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Wild Thorn
From the critically acclaimed author of Tidewater Blood and Blood and Guile comes a gripping novel of suspense about a man who puts his life in jeopardy in order to bring a killer to justice. In Wild Thorn, Charley LeBlanc returns to the place of his birth only to find himself caught up in corruption and intrigue. The black sheep of a distinguished Virginia family, Charley has now settled in Montana to escape his felonious past. When he heads east for a brief trip, he discovers that an old mountaineer woman he has befriended is dead under questionable circumstances. Charley wants answers and sets out to find them. He's hampered by a local law force that remembers only too well Charley's previous misdeeds. But he's unexpectedly welcomed by the richest man in the area -- and his sexy, younger wife. The deeper Charley digs, the more he believes the old woman's death is not what it first appeared. And before long he uncovers a devious and dangerous enemy. Brilliantly written, with a strong sense of place and an intriguing cast of characters, Wild Thorn confirms William Hoffman's place as a writer of rare and extraordinary talent.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 30, 2012
Apparently this book is part of a series. But don't let that worry you too much, I didn't realize that until after I read the book, and I don't think it effected the story at all (although who knows what I'd think if I had read the first book). Regardless, it was complete on its own and a decent read.
Charley LeBlanc decides to return back to Virginia to the place of his birth. Along with his girlfriend Blackie, they arrive only to find that a beloved person from his past has been found dead and perhaps murdered. Doing some sleuthing of his own, Charley turns up some inconsistencies in the case, the foremost being that a local wild woman named Esmeralda is the main suspect and the murdered woman her only friend. Knowing some other secrets about Esmeralda, Charley knows that she couldn't have committed the crime. But the more evidence he tries to turn up, the deeper in he gets himself.
Blackie was probably the best character in this book. Even though I didn't particularly like her, she was well written and her character very complete. She felt as if she could be real and had very real emotions. Charley was ok in comparison. Sure he had his shadows in the past as well, but his personality was all over the place. We were told he was a certain way, only to have him do something against that told nature and it didn't make sense sometimes. And even though he was the main character, I never really felt attached to him in any way. All the side characters had a little bit of depth to them, you knew who the good and bad guys were (for the most part) and they all had their little quirks to them. Even though we never actually meet the dead woman, we known enough about her from the stories from other characters and Charley's remembrances that she actually is one of the better characters in the book.
The book started out a little slow at first and I was almost dreading continuing with it. But it did get better and by the end I was glad I had finished it. It may not be the best book I've read in awhile, but it had decently written characters and a unique tone brought on by the dialect of the area. There are some hard themes throughout the book, like murder, rape, violence and of course coarse language. It serves to make the book realistic though and along with the tone of the book, it does seem as if you could be somewhere in Appalachia witnessing everything that has happened. Sure there are some unbelievable aspects (like Esmeralda's story)but even that has some realm of possibility, just a very high odds one. And I was a bit disappointed with the ending, I had expected something quite different than what happened.
I would probably go back and read the first book in this series. And even the third one that there seems to be a setup for. It's just nothing that I will be rushing to get my hands on.
Wild Thorn
Copyright 2002
293 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2012
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Charley LeBlanc decides to return back to Virginia to the place of his birth. Along with his girlfriend Blackie, they arrive only to find that a beloved person from his past has been found dead and perhaps murdered. Doing some sleuthing of his own, Charley turns up some inconsistencies in the case, the foremost being that a local wild woman named Esmeralda is the main suspect and the murdered woman her only friend. Knowing some other secrets about Esmeralda, Charley knows that she couldn't have committed the crime. But the more evidence he tries to turn up, the deeper in he gets himself.
Blackie was probably the best character in this book. Even though I didn't particularly like her, she was well written and her character very complete. She felt as if she could be real and had very real emotions. Charley was ok in comparison. Sure he had his shadows in the past as well, but his personality was all over the place. We were told he was a certain way, only to have him do something against that told nature and it didn't make sense sometimes. And even though he was the main character, I never really felt attached to him in any way. All the side characters had a little bit of depth to them, you knew who the good and bad guys were (for the most part) and they all had their little quirks to them. Even though we never actually meet the dead woman, we known enough about her from the stories from other characters and Charley's remembrances that she actually is one of the better characters in the book.
The book started out a little slow at first and I was almost dreading continuing with it. But it did get better and by the end I was glad I had finished it. It may not be the best book I've read in awhile, but it had decently written characters and a unique tone brought on by the dialect of the area. There are some hard themes throughout the book, like murder, rape, violence and of course coarse language. It serves to make the book realistic though and along with the tone of the book, it does seem as if you could be somewhere in Appalachia witnessing everything that has happened. Sure there are some unbelievable aspects (like Esmeralda's story)but even that has some realm of possibility, just a very high odds one. And I was a bit disappointed with the ending, I had expected something quite different than what happened.
I would probably go back and read the first book in this series. And even the third one that there seems to be a setup for. It's just nothing that I will be rushing to get my hands on.
Wild Thorn
Copyright 2002
293 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2012
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
January 8, 2011
Started reading this one over the holiday break after I was so entranced by Hoffman's "Tidewater Blood." So far, it's not disappointing!
Update: Okay, I finished this one. I discovered there wasn't as much dialogue between the characters I would have liked. The author appeared to be setting the reader up with quite a bit of background information that probably should have been introduced in the previous book within the series. I felt myself longing for more of the story not necessarily because I never wanted it to end but because I felt it end way to abruptly, leaving me to think "huh?" Other than that, it was a very good read!
Update: Okay, I finished this one. I discovered there wasn't as much dialogue between the characters I would have liked. The author appeared to be setting the reader up with quite a bit of background information that probably should have been introduced in the previous book within the series. I felt myself longing for more of the story not necessarily because I never wanted it to end but because I felt it end way to abruptly, leaving me to think "huh?" Other than that, it was a very good read!
September 6, 2015
A good book pretty humorous story. A funny story in a land of hillbillies.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews