Every Day Above Ground: A Van Shaw Novel

Written by Glen Erik Hamilton

Narrated by R.C. Bray

A favor for a dying ex-con turns into a violent battle against a mysterious enemy for Van Shaw in this emotionally powerful and gritty thriller from the award-winning author of Past Crimes and Hard Cold Winter.

It sounds like a thief’s dream to Van Shaw: A terminally ill ex-con tells him of an easy fortune in gold, abandoned and nearly forgotten after its original owner died in prison. For the dying man, the money is a legacy to ensure his preteen daughter’s future. For Van, the gold is cash he desperately needs to rebuild his destroyed family home.

The grandson of a career criminal who taught him all the tricks of his trade, Van suspects that nothing is ever that easy. Sure enough, the safe holding the fortune is a trap—set by a mysterious player armed with tremendous resources and a lifetime of hatred. Now, Shaw’s partner is in the clutches of the hunters, and the former army ranger may be their next prey. But when the ex-con’s innocent daughter is threatened too, Van’s own hard childhood means he can’t let her come to harm.

To discover who has them in the cross hairs, Shaw must seek out the hunters’ real prey. His quest leads him from an underground bare-knuckle fighting ring, which may be fronting a darker purpose, to a massive pop-culture convention, where Van and his allies, Hollis and Corcoran, play a dangerous game with foes on every side. It also introduces Van to a brash and beautiful aspiring journalist who poses a whole different kind of personal risk.

For years, Van Shaw has tried to live every day above ground, on the right side of the law, even though crime is his gift . . . and in his blood. If he survives the coming storm, he’ll have to decide what he wants—and whether he can live as an outlaw without sacrificing his honor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jul 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9780062859945

Glen Erik Hamilton

A native of Seattle, GLEN ERIK HAMILTON was raised aboard a sailboat and grew up around the marinas and commercial docks and islands of the Pacific Northwest. His novels have won the Anthony, Macavity, and Strand Critics awards, and have been nominated for the Edgar, Barry, and Nero awards. After living for many years in Southern California, he and his family have recently returned to the Emerald City and its beautiful overcast skies.

Reviews for Every Day Above Ground

[mm_jones · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The third in the Van Shaw series featuring an ex-Army Ranger in Seattle. Shaw is trying to figure out what to do with his life after leaving the Army. He needs a new cause and may just have found it by the end of the book. Along the way - gold bars, ex-cons and maybe the score of a lifetime. The pace builds in the story and the second half is action packed with a few twists. Lots of local color too.

[susandennis-139327 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have a love/meh relationship with this series. Van Shaw was raised by a con man/thief and has all the skills himself but kind of doesn't use them much. But doesn't do much of anything else. There is an indication that this may take a turn for the better in the next in the series which is already out as I read this, so I'll read it, too.

[whitewavedarling · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The third book in Hamilton's Van Shaw series, Every Day Above Ground might be the best one yet. The occasional shifts into Shaw's past work seamlessly, and the plot builds and builds, bringing together everything you'd want in an action-based thriller. There were a lot of characters, and I have a feeling my read might have suffered if I'd taken longer to read it or hadn't had the earlier books so fresh in mind, but reading the book in three long sittings made for a perfect escape--and, honestly, it wasn't as if I wanted to put the book down at all. Hamilton's writing is masterful, and the characters are believable enough that a reader can sink into their world and feel as if they're reading more truth than fiction, gritty and hard-hitting as they are.

With the depth of character and the intricate plots, I do think the Shaw novels work best when read quickly, but I certainly recommend them. I've devoured all three, and can't wait for more.