Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: St Martins Minotaur
Release Date: June 30, 2004
ISBN: 0312301219
Awards:  
Format Reviewed: Hardcover
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Genre: Mystery
Reviewed: 2004
Reviewer: Barbara Buhrer
Reviewer Notes:  
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Ice Run  
An Alex MeKnight mystery  
By Steve Hamilton

       Alex McKnight is turning his life around in Paradise, Michigan. He has become involved with Natalie Reynaud, the Canadian police officer he met on a previous case. Her partner had been killed in that encounter. Alex feels empathetic since he had lost his partner years ago under similar circumstances.

    They agree to meet for a romantic weekend in an old hotel, the Ojubway Hotel, in Soo, Michigan. While there they encounter a mysterious old man sitting in the lobby. Then there is an old fedora hat with a note attached left outside their door. The old man has vanished. The next day Alex learns that he had wandered off in the snow storm and frozen to death. Alex decides to attend the funeral of the old man, Simon Grant, where he is beaten by Grant's relatives who blame Alex for Simon's death.

       Alex enlists the aid of his friend, Vinnie LeBlanc, an Ojibura Indian, and Leon Pridell, his former partner, to uncover the secrets buried in the past which still feed the vengeance of the Grant brothers toward Natalie and her mother.

     And through it all there is snow, a blizzard, more snow and ice and cold.....

      This is another excellent Alex McKnight mystery. It is a combination of mystery, adventure, romance, and character studies. There is a strong bonding and loyalty among Alex's friends: Vinnie the Ojibura Indian; Jackie at the Glasgow Inn; and Leon Pridell, Alex's former partner in their detective agency.

       Hamilton is a master at taking his readers to Paradise, Michigan, burying them in snowdrifts up to the rooftops and freezing them with wind driven snow and driving them on hazardous roads. This is a book to be enjoyed anytime, but if it's summertime and the temperatures soar to 90 degrees, it's a perfect way to cool off while being engrossed in the blizzard.