I read this one a few years ago and got hooked on Steve Hamilton's writing. I'm totally captivated by Alex McKnight and can't wait for each installment of this series to hit the shelves. This is the first in the series, and Hamilton won the Edgar and Shamus Awards for Best First Novel.

Living just outside of and having worked for several years within Detroit, this is a fun book to read just to "look" for landmarks, familiar roads, buildings, etc.

---

Paperback, 289 pages

From the back cover:
Other than the bullet lodged less than a centimeter from his heart, former Detroit police officer Alex McKnight thought he had put the nightmare of his partner's death and his own near-fatal injury behind him. After all, Maximilian Rose, convicted of the crimes, has been locked in the state pen for years. But in the small town of Paradise, Michigan, where McKnight has traded his badge for a cozy cabin in the woods, a murderer with Rose's unmistakable trademarks appearst to be back to his killing ways. With Rose locked away, McKnight can't understand who else would know the intimate details of the old murders--not to mention the signature blood-red rose left on his doorstep. And it seems like it'll be a frozen day in Hell before McKnight can unravel the cold truth from a deadly deception in a town that's anything but Paradise.

Note from mellion108: There actually is a Paradise and a Hell, Michigan. I got married in Hell (at a bait shop/tourist shop/post office/weather station) the day after an ice storm, and it was frozen solid. Even more interesting is the fact that Hell has one of the best pizza parlors around--you would never think that you could get good pizza in Hell, right?

This is going out for glade1's Regional Round Robin! The mailing order is:

• mngirl2005 - Minnesota
  
• still-legbamel - North Dakota
  
• 1stlite - Montana
  
• ldpaulson - California
  
• denny08 - New Mexico
  
• lilmztaz - South Carolina
  
• glade1 - North Carolina
  
• phillycarol - Pennsylvania Current Reader!
  
• awakeagain - New Jersey
  
• DP31 - Illinois
  
• ..then back to me, mellion108 - Michigan

The book was a fun read. Kept you guessing and the style made it flow easy. I enjoyed his Alex McKnight character and will look forward to reading the next in the series.

An interesting tale and a very fast read - I read it in one day! I'm curious to know if there's a sequel because I would be curious to read more. The "preview" at the end of the book glossed over the part I think would be interesting. 1stlite will get this one soon.

Ask, and ye shall receive! Per still-legbamel's journal entry, here are the other books so far in the Alex McKnight series by Steve Hamilton:

1. A Cold Day in Paradise
2. Winter of the Wolf Moon
3. The Hunting Wind
4. North of Nowhere
5. Blood Is The Sky
6. Ice Run

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed to 1stlite in Montana
ETA Thanks for the list! I didn't see it until after I did the release notes. I'll have to look for them. :)
Edited again because apparently making the release note meant that I could forget all about the thing. I did mail it on 6/21 so it should arrive soon.

Just received in the mail. Going to be in TBR pile. One book in front of it.

Fun mystery,different twist to it. And as always, love led me astray as to who done it. Have a fun read!

In the mail tomorrow to ldpaulson.

Part of the States book ring.

Mailed to denny08.

Book # 3 of 4 received for the states ring today.

Wow! I would have never guessed! I enjoyed this a lot. I plan on picking up more in the series in the future.

Sending to lilmztaz tomorrow!

my husband will read asap
my husband enjoyed this I will mail out asap. hope everyone else enjoys it as well

Received in the mail today. It's behind several other rings but I'm reading as quickly as I can!

Very good mystery/thriller! I enjoyed this story. It had just enough twists to keep me interested and it was very well told. I will look for more of the McKnight series if I ever get out from under Mt. TBR! Thank you, mellion108, for sharing this and for participating in the round robin! I think this author did a good job of representing Michigan, as the climate, the city, and the lake were important in the story and described well.

I have already PMed phillycarol to see if she is ready for this one. Waiting to hear back so I can get it moving.

Update 5-2-06: Mailed to phillycarol today.

Received! Will start reading this one today.