-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
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.
"Starred Review. [A] high-octane series launch ... Hamilton guns it like Nick's 1968 Mustang for a fast and furious ride." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. A tense, coiled thriller ... It moves like a bullet train, told in a deceptively simple, gin-clear prose that all but sucker punches the reader... One of [Hamilton's] best." - Booklist
"Starred Review. Hamilton surpasses himself with Mason, who inspires storytelling of the leanest, most gripping sort... A terrific new hero." - Kirkus
"Trust Stephen King. This book is the real deal." - Stephen King
"Steve Hamilton amazes me. Every time I think he's going to zig he zags." - Michael Connelly
"A gamechanger. Nick Mason is one of the best main characters I've read in years." - Harlan Coben
"Stunning. A gripping non-stop thriller. An engrossing read from page one. Steve Hamilton has delivered a fascinating new character. A flat out terrific read. I could not put this book down." - Don Winslow
"Whatever he writes, I'll read. Steve Hamilton's that good." - Lee Child
This information about The Second Life of Nick Mason was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Steve Hamilton is the New York Times–bestselling author of twelve novels, most recently The Second Life of Nick Mason and Die a Stranger. 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, New York, with his wife and their two children.
If you liked The Second Life of Nick Mason, try these:
by Jess Walter
Published 2026
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins—and in the propulsive spirit of Charles Portis' True Grit—comes a hilarious, empathetic, and brilliantly provocative adventure through life in modern America, about a reclusive journalist forced back into the world to rescue his kidnapped grandchildren.
by David Joy
Published 2023
Acclaimed author and "remarkably gifted storyteller" (the Charlotte Observer) David Joy returns with a fierce and tender tale of a father, an addict, a lawman, and the explosive events that come to unite them.
by Brian Panowich
Published 2016
Winner of the 2015 BookBrowse Debut Author Award
From a remarkable new voice in Southern fiction, a multigenerational saga of crime, family, and vengeance.
Happiness belongs to the self sufficient
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
