Starred review from June 25, 2018
Why would a scarily intelligent serial killer allow himself to be caught? That’s the enigma at the center of Edgar-winner Hamilton’s brilliant 11th Alex McKnight thriller (after 2013’s Let It Burn). Thanks to a home surveillance system, robotics engineer Martin Livermore, a necrophiliac who’s eluded the law, is spotted abusing a corpse in the Arizona home of a couple vacationing in Europe. It’s unclear whether he murdered the victim before or after he brought her to the house. As Livermore’s m.o. is to return to where he left his victim, FBI agent Roger Halliday leaves the cadaver in place and later arrests Livermore when he goes back to the scene of his crime. The FBI brings in McKnight, a retired Detroit police officer who now works as a bounty hunter in Michigan, after Livermore discloses that he knew about the surveillance system and that he will provide details only to McKnight about another potential victim, who, at least for now, is still alive. McKnight, who has never heard of Livermore, has no idea why the killer requested his involvement. The plot develops in multiple unexpected directions, and its logical convolutions are matched by Hamilton’s deepening portrayal of his fully realized lead. Fans of serial killer fiction won’t want to miss this one. Agent: Shane Salerno, Story Factory.
August 1, 2018
In the eleventh Alex McKnight thriller, the Detroit ex-cop's past continues to follow him to remote Paradise, Michigan, this time confronting him with a mysterious connection to a serial killer prowling the Southwest. Abruptly picked up by the FBI, Alex is hustled to the Phoenix interrogation of Martin Livermore, who is accused of murdering six women and abducting a seventh. Livermore refuses to speak to the FBI until Alex arrives, but Alex is certain that he's never met him or his victims. Despite Alex's denials, Livermore agrees to take Alex and an FBI team to his victims' bodies. As they near what they assume is the hiding spot, Livermore detonates explosives planted before his arrest and disappears, leaving Alex as the only other survivor. Clearly, Livermore allowed himself to be captured so that he could connect with Alex and engineer this moment. Why? Hunting again, Livermore taunts Alex with each new kill, drawing him into a no-holds-barred chase. Hamilton's long-awaited reboot of the McKnight series (following Let It Burn, 2013) is a streamlined, gut-wrenching thriller driven by Alex's desperation to end Livermore's killing spree and reconcile past mistakes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
September 1, 2018
Hamilton returns to Alex McKnight after a hiatus in which he started the "Nick Mason" series (Exit Strategy). This title begins with a couple on a Mediterranean cruise checking their house's security camera feed. They spot an intruder, who turns out to be a wanted serial killer who kidnaps, tortures, kills, and then spends time with the bodies of his victims. The FBI and local authorities are called in, and Martin Livermore is captured. All of this happens in the first 30 pages, so where's the thrill and mystery? Turns out Livermore will only talk if the FBI brings in a retired cop who lives in northern Michigan, Alex McKnight. Alex has no clue why Livermore has picked him as confidant. He knows the FBI is seriously sideyeing him, but he realizes he has to do anything he can do to help. His initial conversation with Livermore leads to an escape and a cross-country cat-and-mouse game with the stakes getting ever higher. VERDICT Readers new to the "Alex McKnight" series will be thrilled with this fast-paced, nonstop ride and longtime fans will appreciate the way the author delves a bit more into Alex's personal life. [See Prepub Alert, 3/12/18.]--Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI
Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2018
Captured in Scottsdale, AZ, after an atypically careless crime, serial killer Martin T. Livermore insists that he will talk only to PI Alex McKnight. And though McKnight doesn't know Livermore, it's soon clear that he is being set up for a fall. Next in the long-running McKnight series from Hamilton, also recently the author of the high-profile hit The Second Life of Nick Mason.
Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.