Michael’s sensual, almost sexual, descriptions of the process are mesmerizing. 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 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. 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 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…. 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. Unfortunately, this talent has made him an extremely valuable commodity to some rather dangerous folks. Safe-cracking is an ART, and 18 year old Michael is a tumbler-aligning Picasso. 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. 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.

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.

Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else.

Marked by tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. 'I was the Miracle Boy, once upon a time.

The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton