World Famous Comics: A Stolen Season: An Alex McKnight Novel (Alex McKnight Novels)
A Stolen Season: An Alex McKnight Novel (Alex McKnight Novels)
By: Steve Hamilton Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: St. Martin's Minotaur Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 352 Publication Date: August 28, 2007 Release Date: August 28, 2007
On a freezing night in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a night that wouldn’t feel so unusual if it wasn’t the Fourth of July, an antique wooden boat plows full-speed into a line of old railroad pilings in the shallow waters of Waishkey Bay. With Alex McKnight on the rescue mission, the passengers are brought safely to shore. Alex figures the story’s over…but he’s dead wrong.
The boat accident’s happy ending turns into a living hell for Alex when he discovers that the three men he saved are actually connected to a deadly drug-smuggling syndicate that has his girlfriend, Ontario police officer Natalie Reynaud, deep undercover five hundred miles away. Now it’s up to Alex to do damage control on both sides of the border—and protect the woman he loves—before the cycle of violence comes around full circle…
Another Excellent McKnight Mystery I have read every Steve Hamilton novel since A Cold Day in Paradise. I wish I could recommend one over the others, but in all honesty I love them all! My suggestion is to start with A Cold Day in Paradise and continue through the series. You won't be sorry, except for the fact that you may not get much else done since Steve's mysteries are hard to put down!
A Stolen Season Very good murder mystery. All books by Steve Hamilton have been wonderful. I introduced my book club to this author and they have requested my other books by this same author.
Atmosphere & Plot Match Terrific structure in "A Stolen Season." The start was slow, interesting and fairly simple. For awhile, I was worried when Alex McKnight escaped from a very dangerous situation and just lucked out, escaping from a sure death by not doing anything. I thought the plot was having a little trouble getting off the ground. From that point forward, it's off to the races. The ending is neat. It ends in a way that is consistent with the build-up, including the aforementioned escape. The fog and the weather created a wonderfully evocative backdrop and Hamilton populates the landscape with a series of sharply drawn characters. My recommendation is don't give up if you find the beginning a bit slow. You won't be sorry. Inspirational image: "Pain so real it makes its own fog."
Good, Fast-Paced Thriller This is a good and easy read, with a lot of action, well-defined characters, some interesting geography, and a peek into Ojibwa culture of the Upper Michigan Peninsula. Ex-cop Alex McKnight manages to get himself involved in a situation that becomes bigger and bigger with each passing page, bringing him and his buddies Vinnie and Leon into closer and repeated contact with some pretty bad guys. The theme revolves around smuggling between the U.S. and Canada and, of course, a love story. The book is very well-done throughout most of it, but towards the end, as the author realizes he has to bring things to a close, it gets kinda wacky and unrealistic. McKnight is an endearing kind of character but at the end he starts acting like he's off his meds, running around in a frenzy, like a loose -- and self-destructive -- cannon. But the ending, which borders on nuttiness,shouldn't take away too much from what is an enjoyable, fast-paced book.
His Best By Far ... I am a mystery/detective novel fan. Some click and some don't. I started with Block, originally rejected but eventually got into Child, enjoy Eisler, am hot and cold (mostly) on Vachss and then for a while hit the wall. Simply could not find anyone who was not derivative and thin on character.
I finally gave Hamilton a shot and basically read each of his McKnight stories in a row. They grew on me and what I liked best was each one kept getting better. He graduated as a writer.
A Stolen Season is in a class of it's own, a terrific read. I simply do not know where he goes next and I assume Hamilton feels the same since he is now trying another character. However, I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next for Alex.... this one was a very good one !!!
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