The Lock Artist

The Lock Artist, published in 2010, is a standalone, young adult crime novel by Steve Hamilton, a prolific crime author known for the Alex McKnight series. The Lock Artist won the 2011 Edgar Award for best novel.

Plot Summary

The Lock Artist is narrated in the first person by Mike (or Michael), a young man who possesses an extraordinary talent for picking locks and cracking safes. He has not spoken a word since a trauma he survived at eight years old, when his father, who was separated from Mike’s mother, raped Mike’s mother and murdered her lover. To protect himself, Mike crawled inside the family’s gun safe and locked himself inside. Mike’s father carried the safe to a nearby river and attempted a murder-suicide by drowning, but Mike was rescued.

After Mike’s childhood trauma, he is sent to live with his Uncle Lito. At home with Uncle Lito, Mike develops a growing enthusiasm for picking locks. At the end of the school year, a popular jock at Mike’s high school asks Mike to help him and his friends breaking into a football rival’s house. Mike picks the lock on the house, but police arrive, and he is apprehended.