Ice Run

What can I say? This latest from Steve Hamilton is a winner. Our intrepid semi-PI Alex McKnight is in love and nothing will stand in his way. From a mysterious old man and his hat to the inevitable show-down, Hamilton weaves a story of past betrayals and present events all in the icy land of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (if ever there was a constant "character", the UP is it!) Pick up Hamilton's first McKnight novel and you will be hooked. For anyone that's wondering, no it's not perpetually winter in Michiagn no matter what Steve Hamilton writes.

Ice Run is my first book by Steve Hamilton. I found it very readable even if I didn't find the story all that good. With the exception of a couple of cops (in particular McKnight's archnemesis Sault Ste. Marie police Chief of Roy Maven), virtually everyone was exceedingly dysfunctional and I literally have no desire to read about dysfunctional people.

The good was the settings in remote Michigan and Ontario, the wilderness and the water, and a bit of history about the region. The latter reminded me of similar stories from the border region in North Dakota, Al Capone and North Portal, Saskatchewan.

Otherwise, there was a lot of snowplowing, driving, more snowplowing, a bunch of cowboy antics, more driving and snowplowing, McKnight charging show more around like a maddened bull, driving, plowing… and then once every 20 to 50 pages some clues related to the main story, the mystery of just what the f- is going on. And instead of getting himself killed several times over, our boy Alex McKnight rides off into the sunset – or he will if the sun is ever seen again in Northern Michigan – and he will no doubt live to blunder along on another day. show less

ce Run: An Alex McKnight Novel by Steve Hamilton was one I decided to read after loving his most recent work, The Lock Artist, which was more literary than this crime series he is best known for.
Alex McKnight is a retired cop living in Paradise, Michigan. He has recently become involved with, Natalie, a police officer in Canada. Alex was to go visit Natalie, but because of a terrible snow storm, they decide to meet halfway in Sault Ste Marie. They have a strange run-in with an elderly man who leaves his hat full of snow in front of their hotel room with a note stating "I know who you are". Neither Alex nor Natalie knows this man and they never get to ask him what he meant as he is found frozen outside the next day. Alex starts snooping show more around and realizes the note was meant for Natalie.

I'm not sure what to make of this book. It wasn't very action packed but was well-written with a complicated plot. But I found that the mystery was not something I cared very much about once all was revealed at the end. I think I decided to read this because I have a penchant for reading books set in cold weather when it is winter. Weird, I know. Also, I loved The Lock Artist (review pending). I think this is another series I might try again but through the library.
my rating 3.5/5 show less

Alex and Canadian cop Natalie. Excellent story up until the last 30 pages or so. Rather a dull ending - a bit silly with Alex handcuffed to a bedpost while Natalie goes to fight the bad guys. Good plot, good pace, characters, tension, up until that point. I could feel the ice and cold of the Soo despite reading this on a 115 degree day in New Delhi. Plot is driven by the deat of Natalie's relative 30 years ago.

I've read all the books in the series and I'm starting to feel like Alex McKnight is a real person.

There is a paragraph in this book that I marked to quote.

"I'd known enough liars in my life. You can't be a cop without meeting plenty of them. For the worst of them, the truly hopeless born liars, maybe this is how it all starts, by keeping a tight lid on your own secrets. By never revealing the truth about yourself. When you've learned to control the truth, then you can start bending it. Just a little at first, then a little more when you see what it can do for you. A lie can open doors for you. Or close them."

It is October in Paradise, Michigan, and Alex McKnight is rebuilding one of his cabins with help from his neighbour Vinnie LeBlanc. They're interrupted when Vinnie is called away to deal with a family emergency: his brother, Tom, has not returned from a hunting trip to Canada. He is already four days overdue.