Cold and wet in Seattle

• Book: Hard Cold Winter
• Location: Seattle
• Author: Glen Erik Hamilton

Review Author: andrewmorris51

This is the second novel from Glen Erik Hamilton featuring anti-hero Van Shaw, a former thief and Army Ranger.

The plot fizzes along as rapidly and violently as a Desert Storm attack, developing in and around Seattle after Van finds a brutal double murder scene in the nearby Olympic Mountains.

In a helter-skelter story, Van has to deal with illegal gambling dens, Russian mobsters, an old army friend as damaged as he is, and a girl from his childhood who may be hell-bent on revenge.

I was hoping the city would play a more vivid role in the narrative, and that I’d feel compelled to jump on a plane to the Pacific Northwest and discover the places Van lives, drinks and stalks his prey. But it doesn’t.

The novel feels more like a movie screenplay, with the frenzied plot and one-dimensional characters the focus, rather than the sense of place. Perhaps Seattle will get a more prominent role when the movie is made….

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