Review: Blood Is the Sky

Opening an Alex McKnight book is always a thrill. BLOOD IS THE SKY took me to places that even knowing the quality of this author’s writing still amazed me. In NORTH OF NOWHERE protagonist Alex McKnight began an evolution. When we first met the man in COLD DAY IN PARADISE he was a wounded hero, escaping to the small town in which he was raised, Licking old wounds while falling into mystery despite himself. A noir hero for the nineties. Four books later McKnight is no longer a loner. There are relationships he nurtures.

BLOOD IS THE SKY opens in October, an already cold month in the U.P. where the books are set. Alex is once again working on a project alone and out of sheer stubbornness. Friend Vinnie has heard and comes a calling to give Alex a hand. It’s magnificently drawn, this first passage of the book, male bonding and friendship repair occurring during a taxing bout of Do-It-Yourself. When Vinnie doesn’t show up one morning I literally went “Oh! Oh!”. Vinnie’s brother Tom has disappeared while acting as a guide for a Detroit hunting party in a remote part of Canada. Vinnie and his family want him back. This is the true beginning of this novel. As Alex is reluctantly admitted into matters of Vinnie’s family tribe, as he and Vinnie head north to Canada in hopes of finding a trail; hunting lore and Indian traditions flow from pages with an ease so amazing you’re allowed to wallow in the true mystery of what happened to the five members of the missing hunting party.

Everything is here in these pages. Great mystery, a sense of place so remarkable you can get lost right along with our hero. The action is beyond pulse-pounding. Sadness, joy, visceral fear are all present, relentlessly. And, oh my, those moments of cold ... A Hamilton trademark. This time though a cup of hot chocolate didn’t cut the chill. Less of a loner now, Alex is at moments so very alone.

Hamilton is an author who continues to raise the bar not only for himself but for everyone in Mystery fiction.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Ruth Jordan - RAM

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.

Book Review: Blood Is the Sky

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.