The Lock Artist

by Steve Hamilton

Book Overview

"I was the Miracle Boy, once upon a time. Later on, the Milford Mute. The Golden Boy. The Young Ghost. The Kid. The Boxman. The Lock Artist. That was all me.But you can call me Mike." Marked by... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312380429
• ISBN13: 9780312380427
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Grabs you from the start with strange, compelling storyline

I read this on my Kindle and could not put it down...carried it everywhere I went all day yesterday and today so I could read whenever I had a few minutes to wait. Michael is the voice telling the story of his strange and hard life: a tragedy when he was eight years old rendered him mute, but the details of what happened are not revealed until much later in the book. In his silent world, he develops a remarkable talent for drawing, especially comic book style, as well as an amazing ability to unlock locks of all kinds; but what started out as little more than a parlor trick becomes the source of high drama and adventure. Unsavory characters realize what Michael's talent can do for them, and he becomes embroiled in some nail-biting escapades. Some of the heists in which he participated were among the most dramatic and suspenseful scenes I have ever read...the equal of any movie suspense I can think of. In fact, it would make a great movie. The jumping back and forth between two time periods is an effective tool for maintaining suspense and revealing the plot. In spite of the unusual circumstances, the author does a fantastic job of developing the characters and making them entirely believable, yet they are not stereotyped and are entirely original and fresh...even the bad guys. Remembering his first days in public high school as a mute, Michael says, "It makes my heart ache, just thinking back on that time in my life. How lonely I was. How out of place I felt every single minute of every day." I could feel it with him. Michael's seemingly remorseless bad luck is balanced with meeting and falling in love with Amelia, also a talented artist from a dysfunctional family. Their love interjects the hope that redeems the dark parts of the book.

2 Thumbs Up!!

Two thumbs up! When I go through a book this quickly, its gotta be good! This is the third novel I"ve read by Mr. Hamilton;all were good;but this one bests. "The Lock Artist" ,being such an enjoyable,fluid read puts Mr. Hamilton on my "bookmark author" list, hoping the next saga,if and when,comes soon.

An absolutely amazing book

I was prepared not to like this book. It's not an Alex McKnight novel, for starters. Despite Lee Child's assertion that the book is "can't-put-it-down spectacular," I did have to put it down a few times. It was just too intense and too sad. But then, along about page 150, everything that has been so deftly set up comes together and oh. my. gosh. It is a spectacular novel and a signal achievement. Congratulations to the author. This is one I will remember for a long, long time.

Excellent storytelling

I really enjoyed this book! The main character, a seventeen year old boy named Mike is mute due to a trauma he experienced at the age of 8. Mike narrates this novel from prison, so from the very beginning you know this is not going to turn out well for him. The novel shifts time frames throughout which was rather difficult in the beginning, but about a third of the way into the book it really started to flow nicely and by the end the two narratives meld together seamlessly. By constructing the story this way, the author was very effective in building suspense and in helping us to get to know his character. What was happening to Mike in 2000 was all the more heartbreaking due to what happened to him in 1998 and 1999. There is not alot of action here in the conventional sense, although there is alot of suspense. The psychological aspects of the book are so well done. Mike is a "natural" at cracking safes and picking locks, but so much of his life is about being locked up. His voice is locked inside him, he becomes locked into relationships with some unsavory characters... Whoops, don't want to give too much away. The technical aspects of safe cracking and lock picking added alot to the story and even a non-tech head such as myself found them fascinating. The author did a great job at combining great characters, effective pacing, and intriguing plot elements into a real corker of a story. Any fan of thrillers, psychological suspense or just great fiction will find lots in this book to love.

Hamilton does it all in The Lock Artist

I have enjoyed Steve Hamilton's Alex McKnight series....entertaining, suspenseful,and Alex is always real. Opening The Lock Artist was fun.....something new and exciting from the author of some of my favorites.... so it could be tough to please me with this one. However, he did it and he did it great. Big suspense and real characters, plenty of imagination, and a very unique story. If you want something that steps out of the shadows of the run of the mill thriller....still packed with intrigue and suspense...I highly recommend The Lock Artist.