Thus begins the excellent new mystery, A Cold Day in Paradise. With his first book, author Steve Hamilton has won several awards, including the Edgar and the Shamus -- and deservedly so. Set on the shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the small town of Paradise is settling in for another long winter.

Alex McNight is a relative newcomer to life in the U.P. With a bullet lodged just a centimeter from his heart, Alex is retired from the Detroit Police Department and has moved to some property his dad owned from way back. With several little cabins he rents to hunters and fishermen, Alex has added Private Investigator to his job description.

Although not originally interested, Alex got the P. I. license at the urging of Lane Uttley, attorney at law. Now Alex handles some of the basic investigation required for Uttley’s rather run-of-the-mill cases, such as lawsuits stemming from car accidents and on-the-job accidents.

Alex has found a rather uncomplicated new life. He works outdoors, visits friends and plays cards at a few local taverns, and tries to forget the horrible shooting back in Detroit that killed his partner. Generally he has been succeeding, until his friend Edwin Fulton, a wealthy local businessman with a gambling problem, calls him to a particularly gruesome murder scene. Edwin discovers a local bookmaker dead in a gory hotel room scene. As Edwin owed him a lot of money, he becomes a suspect. Of course, because he called Alex before he called the police, Alex also comes under suspicion.

Add to the mix: Edwin’s attorney, Lane Uttley; Edwin’s unhappy wife Sylvia, who shares a secret with Alex; Edwin’s domineering mother Theodora Fulton; and a really cranky police chief by the name of Roy Maven. Throw in a partly frightening, partly comical Leon Prudell, who is angry with Alex for taking the P. I. position, and you’ve got a story.

Hamilton is especially clever at weaving details of Alex’s past with incidents in the present. More than fourteen years ago, a delusional guy with an Uzi killed Alex’s partner and Alex barely escaped with his life. Now Maximilian Rose seems to have returned. But isn’t he still in prison? Is it possible he could have escaped? Or is someone else masterminding the murders?

The first person narrative develops a gritty, tough and likable main character with a sure voice. As Alex is drawn in to an ever more confusing case, the plot takes some thrilling twists. Just when you think you have read all the good twists and turns, along comes a mystery like A Cold Day in Paradise to offer up some new surprises. Enjoy it until the next Alex McKnight mystery (Winter of the Wolf Moon planned for February, 2000) comes along.

--Martha Moore