Steve Hamilton deserves the praise that he has received for this book. AND he has received a lot of praise in the form of awards awards (including a finalist spot in the 2011 Golden Dagger).
list and that's how I happened upon Steve's book.
It hasn't been a success every time, but this time it was.
Steve seems to be an interesting guy - working for IBM as a day job and writing at night. But lets talk about the book:
This is a novel with two story lines, both in the past and being told from the present. Steve switches between the two smoothly. Often times, I am attached to one storyline and get annoyed when I am switched to a second in order to create false tension.
Alternatively, Steve has wound two intriguing narratives and they both held my attention.
There was enough content around being a "lock artist" to appeal to my interests. It was fun to learn about a subject that I had never considered before. Steve has a knack in explaining the technical details in an exciting way.
I felt that while there was an attempt at depth (explaining the psychological reasoning behind the main characters affliction), it was kept light. While this made for an easily consumed plot, I felt that a deeper exploration was missing. What wasn't missing was the building of the relationship between the main character and his love interest.
The development of this relationship was done in a very unique way. There communication method was one-of-a-kind and sucked me right in.
We're coming up on summer 2014, and I think you could do your reading list a favor with The Lock Artist. We know sometimes our choices are risky, but with Steve Hamilton's book, you can guarantee your afternoon under the beach umbrella, or a Saturday by an open window (as I enjoyed it).
