A Review of The Second Life of Nick Mason by Steve Hamilton

This is the first crime fiction novel I've read by Steve Hamilton and I would definitely pick up the next installment in this series. In this first installment, the main character, Nick Mason is sent to Terre Haute prison in Indiana for 25 years for killing a federal agent, but he gets an early release after doing five years. This early release came with a hefty price tag courtesy of another inmate by the name of Darius Cole who calls the shots from the inside.

This is an offer Nick couldn’t refuse because he wants to see his ex-wife and his daughter and visit with a good friend he didn’t snitch on. When Nick walks out of prison he gets picked up by Quintero (Cole’s henchman). He is given an envelope with keys to a townhouse in Lincoln Park one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Chicago, ten thousand dollars in cash and a cell phone which he is instructed to answer when Quintero calls.

Trying to settle into his new life, Nick is still on edge not knowing when the phone would ring and what crime he would be forced to commit. But then the orders came and Nick commits crimes he never thought he would do in the midst of a war between Cole and his rival.

This novel reads like it’s made for the big screen, chock full of complexities of the drug trade, dirty cops, strained relationships, loyalty and betrayal. I really enjoyed the description of Canaryville, Chicago the place where Nick grew up, the prison system and how the cops can turn a blind eye when they are on the take. Although there were parts of the novel that was a bit convoluted and bogged down with too many descriptions, it was a good read.

I look forward to reading more from Steve Hamilton in the near future. Two thumbs up!

Some of my favorite lines:

The dinner horn rang and inmates started to move down the hallway. Mason stayed where he was, sitting on the bed. He couldn’t help thinking about Gina. About Adriana.

“That night at the harbor,” Cole said, still standing in front of him. “We both know what you lost that night. Your wife. Your daughter. Everything you had.”

They were both right there in his head now. Right there. Close enough to touch.

“This is your chance, Nick. This is your chance to get it all back. All you gotta do is say yes.”

I have to do this, Mason thought. I have to take this. No matter what it means.

“But here me,” Cole said, “before you say your next word. Make sure you understand what I’m saying to you. All that shit about nobody owning you? That’s gone now. It’s a new fucking way of thinking for you. You make this deal with me, it’s twenty years you don’t have to be here anymore. But for those twenty years…your life don’t belong to you.”

Cole bent down close to Mason, close enough that his voice was a low rumble in Mason’s ear.

“For the next twenty years, your life belongs to me.”

Rating: 4 Stars

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