Rating: 
Summary: Debut in series gets my vote.
Review: Steve Hamilton's "Cold Day in Paradise" won the Edgar as Best First Novel---I can see why. It completely captured me.It is a tightly written, unpredictable, chilling, quick paced plot. He has a fresh approach to the troubled excop turned detective genre and some witty writing. Mr. Hamilton has created an intriguing protagonist aided by some good supporting characters. The noirish plot kept me guessing all the way with plenty of tension. In fact I guessed who was behind the plot early on, only to reject my deduction. Good twists and turns. All in all a solid, involving debut novel. I will be catching up on this four book series in short order.
Rating:
Summary: Lost and Found
Review: Steve Hamilton's A Cold Day In Paradise is a quiet mystery novel with the punch of a heavy weight fighter. The story in itself is very simple but so well executed and complemented with such a great protagonist that you will soon find yourself completely lost into Hamilton's brilliant narrative. Told in the first person, the book has us follow Alex McKnight, an ex-cop who retired when he was nearly killed while on the job. Now, many years later, he's a private investigator for a small-town lawyer. When the lawyer and Alex's best friend, Edwin, find themselves stuck in the middle of a murder investigation, Alex has no other choice but to help his friend and boss. But he soon realizes that the killer might have something else in mind: revenge. The muderer seems to be a man named Rose, the very same man who nearly killed Alex so many years ago. When Rose begins terrorizing Alex's friends, Alex will have to try to find the murderer before he kills again, and before Alex becomes the only suspect in the investigation. Suspenseful and brilliantly written, A Cold Day In Paradise in one small novel that never disappoints. In facts, it leaves you craving for more. There are no big shoot-out scenes in this novel, no car chase or chase through the woods. What you do have is a reserved thriller that is all about intelligence. Hamilton isn't going for the visceral. Instead, he takes his time to weave a tale that is all about its characters. It's hard to find a PI novel that isn't just about plot. And the fact that you sympathise and care for Alex, one of the best PI character to come along since Connelly's Harry Bosch, is only icing on the cake. Although the book does fall victim to the first-novel jitters (too many internal questions and dialog, and at times trying too hard with the similes), all of it is quickly forgotten when you realize how brilliantly crafted this little novel is. At one point, the novel seems to be over, but then it picks up again and veers in a new direction (once more because of its characters). The book is full of small surprises like that. A Cold Day In Paradise is a very solid first effort by an author that shows a lot of promise. A great, fast read.
Rating: 
Summary: Paradise Lost
Review: Steve Hamilton's award-winning debut is a very involving and well-written novel. The main character, Alex McKnight, is an interesting, if flawed, hero, one minute being Superman and the next Supersensitive. But he's likeable and he seems real. The background of Alex's shootout with a madman named Rose is fascinating in that a bullet was left lodged in his heart, although his partner died in the onslaught. Fourteen years later, McKnight is back home in the upper Michigan peninsula, running cabins his late father built, and becoming a reluctant PI assisting a smooth lawyer named Lane. McKnight is then embroiled in a thick noir plot involving his somewhat best friend millionaire and his wife, whom McKnight once had an affair with. The book moves at a very quick pace, and as it appears that the madman responsible for his injury is somehow murdering bookmakers, the plot thickens. The denouement is unusually abrupt, but it certainly does smell of a sequel. All in all, a very good read and I'm looking forward to reading the second entry in the Alex McKnight series, which I shall do as soon as I finish this review.
Rating:
Summary: The Legend lives on ...
Review: Steve Hamilton's debut Alex McKnight mystery novel is a keeper! Has Edwin Fulton III suffered the same fate at the hands of the Witch of November as the Edmund Fitzgerald? Is it mere coincidence that the character's name springs alliterative from the doomed ship? This maiden voyage portends of even better books to come - delivered in the next installment: Winter of the Wolf Moon.
Rating: 
Summary: mediocre
Review: Steve Hamilton's debut entry in the Alex McKnight won both the Shamus and Edgar awards for best first novel. McKnight is a former Detroit policeman now living in the Upper Penninsula town of Paradise. He was shot three times--one of the bulletts remains lodged near his heart--and his partner killed, by a madman named Maximillian Rose. Now, as McKinight reluctantly investigates the killing of two local bookies, it seems that Rose, who is supposed to be in prison, has entered his life again. Mr. Hamilton offers a mildly unconventional P. I. in McKnight, who is still openly traumatized by his shooting, and the encounter with Rose generally, and who is carrying on an affair with his friend and client's wife. These two facets of the novel are apparently what grabbed folks' attention. Personally, I thought they made McKnight rather off-putting. Detectives like Lew Archer were pretty routinely frightened by the plight of their clients and would routinely fall in love with one or more of the women involved in the case, even if married--Sam Spade was even getting his phreak on with his partner's wife at the beginning of The Maltese Falcon. So, it's hard to see these twists as particularly unusual and once you take away the novelty factor you're left with a competent but somewhat formulaic Thomas Harris copy, right down to the prison confrontation, and a detective who's hard to root for. GRADE : C
Rating:
Summary: A good, solid read
Review: Steve Hamilton's writing reminds me a lot of William Tapply's books. I am now a fan of both! This is a well-written, good solid myserty. My only complaint is that our hero never confronts the real bad guy at the end. I was hoping for a Raymond Chandler-type showdown. Anyway, after reading the second novel in the series, I think that showdown may still be coming!
Rating:
Summary: Forget the mystery, this is just one good story.
Review: The characters, the interactions between them, and the location all feel real. It didn't take me long before I felt like I had to sit down and keep reading until I had finished the book, because I kept wanting to find out more about the characters. A 4 stars because stylistically, Hamilton has a way to go, but I'll look forward to his next book.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely Worth Reading
Review: The Edgar Award-winning, A Cold Day In Paradise, is a commendable first effort -- good plot, fast-moving, suspenseful, good characterization and interesting narrative. One element I was somewhat disappointed in was the element of "surprise," as I guessed a large part of the ending about midway through the book. Also, a few story threads were not tied together tightly enough for my satisfaction. Nonetheless, I enjoyed Steve Hamilton's first book a lot and a think you will too.
Rating:
Summary: A Gripping Mystery
Review: This book is a wonderful read. The main plot is gripping, with suspense building throughout the book. The author also provides the reader with an excellent flavor of the culture of Michigan's Upper Penninsula. The development of characters is also very well done. I look forward to more adventures of Alex McKnight.
Rating:
Summary: An Incredible First Novel
Review: This book is Steve Hamilton's first novel. The main character is Alex McKnight, a former Detroit police officer. McKnight was a police officer for eight years until he was shot three times and his partner was killed. McKnight is haunted by the shooting and the fact that his partner died and he didn't. One of the bullets is still in his chest and serves as a reminder. The man that did the shooting is now in prison serving a life sentence for the shooting. Or is he? Now living in a quiet town in northern Michigan called Paradise, the town suddenly becomes not so quiet when a murder occurs. To add to the fear that the murder brings, McKnight is contacted by the killer, who reveals intimate details of his own shooting that only he and the shooter would have known. Is McKnight's shooter out of prison? That is the question that begins to haunt McKnight. This book is written pretty well. I really enjoyed it. It is suspenseful throughout. At one point it seems like the book is about to end, but then there's a surprising twist. This twist is just one of many that happen throughout the book. The suspense never stops. Hamilton does an excellent job of taking the reader inside the head of Alex McKnight. This book is great, so I'll definitely be picking up another book by Steve Hamilton. I'd highly recommend this book.
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