Rating: 
Summary: McKnight is an idiot
Review: ...Alex McKnight (boy, a clever name) comes across as a complete idiot. Let's see - drive up to your remote cabin and see the door open, so just mosey on in. I mean, it's not like he has any reason to suspect anything's wrong.The guy who tried to kill you has been spotted in Canada? Well, since you're just out of the hospital with a collapsed lung, why not drive on up there for a showdown? To be really clever, let your moron partner give you zero information before you go in for the confrontation. And then ultimately, the plot in these McKnight books is so obvious, material for one book is stretched over three, McKnight bumbles around and then has a gestalt in the last few pages and everthing is so formulaic. Gee, I wonder if Alex and police chief Maven (hey, another clever name) will end up with a grudging respect for each other? I'll never find out, though, because after reading two of these awful books I, unlike Alex, won't be bumbling back for more.
Rating: 
Summary: Another good one!
Review: Again, this writer continues to remind me of William Tapply (in a good way!) And again, like the first book in the series, we are left slightly hanging at the end, without the real bad guy getting his due. And again, a hint that the villian will get his in the next novel...so I am reading away!
Rating: 
Summary: Alex McKnight's Winning Return
Review: As a mystery writer with my first novel in its initial release, I greatly admired Steve Hamilton's COLD DAY IN PARADISE. It won a most deserved Edgar, and WINTER OF THE WOLF MOON is just as fine a novel. As the book opens,Alex McKnight wants to retreat from the world. He wants to take it easy and attempt to come to terms with what he views as his past failures in life. He finds himself roped into playing goalie on a local hockey team, and that involvement leads to a number of complications. This book has a twisting and turning plot that deals with the hardships of Native Americans, drug dealing, domestic abuse, and a number of other wrongs. It is a serious book with serious concerns. Mr. Hamilton has written himself another top-flight mystery.
Rating:
Summary: dissappointing after all the positive reviews
Review: I read several of the reviews about the various books in this series, and thought I'd love them, entertaining genre. I found a great technical writer, but a hero who is egocentric, arrogant, a bully, and the antithesis of the kind of central character I like to identify with. But, then perhaps I read these stories with a different mindset -- I like to identify with the hero, and this is one that I want no part of. Talk about "real friends", the way the author makes this obnoxious character's friends stick by him in spite of abuse and mistreatment gives new meaning to that concept. No more of this series in my collection, thank you.
Rating:
Summary: brrrrrrrrrrrr
Review: Maybe it was that I read this in the early months of the year in Michigan, but I really did feel the cold throughout this book. Wonderfully descriptive of Michigan in the winter.
I was caught off guard by the ending, and I'm not totally sure that I liked it ending how it did, but overall this was a fantastic book. I can't comment of the unbelievable "scenes" too much like others have on here. I like Stephen King, so I don't really care if things are really believable. This IS supposed to be entertainment, ya know.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: Steve Hamilton continues his strong writing with this sequel to his Edgar Award winning-novel, A COLD DAY IN PARADISE. The author brings back Alex McKnight and the small town of Paradise located in Michigan's northern peninsula. McKnight is a former cop who retired after being injured on the job. He tried his luck as a private detective but after the incidents in the previous novel he just wants to put himself together and enjoy his life. Everything changes with a hockey game. Vinnie LeBlanc, a friend of McKnight, drafts him as a goalie for an over-thirty hockey league. It is shortly thereafter that he meets Lonnie Bruckman, a player from the opposing team, who is physically abusive and stoned in drugs. They get involved in several altercations leaving neither of them in good condition. One night he meets Bruckman's girlfriend, Dorothy Parrish. She wants to hire McKnight in trying to get away from the abusive relationship and start a new life. He agrees to let her spend the night in one of the cabins he rents and to discuss it in the morning. The next morning she disappears. When he confronts Bruckman he finds out that he did not kidnap his girlfriend. He is also searching for her because she took something that was not hers and he wants him back. Alex gets into it very deep when he learns that Bruckman is not a threat but someone else. Hamilton knows how to write an entertaining story and he does a decent job here. There are certain parts in the book that did not make sense such as McKnight's involvement with the case. He could have let the cops do their job but instead he gets personally involved. The supporting characters are strong and interesting. A COLD DAY IN PARADISE is one of the best novels from a few years ago. This next work comes close but not quite.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent writing...great whodunit.
Review: Steve Hamilton lives up to his Edgar for best first novel with the second Alex McKnight, "Winter of the Wolf Moon." It is uncanny how he holds your attention. It is a fast read that captivated me immediately. A great whodunit where the unexpected is par for the course. There is a bit of Travis McGee in McKnight, a fiercely loyal non-PI surrounded by an outstanding supporting cast (especially Leon Prudell). There is plenty of fear in WOTWM as Russian mobsters, DEA types and a psychotic villain may or may not be what they appear to be. Full of action and wonderful descriptive passages that place you right in Michigan's UP. Steve Hamilton has a bright future.
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER COLD DAY FOR ALEX
Review: Steve Hamilton returns with another of Alex McKnight's "adventures" in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. McKnight is abrasive and arrogant at times but has the most endearing quality about him -- he's a real good friend. The thing that sets Hamilton's books apart from all the other mystery/thrillers out there is the setting. His descriptions of the cold weather are unparelleled. In this book, Alex takes a ride on a snowmobile and "he isn't exactly the driver." He ends up in the hospital a few times but readers of this series know that you can't keep Alex McKnight down. In the first book, A Cold Day in Paradise, we learn of Alex' expertise in the field of baseball. In this book, he's a hockey goalie. Maybe he'll be a downhill skier in the next book. This is a quick read and a rewarding one. Hamilton is a terrific writer and doesn't lose you for one minute. He doesn't disappoint his fans with this second book.
Rating: 
Summary: A great follow-up to his first novel!
Review: Steve Hamilton's novels are so enjoyable to read. I just love the feeling of having one in my hand. This time Alex McKnight gets mixed up with a woman named Dorothy who asks for his help. Abused by her boyfriend, she just wants to get away. After letting her stay at one of his cabins, she turns up missing. Alex thinks her violent boyfriend may have kidnapped her and feels personally responsible for her disappearance. Later he finds out that she had a bag full of drugs and her boyfriend isn't the only one looking for her. Fast-paced and always a joy to read, Alex's personality leaps from the pages. I can't get enough of his wry humor.
Rating:
Summary: Winter of the Wolf Moon
Review: This is an excellent read from start to finish. It is hard to figure out "whodunnit" until the last couple pages. I find Steve Hamilton's writings very interesting and his descriptions of the "U.P." accurate (as I live not too far from the city of Paradise). I recommend reading all of his books.
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