North of Nowhere (Alex McKnight Mysteries (Audio))

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Summary: Alex McKnight is Back, and Better than Ever.....
Review: Ah, summer in Paradise...that's Paradise, Michigan, on the upper peninsula. This is the very best time of the year on Lake Superior, yet a suddenly introspective Alex McKnight is holed up in his cabin reading detective novels and taking a good look at his life. As his 49th birthday approaches, he takes stock of all his failures...his marriage, an unimpressive baseball career that never went past the minors, a stint with the Detroit police department that ended abruptly with a bullet that's still lodged in his chest and a dead partner, and his very short attempt at private detecting. Not a lot here to be proud of; not a lot of reasons to get up in the morning and join the human race. But an unexpected invitation to a poker game from friend Jackie Connery, proprietor of his favorite watering hole, the Glasgow Inn, changes all that. What starts out as a simple high stakes card game in an expensive home on the lake, turns ugly when three masked men break in, hold the players at gunpoint, and rob the owner's hidden safe. This night sets off a chain reaction of murder, greed, kidnapping, secrets, lies, and revenge, and as Alex is pushed out of his funk and back into action, he finds the true meaning of loyalty and friendship..... Steve Hamilton is back with the fourth installment of his marvelous Alex McKnight novels, and this is a series that just gets better with each new book. His well paced, intricate story line is entertaining and intriguing, and filled with subtle twists, and vivid, riveting scenes. His terrific cast of well defined, original characters come alive on the page, and inhabit a spectacular north woods setting full of atmosphere. But it's Mr Hamilton's crisp, intelligent writing that really makes this novel sparkle, and his witty and irreverent dialogue is unrivaled and stands alone in a class by itself. If you're new to Alex McKnight and Paradise, start at the beginning with A Cold Day In Paradise, and read them all. If you're already a fan, North Of Nowhere is another suspenseful and compelling mystery, you don't want to miss.

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Summary: Welcome Back to Paradise!
Review: Alex McKnight returns in his fourth mystery set in the northern Michigan town of Paradise. Facing his 49th birthday, Alex is going through somewhat of a midlife crisis. It takes being held up at gunpoint to spur this reluctant private detective back into the private detecting business. Along the way Alex learns a thing or two about friendship and loyalty.
As always, Steve Hamilton has an ear for dialogue. Although the fourth book in the series, his characters are still as fresh and exciting as ever. Alternating scenes of humor and suspense, Hamilton never slows down, even managing to throw in a surprise or two.
If you haven't read Hamilton, what are you waiting for? Move over Robert B. Parker, you've got a fresh voice taking your place.

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Summary: Murder and mayhem in Michigan.
Review: Alex McNight, the former Detroit cop who lives a reclusive life in Paradise, Michingan, is back in "North of Nowhere," by Steve Hamilton. McNight has kept to himself a great deal lately. His good friend, Jackie Connery, proprietor of the Glasgow Inn, decides that Alex needs to get out more. Jackie invites Alex to play poker at the home of Win Vargas, a very wealthy man with a great many secrets. The evening ends disastrously, when Vargas's home is invaded by masked men who rob Vargas and vandalize his prized collection of artifacts.

Subsequently, several of Alex's friends who sat in on the poker game are arrested for being involved in the home invasion and Alex decides to do a little investigating of his own. He crosses paths with his old partner, private investigator Leon Purdell, who now works for Vargas. He also has words with his old nemesis, Police Chief Roy Maven, who hates Alex and would welcome any opportunity to arrest him.

In the course of his investigation, Alex gets beaten and shot at, but he is determined to get to the bottom of the strange goings-on around him. Who is really behind the robbery of Vargas's home and why are Alex's friends being framed?

Steve Hamilton has a relaxed prose style that is easy to take, and "North of Nowhere" moves along quickly. I have always liked Alex, who is down to earth and businesslike in his approach to life. He is not superhuman or driven, as are so many heroes in mystery-thrillers these days.

Unfortunately, by the time Alex gets to the bottom of who staged the robbery, lives have been lost and friendships have been irrevocably shattered. In "North of Nowhere," Steve Hamilton demonstrates how greed and selfishness often blind people to what truly matters in life. It is a sad lesson that is often learned the hard way.

Hamilton's description of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is, as usual, colorful, and the dialogue is natural and fast moving. Sadly, the mystery in "North of Nowhere" is not particularly compelling and the ending is anti-climactic and a little bit flat. However, "North of Nowhere" does have its moments and it is always pleasant to be in the company of the formidable ex-cop and loyal friend, Alex McNight.

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Summary: Enough already
Review: Get the man some Paxil and a good job. It gets to be too much. There is a great deal of difference between skillfully crafted noir-ish pain and sheer wallowing self pity which some seem to think means "They are senstive".

Same complaints. Stereotypical characters, dull unwilling PI who really needs to find a good meat packing plant to work at. Keeps on just missing with a plot that could have been great as a vehicle for a good noir or Hardboiled PI. Poor Alex. Undercooked.

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Summary: Super series by a most refreshing writer.
Review: In Steve Hamilton's fourth novel, "North of Nowhere", reluctant PI Alex McKnight continues to become entangled in problems not of his making that compel him back into the detective game. Fate leads Alex to a poker game that ends up in a robbery.

While robbery, Canadian organized crime, loan sharking and smuggling engulf Michigan's UP, the ultimate story is about McKnight helping his pal Jackie...human frailties and passions are central to the story.

Mr. Hamilton's poetic hard-edged prose rings true as lead after lead never add up for McKnight.

The intricate plot has plenty of twists to keep you guessing...nothing is straight forward as events spin out of control.

The cast that supports McKnight is powerful and grows in each installment.

So whether you prefer plot over characters, or vice versa, this series will hook you.

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Summary: The Lake, it is said...
Review: This is another full-strength North Woods mystery from Edgar Award winning author Steve Hamilton. Sufficient background information is provided that a reader would not necessarily need to start at the beginning, with "A Cold Day in Paradise," - but why miss all the fun and excitement?

Alex McKnight, former Detroit cop, and former Major League Baseball player for a day, is back home and on the case in the environs of Paradise, Upper Peninsula, Michigan. Morose over his impending 49th birthday, Alex is persuaded by his friend Jackie to attend a poker game at the home of Winston Vargas, New Rich Guy on the Block. The games are interrupted by robbery and, as they say in the movies, "the chase is on." The chase includes some wild rides on Lake Superior ( o/~ "The Legend lives on, from the Chippewa on down of the Big Lake they call Gitchee Gumee," o/~)

Like authors Chuck Logan and Carl Hiaasen, Steve Hamilton weaves a taunt yet witty tale while casting a wary eye on "developers" intent on destroying America's great natural beauty.