Comment

May 10, 2017
I've been a long time fan of Steve Hamilton's Alex McKnight series, so I was intrigued when the first Nick Mason book, The Second Life of Nick Mason was published. Nick Mason went to Supermax for a crime he had committed but he came to the attention and then the protection of Chicago crime boss Darius Cole. Cole arranged for Mason's sentence to be vacated. The price large, Cole now owned Mason body and soul. He also owned the soul of Nick's ex-wife and nine year old daughter. So here we are to the second book. Which does not really do a great job of explaining the backstory. A bit more information would have made this a better read for those who are picking it up as a standalone. Nick is now a hit-man for Darius Cole. Not a fun job to have on one's resume. Especially since he is going after Federally protected witnesses. Which puts him in direct conflict with the US Marshall's office. Not good. Besides having the of brains not wanting an entire federal agency devote the rest of their lives to running yo down, Nick has enough humanity left not to want to kill innocents. Hamilton does a fabulous job in putting us on Mason's side. Especially since the people against him are decent upright women and men. But yes, we are rooting for Mason to kill some folks. Good writing there. This is a book that tears along at break-neck speed. Exciting and action packed. It is the second book in a series that takes an unexpected direction.