Steve Hamilton Books In Order – Complete List
American author Steve Hamilton has several wonderful mystery novels in the Alex McKnight series, a few books in his newer Nick Mason series, as well as 2 standalone novels. He is to date one of my favorite mystery authors who caught my attention from the start when I read his first debut novel, A Cold Day in Paradise.
After publication, the book won two prestigious awards at the same time: the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel and the Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award for Best First Novel.
Here are the Steve Hamilton books in order for his series and standalone novels.
Latest Steve Hamilton Books
Alex McKnight Books In Order of Publication
The Alex McKnight series has currently 11 novels and two short stories, the first of which while was published in 2011, with the story taking place while Alex was still a Detroit cop, before he moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, thus being a prequel to the series.
- A Cold Day in Paradise, 1998
- Winter Of The Wolf Moon, 2000
- The Hunting Wind, 2001
- North of Nowhere, 2002
- Blood is the Sky, 2003
- Ice Run, 2004
- A Stolen Season, 2006
- Misery Bay, 2011
- Die a Stranger, 2012
- Let It Burn, 2013
- Dead Man Running, 2018
Alex McKnight Short Stories in Order of Publication
- Beneath the Book Tower (#0.5), 2011
- Riddle Island (#11.5), 2020
Nick Mason Books In Order of Publication
- The Second Life of Nick Mason, 2016
- Exit Strategy, 2017
- An Honorable Assassin, 2019
Fox & O’Hare Series
with Janet Evanovich
- The Bounty (#7), 2020
Standalone Novels In Order of Publication
- Night Work, published 2007
- The Lock Artist, published 2009
Anthologies and Short Story Collections In Order of Publication
- In the Shadow of the Master, 2008 (edited by Michael Connelly)
- The Crooked Road, Volume 3, 2013 (edited by Janet Hutchings)
- When a Stranger Comes to Town, 2021 (Mystery Writers of America Presents edited by Michael Koryta)
Steve Hamilton Biography
Steve Hamilton was born in 1961 in Detroit, Michigan. He grew up in Detroit and he graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in computer science, which allowed him to get a job with IBM in New York.. While at the university, he won the Hopwood Award for fiction, a prestigious award given to aspiring writers attending the university.
During his childhood, around the age of 12, he wrote a short story which he sent to Ellery Queen Magazine. The story got a rejection letter, so Steve stopped writing for a few years.
Steve Hamilton’s popular Alex McKnight series focuses on Alex, a private investigator in Paradise, which is a small town in Michigan. He is a former Detroit policeman who let go of his job after almost being killed by Maximilian Rose who also killed Alex’s partner. He still has the bullet lodged in his chest to prove it, and with a small disability pay, he wanted to find peace in a small town with not much crime going around. Sadly it looks like wherever Alex goes, crime follows him relentlessly.
I really enjoyed this series. It is very atmospheric, lightly reminding me of the writings of Lee Child and Harlan Coben, two other favorite authors. It is also very dark. One thing I remember from each book is that I was feeling constantly cold 🙂 The books have this cold and chilly feel to them, not quite supernatural, but at times really creepy.
The novels are mostly sent in winter, in Michigan, where is darn cold, windy, snowy, and rainy. However, that hasn’t detracted me from reading yet another one in the Steve Hamilton book list, which I love. I really hope this author gets more credit among readers as he is worth checking out for a fun and thrilling time.
His newer Nick Mason series is also well worth reading. A previous criminal who is given a second chance along with a few quite dangerous missions … sign me up!
Over the years, several Steve Hamilton books were nominated for the Shamus Award, Anthony Award, Dagger Award, Barry Award, and Dilys Award. A Cold Day In Paradise won two awards, including the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and the Shamus Award The Lock Artist, a standalone novel, won the Barry Awards for Best Novel in 2011.
The Second Life of Nick Mason, the first book in the Nick Mason series, has been acquired for the movie rights by Lionsgate.
Who is Alex McKnight?
Alex McKnight, the main protagonist of Steve Hamilton’s first series was once a Detroit cop who ended up working in the job because, even though his dream once was to play in the major league baseball, he was just not good enough. After playing in the minor league baseball, he left it at that.
As a cop, along with his partner, he used to patrol the streets during the night shift. One fateful night, both cops were shot, which ended with his partner dying and him getting a gift from the shooter: a bullet very close to his heart, one that could not be removed because it was too dangerous to do it.
So he left Detroit and moved to Paradise, Michigan, in a cabin that his father once built. He is retired and secluded, often dreaming about that horrible night. Back in the day, his father used to build cabins, and Alex used to help him, so now, Alex is living in the first cabin and is renting the rest to tourists.
While he is no longer a cop, he is reluctantly drawn back to the work as a private investigator.
Should we read the Steve Hamilton books in order?
I’ve read all the Alex McKnight books and I’ve kind of read them out of order. However, I haven’t felt that I lost something important in the process. I could follow the plot quite well, so I think reading the books in order is not a major requirement unless you are a stickler for reading them in proper order. As for the Nick Mason series, I do prefer reading them in order because there is a direct character progression that follows the previous books’ plots.
And of course, the standalone novels can be read any way you want, they are not related to anything else the author has currently written.
Steve Hamilton Awards and Nominations
- North of Nowhere was nominated for the Anthony Awards for Best Novel in 2003
- North of Nowhere was nominated for the Shamus Awards for Best Novel in 2003
- Blood Is The Sky was nominated for the Anthony Awards for Best Novel in 2004
- Blood Is The Sky was nominated for the Shamus Awards for Best Novel in 2004
- Night Work was nominated for the Dagger Awards for Best Novel in 2008
- The Lock Artist was nominated for the Anthony Awards for Best Novel in 2011
- The Lock Artist won the Barry Awards for Best Novel in 2011
- The Lock Artist was nominated for the Dagger Awards for Best Book in 2011
- The Lock Artist was nominated for the Dilys Awards for Best Book in 2011
- The Second Life of Nick Mason was nominated for the Barry Awards for Best Novel in 2017
- Exit Strategy was nominated for the Barry Awards for Best Novel in 2018
When are the next Alex McKnight and Nick Mason books being released?
How can I read the short stories?
I can’t find “An Honorable Assassin” audiobook anywhere … anybody know where I can get it? LOVE this series.
@Charles Sundin – I’ve just re-read what I posted before, and yes, I left out Upper Peninsula, doh. Thanks for the heads-up, corrected it.
I have been enjoying Alex McKnight but I am only commenting to note an error on this web page. You state. in reference to “Beneath the Book Tower”: “The Alex McKnight series has currently 11 novels and a short story, which while was published in 2011, has its story taking place while Alex was still a Detroit cop before he moved to Michigan, thus being a prequel to the series.” The last time I checked, Detroit was in Michigan. Perhaps Alex lived in Ohio or Canada while he was a Detroit cop or perhaps you meant that Alex moved to “Upper Michigan”.
When is the next book going to be available after “The Second Life of Nick Mason”. So good. Can’t wait for the next one.
The Alex McKnight series is excellent. You become immersed in the setting, his friends and the many problems he faces. I also like that there is not a lot of sex in his novels. Alex is someone you would like to have for a friend. I have read them in order and can hardly wait for the next one!
with the mcknight-novels it’s not like with (for example) lehane’s kenzie-and-gennaro-novels. i’d strongly recommend to read the latter in order – because you won’t understand the character’s behaviour and the references without having read the earlier ones -, but with hamilton’s mcknight you could pretty much start where you want, since, despite being parts of a series, they do have a certain standalone-character. still, in my personal opinion, you should read every series (including mcknight) from the beginning, because the development of the characters over the course of many books always adds to the excitement.
Love Steve Hamilton’s books – and I have read them in order. Waiting for his next book – seems ages in between. If you like Steve’s books – you may like William Kent Krueger books – they are very much like his although they do not take place in Upper Peninsula of Michigan – I think they are based in Minnesota. Both have a lot of American Indian folklore in them though.
Is there an 11th Alex McKnight novel . If not now will there be one soon?
Steve is my favorite author. Can’t wait to get my hands on another Alex McKnight novel.
I read a lot and Steven Hamilton is the best author ! I just ordered the last one Let it burn…can’t wait to read it….read all of the rest and I didn’t read them in order