The Second Life of Nick Mason

Steve Hamilton

May 2016 · A Nick Mason Novel Book 1 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

An NPR and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Library Journal Best Thriller of the Year

“A gamechanger. Nick Mason is one of the best main characters I've read in years.”—Harlan Coben

From New York Times-bestselling, two-time Edgar-award-winning author Steve Hamilton comes an unforgettable new hero, a man who will walk out of prison and into a harrowing double life that is anything but free.

Nick Mason has already spent five years inside a maximum security prison when an offer comes that will grant his release twenty years early. He accepts—but the deal comes with a terrible price.

Now, back on the streets, Nick Mason has a new house, a new car, money to burn, and a beautiful roommate. He’s returned to society, but he's still a prisoner. Whenever his cell phone rings, day or night, Nick must answer it and follow whatever order he is given. It’s the deal he made with Darius Cole, a criminal mastermind serving a double-life term who runs an empire from his prison cell.

Forced to commit increasingly more dangerous crimes, hunted by the relentless detective who put him behind bars, and desperate to go straight and rebuild his life with his daughter and ex-wife, Nick will ultimately have to risk everything—his family, his sanity, and even his life—to finally break free.

Ratings and reviews

Nick Mason has served 5 years of a 25 - to - Life term in prison. Although he wasn't holding the gun, he was with the man who was when a Federal Agent was shot and killed. Darius Cole is a dangerous man .. serving 2 life terms at the same prison. Cole is one of the most powerful men in ..and out ... of prison. He's running his empire from behind the walls. He has politicians, cops, businessmen, drug cartels all under this thumb. And Darius wants something from Nick. Darius makes a deal with Nick ... he gets a mansion, a Mustang, and $10000 each and every month. They will tell him where his ex-wife and daughter are. All he has to do is answer the phone when it rings .. day or not ... and do exactly what he is told. A call might come in tonight or tomorrow or maybe in 6 months. But his phone will never be busy, never be unavailable ..at a very high cost. Wanting out of prison to start a relative new life and wanting to see his family, he agrees. And then the phone rings ......... This book takes us through Nick's younger years when he and his friends robbed drug dealers, stole cars, and then moved into the big time. The author paints a very dismal picture of how someone who is intelligent can make some really unintelligent choices .. and pays the price. Now he's learning that although not in prison, he is still not a free man. He must do whatever Darius Cole or his representative demands ... or his family may pay the penalty. This is a well-written crime thriller. The characters are believable. There is a bit of predictability that the reader is asked to overlook, but not enough to ruin a good read. I have read the Alex Knight series (or some of them) and found them more to my taste. Many thanks to the author / Penguin Group Putnam / NetGalley who provided a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Steve Hamilton never disappoints.

About the author

Steve Hamilton is the New York Times-bestselling author of twelve novels, most recently Die a Stranger and Let It Burn.  His debut, A Cold Day in Paradise, won both an Edgar and a Shamus Award for Best First Novel. His standalone novel The Lock Artist was a New York Times Notable Crime Book and won an Alex Award and the Edgar Award for Best Novel. He attended the University of Michigan, where he won the prestigious Hopwood Award for writing, and now lives in Cottekill, NY, with his wife and their two children.