown to work, or maybe I just don't feel like pouring honey over my cereal. Whatever!

Not that this isn't a good read. I finished it in record time. Frowning for an acceptable answer, I think I'm just overdosing on the formulaic approach of the genre: alcoholics, disturbed detectives, problematic relationships, flat characters thrown in for window dressing, PTSD, distrust with authority figures, all of it put together in relatively short novels (As compared to, say, Jo Nesbo's much longer novels). It's been done a million times over by very good authors and not so good authors. Steve Hamilton probably falls somewhere in the middle, or probably leans strongly towards the good side (If I look beyond my grumpiness).

Personally, if you like Michigan novels, small town settings, detectives turned PI, loners and if you enjoy a colorful heritage thrown in than my preference (as compared to this first Hamilton novel) is for the work of William Kent Krueger. If you enjoyed Hamilton's book for its location and mystery than read the Cork O'Connor series. Krueger's novels are set just West in Minnesota and are superior to Hamilton's in my opinion. The Cork O'Connor series has more depth, better character development, portray a deeper insight into American Indian culture so prevalent in the region, contain deep philosophical musings and moral insight into who we are as human beings, and deliver great mysteries. Ok, I'll stop plugging O'Connor now (LOL). The two authors are very similar in their subject matter and setting.

So, I guess if you're in the mood for an easy read, some genre escapism, something enjoyable, a book that moves fast and it's over, but are not in the mood to be flabbergasted by the author...than these book are for you. Enjoy!

Grumpiness update: ok, since I've only read the first in the series, I gave Alex #2 a try...mainly because I have a (hopefully)short layover while I hunt down a copy of Frelseren(The Redeemer), Nesbo's 7th. I found Winter of the Wolf Moon an equally enjoyable read: nothing extra-ordinary. I have come to see this series as something to read when I can't find other books I really, really want to read.(less)

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Nov 28, 2011 Keri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, ntm-author, suspense, steve-hamilton, mystery, reviewed

What is an ex-cop on 3/4s disability pay with a bullet still lodged near his heart to do with his time? Become a PI of course and in UP Paradise Michigan, Alex feels he will probably have alot of time on his hands and get paid for it. Right??? Up until that first murder, then the second and oh those notes left for Alex, they let him know real quick, his past ain't staying buried for long...nope it intends to come up and slap him right in the face.

SH is a brand new author for me and this will no...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: michigan-connection

The first in his Alex McKnight series, this is set in and around Paradise, MI in the UP. Like most things in the UP, the pace and atmosphere of the book are somewhat laid back. McKnight has no outstanding talents, no famous clientele, but does have a dry sense of humor. All good points in my eyes.
While I happened to read book one first, I have since skipped around depending on what is available on CD or at my library. Though there is a time line, each book offers catch-up information so reading...more

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Feb 23, 2010 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mark Mallett,Ed Lynskey

Shelves: fiction, mystery

After I added The Lock Artist: A Novel to my To-Read queue, Steve asked if I had read any of author Steve Hamilton's Alex McKnight series. I had not, so I added it to my queue and found it at the library just a few days later. A Cold Day In Paradise opens the series and it is one excellent read!

Alex McKnight is an ex-cop from Detroit who moved back to his old summering place, Paradise, Michigan, where his dad built a set of hunting and fishing camps. He left the police force after a particularly...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Candace Burton added it

After _The Lock Artist_, I could hardly wait to get my hands on more of Hamilton's writing, especially given the extraordinary reviews this novel garnered. Perhaps it was just too much hype. I didn't find McNight as interesting or as complex as I'd hoped, and in fact I felt that Hamilton gave his hero the trappings of a complicated person without bothering to shore up his character to match. The story is sort of interesting, but it all hinges on the reader's enmeshment in a series of betrayals y...more

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Dec 21, 2010 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, mystery, detective, review

The first Alex McKnight PI book. Mixed feelings about this one. My main problems came with McKnight himself. I didn't like him. He didn't seem to have any spark of detective talent to set himself ahead of the guy in the street. In a profession that relies heavily on talking to people and reading their motivations and veracity, McKnight bludgeons his way through most of his conversations. In fact quite a lot of the dialogue in the book is two people being incredibly obdurate with each other. He s...more

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Jun 07, 2013 Brian Clapper rated it 4 of 5 stars

I put this series in the category of "television substitutes," and the books are all thoroughly enjoyable examples of that category. The main character, Alex McKnight; is a former minor league baseball player, a former Detroit cop (who took three bullets during the shooting that killed his partner); and an uninterested, but licensed, private investigator. He considers himself a failure at all three. He lives in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where he ends up sticking his nose into problems that, in...more

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Jun 17, 2009 Ronald Roseborough rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a winner of the Edgar and the Shamus Award for best first novel. Alex McKnight is an ex-police officer from Detroit. He retired from the force after being shot three times, with one bullet still lodged next to his heart. He went to Paradise, Michigan, to get away, but ends up being talked into what should be some light duty P.I. work. Two dead bodies later, he comes face to face with evidence pointing to the same man who shot him, but he's been locked in a maximum security prison for ye...more

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May 24, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime-fiction

Alex McKnight is a former Detroit policeman who retired to Michigan's Upper Peninsula after he was shot on duty - a bullet is still lodged between his heart and spine. He's the caretaker of a few hunting cabins and does a little private investigator work on the side. When a voice from the past threatens him, two bookmakers are murdered and a close friend disappears, Alex tries to overcome old fears so that he can discover who is really behind the crimes.
Page turning suspense, a tortured hero and...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Brian Wilson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Definitely found another author I am going to follow. I cannot honestly say that this one swept me off my feet, but it progressively captured my interest more and more as the pages turned. I thought it was a really wel played last 25 pages or so, and that is where I see the main potential. He is one of the authors in the realm of Coben and Baldacci who keep you guessing until the very end, although in this one he did not tie it up as I would have expected and I dont know if I really like it or n...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

A mystery series set in Michigan's upper peninsula? Sign me up! I was unfairly expecting something Brian Gruley-esque. Something full of humor. This wasn't what I was expecting.

The characters in Hamilton's Michigan take themselves very, very seriously. That's not to say they're not fun to read about, but there's certainly more angst than I was looking for.

That said, the plot moved along well, and I was genuinely in suspense at a number of places. The twist at the end didn't blindside me, but I...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Arthur rated it 2 of 5 stars

Alex McKnight, a former Detroit cop who was shot in the line of duty, is a private eye in rural Michigan. The insane man who shot him in Detroit -- though officially in prison for life -- reappears, killing two bookmakers and threatening his best friend -- a rich man and degenerate gambler. Alex has also had an affair with the friend's wife and is still attracted to her.

Pretty pedestrian dialogue, nothing in the way of police procedural knowledge, not much suspense, and a rather plodding plot. I...more

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Nov 21, 2009 Atomicmass1969 rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of first person narrative

Recommended to Atomicmass1969 by: no one

I always enjoy discovering new authors to read from. I forgot when I bought "A Cold Day in Paradise," but I bought it not knowing anything about the author nor having even heard of him. I do remember I read this book within 1 week of purchase, because I enjoyed it so much. Since "Cold Day", I am a Steve Hamilton fan and had to the pleasure to meet him at a book signing in Thousand Oaks, California circa 2002. I remember he told the story of a book signing he had recently done in Germany and had...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Solim Civoreb rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the book that got me into reading mystery/thriller/crime books. It stars Alex McKnight who is an ex-cop who resides in a small town called Paradise, Michigan. He is a retired cop who becomes a private detective as the story progresses. This book really threw me off on the "whodunit" factor which I would have never guessed. Maybe it was because it was my first book of this genre or I was not paying attention to the details as much as I should have. Anyway, you cant really go wrong with th...more

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Jun 02, 2009 Sue rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was all set to like this book - I had just finished reading my first murder mystery (if The DaVinci Code doesn't count), which I loved. This one looked good - it had won awards and was acclaimed by other mystery writers....but it just didn't hold my interest. The narrator wasn't particularly bright, the action seemed stilted and confusing, I became irritated by all the various one-dimensional characters, and the story wasn't all that riveting.

Descriptions of the land and water (Lake Superior i...more

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