Steve Hamilton (author)

Steve Hamilton is one of the most acclaimed mystery writers in the world^{[according to whom?]}, and one of only two authors (along with Ross Thomas) to win Edgars for both Best First Novel and Best Novel. His Alex McKnight series includes two New York Times notable books, and he’s put two recent titles on the New York Times bestseller list. He’s either won or received multiple nominations for virtually every other crime fiction award in the business, from the Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award to the Anthony to the Barry to the Gumshoe. But it was his standalone The Lock Artist that made publishing history, his first book to win an Edgar for Best Novel, a CWA Steel Dagger for Best Thriller in the UK, and an Alex Award – which is given out by the American Library Association to those books that successfully cross over from the adult market and appeal to young adult readers. The Lock Artist has been translated into seventeen different languages, and was an especially strong seller in Japan, where it was voted the number one translated crime novel of 2012 by both the annual Kono Mystery Ga Sugoi guide and by Weekly Bunshun magazine.

Books[]

His first book, A Cold Day in Paradise, won the Private Eye Writers of America/St. Martin's Press Award for best first mystery by an unpublished writer, the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for best first novel, and the Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award for best first novel, the only first novel to win the latter two awards.^[1] That book introduced Alex McKnight, an ex-cop who rents out cabins in the small town of Paradise in Michigan's isolated Upper Peninsula for a living and becomes a reluctant private detective.

Hamilton's second Alex McKnight novel, Winter of the Wolf Moon (2000), was named one of the year's Notable Books by The New York Times Book Review and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, as did his next three novels: The Hunting Wind, North of Nowhere and Blood Is the Sky (which won the 2004 Gumshoe Award). To date, ten books and one short story in the Alex McKnight series have been published^[2] and they have been translated into 12 languages.

Night Work is described a departure from the Alex McKnight series, featuring instead a probation officer in upstate New York. Night Work was nominated for the Crime Writers’ Association top award, The Duncan Lawrie Dagger.^[3] Hamilton anticipates more McKnight titles in the future.^[4]

Night Work is a stand-alone novel featuring a probation officer in upstate New York. Night Work was nominated for the Crime Writers' Association top award, The Duncan Lawrie Dagger. In 2006, Hamilton also won the Michigan Author Award for his body of work.^[3]

His standalone novel The Lock Artist won an Edgar Award for best novel, a CWA Steel Dagger for best thriller in the UK, and an Alex Award from the American Library Association, which recognizes books that successfully cross over from the adult market and appeal to young adult readers. The Lock Artist has been translated into seventeen different languages, including Japanese, where it was voted the number-one translated crime novel of 2012 by both the annual Kono Mystery Ga Sugoi guide and by Weekly Bunshun magazine.^[5]

His 2016 novel, The Second Life of Nick Mason, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in both Hardcover Fiction and Combined Print and E-Book Fiction, and also appeared on the Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and National Independent bestseller lists. It was also selected as one of five finalists for the prestigious Hammett Prize for literary excellence in crime fiction, and was nominated for a Barry Award for Best Novel of the Year.

Personal[]

Hamilton lives in upstate New York with his wife Julia and their two children Nicholas G. and Antonia.^[5] He wrote his first twelve books while working for IBM, writing at night after his family had gone to bed.^[4]

Awards[]

A Cold Day in Paradise (1998)

• 1997 St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America Best First P.I. Novel by unpublished writer^[6]
• 1999 MWA Edgar Allan Poe for Best First
• 1999 PWA Shamus for Best First
• 1999 Finalist for Anthony Best First
• 1999 Finalist for Barry Best First

Winter of the Wolf Moon (2000)

• 2001 Finalist Barry for Best Novel
• 2000 New York Times Notable Book List

North of Nowhere (2003)

• 2003 Finalist Shamus for Best Novel
• 2003 Finalist Anthony for Best Mystery
• 2003 Finalist Barry for Best Novel

Blood is the Sky (2004)

• 2004 Finalist Shamus for Best Novel
• 2004 Finalist Anthony for Best Mystery
• 2004 Gumshoe Award

A Stolen Season (2006)

• 2007 Finalist Nero

Night Work (2007)

• 2008 Finalist Gold Dagger (Duncan Lawrie Dagger)

The Lock Artist (2010)

• 2011 Edgar for Best Novel
• 2011 Barry for Best Novel
• 2011 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award
• 2011 Alex Award
• 2011 Finalist Anthony for Best Mystery
• 2011 Finalist Gold Dagger (Duncan Lawrie Dagger)
• 2010 Finalist Dilys Award
• 2013 The Best Translated Mystery of the Year in Japan (2013 Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!)^[7]

The Second Life of Nick Mason (2016)

• 2017 Finalist Dashiell Hammett Award
• 2017 Finalist, Barry for Best Novel

Bibliography^[2][]

Alex McKnight series[]

• A Cold Day in Paradise (1998)
• Winter of the Wolf Moon (2000)
• The Hunting Wind (2002)
• North of Nowhere (2003)
• Blood is the Sky (2004)
• Ice Run (2005)
• A Stolen Season (2006)
• Beneath the Book Tower: An Alex McKnight Short Story (2011)
• Misery Bay (2011)
• Die a Stranger (2012)
• Let It Burn (2013)
• Dead Man Running (2018)
• Riddle Island (Short Story) (2020)

Other[]

• Night Work (2007)
• The Lock Artist (2010)
• The Second Life of Nick Mason (2016)
• Exit Strategy (A Nick Mason Novel) (2017)
• An Honorable Assassin (book 3 of the Nick Mason series) (2019)

References[]