Reading Order
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Start with A Cold Day in Paradise and continue through all 13 books in the listed reading order.
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Start with A Cold Day in Paradise
Book 1 by Steve Hamilton • Published 1998
Former Detroit cop Alex McKnight is trying to disappear in the tiny town of Paradise, Michigan, renting cabins and nursing old wounds. When murders echo the night his partner was killed, Alex is dragged into a case th...
Complete List
Alex Mcknight reading order
Ends with Riddle Island (Short Story)
- 1
Book 1:A Cold Day in Paradise
Steve Hamilton • 1998
Former Detroit cop Alex McKnight is trying to disappear in the tiny town of Paradise, Michigan, renting cabins and nursing old wounds. When murders echo the night his partner was killed, Alex is dragged into a case th...
- 2
Book 2:Winter of the Wolf Moon
Steve Hamilton • 2000
Alex agrees to hide a young Ojibwa woman who is fleeing a violent boyfriend in one of his cabins, but she vanishes overnight. Tracking her across a frozen Upper Peninsula, he uncovers buried secrets and a ruthless ene...
- 3
Book 3:The Hunting Wind
Steve Hamilton • 2001
A chance reunion with his old minor-league pitching partner sends Alex on a quixotic hunt for the woman the man lost thirty years ago. The search from Paradise to Detroit exposes long-held lies, dangerous debts, and a...
- 4
Book 4:North of Nowhere
Steve Hamilton • 2002
A friendly poker game turns deadly when masked gunmen storm the house, steal a fortune, and leave Alex face down on the floor. Branded a suspect by police and the victim alike, he has to untangle the heist before it d...
- 5
Book 5:Blood is the Sky
Steve Hamilton • 2003
When his Ojibwa friend Vinnie asks for help finding a missing brother who vanished while guiding a group of Detroit businessmen in remote Ontario, Alex heads into the Canadian bush. The deeper they go, the more they r...
- 6
Book 6:Ice Run
Steve Hamilton • 2004
A romantic weekend with Canadian cop Natalie Reynaud is shattered when someone leaves an old hat packed with snow and a note that says, 'I know who you are.' Following the threat leads Alex into a generations-old feud...
- 7
Book 7:A Stolen Season
Steve Hamilton • 2006
On a bitterly cold Fourth of July, Alex and his friends rescue three men from a smashed boat on Waishkey Bay, then watch trouble follow them ashore. A drug scheme, reservation politics, and an undercover operation col...
- 8
Book 8:Beneath the Book Tower (Short Story)
Steve Hamilton • 2011
Set before his exile to Paradise, this short prequel finds Detroit cop Alex McKnight working a hot summer night shift with his partner. A routine patrol turns personal, revealing the city's cracks and the loyalties th...
- 9
Book 9:Misery Bay
Steve Hamilton • 2011
Months after a college student is found hanging in a desolate spot called Misery Bay, the boy's father asks Alex to look closer. A pattern of staged suicides and vengeful killings emerges, forcing Alex into an uneasy...
- 10
Book 10:Die a Stranger
Steve Hamilton • 2012
After a mysterious plane lands on a deserted Upper Peninsula airstrip and five men end up dead, Alex's best friend Vinnie disappears. Following the trail pulls Alex into a brutal border drug war and a fight to save Vi...
- 11
Book 11:Let it Burn
Steve Hamilton • 2013
Called back to Detroit when a prisoner from his one big homicide case is about to be released, Alex starts to doubt the conviction he once celebrated. As he revisits old files and fresh bodies turn up, he wonders if t...
- 12
Book 12:Dead Man Running
Steve Hamilton • 2018
A captured serial killer demands to speak only to Alex McKnight, linking the retired cop to crimes he has never heard of. Drawn into a cross-country hunt for a missing victim, Alex faces a brilliant predator who seems...
- 13
Book 13:Riddle Island (Short Story)
Steve Hamilton • 2020
Over drinks at the Glasgow Inn, a local old-timer shares a strange story about the day Jimmy Hoffa vanished. Alex starts chasing the rumor as a lark, only to uncover a small-town secret that might tie his quiet corner...
Quick Answers
Alex Mcknight FAQ
What is the best order to read the Alex Mcknight series?
The recommended reading order is the numbered order shown on this page, starting with A Cold Day in Paradise.
How many books are in the Alex Mcknight series?
There are 13 books currently listed in the Alex Mcknight series on GurusReads.
Where should I start with the Alex Mcknight series?
New readers should start with A Cold Day in Paradise, the first book in the reading order.
Is the Alex Mcknight series complete?
Based on the publication years we have, the series appears likely complete and spans releases from 1998 to 2020.