Blood Is the Sky - Softcover

Hamilton, Steve

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312991509 ISBN 13: 9780312991500

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 2004

Synopsis

Before Blood is the Sky, the Alex McKnight series had already hit bestseller lists and won awards, but this novel took it to a whole new level. Set in the forests of northern Ontario, a land of savage beauty and sudden danger, Blood is the Sky shows why Steve Hamilton is one of the most acclaimed crime novelists writing today.

Alex McKnight isn't a man with many friends, but the few he has know they're never alone in a fix. So when Vinnie LeBlanc asks for his help in taking a trip deep into Canada in search of his missing brother, he knows he can count on Alex. His brother had taken a job as a hunting guide for a rough crew of Detroit "businessmen." The group was due back days ago, yet there's been no sign of them, and there's mounting evidence of something odd about their disappearing act. The trackless forests of northern Ontario keep many secrets, but none more shocking than the one that Alex is about to uncover. And the more closely Alex looks for answers, the more questions there become.

About this title

Review

Steve Hamilton takes us on another Alex McKnight adventure in Blood is the Sky and hopefully this will be the book to break the former cop turned part-time PI into a major-league crime name on this side of the Atlantic. Alex finds himself aiding his friend Vinnie, whose brother has disappeared during a hunting trip in a remote part of the Canadian wilderness. Upon arriving at their last known location they are told that the party had been flown to a remote outpost and Alex, Vinnie and a young Cree Indian and his grandfather, fly to the outpost to find the missing party. Only now Alex and his friends become the hunted as it becomes clear that something more sinister is going on. Stranded alone at the outpost with no way of escape and no weapons, the group find themselves at the mercy of an unknown assailant who doesn't want them to make it back to civilisation alive.

Hamilton's McKnight mysteries are always worthy of a read as he has, over the course of several previous award-winning novels, created an impressive central character in McKnight, a character with real flaws who doesn't want to be dragged into trouble but keeps finding it knocking on his door. These are real boys'-own adventures, but also Hamilton has something truly worthwhile to say about the nature of both friends and family, and his sense of the cold, desolate wilderness, where nothing but your wits will save you, is chilling and evocative. --Jon Snow

Review

"Steve Hamilton writes the kind of stories that [one] can't resist." --The New York Times Book Review

"The best mysteries are about the past coming up out of the ground and grabbing the present by the throat. Steve Hamilton knows this. Blood is the Sky fills that bill and then some. This is his best yet." --Michael Connelly, author of Chasing the Dime

"Overflows with an element lacking from too many mysteries: a genuine sense of mystery... Blood boldly crosses genre boundaries as it turns into a thrilling outdoor adventure, then a heartfelt small town tragedy. All along, Hamilton's prose...remains an unselfconsciously terse pleasure." --Entertainment Weekly

"Heartily delivers on suspense, atmosphere, and riveting action." --Denver Post

"Hamilton never misses a beat." --Rocky Mountain News

"Hamilton won an Edgar and an Anthony in 1998 for A Cold Day in Paradise. This smart, brisk, twisty tale is even better." --Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"A reader's delight: a fast-paced, breathtaking adventure for which a night's sleep gladly will be sacrificed. Blood is the Sky is a stunner." --Romantic Times

"A grand-slam tale." --Midwest Book Review

"A fine writer, [Hamilton] excels at describing the lonely locale as well as depicting such memorable characters." --Publishers Weekly

"Blood is The Sky is brilliant. Some books you can't put down because the story is so compelling. Some books you can't put down because the prose is so spellbinding. And then, every once in a while, you read a book that combines both. Steve Hamilton has written the best private eye novel-heck, maybe the best novel-I've read this year." --Harlan Coben, author of Left for Dead

"Steve Hamilton writes tough, passionate novels with a strong emphasis on heart and humanity. His latest flat-out smokes. This is crime writing at its very best." --George Pelecanos, author of Hell to Pay and Soul Circus

"Easily Steve Hamilton's best novel so far-therefore an automatic book of the year. Everything is here-his trademark sense of place, vivid, resonant characters, and a plot that will break your heart." --Lee Child, author of Persuader

"Blood is the Sky takes us into the dark and brooding heart of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's got everything-tension, action, surprises. Alex McKnight is a believable hero who can also tell a good story." --T. Jefferson Parker, author of Silent Joe and Black Water

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0312991509
• ISBN 13: 9780312991500
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 330