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"When a fire is done, what's left is only half destroyed. It is charred and brittle. It is obscene. There is nothing so ugly in all the world as what a fire leaves behind, covered in ashes and smoke and a smell you'll think about every day for the rest of your life. 

That's why I had to start rebuilding the cabin. Maybe I was fooling myself, but it was something I had to do. Even though the days were getting shorter. Even though the pine trees were bending in the cold October wind. No man in his right mind would have started rebuilding then. So of course I did."

Synopsis
It is October in Paradise, Michigan, and Alex McKnight is rebuilding one of his cabins with help from Vinnie LeBlanc, his Ojibwa neighbor. They're interrupted when Vinnie is called away to deal with a family emergency -- his brother, Tom, has not returned from a hunting trip to Canada. He is already four days overdue. 

Alex and Vinnie decide to retrace the steps of the hunting party, driving all the way up as far as the roads will go in northern Ontario. When they arrive at the lodge, they are told that the men had already been flown back from the outpost, and had promptly left to return to Michigan. 

But something is not right. Aided by a young Cree Indian and his grandfather, they fly to the remote outpost. Left alone there, they discover a terrible secret. 

Now Alex and Vinnie are miles away from civilization, with no food and no weapons. 

And there's someone out there who definitely does not want them to make it back alive. 

Reviews

"Blood boldly crosses genre boundaries as it turns into a thrilling outdoor adventure, then a heartfelt small-town tragedy. All along, Hamilton's prose... remains an unselfconsciously terse pleasure."
-- Entertainment Weekly

"BLOOD IS THE SKY is brilliant. Some books you can't put down because the story is so compelling. Some books you can't put down because the prose is so spellbinding. And then, every once in a while, you read a book that combines both. Steve Hamilton has written the best private eye novel -- heck, maybe the best novel -- I've read this year." 
-- Harlan Coben

"This book is relentless. I had to read it straight through. The best mysteries are about the past coming up out of the ground and grabbing the present by the throat. Steve Hamilton knows this. Blood is the Sky fills that bill and then some. This is his best yet." 
-- Michael Connelly

"Easily Steve Hamilton's best novel so far - therefore an automatic book of the year. Everything is here - his trademark sense of place, vivid, resonant characters, and a plot that will break your heart." 
-- Lee Child

"Steve Hamilton writes tough, passionate novels with a strong emphasis on heart and humanity. His latest flat-out smokes. This is crime writing at its very best." 
-- George Pelecanos

"Steve Hamilton was already one of our best writers, but BLOOD IS THE SKY ups the ante considerably. Here, he has married the private eye form to the adventure tale with stunning results. Hamilton writes with an understated lyricism that is perfectly suited to the stark, desolate beauty of his story and its surroundings." 
-- Laura Lippman

"At journey's outset, someone says to [Alex McKnight], "You have such a lonely heart, it's hard to even look at you." By journey's end, the McKnight heart is just a bit less lonely. Hamilton won an Edgar and a Shamus in 1998 for A Cold Day in Paradise. This smart, brisk, twisty tale is even better."
-- Kirkus Reviews

"[A] gracefully composed study of character...McKnight shines here." 
-- J. Kingston Pierce, Amazon.com

"[A] reader's delight: a fast-paced, breathtaking adventure for which a night's sleep gladly will be sacrificed. BLOOD IS THE SKY is a stunner."
-- Romantic Times magazine

"Simply amazing."
-- Jon Jordan, Books N Bytes

"Hamilton is an author who continues to raise the bar not only for himself but for everyone in Mystery fiction."
-- Ruth Jordan, Books N Bytes

"BLOOD IS THE SKY takes the readers deep into northern Canada with all its beauty and lonely, solitary lakes. The book is filled with fast-paced adventure...exceptional chapters that have you racing to read as fast as possible to see what happens."
-- Sharon Katz, Reviewing the Evidence

"Blood is the Sky is a powerful and thought-provoking novel." 
-- Claire E. White for WritersWrite.com

"Steve Hamilton continues to demonstrate his strength as a writer....The mystery is tight, the characters are interesting and there is enough grittiness to keep any noir fan satisfied. [The] acclaim is justified. One can only hope that as this series continues, Hamilton gains all of the recognition he deserves."
-- Sarah Dudley for Reviewing the Evidence

Audi
An unabridged audio edition of BLOOD IS THE SKY (6 Cassettes/9 hours, ISBN 1-59086-993-1) is narrated by Jim Bond and available from Brilliance Audio. To hear an audio excerpt, click here.
To download RealPlayer, go here.

Foreign Edition
Steve Hamilton novels are printed world-wide. Here are covers from foreign editions of BLOOD IS THE SKY. 

United Kingdom Hardcover	French Cover