A Cold Day in Paradise

This first of Steve Hamilton's Alex McKnight series is a well-done book. There's great emotional truth to all the characters, and Hamilton exercises restraint in his hero's musings, as well as in the overall portrayal of a man haunted by his perceived failures. Nothing is predictable and all the characters are fully-drawn, particularly the mad and pathetic Rose. In one brief climactic confrontation between McKnight and Rose, the frustration and anger of a rational mind coming up hard against an irrational one has powerful resonance. Anyone who's ever tried to reason with someone unreasonable will sympathize with McKnight's helplessness and outrage at being unable to communicate on any "normal" level. Filled with surprising twists, a lot show more of tension, and a splendid depiction of life in a cold zone, this is a well-crafted book with a likable, very human cast. Highly recommended. show less

This is a terrific mystery with a real noir feel to it. And by that, I don't mean a tough guy doing a bad Sam Spade imitation. The detective, Alex McKnight, is a lonely man with a lot of personal issues, a soured romance with his best friend's wife, and a bullet lodged in his chest. When people start dying, his dark universe gets even darker, and he cannot rest (literally - he can't sleep) until he makes sense of it. The mood and main character are enough to make me enjoy the book, but as an added bonus, the mystery is great - the ending was completely surprising and completely satisfying.

Having met Steve Hamilton at an author event at my local independent bookstore, I knew I would have to read one of his books. There's a lot to like about A Cold Day in Paradise, and I can see why it won the awards it did. The setting is excellent and really gives readers a feel for life in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The writing is marvelous, too, and really pulled me into the story as well as leaving me with several quotes that are stuck in my mind. (How about the one describing the man who left a bullet next to McKnight's heart? "I looked into his eyes. It was like looking down a mine shaft and seeing all the way down to hell.") The scene describing McKnight and his partner getting shot is particularly gripping.

I also liked the show more mystery. It's complex and certainly not easy to solve, although if you tend to be a reader who insists that all loose ends are tied up, the resolution may not be quite your cup of tea.

As I said, there's a lot to like about A Cold Day in Paradise. My problem is... I never really warmed up to Alex McKnight. To me, he's a bit of a wuss, and my opinion began to be formed when he and his partner were still alive. Of course, I have to be honest and admit that I have no earthly clue how I would react under the exact same trauma, but in all fairness, my feelings do not center completely on McKnight and his bullet. I won't go into detail because I want to avoid spoilers.

Since I'm not entirely sure that I want to read another McKnight mystery, I think the next Steve Hamilton novel I will read will be The Lock Artist. I look forward to it. The man knows how to write. show less

Once Alex was a policeman in Detroit. Then he got shot, leaving one of the bullets close to his heart and he retired to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, close to the lake and tending the cabins that his father built once upon a time. Somewhere along the line, he got convinced to work as an investigator for a lawyer, making the previous investigator a bit unhappy. Despite that, things are going just fine - until a body shows up.

It would have been a regular case for the police except that some of the clues point to a man that is in jail. A second body and even more clues in the same direction make the police actually look at Alex (not surprising - almost a standard for a start of a PI series). But despite being expected, it works - the show more story is different enough, the backstory is fascinating. And the sense of the locale is handled masterfully.

It takes a while for the story to start pointing to what really happened and when it does, it took me by surprise. But looking back it is logical and it works. It is a good start of a series and Alex is a fascinating character. However - the end allows for it to have remained a standalone. And I want to see how Hamilton will continue the series. show less

A Cold Day in Paradise is a nicely put-together debut with enough nods to the genre to feel comfortable, but enough originality to keep you reading.

Alex McKnight is a retired cop playing PI on the shores of Lake Superior, but when a corpse turns up and a very familiar note arrives, he is forced to confront the most traumatic event of his life.

This book isn't the most original thing going, but Hamilton does several things which elevated it above average for me.

Firstly, he doesn't waste time with too much of the establishment stuff you often see in first novels and series debuts. McKnight doesn't just pop into the town of Paradise without any relationships or back-story; when the novel begins he already has several complicated show more relationships and a busy schedule.

Secondly, Hamilton deals nicely with aspects of post-traumatic stress and general fear very well I thought. McKnight isn't some superman inured to violence and hellbent on revenge - the events that forced him to retire from the police, *forced him to retire*. This is a man who has had something terrible happen to him and doesn't show the rubbery resilience we're so accustomed to seeing in crime novels. Nor has his life been a catalogue of intense and violent encounters, making him an expert in firearms, shootings and other novelistic cliches.

This humanity makes for a sympathetic, human and interesting protagonist, though I will say the general plot is not quite so well constructed. Though I was guessing until the end, I felt the conclusion was a little silly and the characters deserved better - it was more in line with what this genre typically pitches at; maniacs, twists and Deaver-like nonsense.

However, based on the strength of character and setting, I would read another Hamilton book. Quite strong for a first novel. show less

This was a perfectly fine entry in the damaged ex-cop embroiled in a mystery genre. The book is set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula so I got the audio off Libby to listen to on a car trip from Traverse City to Munising (and back) with my son and my sister. I love reading books set in places I know well and places I am visiting. I think Michiganders will enjoy the way Hamilton captures Detroit and The Soo, and the places between as they were 25 years back. I think others will enjoy the scene setting too. The UP is like no place else I have ever been Its remoteness means things get done a little differently than elsewhere, and that plays into the story. The characters are all cliches from the Grosse Pointe rich folks to the aforementioned show more ex-cop, to the shyster lawyer, to the barkeep, and most especially to the beautiful woman stuck in a small town. I may read another on the series, but I am not rushing to do so. show less

Alex McKnight was a Detroit cop until a crazy man shot him and his partner. His partner died, and McKnight still has a bullet lodged next to his heart. On permanent disability, McKnight makes his home in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in one of several rustic cabins he inherited from his father. Lately he's been working as a private investigator for a local lawyer. When his best friend discovers a murdered bookmaker, McKnight sets out to clear him of suspicion. A second murdered bookmaker makes things more difficult, particularly when a trail of clues points to the man who shot McKnight and his partner 14 years earlier. There's just one problem. The man is in a maximum security prison. Or is he?

I like this novel's strong sense of place near show more Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. I'm not really a fan of the private eye genre of crime fiction. Although this book won awards for a first novel, it's just so-so. I could tell where the plot was heading well before the end, and there were a couple of lengthy information dumps. I'm not sorry I listened to this one, but I doubt I'll continue with this series. show less