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 300,000 fulltime residents. It's largely woods and water and--in the winter--lots of snow. Its residents--nicknamed Yuppers--are independent-minded and no-nonsense types. Cold Day in Paradise, Hamilton's first novel, won a much-deserved Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. The first four McKnight books are uniformly excellent. Then, Hamilton loses a bit of oomph and struggles a bit for new plots and twists. As I write this, a new McKnight novel, "Misery Bay," is due out in June 2011.