Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise

Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise (USA 2012)

From the Publisher:
When first published, A Cold Day in Paradise won both the Edgar and Shamus awards for Best First Novel, launching Steve Hamilton into the top ranks of today's crime writers. Now, see for yourself why this extraordinary novel has galvanized the literary and mystery community as no other book before it...

Other than the bullet lodged near his heart, former Detroit cop Alex McKnight thought he had put the nightmare of his partner's death and his own near-fatal injury behind him. After all, the man convicted of the crimes has been locked away for years. But in the small town of Paradise, Michigan, where McKnight has traded his badge for a cabin in the woods, a murderer with the same unmistakable trademarks appears to be back. McKnight can't understand who else would know the intimate details of the old murders. And it seems like it'll be a frozen day in Hell before McKnight can unravel truth from deception in a town that's anything but Paradise.

Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise. An Alex McKnight Novel. St. Martin's Minotaur, ISBN: 9781250012685 (May, 2012), 277 p., $15.99.

Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise (UK 2002)

From the Publisher:
Other than the bullet lodged less than a centimetre from his heart, former Detroit police officer Alex McKnight thought he had put the nightmare of his partner's death and his own near-fatal injury behind him. After all, Maximilian Rose, convicted of the crimes, has been locked in the state pen for years.

But in the small town of Paradise, Michigan, where McKnight has traded his badge for a cosy cabin in the woods, a murderer with Rose's unmistakable trademarks appears to be back to his killing ways. With Rose locked away, McKnight can't understand who else would know the intimate details of the old murders - not to mention the signature blood-red rose left on his doorstep. It seems as though Hell will freeze over before McKnight can unravel the cold truth in this town that's anything but Paradise.

Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise. Orion Books, ISBN: 0752844806 (February, 2002), 304 p., £5.99.

Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise (UK 2001)

Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise. Orion Books, ISBN: 0752841475 (January, 2001), 277 p., £16.99.

Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise (USA 2000)

From the Publisher:
In an unprecedented literary event, Steve Hamilton's A Cold Day In Paradise has hit mystery's Double Play, winning the two most prestigious honors in the business-- the Edgar and Shamus Awards for Best First Novel. Now, open its covers and see for yourself why this extraordinary novel has galvanized the literary and mystery community as no other book before it...

Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise. St. Martin's Minotaur, ISBN: 0312969198 (February, 2000), 289 p., $6.99.

Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise (USA 1998)

From the Publisher:
The bullet has been lodged next to Alex McKnight's heart for fourteen years now, the police officer who was his partner is fourteen years dead, and the borderline psycho named Rose, who shot them both, has been shut up in the state penitentiary since he was caught a year later. So how is it that in a small town named Paradise, on the shore of Lake Superior on Michigan's Northern Peninsula, the man named Rose seems to be stalking Alex McKnight?

There is no doubt that Rose is still in prison - he has neither seen nor spoken to anyone on the "outside" in all these years. But McKnight, returning to his cabin in the woods late one night, finds a rose - the killer's calling card - in the snow at his doorstep. He'd been called out earlier by Edwin Fulton, a wealthy acquaintance and a compulsive gambler, who unilaterally thinks of McKnight as his "best friend." Fulton had gone to a local motel to pay off a bookmaker and found the man murdered with his throat cut. In his panic, he called ex-cop McKnight to extricate him.

The bookmaker's murder is only the first of what becomes a series of killings, and Fulton's domineering and semihysterical mother engages McKnight, now a private detective, to ensure her son's safety. McKnight accepts the job reluctantly, knowing he will suffer the recriminations of Fulton's beautiful, dissatisfied wife, with whom he had a brief liaison.

And all the while, there are the constant reminders that, impossible as it seems, somewhere nearby is Rose - his namesake flower at McKnight's door, his ghostly phone calls, his insane letters that remind the ex-cop of things done and words said that only McKnight and the killer could know. It's a double mystery that plagues Alex McKnight - how could Rose be in Paradise, and what is he planning to do to Alex?

Steve Hamilton: A Cold Day in Paradise. St. Martin's, ISBN: 0312192487 (September, 1998), 277 p., $22.95.