Series hero returns in fine form
Dead Man Running Steve Hamilton Putnam
Former Detroit police officer Alex McKnight tangles with the FBI in the compelling new thriller from Steve Hamilton, Dead Man Running.
FBI agents have been tracking a killer who keeps his victims for a prolonged period of time after their deaths before he leaves them for the authorities to find. Now investigators have caught a break when a man on vacation discovers thanks to his webcam that an intruder left a dead body on his bed.
FBI agents set their trap and they capture the madman, Martin Livermore, who claims there is another woman, and she’s still alive. He will take the FBI to her on one condition: They must bring along Alex McKnight.
McKnight lives in a tiny Michigan town and hardly thinks at all about his past as a Detroit cop. He helps out with bail jumpers every once in a while, but otherwise his life is serenity and peace. He’s about to capture another fugitive from justice when he’s literally grabbed by men in suits and taken to a waiting private plane.
When they arrive in Scottsdale, Ariz., McKnight sees the prisoner in person. But although Livermore knows everything including extremely personal details about him, McKnight has never seen Livermore in his life. So why is the suspected killer so obsessed with McKnight?
The trek to the hiding place of his next victim sets up a horrible chain of circumstances that will shake McKnight to the core. What he and the FBI don’t realize is that Livermore knew the house had a camera and his plan was to get caught and take revenge on everyone — most especially McKnight.
Hamilton has won numerous awards for his mysteries (he has another series featuring reluctant assassin Nick Mason, as well as the standalone The Lock Artist), and his first Alex McKnight novel since Die a Stranger in 2012 is not only one of the best featuring this iconic character, but also one of Hamilton’s best by any measure.
A truly diabolical villain, a baffling puzzle and growing personal stakes make for a well-written and amazing read.