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The Lock Artist
"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 tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else. Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe ... he can open them all. It's an unforgivable talent. A talent that will make young Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people and, whether he likes it or not, push him ever close to a life of crime. Until he finally sees his chance to escape, and with one desperate gamble risks everything to come back home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.
Steve Hamilton steps away from his Edgar Award-winning Alex McKnight series to introduce a unique new character, unlike anyone you've ever seen in the world of crime fiction.
But you can call me Mike."
Marked by tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else. Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe ... he can open them all. It's an unforgivable talent. A talent that will make young Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people and, whether he likes it or not, push him ever close to a life of crime. Until he finally sees his chance to escape, and with one desperate gamble risks everything to come back home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.
Steve Hamilton steps away from his Edgar Award-winning Alex McKnight series to introduce a unique new character, unlike anyone you've ever seen in the world of crime fiction.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published December 29, 2009
387 people are currently reading
10223 people want to read
About the author
Steve Hamilton
53 books1,684 followersTwo-time Edgar Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of the Nick Mason series, The Lock Artist, and the Alex McKnight series. AN HONORABLE ASSASSIN (Mason #3) coming August 27, 2024!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,587 reviews
April 8, 2012
Safe-cracking is an ART, and 18 year old Michael is a tumbler-aligning Picasso. Unfortunately, this talent has made him an extremely valuable commodity to some rather dangerous folks. Further complicating Michael's very unusual life is that he hasn’t uttered a single word for more than ten years, ever since he was traumatized by a singularly horrific event that he experienced at the tender age of 8.
Michael’s journey in The Lock Artist is told in the first person as he writes his story down in prison, where he is serving time for…[uh, uh…no spoilers]. Michael’s story jumps around via multiple flashback threads, as he slowly unveils his history, his innerness, and the events that led him to his current state.
Michael's two "unusual" personality quirks (i.e., his natural ability and his unnatural silence) make him a unique character in crime fiction, and the exploration of these two aspects was very impressive and stood out to me. Despite having read many books in which the skill of lock-picking is deployed, never had I seen the process explored in the detail in which it is rendered here. Michael’s sensual, almost sexual, descriptions of the process are mesmerizing. The sound of the tumblers, the subtle tensions of the springs, the feel of the serrated pins and the drug-like high of ultimately “breaking through”…simply superb.
In addition, the revelation of THE EVENT that left our main character unable/unwilling to speak is exceedingly disturbing and intense. Hamilton does a wonderfully balanced job of conveying authenticity while depicting the unimaginable brutality of Michael’s past. His description of the day Michael’s life shattered has stained my long term memory, and I would anticipate similar reactions from most people reading it. It's just one of those sticky on the mind events that don't come along often in reading.
While the above two aspects were superb, the balance of the story is also good and certainly should please fans of the crime genre who are looking for something a little more character driven. The writing is good, the story has an authentic feel and there are some interesting supporting characters within the narrative’s population.
So why only 3 stars?
Well, it is really more like a strong 3.5 stars. I just couldn’t bring myself to give it four because, as good as the story it, I never really connected with the main character except for the portions of the book involving the lock picking and the tragedy. While a solid, well drawn character, Michael never truly pulled intensive his story, and that made for a bit of a distanced read. I didn’t have a huge stake in what happened to him at the end, and that removed some of the suspense and emotional resonance.
Still, a good solid read with some very unusual and worth-while components.
3.5 Stars. Recommended.
Michael’s journey in The Lock Artist is told in the first person as he writes his story down in prison, where he is serving time for…[uh, uh…no spoilers]. Michael’s story jumps around via multiple flashback threads, as he slowly unveils his history, his innerness, and the events that led him to his current state.
Michael's two "unusual" personality quirks (i.e., his natural ability and his unnatural silence) make him a unique character in crime fiction, and the exploration of these two aspects was very impressive and stood out to me. Despite having read many books in which the skill of lock-picking is deployed, never had I seen the process explored in the detail in which it is rendered here. Michael’s sensual, almost sexual, descriptions of the process are mesmerizing. The sound of the tumblers, the subtle tensions of the springs, the feel of the serrated pins and the drug-like high of ultimately “breaking through”…simply superb.
In addition, the revelation of THE EVENT that left our main character unable/unwilling to speak is exceedingly disturbing and intense. Hamilton does a wonderfully balanced job of conveying authenticity while depicting the unimaginable brutality of Michael’s past. His description of the day Michael’s life shattered has stained my long term memory, and I would anticipate similar reactions from most people reading it. It's just one of those sticky on the mind events that don't come along often in reading.
While the above two aspects were superb, the balance of the story is also good and certainly should please fans of the crime genre who are looking for something a little more character driven. The writing is good, the story has an authentic feel and there are some interesting supporting characters within the narrative’s population.
So why only 3 stars?
Well, it is really more like a strong 3.5 stars. I just couldn’t bring myself to give it four because, as good as the story it, I never really connected with the main character except for the portions of the book involving the lock picking and the tragedy. While a solid, well drawn character, Michael never truly pulled intensive his story, and that made for a bit of a distanced read. I didn’t have a huge stake in what happened to him at the end, and that removed some of the suspense and emotional resonance.
Still, a good solid read with some very unusual and worth-while components.
3.5 Stars. Recommended.
January 14, 2012
Wow, am I ever on a reading roll. Considering I normally adore fewer than ten novels in a year (about one in six or seven of the books that I read), it seems impossible that I should find another novel I adore so soon after reading Where Things Come Back. But I adored The Lock Artist. Those of you who read my review of Where Things Come Back will remember that I was longing for a book about guns and helicopters and magic, but found Things instead. Turns out that The Lock Artist was the book I was looking for then. Well, if you substitute “safes” for “magic.”
Basically, it’s about a teen with a dangerous talent: picking locks and cracking safes. He gets tangled up with some dangerous people and dangerous things happen. Did you catch that? It is danger x 3.
Here, without further ado, are five more things about the book.
1. Even though it is a thriller/ mystery/ action-adventure, it’s very character-driven. Our main character (the thrillingly named “Mike”) has been silent since the age of eight, when Something Terrible Happened to Him. And by silent, I mean Quiet As The Dead And Not Like a Zombie Novel But Like a Novel Where the Dead Really Don’t Make Noise Because They Actually Are Dead. And by Something Terrible, I mean Something I Thought I Had Guessed Because I Have Read A Million Books But Actually No It Was Not That It Was Worse. Mike doesn’t speak. At all. It’s remarkable to watch how Hamilton manages this narrator who can only tell stories in his head.
2. The pacing. There is something magical going on with the pacing in this novel, and I need to go back and take it apart slowly and methodically to figure out exactly how Hamilton did it. It’s a page turner, but . . . not like that. Ordinarily I’m quiet bored by action sequences. Right, gun, sure, kick, yep, punch, okay, blood . . . are we done here? I want to get back to the plot, and action scenes are often like sex scenes — they are just hanging there, an exclamation point on the end of a sentence that we’ve already read. But, somehow, not with this novel. I HAD to keep turning the pages, yes, but not because of the action. It was because every page left me with a question, and I had to turn the page if I ever wanted to find out the answer. It meant that instead of my usual racing through an action novel, flipping pages faster and faster, I was reading with the same care and urgency at the end as I was at the beginning. I don’t know how to describe it any better than that.
2(b). The prose. This really is sort of in line with the pacing. When I first began reading the novel, I thought, man, this prose is so — easy. It just says what it says. Well, okay, whatever. I’ll just read a few more pages. And then, the next thing I knew, four hours had gone by and I’d finished the novel and I was hugging my Nook to my chest. The prose became utterly invisible. Like a very good thief, it got in, did its job, and got out, without leaving any trace of itself. I can appreciate just how hard it is to write a book that reads so easily. Well done, Hamilton.
3. Girl. You know these things always have a token girl. The one that makes the hero look noble and powerful and hetero. Well, this book also has a girl, but she is smart and unique and felt like a person. There was no thumping of chests and conquests. There was just a really wonderful and slightly uncomfortable teen romance. With comic book, menial labor, and lock picking overtones.
4. The annoying thing about thrillers is that they so rarely pay off. They’re, well, thrilling, and then you get to the end and go, yup. Well, that happened. Next? Possibly the best thing about this book is that the second half of it is as strong as the first, if not stronger, and there is one of the most psychologically horrific scenes that I’ve read in awhile in the second half. It might have something to do with the Terrible Thing That Happened to Mike. Hamilton proceeds briskly from this Terrible Scene into the denouement, which is tense and satisfying and exactly the way I wanted the book to end. That pretty much makes this book the perfect thriller in my eyes.
5. I am not the only person who has adored this book. It is an Edgar winner (that’s a prestigious award for mystery, for you muggles out there) and it’s also an Alex Award winner, which is how I found it. The ALA Alex Award recognize adult books with high appeal to teen readers, and I tend to love their choices. If you compare the list of Alex winners over the years with my five-star-books on Goodreads, you’ll see considerable overlap. Because it’s an adult book, not a YA, I should mention that there are f-bombs and violence and all that jazz. More Guy Ritchie than Tarantino, though, for the most part.
I have now managed to write a novel about this novel. If you’re looking for a book about guns and helicopters and safes, go pick it up. Or even if you’re looking for a book about guns and helicopters and magic. Because it’ll still make you happy.
Basically, it’s about a teen with a dangerous talent: picking locks and cracking safes. He gets tangled up with some dangerous people and dangerous things happen. Did you catch that? It is danger x 3.
Here, without further ado, are five more things about the book.
1. Even though it is a thriller/ mystery/ action-adventure, it’s very character-driven. Our main character (the thrillingly named “Mike”) has been silent since the age of eight, when Something Terrible Happened to Him. And by silent, I mean Quiet As The Dead And Not Like a Zombie Novel But Like a Novel Where the Dead Really Don’t Make Noise Because They Actually Are Dead. And by Something Terrible, I mean Something I Thought I Had Guessed Because I Have Read A Million Books But Actually No It Was Not That It Was Worse. Mike doesn’t speak. At all. It’s remarkable to watch how Hamilton manages this narrator who can only tell stories in his head.
2. The pacing. There is something magical going on with the pacing in this novel, and I need to go back and take it apart slowly and methodically to figure out exactly how Hamilton did it. It’s a page turner, but . . . not like that. Ordinarily I’m quiet bored by action sequences. Right, gun, sure, kick, yep, punch, okay, blood . . . are we done here? I want to get back to the plot, and action scenes are often like sex scenes — they are just hanging there, an exclamation point on the end of a sentence that we’ve already read. But, somehow, not with this novel. I HAD to keep turning the pages, yes, but not because of the action. It was because every page left me with a question, and I had to turn the page if I ever wanted to find out the answer. It meant that instead of my usual racing through an action novel, flipping pages faster and faster, I was reading with the same care and urgency at the end as I was at the beginning. I don’t know how to describe it any better than that.
2(b). The prose. This really is sort of in line with the pacing. When I first began reading the novel, I thought, man, this prose is so — easy. It just says what it says. Well, okay, whatever. I’ll just read a few more pages. And then, the next thing I knew, four hours had gone by and I’d finished the novel and I was hugging my Nook to my chest. The prose became utterly invisible. Like a very good thief, it got in, did its job, and got out, without leaving any trace of itself. I can appreciate just how hard it is to write a book that reads so easily. Well done, Hamilton.
3. Girl. You know these things always have a token girl. The one that makes the hero look noble and powerful and hetero. Well, this book also has a girl, but she is smart and unique and felt like a person. There was no thumping of chests and conquests. There was just a really wonderful and slightly uncomfortable teen romance. With comic book, menial labor, and lock picking overtones.
4. The annoying thing about thrillers is that they so rarely pay off. They’re, well, thrilling, and then you get to the end and go, yup. Well, that happened. Next? Possibly the best thing about this book is that the second half of it is as strong as the first, if not stronger, and there is one of the most psychologically horrific scenes that I’ve read in awhile in the second half. It might have something to do with the Terrible Thing That Happened to Mike. Hamilton proceeds briskly from this Terrible Scene into the denouement, which is tense and satisfying and exactly the way I wanted the book to end. That pretty much makes this book the perfect thriller in my eyes.
5. I am not the only person who has adored this book. It is an Edgar winner (that’s a prestigious award for mystery, for you muggles out there) and it’s also an Alex Award winner, which is how I found it. The ALA Alex Award recognize adult books with high appeal to teen readers, and I tend to love their choices. If you compare the list of Alex winners over the years with my five-star-books on Goodreads, you’ll see considerable overlap. Because it’s an adult book, not a YA, I should mention that there are f-bombs and violence and all that jazz. More Guy Ritchie than Tarantino, though, for the most part.
I have now managed to write a novel about this novel. If you’re looking for a book about guns and helicopters and safes, go pick it up. Or even if you’re looking for a book about guns and helicopters and magic. Because it’ll still make you happy.
July 24, 2011
How many times have I seen or read about a character picking a lock? I’m a crime/mystery fan so it’s gotta be in the hundreds. Maybe even over a thousand. It’s such a common cliché we don’t even think about anymore. A door is locked, and a character pulls out their little case with their tools and picks it . Yet this is the first story I’ve ever read that actually explains what it takes to pick a lock or open a safe. Surprise! It’s not as easy as it is in the movies, but it makes for a helluva good crime novel.
The book is narrated by Michael who quickly explains that he’s been in prison for years and has not spoken a word in longer than that. As a child, he survived some kind of traumatic experience that left him unable to speak even though there’s no physical reason for it. Taken in and raised by his liquor store owning uncle, Michael grows up alienated and lonely, but he gets interested in locks after playing around with a discarded one and teaches himself how to pick it. The story skips around to show us that Michael got mixed up with criminals who contact him to open safes during robberies. Eventually we learn how Michael went from a mute boy who liked to play with locks to a professional safecracker and the terrible event that left him mute.
Like Mystic River or Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter this is a character based crime novel that transcends the genre. Michael has unique voice despite being speechless, and Hamilton has created a character with the best of intentions who gets in over his head with extremely bad people. It sounds silly but there’s also an incredible amount of tension built around the lock picking and safe cracking scenes where Michael is explaining his process and getting lost in mental space where all that exists is the lock he’s trying to open.
This is both a great crime novel and an excellent story about a young man struggling to come to terms with his past.
The book is narrated by Michael who quickly explains that he’s been in prison for years and has not spoken a word in longer than that. As a child, he survived some kind of traumatic experience that left him unable to speak even though there’s no physical reason for it. Taken in and raised by his liquor store owning uncle, Michael grows up alienated and lonely, but he gets interested in locks after playing around with a discarded one and teaches himself how to pick it. The story skips around to show us that Michael got mixed up with criminals who contact him to open safes during robberies. Eventually we learn how Michael went from a mute boy who liked to play with locks to a professional safecracker and the terrible event that left him mute.
Like Mystic River or Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter this is a character based crime novel that transcends the genre. Michael has unique voice despite being speechless, and Hamilton has created a character with the best of intentions who gets in over his head with extremely bad people. It sounds silly but there’s also an incredible amount of tension built around the lock picking and safe cracking scenes where Michael is explaining his process and getting lost in mental space where all that exists is the lock he’s trying to open.
This is both a great crime novel and an excellent story about a young man struggling to come to terms with his past.
March 29, 2012
An interesting and suspenseful story of a mute teenaged safecracker.
The book provides such detailed intstructions on how to pick locks and open safes that I was finally able to let myself into my neighbor's house and steal those photos that he's been using to bribe...
Oops. I've said too much.
The book provides such detailed intstructions on how to pick locks and open safes that I was finally able to let myself into my neighbor's house and steal those photos that he's been using to bribe...
Oops. I've said too much.
November 19, 2016
“I didn't know that once you've proven yourself useful to the wrong people, you'll never be free again.”
Sometimes you just a fun book, one that will just entertain you regardless of the prose, writing style and all that jazz... I was in need for that so when I picked this up after reading so many sad stories it kind of got me in a happy mood. It was so fascinating and the plot was so cool that it seemed like I was watching a spy thriller movie.
The perspective of the story is from a 17-year-old (Micheal) with a special kind of gift of opening safes and it has landed him in some major trouble with some pretty nasty characters. He didn't entail things to get out of hand so he tries to explain what went down. He also has a dark hidden past that was so traumatic that he spends the rest of his days after that trauma as a mute... Yes, he doesn;t speak not once but as the reader, we get a glimpse of his deep dark thoughts.
I was so impressed with our main protagonist, I normally don't like the main character in most YA books but this one was a gem. It was a strong voice and he was so vulnerable that I was so rooting for him all the way through. Yes, he made some not so smart decisions but he was just so special and once his past came to the light the story broke me and it took a very dark turn that I wasn't expecting. The narrative flowed so well and it kept me interested & the way the author incorporated art in the story was impressive plus I just had fun with the book and It might not be for everyone but I highly recommend it to those who love cracking safes heist stories
“Somewhere in the ocean, a shark was missing its cold eyes because this man had them.”
Sometimes you just a fun book, one that will just entertain you regardless of the prose, writing style and all that jazz... I was in need for that so when I picked this up after reading so many sad stories it kind of got me in a happy mood. It was so fascinating and the plot was so cool that it seemed like I was watching a spy thriller movie.
The perspective of the story is from a 17-year-old (Micheal) with a special kind of gift of opening safes and it has landed him in some major trouble with some pretty nasty characters. He didn't entail things to get out of hand so he tries to explain what went down. He also has a dark hidden past that was so traumatic that he spends the rest of his days after that trauma as a mute... Yes, he doesn;t speak not once but as the reader, we get a glimpse of his deep dark thoughts.
I was so impressed with our main protagonist, I normally don't like the main character in most YA books but this one was a gem. It was a strong voice and he was so vulnerable that I was so rooting for him all the way through. Yes, he made some not so smart decisions but he was just so special and once his past came to the light the story broke me and it took a very dark turn that I wasn't expecting. The narrative flowed so well and it kept me interested & the way the author incorporated art in the story was impressive plus I just had fun with the book and It might not be for everyone but I highly recommend it to those who love cracking safes heist stories
“Somewhere in the ocean, a shark was missing its cold eyes because this man had them.”
August 22, 2023
How is it Goodreaders haven't caught up with this great book yet? "The Lock Artist" was the best book I read (Pre-Goodread) around 2011 and it might be the best book I will read in 2023. Mike is a 17-year old who is unable to speak since a life threatening incident when he was 8 years old. He lost his parents and is living with a clueless but loving uncle and is now a junior in High School. When his uncle's liquor store is broken into and robbed Mike develops a skill for picking locks that draws the attention of the wrong crowd. When a prank picking a lock at a home goes haywire he gets nabbed by the police and, for his punishment, is sentenced to work for the homeowner for the summer, like Seinfeld's butler, to payoff the home's damage. The work is grueling but he strikes up a friendship, then a love affair with the homeowner's daughter. But the homeowner is deeply in debt to some bad people and, knowing Mike's skills, he offers Mike the chance to pay off the debt another way.
As Mike becomes more proficient at his calling by breaking into safes he is called on to perform more lucrative but dangerous tasks. But the reader never loses sight of the fact that Mike is a kid with no one to guide him. And every choice he makes is the wrong one that gets him deeper in trouble. And all he wants is to be a normal kid to develop his other talent - Mike is an artist. More than anything though he wants is to live happily ever after with his girl friend, the only good thing in his life that has ever happened to him. And Mike is so alone and vulnerable that you can't help but root so hard for him to succeed in getting out of the business. Especially when you read how he loses his ability to speak.
"The Lock Artist" won the 2011 Edgar Award for the Best Novel. I hope Goodreaders unlock what an extraordinary read this book is.
As Mike becomes more proficient at his calling by breaking into safes he is called on to perform more lucrative but dangerous tasks. But the reader never loses sight of the fact that Mike is a kid with no one to guide him. And every choice he makes is the wrong one that gets him deeper in trouble. And all he wants is to be a normal kid to develop his other talent - Mike is an artist. More than anything though he wants is to live happily ever after with his girl friend, the only good thing in his life that has ever happened to him. And Mike is so alone and vulnerable that you can't help but root so hard for him to succeed in getting out of the business. Especially when you read how he loses his ability to speak.
"The Lock Artist" won the 2011 Edgar Award for the Best Novel. I hope Goodreaders unlock what an extraordinary read this book is.
April 24, 2010
"Mute artistic safecracker" hardly sounds like a promising profile for the main character in a thriller, but it works. There's a lot of originality here that makes this fun to read.
Michael was rendered mute by a traumatic experience at age eight. Now he's in prison for a robbery gone very wrong, and he tells the story of how he ended up in his current situation. He alternates between two story lines that eventually converge (sort of). One is the story of his young life as a mute, and how he became a safecracker ("boxman"). The second story line is about the complications of his life as an on-call boxman who is unable to speak. His two great talents are drawing and picking locks. Hence, the double entendre in the title---"Lock Artist." Get it?
There are a few things that are a little hokey, but they're amusing and they move the plot along, so I didn't mind. The thing with the Coke can and the scissors that just happened to be within reach was quite a stretch, though.
I liked the way the pieces all came together in the story, with his artwork becoming an important part of his communication.
One more thing: You DO get to find out what happened to Michael when he was eight, so have faith. I got deeply involved in the story, then had this awful thought that I might get all the way to the end and never know the event that made him mute. I didn't see any reviews complaining of that, so I kept going, and I'm glad I did.
If you don't normally read thriller/mystery stories, you might want to give this a "spin" (HA!) just for unique's sake. It's not really a mystery or a thriller in the way you'd usually think of that genre.
Michael was rendered mute by a traumatic experience at age eight. Now he's in prison for a robbery gone very wrong, and he tells the story of how he ended up in his current situation. He alternates between two story lines that eventually converge (sort of). One is the story of his young life as a mute, and how he became a safecracker ("boxman"). The second story line is about the complications of his life as an on-call boxman who is unable to speak. His two great talents are drawing and picking locks. Hence, the double entendre in the title---"Lock Artist." Get it?
There are a few things that are a little hokey, but they're amusing and they move the plot along, so I didn't mind. The thing with the Coke can and the scissors that just happened to be within reach was quite a stretch, though.
I liked the way the pieces all came together in the story, with his artwork becoming an important part of his communication.
One more thing: You DO get to find out what happened to Michael when he was eight, so have faith. I got deeply involved in the story, then had this awful thought that I might get all the way to the end and never know the event that made him mute. I didn't see any reviews complaining of that, so I kept going, and I'm glad I did.
If you don't normally read thriller/mystery stories, you might want to give this a "spin" (HA!) just for unique's sake. It's not really a mystery or a thriller in the way you'd usually think of that genre.
December 26, 2011
This book won the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Novel of 2011 (Edgar Awards are given annually by the Mystery Writers of America). That means those in the business of writing mystery novels recognize the superior quality in this well crafted tale. I heartily concur.
It jumps back and forth in time, and teaches us how to become an expert safecracker along the way. The narrator is a distinctive young man, Michael--something terrible happened to him when he was a child, before he came to live with his Uncle Lito that runs the liquor store, and since then, he has never talked again. Michael has a gift for visual recall and a talent for drawing, so art helps him cope with many of the serious life challenges he confronts, steadfastly mute. He also has a fascination for opening locks, soon demonstrated as an incredible gift for breaking into safes. A loner teen who just wants to be accepted and maybe spend some time with the girl he secretly idolizes, his luck runs to extremes--both very bad and very good.
This is a gritty crime novel and the coming of-age, loss-of-innocence story of a hard knocks teenager in the late 20th century. Con man strategies, burglary techniques, and how criminal networks back then used pagers are just a few of the many useful insights it offers while it speaks to more universal themes of abuse, loneliness, integrity, and love.
It jumps back and forth in time, and teaches us how to become an expert safecracker along the way. The narrator is a distinctive young man, Michael--something terrible happened to him when he was a child, before he came to live with his Uncle Lito that runs the liquor store, and since then, he has never talked again. Michael has a gift for visual recall and a talent for drawing, so art helps him cope with many of the serious life challenges he confronts, steadfastly mute. He also has a fascination for opening locks, soon demonstrated as an incredible gift for breaking into safes. A loner teen who just wants to be accepted and maybe spend some time with the girl he secretly idolizes, his luck runs to extremes--both very bad and very good.
This is a gritty crime novel and the coming of-age, loss-of-innocence story of a hard knocks teenager in the late 20th century. Con man strategies, burglary techniques, and how criminal networks back then used pagers are just a few of the many useful insights it offers while it speaks to more universal themes of abuse, loneliness, integrity, and love.
April 9, 2011
The problem of expectations – expect too much and disappointment ruins the tale. The Lock Artist appears on number of recommended or “Best” Lists and the premise, a teen-aged elective mute safecracker, sounds intriguing. It promised to be as original as Jonathan Lethem’s tour-de-force Motherless Brooklyn. Alas, this is not Motherless Brooklyn.
After a promising start, by cranking up the suspense by telling that our protagonist, Mike, suffered a traumatic event as a young child and was dubbed the “Miracle Boy”, an event so traumatic that he never spoke again and can’t tell us even now as he relates his history. The book in the first-person voice, an unusual voice for a novel. Promising indeed.
But then it all falls apart – or more accurately devolves into a by-the-numbers coming-of-age story. I call it the “American Cinderella.” High-school kid from the wrong side of the tracks struggles with quiet dignity while loud, obnoxious jocks and mean girls poke fun at him. Of course the prettiest girl notices his substance and is infinitely patient of his failings. They share a common bond of art – both are gifted artists, naturally. These might sound like spoilers. They’re not, Hamilton telegraphs the clichés. To be fair to Hamilton, they’re such worn clichés, it’s hard not to telegraph them.
He alternates chapters between Mike’s high school life and his present-day problems. It’s an effective device; it helps to sustain whatever suspense is left. The criminal gang can be seen on any run-of-the-mill cable TV movie, so there’s not much of a surprise when the heist finally happens.
This book is a lost opportunity. The premise is good but it’s a shame that the story wasn’t as good. I’ve read one book of Steve Hamilton’s Alex McKnight series. This series is also highly praised. I must be immune to Hamilton’s charms because the book was merely adequate in my eyes. This is not to say that he’s a bad writer. I just don’t understand all the fuss.
After a promising start, by cranking up the suspense by telling that our protagonist, Mike, suffered a traumatic event as a young child and was dubbed the “Miracle Boy”, an event so traumatic that he never spoke again and can’t tell us even now as he relates his history. The book in the first-person voice, an unusual voice for a novel. Promising indeed.
But then it all falls apart – or more accurately devolves into a by-the-numbers coming-of-age story. I call it the “American Cinderella.” High-school kid from the wrong side of the tracks struggles with quiet dignity while loud, obnoxious jocks and mean girls poke fun at him. Of course the prettiest girl notices his substance and is infinitely patient of his failings. They share a common bond of art – both are gifted artists, naturally. These might sound like spoilers. They’re not, Hamilton telegraphs the clichés. To be fair to Hamilton, they’re such worn clichés, it’s hard not to telegraph them.
He alternates chapters between Mike’s high school life and his present-day problems. It’s an effective device; it helps to sustain whatever suspense is left. The criminal gang can be seen on any run-of-the-mill cable TV movie, so there’s not much of a surprise when the heist finally happens.
This book is a lost opportunity. The premise is good but it’s a shame that the story wasn’t as good. I’ve read one book of Steve Hamilton’s Alex McKnight series. This series is also highly praised. I must be immune to Hamilton’s charms because the book was merely adequate in my eyes. This is not to say that he’s a bad writer. I just don’t understand all the fuss.
November 27, 2019
At the age of eight, Michael survives an act of violence so horrific that the local press dubs him “The Miracle Boy.” An orphan now, and no longer able to speak, Michael soon discovers the one thing he can do better than anyone else. Whether it’s a locked door with no key, a padlock with no combination, or even an 800-pound safe…Michael can open them all.
It doesn’t take long for him to become a hot commodity, and the best “boxman” in the business. But like any valuable commodity, there are people who will do whatever it takes to own him. And once they see what Michael can really do, they’re not about to let him walk away.
Traveling all across the country, always on the run…If there’s a heist in the works and a group of criminals with the right phone number, then Michael is their man. And he is always successful. Always. Until one day, when a seemingly simple job turns into a nightmare, and everything falls apart. With nothing left to lose, he decides to go back home to find the only person he ever loved. And to finally face his bigger secret – the secret that has kept him silent for all these years.
It doesn’t take long for him to become a hot commodity, and the best “boxman” in the business. But like any valuable commodity, there are people who will do whatever it takes to own him. And once they see what Michael can really do, they’re not about to let him walk away.
Traveling all across the country, always on the run…If there’s a heist in the works and a group of criminals with the right phone number, then Michael is their man. And he is always successful. Always. Until one day, when a seemingly simple job turns into a nightmare, and everything falls apart. With nothing left to lose, he decides to go back home to find the only person he ever loved. And to finally face his bigger secret – the secret that has kept him silent for all these years.
May 7, 2011
About a quarter of the way through The Lock Artist, by Steve Hamilton, I began pondering one of those meta-questions about reading: What are the qualities of a book that make you not want to put it down? That compel you to read "just a couple more pages" until you wake at 4:15 a.m. with the lights on, your glasses perched on your nose and the book stretched open across your chest? That make you willing to tote two or three extra pounds of hardcover book in your bag, despite the sore neck it causes, on the off chance you'll be able to sneak away at lunch and read a chapter?
At first glance, The Lock Artist doesn't seem to be the sort of book that inspires these kind of musings. It's not book club material; there are no author interviews and high school English class style questions at the back. I only marked one passage, on page 36, with a Post-it® flag. The prose is crisp and clean, squarely in the American crime novel tradition, though more soft boiled than hard boiled. But it didn't inspire me to re-read passages (except when I realized I'd dozed off trying not to put the book down). In a twist now so conventional it's not twisted anymore, the narrator is the criminal, not the cop pursuing him. The plot, like the prose, is not complex. The author uses a technique that often annoys me, alternating chapters between past and present to build up to The Big Reveal, by which time almost anything revealed will be anti-climatic.
All the makings of a very ordinary crime thriller--that I couldn't wait to get back to, that I sacrificed sleep for, that I couldn't put down. The Lock Artist is one of those novels where all the ordinary pieces are so well done and come together so seamlessly that the result is an extraordinarily good read.
The narrator, Mike, is the 17-year-old Lock Artist, a boxman, a yegg, a safecracker and pick-lock with natural talent. He is a specialist who is called in to do one thing, get through the locks and into the safe. He is also the Miracle Boy, who at 9 survived some unnamed horror that has rendered him completely mute. The novel alternates between telling the story of how Mike became The Lock Artist and telling the story of how being The Lock Artist wound him up in prison, where he is at the beginning of the story. Is he redeemed from his life of crime and relieved of the trauma that silences him? No spoilers here. Read it for yourself.
One has to give some credit to Mike for making this book so gripping. He's a great character, likable, a little naive, honest despite being a thief, lacking in self-pity and stoic. His muteness allows those around him to impose their own personality on him, which he is sometimes able to use to his advantage. He does not blame anyone for his life or his own choices, and he is perhaps a bit too generous toward those who took his choices away from him.
Mike is an artist in another way: He draws. He communicates to the love of his life through comic book panels that become his voice and finally allow him to tell his own story. It occurs to me that much of the book has that comic book quality (meant as a good thing; I like comic books). Each chapter, each scene contains only what is needed to convey the story, and yet the simplicity is deceptive because what is conveyed with a single line is more evocative than pages of text.
Last week, The Lock Artist won the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Novel. It is well-deserved. Lately I've been disappointed in several books that have garnered awards and praise and top spots on best-of lists. This book restores my faith in the award-givers that sometimes, at least, they really do know what they're doing.
At first glance, The Lock Artist doesn't seem to be the sort of book that inspires these kind of musings. It's not book club material; there are no author interviews and high school English class style questions at the back. I only marked one passage, on page 36, with a Post-it® flag. The prose is crisp and clean, squarely in the American crime novel tradition, though more soft boiled than hard boiled. But it didn't inspire me to re-read passages (except when I realized I'd dozed off trying not to put the book down). In a twist now so conventional it's not twisted anymore, the narrator is the criminal, not the cop pursuing him. The plot, like the prose, is not complex. The author uses a technique that often annoys me, alternating chapters between past and present to build up to The Big Reveal, by which time almost anything revealed will be anti-climatic.
All the makings of a very ordinary crime thriller--that I couldn't wait to get back to, that I sacrificed sleep for, that I couldn't put down. The Lock Artist is one of those novels where all the ordinary pieces are so well done and come together so seamlessly that the result is an extraordinarily good read.
The narrator, Mike, is the 17-year-old Lock Artist, a boxman, a yegg, a safecracker and pick-lock with natural talent. He is a specialist who is called in to do one thing, get through the locks and into the safe. He is also the Miracle Boy, who at 9 survived some unnamed horror that has rendered him completely mute. The novel alternates between telling the story of how Mike became The Lock Artist and telling the story of how being The Lock Artist wound him up in prison, where he is at the beginning of the story. Is he redeemed from his life of crime and relieved of the trauma that silences him? No spoilers here. Read it for yourself.
One has to give some credit to Mike for making this book so gripping. He's a great character, likable, a little naive, honest despite being a thief, lacking in self-pity and stoic. His muteness allows those around him to impose their own personality on him, which he is sometimes able to use to his advantage. He does not blame anyone for his life or his own choices, and he is perhaps a bit too generous toward those who took his choices away from him.
Mike is an artist in another way: He draws. He communicates to the love of his life through comic book panels that become his voice and finally allow him to tell his own story. It occurs to me that much of the book has that comic book quality (meant as a good thing; I like comic books). Each chapter, each scene contains only what is needed to convey the story, and yet the simplicity is deceptive because what is conveyed with a single line is more evocative than pages of text.
Last week, The Lock Artist won the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Novel. It is well-deserved. Lately I've been disappointed in several books that have garnered awards and praise and top spots on best-of lists. This book restores my faith in the award-givers that sometimes, at least, they really do know what they're doing.
May 23, 2011
The Lock Artist recently won an Edgar for best novel. Steve Hamilton was in fine company for this award competing with authors Harlan Coben, Tana French, Tom Franklin, Laura Lippman and Timothy Hallinan. I hadn’t read all the nominees but the ones I did were really good so I thought Steve Hamilton’s winner should be good. It absolutely was.
I really like the way Hamilton told the tale. You know right from the beginning that something horrific and violent happened to 8 year old Michael but you don’t know what. The incident leaves Michael unable to speak. Skip ahead a few years; Michael, an orphan, and kind of an outsider in school, becomes quite popular with his classmates and others when they find out about a talent he has. Michael is able to open most any lock or safe. Soon this talent becomes of interest to some pretty shady characters and they groom Michael as a boxman, the man you go to when you need a safe cracked.
Revealing bits and pieces of Michael’s tragedy, weaving back and forth from present to past and back again, kept me turning the pages to see how it would all end.
The Lock Artist is first rate thriller, deserving of the award in my book.
I really like the way Hamilton told the tale. You know right from the beginning that something horrific and violent happened to 8 year old Michael but you don’t know what. The incident leaves Michael unable to speak. Skip ahead a few years; Michael, an orphan, and kind of an outsider in school, becomes quite popular with his classmates and others when they find out about a talent he has. Michael is able to open most any lock or safe. Soon this talent becomes of interest to some pretty shady characters and they groom Michael as a boxman, the man you go to when you need a safe cracked.
Revealing bits and pieces of Michael’s tragedy, weaving back and forth from present to past and back again, kept me turning the pages to see how it would all end.
The Lock Artist is first rate thriller, deserving of the award in my book.
December 27, 2011
This book blew me away. Michael is a traumatized 18 year old who hasn't spoken a word in 10 years. He is also a master lock picker with a natural gift for breaking into places. Throughout the story, told by Michael, we learn about his recent past and eventually about the horrible events of his childhood that left him unable to speak. I was shocked by how emotional the story was as I was expecting a fun crime thriller with an unusual plot. Instead, this is a powerful and sad story wrapped in the cover of a crime thriller. I loved it.
December 9, 2013
SETTING: Michigan
SERIES: Standalone
RATING: 4.75
One of the greatest blessings for the avid crime fiction reader is to discover a series that you love. You can look forward to spending time with books that you know will appeal to you, with a new one generally published every year. Steve Hamilton had me at "hello"; I thought that the first book in the Alex McKnight series, A COLD DAY IN PARADISE, was amazing. I've eagerly gobbled up each of the entries in that series and continue to wait for more. The downside of falling in love with a series is that most authors want to break away from writing the same character and create a standalone. Generally, I face standalones with trepidation. I don't begrudge the author the opportunity to do something new and different; I do feel deprived of the series book that could have been written instead. Hamilton's first standalone was NIGHT WORK. Unfortunately, I didn't care for that book at all. So you can imagine that I had very mixed feelings when I started his second standalone, THE LOCK ARTIST. Thank heavens I was mistaken; the book turned out to be excellent and will likely occupy a spot in my favorites list for some time to come.
As the book opens, we are introduced to Michael, a young man who has been in prison for nine years. When he was eight years old, he survived a traumatic event which led people to dub him "the Miracle Boy". One of the side effects of that experience was that Mike was rendered mute. He has not spoken a word since that time. At this point in his life, he wants to share his story; and the rest of the book is a reflection of the events that occurred in 1999 and 2000 that led him to his present situation. He is still too emotionally scarred to describe what happened to him in 1990; he feels that by describing his near past, he may at some point be able to share the root of it along the way.
After the incident, Michael is raised by his Uncle Lito who has a shop in the small town of Milford, Michigan. Michael discovers that he has a real talent in opening locks, and that skill is pivotal in determining the direction that his life takes. On a lark in high school, he helps some other guys break into a house. He is the only one who is caught, and he refuses to give up the others. As penance, he has to work for the homeowner for the summer. At first, the tasks that he is assigned are very punitive. However, it is worth it all when Michael meets the homeowner's daughter, Amelia. It's a case of love at first sight. Without the ability to speak to her, they develop a way of communicating using drawings. Both are talented artists. They create a kind of graphic novel that they pass along to each other to describe their feelings and what is going on in their lives.
Amelia's father is in some financial trouble. He decides to take advantage of Michael's lock picking abilities and sets him up with some dubious characters. Eventually, under the tutelage of master lock picker "The Ghost", Michael enters into a life of crime himself. Separated from Amelia and with no real future to speak of, Michael tries to find a way back to a life worth living.
The only thing that kept the book from being perfect for me was the structure of the narrative. Hamilton alternated chapters between mid 1999, when Michael was in high school and developing the relationship with Amelia, and 2000, when he became involved in picking locks as a criminal career. Since the time difference was so short between the two segments, I felt it would have worked better to deliver the narrative in a linear fashion. The jumps between the two time periods were a bit disorienting.
THE LOCK ARTIST is a poignant look at how deeply traumatic events can affect an individual. Hamilton doesn't treat Michael's inability to talk in anything other than the most realistic and sympathetic terms, no gimmicks whatsoever. The budding relationship of Michael and Amelia is very touchingly portrayed, and Michael's overall loneliness as a result of being mute is heartbreaking. Beyond this emotional element of the book, there is an engrossing plot being played out. The details around how to pick locks are fascinating, and the revelation of what actually happened to Michael horrifying. THE LOCK ARTIST is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I even forgave Hamilton for writing a standalone instead of another Alex McKnight book.
SERIES: Standalone
RATING: 4.75
One of the greatest blessings for the avid crime fiction reader is to discover a series that you love. You can look forward to spending time with books that you know will appeal to you, with a new one generally published every year. Steve Hamilton had me at "hello"; I thought that the first book in the Alex McKnight series, A COLD DAY IN PARADISE, was amazing. I've eagerly gobbled up each of the entries in that series and continue to wait for more. The downside of falling in love with a series is that most authors want to break away from writing the same character and create a standalone. Generally, I face standalones with trepidation. I don't begrudge the author the opportunity to do something new and different; I do feel deprived of the series book that could have been written instead. Hamilton's first standalone was NIGHT WORK. Unfortunately, I didn't care for that book at all. So you can imagine that I had very mixed feelings when I started his second standalone, THE LOCK ARTIST. Thank heavens I was mistaken; the book turned out to be excellent and will likely occupy a spot in my favorites list for some time to come.
As the book opens, we are introduced to Michael, a young man who has been in prison for nine years. When he was eight years old, he survived a traumatic event which led people to dub him "the Miracle Boy". One of the side effects of that experience was that Mike was rendered mute. He has not spoken a word since that time. At this point in his life, he wants to share his story; and the rest of the book is a reflection of the events that occurred in 1999 and 2000 that led him to his present situation. He is still too emotionally scarred to describe what happened to him in 1990; he feels that by describing his near past, he may at some point be able to share the root of it along the way.
After the incident, Michael is raised by his Uncle Lito who has a shop in the small town of Milford, Michigan. Michael discovers that he has a real talent in opening locks, and that skill is pivotal in determining the direction that his life takes. On a lark in high school, he helps some other guys break into a house. He is the only one who is caught, and he refuses to give up the others. As penance, he has to work for the homeowner for the summer. At first, the tasks that he is assigned are very punitive. However, it is worth it all when Michael meets the homeowner's daughter, Amelia. It's a case of love at first sight. Without the ability to speak to her, they develop a way of communicating using drawings. Both are talented artists. They create a kind of graphic novel that they pass along to each other to describe their feelings and what is going on in their lives.
Amelia's father is in some financial trouble. He decides to take advantage of Michael's lock picking abilities and sets him up with some dubious characters. Eventually, under the tutelage of master lock picker "The Ghost", Michael enters into a life of crime himself. Separated from Amelia and with no real future to speak of, Michael tries to find a way back to a life worth living.
The only thing that kept the book from being perfect for me was the structure of the narrative. Hamilton alternated chapters between mid 1999, when Michael was in high school and developing the relationship with Amelia, and 2000, when he became involved in picking locks as a criminal career. Since the time difference was so short between the two segments, I felt it would have worked better to deliver the narrative in a linear fashion. The jumps between the two time periods were a bit disorienting.
THE LOCK ARTIST is a poignant look at how deeply traumatic events can affect an individual. Hamilton doesn't treat Michael's inability to talk in anything other than the most realistic and sympathetic terms, no gimmicks whatsoever. The budding relationship of Michael and Amelia is very touchingly portrayed, and Michael's overall loneliness as a result of being mute is heartbreaking. Beyond this emotional element of the book, there is an engrossing plot being played out. The details around how to pick locks are fascinating, and the revelation of what actually happened to Michael horrifying. THE LOCK ARTIST is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I even forgave Hamilton for writing a standalone instead of another Alex McKnight book.
December 7, 2018
They never end the way you think they will. As this one got closer and closer to the end I started conjuring up possible endings. Wasn't even close. Hamilton has the ability to create some really weird characters and throw them into one strange conundrum after the other. In between, his prose is magnificent. It's no wonder he's won all sorts of prestigious awards, starting with his first novel.
Another MICHIGAN boy makes good! Yes, that's what we all got going for us. Our roots in good ole Michigan, with the humidity, the monstrous skeeters, no end of allergies, plenty of snakes, but the fruit and vegetables are to die for (oops, careful when you say "die for"). I forgot to mention the sand burrs and the poison oak. Had plenty of that along the shore of Lake Michigan.
Cheers and Happy Reading!
JIM in MT (not MI)
http://blackdogebooks.com/
Another MICHIGAN boy makes good! Yes, that's what we all got going for us. Our roots in good ole Michigan, with the humidity, the monstrous skeeters, no end of allergies, plenty of snakes, but the fruit and vegetables are to die for (oops, careful when you say "die for"). I forgot to mention the sand burrs and the poison oak. Had plenty of that along the shore of Lake Michigan.
Cheers and Happy Reading!
JIM in MT (not MI)
http://blackdogebooks.com/
January 15, 2018
Terrific storytelling! He sucked me right in from the beginning, and I let him. I knew I was in good hands.
March 7, 2016
The author managed to keep a mute bloke interesting during a novel. Is that true? It partially is. To others, it will be doubly so. But I will say it only once, a mute traumatized outlaw isn't fun. There's a lack of any way shape or form of humor in this book. Some might say there's dark humor, but I don't agree because there's never a set up for a joke. It's one full treatment, a mild thriller caked in dreary attempts at cohesion.
The childhood of Mike is like a footnote. The brief glimpse in his trauma clumsily shoves his artistic roots in our way. There are some apparently easy analogy to draw from. The fact that Mike is still in his safe, and the chink in the door allows him to concentrate and be deaf to any sound other than the clunk in the grooves of his real life safes.
Where the hell did Lucy go? She's dead? Or not? Is she?
One other weird glitch in the author's exploration of his main two persons is the prudish lack of even suggestions of sexual acts. I have no problem with that, in fact is a breath of fresh air. However, the story suffers in a certain lack of details, notably with the father figures of Lito and Ghost. There's a misbegotten sense of fatalism with the career choice of the hero. He got owned by one of the mob. Then when the mute Mike and his gang hit 4 million, he is free... where to draw the line here? When is it safe to buy one's freedom in this universe the writer has spun for us?
I forget how many times has Mike neglected the orders of Ghost. Some readers could take that Mike cannot know how to respond to a father figure. He is not stupid. He is good with numbers and art and he's the best boxman. The author wants us to side with Mike. He starves literally in the service of his craft. The world of Mike is clearly pseudo realistic at times but other times it's too fake. Like how so many people lie about how Mike's muteness is cool. Anyway I guess they lie. In truth they could be feeling nothing or sorry for him.
Maybe it was cruel and fateful to make a criminal of Mike. He inexplicably can navigate through the length and breath of the country, but loses sight of his best friend. The obstacles and limitation in the path of the main protagonist should make sense. Otherwise the lecture of the story does not become as immersive as it could have. Though I'm still wondering about the Lucy character, I still agree with the treatment of Nadine. Almost all of the people in this book have a strong entry and definite exit. Lito, Banks, Nadine, Zeke. All of them. The hero remains alone.
The childhood of Mike is like a footnote. The brief glimpse in his trauma clumsily shoves his artistic roots in our way. There are some apparently easy analogy to draw from. The fact that Mike is still in his safe, and the chink in the door allows him to concentrate and be deaf to any sound other than the clunk in the grooves of his real life safes.
Where the hell did Lucy go? She's dead? Or not? Is she?
One other weird glitch in the author's exploration of his main two persons is the prudish lack of even suggestions of sexual acts. I have no problem with that, in fact is a breath of fresh air. However, the story suffers in a certain lack of details, notably with the father figures of Lito and Ghost. There's a misbegotten sense of fatalism with the career choice of the hero. He got owned by one of the mob. Then when the mute Mike and his gang hit 4 million, he is free... where to draw the line here? When is it safe to buy one's freedom in this universe the writer has spun for us?
I forget how many times has Mike neglected the orders of Ghost. Some readers could take that Mike cannot know how to respond to a father figure. He is not stupid. He is good with numbers and art and he's the best boxman. The author wants us to side with Mike. He starves literally in the service of his craft. The world of Mike is clearly pseudo realistic at times but other times it's too fake. Like how so many people lie about how Mike's muteness is cool. Anyway I guess they lie. In truth they could be feeling nothing or sorry for him.
Maybe it was cruel and fateful to make a criminal of Mike. He inexplicably can navigate through the length and breath of the country, but loses sight of his best friend. The obstacles and limitation in the path of the main protagonist should make sense. Otherwise the lecture of the story does not become as immersive as it could have. Though I'm still wondering about the Lucy character, I still agree with the treatment of Nadine. Almost all of the people in this book have a strong entry and definite exit. Lito, Banks, Nadine, Zeke. All of them. The hero remains alone.
January 29, 2016
That rare but most satisfying of reads, a well written thriller with cleverly rendered characters and above all and an rarest of all a sparkling fun fresh take on all the pillars of the genre.
A teenager rendered mute by a trauma in his childhood tries to deal with his love life while being exploited for his lock picking skills. Admittedly a perhaps not entirely alluring plot summary but gosh it's good stuff.
A teenager rendered mute by a trauma in his childhood tries to deal with his love life while being exploited for his lock picking skills. Admittedly a perhaps not entirely alluring plot summary but gosh it's good stuff.
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November 29, 2011
I liked this book well enough I suppose. I thought the protagonist, Michael, a teenage boy with a gift for unlocking nearly everything, was a well fleshed out character though I found him to be a little too much the "reluctant safecracker" for my tastes. Michael is unable to speak since a traumatic event which is not immediately explained. This made for some realistically uncomfortable situations in the story. The author obviously thought quite a bit about the problems that would arise for someone unable to speak. The plot was decent enough if the reader does not spend too much time thinking about it and the twist at the end was well played but ended, I think, with a bit of an unfortunate cop out..
I very much liked the portions of the book where Michael was opening the locks, these scenes were very well done and engaging. I also liked how the story came together as the two storylines alternated chapters. I would have preferred if the story had not opened with the protagonist explaining that he was in prison. I felt that this fact took away from the suspense of the ending.
All-in-All this was a worthy book, 3.5 stars but leaning towards 3.
I very much liked the portions of the book where Michael was opening the locks, these scenes were very well done and engaging. I also liked how the story came together as the two storylines alternated chapters. I would have preferred if the story had not opened with the protagonist explaining that he was in prison. I felt that this fact took away from the suspense of the ending.
All-in-All this was a worthy book, 3.5 stars but leaning towards 3.
March 21, 2016
This is a story about a merman who give up his voice to an evil entity associated with his past in exchange for a life on land as a criminal safe cracker. He eventually meets a woman who identifies as a mermaid and they .... wait, no that's not right, Although...
I always enjoy a good story about the perfect score/heist. This book had several of them, maybe too many. The lock picking and safe cracking scenes although interesting became repetitive and trying to get through but intriguing nonetheless.
Where this story fell short for me is in the surroundings and character development. The majority of the book is taken place in 1999-2000, however save for pagers and lack of touch pad safes, there is no indication of being in that era. No Y2K headlines, no Maria Maria, on the radio in the background or any mention of the looming 21st century. It just doesn't feel like it. The characters are flat and interchangeable.
Despite that, it's a good tale and there's a encouraging love story but the writing somewhat tedious prevented me from connecting with the main character.
I always enjoy a good story about the perfect score/heist. This book had several of them, maybe too many. The lock picking and safe cracking scenes although interesting became repetitive and trying to get through but intriguing nonetheless.
Where this story fell short for me is in the surroundings and character development. The majority of the book is taken place in 1999-2000, however save for pagers and lack of touch pad safes, there is no indication of being in that era. No Y2K headlines, no Maria Maria, on the radio in the background or any mention of the looming 21st century. It just doesn't feel like it. The characters are flat and interchangeable.
Despite that, it's a good tale and there's a encouraging love story but the writing somewhat tedious prevented me from connecting with the main character.
February 10, 2014
This book was slow in the beginning, but then picked up the further I read. It had an OK ending, but I may feel that way because it wasn't the ending I was hoping for.
September 7, 2016
Outstanding plot , very original
March 12, 2025
A rather unique story, related in a non-linear fashion, about a character writing about his life of crime while in prison. Learned a lot about picking locks, fwiw. A very easy read and I may look up other titles by the author. Our hero has been a mute since the age of 8, the result of a traumatic experience that he avoids going into until a woman who loves him insists on it. He learns early in life that he is interested in locks and learns how to pick them. This puts him on a path where he meets and works with some really unpleasant characters. But he becomes sought after for his skills. And, of course, there's the law.
Overall glad I read it.
Overall glad I read it.
November 25, 2011
It’s always interesting to read books that have won awards, and see if you see what the judges have raved about (sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t). There are few awards bigger in the crime writing world than the annual Edgars, given out by the Mystery Writers of America, and earlier this year that honour went to The Lock Artist, an intriguing tale centred on a unique young man with talent and troubles.
As a kid, Michael survived a terrible incident that took his parent, but rendered him mute. School becomes unbearable, until he discovers he has an eye-catching skill; he can open locks with ease. A teenage prank gone wrong, burglarising a rival quarterback’s house, brings him into contact with a man, and his daughter, who will end up changing his life. Perhaps not for the better, as he has to graduate to safe cracking and put his skills to use to save the daughter, under threat thanks to the father’s debts.
Hamilton spins an intriguing yarn, mixing up the narrative between two major periods in Michael’s life, and between thrills and chills as he goes about his rollercoaster criminal career and an interesting character study of a troubled young man trying to get out from under his tough life, wanting nothing more than a fresh start with a girl he adores.
As a kid, Michael survived a terrible incident that took his parent, but rendered him mute. School becomes unbearable, until he discovers he has an eye-catching skill; he can open locks with ease. A teenage prank gone wrong, burglarising a rival quarterback’s house, brings him into contact with a man, and his daughter, who will end up changing his life. Perhaps not for the better, as he has to graduate to safe cracking and put his skills to use to save the daughter, under threat thanks to the father’s debts.
Hamilton spins an intriguing yarn, mixing up the narrative between two major periods in Michael’s life, and between thrills and chills as he goes about his rollercoaster criminal career and an interesting character study of a troubled young man trying to get out from under his tough life, wanting nothing more than a fresh start with a girl he adores.
August 2, 2011
RIP Robert Parker, and thank heavens for Steve Hamilton to write this methadone-like book for my Spenser addiction. If you like a good mystery, and by that I mean an actually mystery--not just a crime novel--complete with well-told story, you will enjoy this book. michael is the miracle boy--and the lock artist. something happened to him as a child, and although there's no physiological reason, he's left mute. this makes him the ultimate confidence man, by which i mean that if he's invited to pick a lock (which he frequently is) for some unsavory character (there are a few of them...), one can be pretty confident that he won't squeal on the rest of the crew. somehow hamilton manages to tie the story of how michael becomes a "boxman" for hire to how he falls in love with amelia, the sister of the guy who lives in the first house he ever broke into. this is so adroitly rendered that i literally could not stop reading the book one night until i got to a breathing point in their relationship. it's an excellent story, and hamilton doesn't give in to what could be a severe temptation to embellish with gore or teen angst. he just...tells the story. and yes, eventually, so does michael.
May 5, 2016
Thriller where the protagonist is a teen unable to speak because of a traumatic domestic incident occurred when he was 8 years old. Mike discovers he has a natural talent for opening locks and safes and this fact gets him in the company of some dangerous people.
The novel is told in first person and despite the fact that each chapter jumps back and forth in time, the story flows well. There’s plenty of tension with a little bit of romance thrown in. Strangely enough, this not is not marked as YA, but I think it would fit the genre perfectly.
It’s my very first Steve Hamilton, but it won’t be my last, 3.5 stars rounded up.
The novel is told in first person and despite the fact that each chapter jumps back and forth in time, the story flows well. There’s plenty of tension with a little bit of romance thrown in. Strangely enough, this not is not marked as YA, but I think it would fit the genre perfectly.
It’s my very first Steve Hamilton, but it won’t be my last, 3.5 stars rounded up.
August 10, 2023
My daughter and I read this book because it was her summer reading assignment. It was a good book overall, story was different and it was a flashback type story that was engaging.
September 22, 2025
A mute kid with a talent for opening locks finds himself in deep trouble, as the mob finds out about his skills.
Curiously old fashioned and quaint.
Curiously old fashioned and quaint.
August 27, 2016
"A wise old man sat on an oak; the more he saw the less he spoke; the less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren't we like that wise old bird?" That quotation could have been Steve Hamilton's inspiration for the novel The Lock Artist.
Have you ever been having a conversation with someone and found that they are not really listening to you? They are instead waiting for you to stop speaking so that they can speak? Listening is a lost art. It is only one of the arts that the protagonist of The Lock Artist practices with skill.
Michael is mute. His muteness is a result of a trauma he experienced when he was just eight years old and is a psychological condition rather than a physical one. The ten years since then have held much unhappiness for Michael. He was sent to live with a caring uncle, but this uncle had little to no child-rearing skills. He only ever really had one friend in school. He was a loner who immersed himself in his art. He loves to draw and finds his talent lends itself to a graphic novel style where he tells a story through panels of art with conversation bubbles added.
Michael practices another art. He is a lock artist. He can open just about any lock and decipher the combination of any safe. He has had years of practice and his talent for listening has helped him hone his skill. However Michael's talent attracts the wrong sort of people. People who want to use him for illegal ventures.
As a high school senior, Michael is goaded into breaking into the home of another high school student to abet a high school rivalry. When he is in the house he finds an art portfolio of the girl who lives there. He appreciates her talent and finds himself intrigued by her. The worst of course happens and Michael is caught. Unwilling to name his fellows in crime, he is sentenced to do work for the man who's home he broke into. This man is the girl's father and Michael sees his punishment as both a way of atoning for his crime and a way to meet and get to know the daughter, Amelia.
After many hours of back-breaking labor, digging a hole for a swimming pool, Micheal and Amelia find that they are attracted to one another. Both artists, they use their art to communicate with each other and they constantly exchange graphic panels.
Amelia's father is heavily in debt and once he finds out about Michael's talent with locks he enlists him to do favors for certain people who will use Michael's expertise as a trade-off for some of the debt owed. This is the beginning of a long and slippery downward slope for Michael.
Essentially Michael is one of the good guys. A good guy who is only partially at fault for how his life turned. A criminal, but one that as a reader you can still like, and root for his success. Set in urban Michigan, the novel has a grim and rather colorless setting which works perfectly with Michael, his situation and his regrets.
This is the first novel I have read by Steve Hamilton, but it won't be the last. The Lock Artist has a truly original plot with a protagonist that won't be easy to forget. Different from the standard thriller and written in a way that perfectly captures the loneliness and desperation of the protagonist while maintaining an element of suspense throughout, this is a must-read novel for readers of the genre.
Have you ever been having a conversation with someone and found that they are not really listening to you? They are instead waiting for you to stop speaking so that they can speak? Listening is a lost art. It is only one of the arts that the protagonist of The Lock Artist practices with skill.
Michael is mute. His muteness is a result of a trauma he experienced when he was just eight years old and is a psychological condition rather than a physical one. The ten years since then have held much unhappiness for Michael. He was sent to live with a caring uncle, but this uncle had little to no child-rearing skills. He only ever really had one friend in school. He was a loner who immersed himself in his art. He loves to draw and finds his talent lends itself to a graphic novel style where he tells a story through panels of art with conversation bubbles added.
Michael practices another art. He is a lock artist. He can open just about any lock and decipher the combination of any safe. He has had years of practice and his talent for listening has helped him hone his skill. However Michael's talent attracts the wrong sort of people. People who want to use him for illegal ventures.
As a high school senior, Michael is goaded into breaking into the home of another high school student to abet a high school rivalry. When he is in the house he finds an art portfolio of the girl who lives there. He appreciates her talent and finds himself intrigued by her. The worst of course happens and Michael is caught. Unwilling to name his fellows in crime, he is sentenced to do work for the man who's home he broke into. This man is the girl's father and Michael sees his punishment as both a way of atoning for his crime and a way to meet and get to know the daughter, Amelia.
After many hours of back-breaking labor, digging a hole for a swimming pool, Micheal and Amelia find that they are attracted to one another. Both artists, they use their art to communicate with each other and they constantly exchange graphic panels.
Amelia's father is heavily in debt and once he finds out about Michael's talent with locks he enlists him to do favors for certain people who will use Michael's expertise as a trade-off for some of the debt owed. This is the beginning of a long and slippery downward slope for Michael.
Essentially Michael is one of the good guys. A good guy who is only partially at fault for how his life turned. A criminal, but one that as a reader you can still like, and root for his success. Set in urban Michigan, the novel has a grim and rather colorless setting which works perfectly with Michael, his situation and his regrets.
This is the first novel I have read by Steve Hamilton, but it won't be the last. The Lock Artist has a truly original plot with a protagonist that won't be easy to forget. Different from the standard thriller and written in a way that perfectly captures the loneliness and desperation of the protagonist while maintaining an element of suspense throughout, this is a must-read novel for readers of the genre.
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July 25, 2011Write a review...The crime/thriller genre has expanded significantly over the years, seeing the development of some terrific authors. Steve Hamilton is one of them—a terrific writer with the ability to create memorable characters and compelling action. Hamilton's latest, The Lock Artist, is the story of Michael, a teenager who hasn't spoken since a traumatic incident in his childhood.
Michael may be silent verbally, but his story is a tremendously vivid one. Learning how to pick locks—keyed locks, combination locks, safes, etc.—at a very young age, he becomes a valuable commodity in the crime world. His first brush with the law brings him into contact with Amelia, a beautiful young girl whose father is in a great deal of trouble. Michael and Amelia fall in love, and in order to save her, he agrees to help those people whom her father owes. This decision sets him on a destructive path where he is forced to make some important choices that will dictate his future—and whether or not he will ever see Amelia again.
I thought this book was great. Although Michael is unapologetic about his transgressions, I still found myself rooting for him and a happy ending for him and Amelia. The story jumps back and forth between the past and the present, and at times it is a bit confusing to keep the incidents straight, but that is a tiny bit of criticism for a novel that kept me engaged from start to finish. Steve Hamilton is definitely an author worth following, and once you read The Lock Artist, you should definitely check out his series of books featuring Michigan PI Alex McKnight.
Michael may be silent verbally, but his story is a tremendously vivid one. Learning how to pick locks—keyed locks, combination locks, safes, etc.—at a very young age, he becomes a valuable commodity in the crime world. His first brush with the law brings him into contact with Amelia, a beautiful young girl whose father is in a great deal of trouble. Michael and Amelia fall in love, and in order to save her, he agrees to help those people whom her father owes. This decision sets him on a destructive path where he is forced to make some important choices that will dictate his future—and whether or not he will ever see Amelia again.
I thought this book was great. Although Michael is unapologetic about his transgressions, I still found myself rooting for him and a happy ending for him and Amelia. The story jumps back and forth between the past and the present, and at times it is a bit confusing to keep the incidents straight, but that is a tiny bit of criticism for a novel that kept me engaged from start to finish. Steve Hamilton is definitely an author worth following, and once you read The Lock Artist, you should definitely check out his series of books featuring Michigan PI Alex McKnight.
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