Misery Bay

The latest from Steve Hamilton finds sharper-than-a-serpent's-tooth Alex McNight unwillingly paired with Paradise, Michigan's local sheriff, Roy Maven, who asks him to help investigate the suicide of a son's friend, which occurred at the aptly-named Misery Bay. Quicker than you can turn the page, things get hairy and rather suspicious. The body count rises, circumstances become puzzling, and things aren't adding up for Alex fast enough to stop the corpses from piling up in this fast-paced, suspenseful mystery.

The (uneasy) chemistry between McNight and Maven is the source of some truly great dialogue, as are some of McNight's exchanges with some of the more colorful supporting characters. There are some truly great one-liners here that show more add color to this story that takes place in a landscape bleak enough to complement the dark plot of murder and suicide.

This one is definitely complex enough to satisfy the most demanding reader: red herrings abound, the voice of the mysterious killer is eerily present in snapshots interspersed throughout the book, and there is a wide-ranging cast of characters that encompasses everybody from wet-behind-the-ears college students to seasoned highway patrolmen. Alex's demons flutter at the edges of the narrative as well, adding another layer of psychological depth to the story.

Recommended to series fans and to first-time readers of Hamilton. show less

Alex McKnight and Police Chief Roy Maven, have never seen eye to eye, or agreed on anything other than their mutual dislike for each other. So, Alex is taken aback when the Sheriff approaches him asking to help out an old partner from early State Trooper days.

It appears the man's son has committed suicide, hanging himself in a desolate location called Misery Bay, and the father is seeking some type of closure or answers as to why his son killed himself. When the father is discovered murdered, both Alex and Roy team up to chase down leads, and find themselves on the opposite side of FBI agents who claim there is no case.

The reader is treated to an increasingly complex weaving of characters and clues while Alex doggedly pursues the case. show more Foe becomes ally, and there are plenty of twists and turns to leave the audience wondering right up to the ending.

Steve has done a spectacular job showing how the smallest of decisions in one's past can be perceived differently, and even forgotten as life unfolds. On one hand we are treated to a well rehearsed thriller, executed flawlessly by a master storyteller, and on the other a sad tale of human fallacy and lost hope.

I'm hoping we see a lot more of Alex in the future. show less

There has always been an uneasy partnership between Sault Ste. Marie police Chief Roy Maven and ex Detroit police officer, reluctent P.I. Alex McKnight. However this time Chief Maven needs Alex to do him a favor, to look into the apparent suicide of his friends son. His friend just wants to know what was running through his son's mind when he tied the knot and hung himself in the small, bleak town of Misery Bay on the shore of Lake Superor. What appears to be a simple request soon turns into a race to catch a ruthless killer.

This is the eighth book in this series. New readers will enjoy the book by itself but I urge you to go back and start at the beginning with "Cold Day In Paradise" to better aquaint you with the characters and the show more storylines. He paints a very accruate picture of Michigan's UP... 18 inches of snow in April? Oh yeah it happens!

As for me...I am a huge fan of this series and will be picking up the next book from the libray soon. Oh wait, I already have it. 5 stars for an excellent read as always. Thank you Steve. show less

Really good mystery, very atmospheric, cold and desolate, it takes place in Michigan’s upper peninsula in winter. First their are the suicides then the murders of the parents. But why.
This was a well thought out story.
I will have to go back and start at the beginning of this series.

Hamilton once again creates a bleak plot to match the oppressiveness of a typical Northern Michigan winter that lasts well into April. Misery Bay is a tiny community on the western side of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The beach area is more or less deserted on a warm sunny day in midsummer and would be relentlessly grim in the winter. That was where the first body of a college student was found hanging from the branches of a tree facing Lake Superior, a supposed suicide. Alex McKnight was asked by the father to find out what his son's motivation for taking his own life might have been. There is much driving around in the dark of night across the Upper Peninsula as McKnight investigates this...and then some other crimes that could be related. show more There are as many twists and turns in the story as there are in the lightly traveled back roads of sparsely populated areas. Hang on to your seat and follow Alex and his nemesis Police Chief Maven as they join forces with the FBI to hunt down a possible serial killer. show less

Wonderful descriptions of the upper peninsula, and a remarkable first murder mystery. This will teach me to avoid entire genres.

I've been reading this series in order since last summer, and this 8th installment is the best yet, IMO. It all begins when an old adversary asks McKnight's help investigating the suicide of a friend's son in an isolated spot called Misery Bay. Before long, the body count starts piling up.

As always in this series, the sense of place -- and of the Michigan Upper Peninsula weather -- is rich.

I was in the middle of a good mystery when my name came up on the library hold list for this book. I just started looking at it, and I couldn't put it down.