“A Stolen Season” by Steve Hamilton
Sometimes it’s nice to read a mystery thriller set in a new and different venue. In this case, Michigan’s Upper Peninsular is the scene where an antique Chris Craft wooden boat crashes into an abandoned boat pier on the fourth of July leading to a mystery where policemen are killed and small town locals are threatened by big city mobsters. Ex-policeman Alex McKnight rescues the occupants of the boat, but rather than a happy occasion, it leads to the murder and mayhem that follows. The Great Lakes quite naturally play a role in events that occur both here and in Canada. The story is interesting and the flawed characters provide the backdrop for a plot that will leave the reader wondering what will happen next. The only fly in my personal ointment is the author’s lack of gun knowledge that causes me to wonder why he doesn’t seek input from someone that would make his venture into this arena a great deal more accurate and thus wouldn’t detract from the rest of the story which is factual in geography and nuance. If you are tired of many of the writers who seem to be cranking out a book a week like Pringles, this one with a good storyline in a different setting might just be your cup of tea.
Fred
March 17, 2012
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