North of Nowhere: An Alex McKnight Novel (Alex McKnight Mysteries) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "That summer it was all about secrets..." (more)
Key Phrases: Bay Harbor, Chief Maven, Glasgow Inn (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

That Steve Hamilton has won a following by writing private-eye novels about a guy who has no interest in being a PI is testament both to his storytelling talents and readers' hunger for fresh approaches to this genre. North of Nowhere finds ex-Detroit cop Alex McKnight celebrating his 49th birthday by retreating to his cabin in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where he laments his personal and career failures. Eventually, though, McKnight is coaxed out with the prospect of a poker game, hosted by wealthy contractor Winston Vargas, only to have the game interrupted by armed men in masks, who empty Vargas's safe and leave clues suggesting that Alex and his fellow players engineered the heist.

Now, McKnight really has reason to feel sorry for himself. But instead, he goes after the gunmen, along the way swapping sucker punches with Vargas, shaking down his former detective partner (who videotaped the thieves' escape), and discovering that even his friends harbor secrets that could get them all killed.

This fourth McKnight outing (after 2001's The Hunting Wind) is a fine showcase for Hamilton's lithesome prose. The pace is brisk, the episodes often humorous, and the tale brims with an infectious reverence for its natural setting ("God help me, on a summer night when the sun is going down, it is the most beautiful place on earth"). If Hammett moved the detective story from the drawing room into the mean streets, Hamilton has proved that the north woods have their own potential for homicidal intrigue. --J. Kingston Pierce

From Publishers Weekly

No longer a cop, inactive as a private eye, classic loner Alex McKnight has retreated to his lakeside cabin in this superb yarn, Edgar-winner Hamilton's fourth after 2001's The Hunting Wind. In fact, Alex has become so much a recluse in the little town of Paradise in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that his few friends are worried about him. That leads Jackie Connery, the Scottish-raised proprietor of the bar where Alex sometimes hangs out, to badger him into joining a friendly power game at the home of Win Vargas. Before Alex can even work up a good dislike of the blustery, wealth-flaunting Vargas, three armed men interrupt the poker game. While Alex, Jackie and the other players are held at gunpoint, their host is led off to open a safe and his treasured collection of artifacts in trashed or stolen. From that quick beginning, events move swiftly and strangely. Alex finds Vargas's suspicions centering on him; the police, let my old enemy Chief Roy Maven, think Jack and the other players were in on the robbery. And Alex's ex-partner, PI Leon Prudell, turns out to have yet another take on who's behind the robbery. Hamilton keeps the action fast and furious and manages to keep the read off balance almost as much as his hero. As usual, Alex takes more than his share of lumps as he rediscovers the importance of friendship, loyalty and courage. While Alex McKnight would probably hate the idea, mysteries this good may make him extremely popular. Agent, Jane Chelius. (May 13)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur; 1st edition (May 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312268971
• ISBN-13: 978-0312268978
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,076,726 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 4 in The Alex McKnight Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner!, June 27, 2002

By	Charlotte Vale-Allen (CT USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Steve Hamilton writes with great assurance--lean prose with exceptional characterizations and superior plotting. He has yet to disappoint. This time out, the temperamental McKnight winds up in a world of trouble simply by acting as the last-minute sixth player in a poker game at the home of the feisty (think bantam rooster) and eccentric Win Vargas. When a holdup occurs mid-game and Vargas's safe is burgled and some of his treasured artifacts lifted, Vargas comes to the bizarre conclusion that McKnight is the mastermind behind the plot.

With the help of his former partner, Leon Prudell (the lovably nerdy straight arrow who has to be one of the most unlikely private investigators ever created) McKnight ultimately unravels the the how of the scheme--but not before his friend/mentor Jackie winds up in the hands of a pair of lethal Canadian brothers. With a climax that is literally cold and wet and stomach-churningly tense, this is a can't-put-down mystery.

Then, with what used to be called "a sting in the tail" Hamilton adds a painful little twist at the end that is completely unexpected.
Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome Back to Paradise!, April 25, 2002

By	Robert Connolly (Newburyport, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars robust McKnight mystery, May 12, 2002

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Turning forty-nine this summer in Paradise, Michigan, Alex McKnight spends a lot time reflecting on his life so far but finds it wanting. He turns reclusive until his pal, Glasgow Inn owner Jackie Connery, bullies Alex to join a poker game hosted by wealthy developer Win Vargas. During the game, Win claims that one of the regulars, not playing that night, is having an affair with his wife.

Not long afterward, three hoods break and enter the Vargas home. They make Win go upstairs with one of them while the other two point guns at the heads of the remaining five card players. Instead of robbing Win of his wife's jewels and the men of their wallets, they destroy his marine and Indian artifact collection before leaving. A stunned Win ponders how they knew the location of his secret safe. Unable to say no, Alex heeds the call of the wife of his former private investigative partner Leon Prudell to keep her husband safe while he investigates the robbery for Win.

The latest McKnight mystery is a robust entry because the audience sees another side of the hero, struggling with his age and his lack of success in life. The story line starts off focusing on Alex' internal skirmish, but quickly picks up speed when he gets involved with Win via the card game and through Leon. Alex is at his best and the support cast augments the isolated feeling of going NORTH OF NOWHERE that shows why Steve Hamilton is an award-winning author.

Harriet Klausner