Rating: 
Summary: Night of the Winter Snooze?
Review: Okay; I've read some of the other reviews so guess it is just me. I think Hamilton writes very well, but I didn't find a gripping plot. He makes a great travelogue writer, describing the UP (Upper Pennisula) so you can feel your fingers freezing and the snow up to your hips....but, I need a little more in my mysteries. Some real suspense would have been a nice touch. I wasn't really worried about the kidnapped Dorothy; I wasn't introduced to her very long and didn't know if she deserved her fate, or was an innocent victim (poor kid!!) I always prefer my protagonist to display some skills, whereas Alex doesn't seem to have any skills in current working order except for his snowplow expertise and his feeling of failure as a cop and investigator. Also, I didn't read his first book, but the fact that our hero was so grossed out by the sight of blood and dead bodies doesn't seem to track with his profession as a former cop. But I am obviously in the minority so I will leave you all to enjoy his future efforts while I pass and keep looking for new authors I enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Made me do the unthinkable!
Review: Read in the daytime!! I usually read only at night but this book had me hooked so badly that I broke my 'reading rule' and put aside my work and finished it in the afternoon...decadent! This is a wonderful book, seems better than the first only because it appeared to have more humor in it. But I was entralled all the way thru. I hope Hamilton continues with Alex but just once, could he write about Michigan in the summer??? And keep up the witty repartee, it only adds to the enjoyment of the mystery.
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: 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: Disappointing Follow-up
Review: Steve Hamilton's "Cold Day in Paradise" was an excellent first novel, introducing us to the unusual hero, Alex McKnight. However, this follow-up seems thrown together haphazardly. Although I hate to be picky, there is one disturbing error in this book. In the first novel, one of the main characters was EDWIN Fulton. In this book, the character's name mysteriously changes to EDMUND. Is this an author's faux pas or an editors? In any case, it is a shoddy booboo! Also, in this book, Alex doesn't really do much of the private investigating at all, leaving it up to Leon Prudell, who emerges as more of an interesting character than McKnight. McKnight seems to be a whiny, pessimistic, self-pitying failure in this book, and his "devotion" to finding the missing Dorothy is rather tiresome and unmotivated. The inclusion of the Russian Molinov and the scene in the ice cabin is way over board. The resolution, likewise, is too pat and contrived. Seems like McKnight should consider his choice of friends in the future, since in both books, they certainly aren't what they seem. I do agree that Hamilton's descriptions of the frigid Michigan weather is stunning and evocative; unfortunately, the story and pacing in this one is tepid. I also have a problem with Hamilton continuing to toy with us on McKnight's plans for revenge on his foes from the first book. Get with it, Hamilton. Stop manipulating and use your extraordinary writing abilities to deliver good reading.
Rating:
Summary: New master of private eye genre
Review: Steve Hamilton's new novel, Winter of the Wolf Moon, is a worthy successor to his 1999 Edgar Award-winning debut, Cold Day in Paradise. Like other masters of the crime fiction genre (ie. Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, etc.), Hamilton has fashioned a living, breathing protagonist in Alex McKnight. Like Connelly's rendering of Hollywood and LA, and Lehane's portrayal of the mean streets of Boston, Hamilton brings the Upper Pennisula of Michigan to life, providing a firm believable setting for his cast of characters. In this day and age of bloated, 500+ page thrillers, it is nice to see someone spinning a tight, taut yarn in under 300 pages. While I think a longer McKnight novel would certainly be enjoyable, Hamilton seems very astute at determining the appropriate length of his story and sticking to the game plan. He is a true "word economist", saying a great deal in a short span of pages. If you like your crime fiction to be based on true literary talent, the works of Steve Hamilton are meant for you.
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: Let me get some sleep!
Review: Talk about a book you can not put down, I read this one straight thru, no sleeping here! From page 1 to the very end, Mr. Hamilton, had woven together a tale to test your deductive skills with the mystique of the Native American culture. This was my first read of Mr. Hamilton, I just Amazon'ed Cold Day in Paradise and look forward to continued installments.
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