A Stolen Season

Steve Hamilton's latest book in the likable Alex McKnight series is a very weak entry. The falling-off in plot inventiveness is shocking, even for a twenty-first century crime novel. It's all been done before, so what matters is how well it's done, and making it feel as if it is new. Hamilton fails here, delivering a cliche plot with no wit, style or additional “oomph” to set it apart from a half dozen or more crime novels with the same plot device. The background is interesting, as usual, and Hamilton is clearly aware of how much the Michigan Upper Peninsula setting affects readers' affection for his novels, but there is nothing new here. I've read it before, written better and delivered with more conviction. Hamilton has either run out of ideas or has gotten very lazy. Disappointing.