By Steve Hamilton
Thomas Dunne Books
Hardcover, Audio Cassette (Abridged) and Audio Cassette (Unabridged) Editions

Knowing when to end a story is almost as important, and as difficult, as knowing where to begin a story. In the case of Blood is the Sky, both the beginning and the ending are handled skillfully.

The novel starts with an act of creation, as Alex McKnight begins rebuilding his father's cabin, late, much too late in the early autumn of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The close of the novel reflects the opening in that something new is also being created. Both the opening and closing reflect the recurrent theme of the novel.

Blood is the Sky Excerpt "Get your license ready," I said as we came up to the Canadian customs booth. "Little problem," Vinnie said. I looked over at him. "What is it?" "Tom's got my license." "You're kidding me." "We decided he might need it, just in case. He looks enough like me " "This is beautiful," I said. I pulled up to the waiting line. There was one care in front of us ... With the amount of time this guy was spending with the driver ahead of me, it didn't look good. ©2003 Steve Hamilton Published with permission

Thematically, this story deals with how people respond to crises. Alex rebuilds his dead father's cabin after it burned to the ground. Vinnie rushes to the aid of his younger brother at the first hint of trouble. Other characters respond more desperately with violent acts of vengeance, long after the moment of crisis has passed. No matter what choice is made, though, all the characters follow through with their actions, never giving up.

One of the hallmarks of good writing is having characters who are actively working toward a solution to their problem. Whether it is trying to survive the next five minutes, cold, wet and lost in the Canadian wilderness as killers hunt them down, or dealing with the people who killed your children, these characters all keep moving forward. All the characters have their own goals.

Unless time spent with the characters sitting in thoughtful repose benefits the story, (i.e. is interesting for the reader) those scenes are minimized. Several pages will be devoted to the passage of a few minutes, when those minutes are vital to a character. On the other hand, the passage of several days where little occurs in relation to the story are dismissed with a brief paragraph of two. The pacing of the story works admirably.

Overall, this is an excellent mystery novel. The characters, setting, pacing and theme all work together. This is a captivating book that will stimulate the reader's imagination.

Bookworm's Briefing
Steve Hamilton's Blood is in the Sky, is a well-written mystery. Focusing on the characters and the setting, this story's plot in no way feels forced or contrived. The plot moves forward naturally from the actions and choices made by the characters. His first novel, A Cold Day in Paradise," won both the Edgar and Anthony awards. He grew up in Michigan and currently lives in New York.