The Hunting Wind

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: 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: Alex McKnight is Back and Better than Ever
Review: It may be April, but in Paradise, on Michigan's upper peninsula, it still feels like the middle of winter. Alex McKnight, retired Detroit policeman with a bullet still lodged near his heart and reluctant private investigator, is having a beer and enjoying the fire at the Glasgow Inn when in walks Randy Wilkins, a flash from his minor league baseball playing past. Thirty years ago, Randy got his chance to pitch in the majors. He was sent up to the Tigers, where he pitched exactly one infamous inning that all but killed his career. But during the week that he spent in Detroit, he met a young woman, Maria Valeska, a woman he claims is the love of his life, that he's never forgotten and now he'd like Alex to help him find her again. The whole story sounds ridiculous, like something out of a bad movie and with a thirty year old cold trail, Alex tries to convince Wilkins that the search is pointless. But Randy won't let go of the idea and pretty soon, they're on their way to Detroit. As their search progresses, Alex begins to realize he's caught in the middle of something a lot bigger and a lot more sinister than a simple search for lost love and as mayhem and murder ensues, that he'll be lucky to get back to Paradise alive..... Award winning novelist, Steve Hamilton, has done it again, written a tight, compelling mystery that's about to keep you up, reading, all night. His intricate, well paced plot is suspenseful, with vivid, riveting scenes and full of atmosphere and tension. His well drawn, colorful characters are interesting and original. But it's the crisp, spare, well crafted writing that really makes this book stand out and Mr Hamilton shows a very talented ear for dialogue. With a stunning conclusion that ties up all the loose ends, The Hunting Wind is definitely a book that shouldn't be missed. This is the third installment of a terrific series and each book just gets better. Do yourself a favor and read them all!

Rating:
Summary: Ok so it had a bit of redeeming value
Review: The plot was good. The characterization shabby. I sincerely wondered about Alex's sanity in the first 50 pages. In fact it was hard to buy that he was stupid enough NOT to see thru his old friend. The old friend's characterization was even stupider. The same ole refrain repeated shallow and whining again and again and again and again until by page 100 I was screaming OH SHUT UP. Either Alex was a saint [he isn't btw] or just plain stupid. [well, now.. one does wonder.]

What could have been a fantastic story got lost in stereotypes, cliches, and just plain dribble. Boy meets girl. Boy looses girl due to his own ego he claims. Boy hunts up moronic friend stupid enough to help him. Friend almost got his (...) blown away. Finds out girl is a gypsy con artist. Boy almost gets (...) blown away. Friend finds out that Everyone Else in the Universe knows Boy is a big mouthed lying con including his family who is sick of him and hopes he dies. And so does readers by this point. "Like, duh." and you are suppose to be an investigator and your partner can't even find this out about old friend? Cut me a break.

Bad noir, worse characterizations, great plot idea if worked on.

readable but why when there is so much better out there?

So glad I helped out Goodwill to the tune of cents instead of dollars for this.

Rating:
Summary: DANDY RANDY AND ALEX MCKNIGHT
Review: This latest entry in the well-written Alex McKnight series finds Alex faced with an old friend he hasn't seen in almost thirty years. They were on a minor league baseball team together and for one year, they were the best of buddies. Now, this buddy, Randy has come to Paradise to ask Alex to help him find a woman named Maria whom he hasn't seen since their brief one-week affair. The novel starts out in a rather humorous tone; a scene with an elderly couple who used to live near the mysterious Maria, have a hilarious confrontation with our heroes. One begins to wonder just where the novel is going with this seemingly absurd quest. Never fear, once we find Maria, all hell breaks loose, and McKnight finds himself fighting for his life as usual.
Hamilton has once again achieved the brilliant atmosphere of the Michigan peninsula, and also demonstrates how sometimes the people we think we know are nothing like they seem.
This is a taut, quite original novel and one of McKnight's best cases.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.