齣生於美國底特律，在密歇根州立大學畢業。曾獲2000年愛倫坡奬、夏姆斯奬、2006年密歇根州作傢奬。首部作品《冷寂天堂》（A Cold Day in Paradise）一齣版便一舉拿下2000年美國推理小說新人奬以及愛倫·坡最佳小說奬。他的新作《天纔鎖匠》更再次摘得2011年度愛倫·坡大奬，並入圍英國作傢協會金匕首奬的爭奪名單，是迄今為止為數不多拿過兩次愛倫坡大奬的作者。目前就職於美國IBM公司紐約分部。

""I was the Miracle Boy, once upon a time. Later on, the Milford Mute. The Golden Boy. The Young Ghost. The Kid. The Boxman. The Lock Artist. That was all me.""But you can call me Mike."""" Marked by tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else. Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe ... he can open them all. It's an unforgivable talent. 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. 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.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.