Rating: 
Summary: Nice pace, great characters....
Review: "A Cold Day in Paradise", Hamilton's first novel, was outstanding! For some reason I lost track of him, and just by chance picked this paperback up when I was in book withdrawal. Although not as interesting, plot-wise, as A Cold Day...this third instalment has a lot to recommend it.The star of Hamilton's books is the setting....Michigan's Upper Peninsula; a region with so little charm that one wonders what keeps the natives there (yes, I've lived in northern Minnesota,
North Dakota, and some dreary areas in upstate New York, and all of us natives know that feeling of charm: the lack thereof!).
Hamilton captures it perfectly, and surrounds an interesting hero with a lot of small-town sidekicks you want to come to know. In this novel, Alex doesn't spend much time at home, but traipses around Michigan with a very old friend, Randy Wilkins, who he played minor-league ball with. Randy is a character that MUST return, because he is such a well-drawn good time Charlie. There's a lot of fits and starts....and probably too much complication in the quest for Maria, Randy's lost love. In particular, both Randy and Maria turning out to be low-lifes is just a little too much unwelcome plot. But, the story comes to a satisfactory close, with Alex eagerly returning to Paradise, and his favorite Canadian beer. Not as good as his earlier work, but still much to enjoy in this novel!
Rating:
Summary: Nice pace, great characters....
Review: "A Cold Day in Paradise", Hamilton's first novel, was outstanding! For some reason I lost track of him, and just by chance picked this paperback up when I was in book withdrawal. Although not as interesting, plot-wise, as A Cold Day...this third instalment has a lot to recommend it. The star of Hamilton's books is the setting....Michigan's Upper Peninsula; a region with so little charm that one wonders what keeps the natives there (yes, I've lived in northern Minnesota,
North Dakota, and some dreary areas in upstate New York, and all of us natives know that feeling of charm: the lack thereof!).
Hamilton captures it perfectly, and surrounds an interesting hero with a lot of small-town sidekicks you want to come to know. In this novel, Alex doesn't spend much time at home, but traipses around Michigan with a very old friend, Randy Wilkins, who he played minor-league ball with. Randy is a character that MUST return, because he is such a well-drawn good time Charlie. There's a lot of fits and starts....and probably too much complication in the quest for Maria, Randy's lost love. In particular, both Randy and Maria turning out to be low-lifes is just a little too much unwelcome plot. But, the story comes to a satisfactory close, with Alex eagerly returning to Paradise, and his favorite Canadian beer. Not as good as his earlier work, but still much to enjoy in this novel!
Rating:
Summary: Hunting Wind Steve Hamilton
Review: Alex is pondering whether spring will ever arrive when the snow brings in a long lost pal. A friend he hasn't seen in 30 yrs since they went their separate years as baseball drew them apart. Randy the pitcher was called to the major leagues while Alex floundered around in the minors. Randy is hoping Alex can help him find a woman who he spent only a few days with back 20 yrs ago. He only knows her first name and her family run a physic business out of their home. Alex unwanted partner, gets him involved in the case and Randy' winning personality keeps him hunting down this elusive woman despite accidents along the way. Even though Hamilton never clearly spells out why Randy is looking for Maria, we learn that Randy has secrets of his own that he didn't share with Alex. Using old fashioned detective methods with a little help from the bed ridden partner via the computer they find Maria. She too has many secrets she doesn't shared with the world and will do anything to protect the reclusive life she has made for herself. Alex does find himself in some difficult situations again. He had more common sense and a wee less gung ho he would be a stand up guy.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm Torn
Review: Alex McKnight is an ex-cop, now occasional private investigator, living in idyllic (if you like it cold) Paradise, Michigan. An old friend talks Alex into helping to find an old flame. There's just one teeny tiny problem, he hasn't seen or heard from this woman for around 30 years or so I find that I was torn between two emotions after finishing this book. As a mystery reader I didn't feel I had reached closure by the end. The story never really went anywhere, probably because the protagonist isn't my idea of a particularly strong or resourceful leading character. On the other hand, as a reader of literature, I appreciated Steve Hamilton's obvious literary talent and found myself drawn into the story on that level. I like to feel, by the end of a book, that something has been achieved. I didn't get that with this story.
Rating: 
Summary: Enter Into a World of Mystery and Action
Review: Alex McKnight used to be a Detroit police officer but when he got shot, his career ended. With a bullet still lodged in his chest and a failed marriage behind him, Alex decided to move to his father's property in the cold northern town of Paradise, Michigan. Now, as a non-practicing private investigator, he spends his time drinking Canadian beer in the local bar. His comfortable lifestyle is about to change when Randy Wilkins shows up. Randy is an old friend who played baseball with Alex in the Minors more than thirty years ago. He needs Alex's help to find a girl named Maria. Randy hasn't seen her since 1971 but he hasn't ever been able to forget her since. As the search for Maria unfolds, the two find themselves in a whole lot of trouble as they become entangled with Maria's gypsy family and the dark secrets they are hiding. Before Alex and Randy get in too deep, they decide to give up the search. As soon as Alex returns home to Paradise, he receives an urgent phone call informing him that his friend has been shot and is in a coma. He soon discovers that Randy continued the search for Maria on his own and he's also been withholding information. It turns out that not only does Randy have a dark past, but he's also been lying. The whole time during the search for Maria, Randy may have had a hidden agenda. Now Alex has to find out who shot him and what Randy's motives have been all along. In "The Hunting Wind," Steve Hamilton spins a mystery full of unexpected twists and mounting tension that will leave you wanting more. His character, Alex McKnight, is so personable you may feel like you've known him your whole life. It's no wonder the Alex McKnight series makes such a great read!
Rating:
Summary: Wrong Lake!
Review: Alex McKnight's old buddy from his Farm Club Baseball days suddenly reappears & it's time for a road trip! This, unfortunately, means that the quirky cast from way up `dere in da UP is largely absent from Steve Hamilton's third McKight tale. (Ja, Sure, You Betcha, I understand the Jessica Fletcher syndrome - after all those years, who would want to vacation in Cabot Cove, Maine, which must certainly have one of the highest per capita murder rates in the country ? ;-) And Ja, I sure do understand the night/day difference of which Hamilton speaks about Tourist Season and not-Tourist-Season in the tiny resort town of Orcus Beach. (The ubiquitous cry of year-round denizens of "Seasonal Resort Areas" everywhere: If there is a deer season, a duck season, etc. in which it is permissible, indeed oft-times encouraged, to shoot the eponymous species, what about tourist season?) The Paradise UP gang from the 1st two Alex McKnight adventures does "bookend" the fast-paced and absorbing action in "The Hunting Wind," and Alex's accidental partner is his usual hoot, but here's hoping that the next book stays home!
Rating:
Summary: The Hunting Wind
Review: ANother excellent book by Steve Hamilton. I have just two words to describe his writing "MORE PLEASE".
Rating: 
Summary: Ok so it had a bit of redeeming value
Review: Don't listen to those 4 and 5 star ratings, this was truly a dumb story, with no redeeming qualities at all. No point to the story at all that was the truth and the readers were left with the question of why Randy wanted to find Maria in the first place. She certainly was a charmer and had everyone dancing to her tune. Ah men and their peabrains.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumb, dumb, dumber
Review: Don't listen to those 4 and 5 star ratings, this was truly a dumb story, with no redeeming qualities at all. No point to the story at all that was the truth and the readers were left with the question of why Randy wanted to find Maria in the first place. She certainly was a charmer and had everyone dancing to her tune. Ah men and their peabrains.
Rating:
Summary: Another Hamilton WINNER!
Review: I enjoyed this almost as much as his first 2 novels. The characters are well developed, and the story well thought out. The story takes you step by step through through many twists, turns, and dead ends until you find the truth at the end. This book is definitely worth reading.
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