Tropical Freeze

Thorn Mystery #2

by James W. Hall

The rugged Florida troubleshooter Thorn is back in another high-tension story of crime, love, and revenge, described by the Chicago Tribune as "wry, vivid, wonderful. . . . A first-rate thriller!" In an exotic blue-water locale where greed and criminality thrive, the mysterious disappearance of Thorn's boyhood friend Gaeton Richards, an FBI agent, entangles Thorn in a web of violence and intrigue that takes him from seamy local bars to glittering ocean villas. Then, when Gaeton's beautiful sister becomes Thorn's lover, he finds himself facing a jealous lunatic stalking her, a rogue government agent involved in a murderous scam, and an unforgettable underworld of petty crooks, amoral hired guns, and dangerous losers.

"A terrific read with a gritty and tangible sense of place, a hero who's a cross between Davy Crockett and Philip Marlowe, and a lyrical, almost poetic touch in scenes both sexual and violent." ― Orlando Sentinel "Provocative and suspenseful . . . a worthy and brilliant successor to Under Cover of Daylight ." ― Jackson, Mississippi, Clarion-Ledger "James Hall's writing is astringent, penetrating, and unfailingly gripping." ― Dean Koontz "Menacing . . . brilliantly written!" ― USA Today "James W. Hall's lyrical passion for the Florida keys, his spare language and unusual images haunt us long after the story has faded." ― New York Times Book Review "Explosive . . . suspenseful . . . action galore." ― Worcester Telegram & Gazette

A selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Detective

319 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 1989

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

James W. Hall is an Edgar and Shamus Award-winning author whose books have been translated into a dozen languages. He has written twenty-one novels, four books of poetry, two collections of short stories, and two works of non-fiction. He also won a John D. MacDonald Award for Excellence in Florida Fiction, presented by the JDM Bibliophile.

He has a master’s degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in literature from the University of Utah. He was a professor of literature and creative writing at Florida International University for 40 years where he taught such writers as Vicky Hendricks, Christine Kling, Barbara Parker and Dennis Lehane.

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't like giving books a low rating, but there are times that I can't avoid it. "Tropical Freeze" didn't do much for me.Typical was what I kept thinking as I read it. Though it had something of a 1980's/Miami Vice feeling to it (not surprising since it was written during that time period and is set in Southern Florida) it wasn't really anything special. I've read better. Took me several months to get through since it just didn't keep my interest. I know there are many who like James W. Hall, but "Tropical Freeze" didn't click with me.

[Barbi Vandermolen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.6. Enjoying this Thorn character..going to stick with it for another book or two for sure.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thorn is moping about, making ties and lures, when he gets called in to investigate strange goings on surrounding a guy who comes to Florida, and buys all sorts of expensive things.

It felt like the author lost the plot a bit.

[Marilyn Pocius · Rating 3 out of 5]

My third "Florida" mystery author. Very entertaining and quite well written. Not as funny as Hiaasen.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book delivered what I wanted. A funny no brainer.

[Veronica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I became a little dumber as I read this book. It was like watching Miami Vice and thinking to yourself, "Self, this show is dumb. How about we read a book about it?"

[Bread · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm just not sure what to do about these books. The first one I gave three stars to, and this one was about the same. They both suffered from a lot of the same problems, so at least Hall is consistent. Starting with the good, once again the writing is top notch, excellent description, atmosphere. Like John MacDonald, he has a strong sense of setting, you really feel like your experiencing the humidity yourself. The novel also benefits from strong characters. Once again, Thorn makes for a good protagonist, with one weird exception toward the end. The love interest here is acceptable, a little stronger than love interests usually are in these stories. The villains here, like last time, are where the story really shines. Apparently, Hall agrees, because this book has even more bad guys than last time. Moving on to the bad, once again, Hall's plotting is subpar, he likes to hop viewpoint, which spoils a lot of the mystery, though not all of it, like last time. The repeated switching of viewpoint gives the illusion of a complex plot, but when you dig in, there just isn't much here. It also, again, means we spend a lot of time away from Thorn and his story, which again, is what I came here for. my biggest gripe with the plot is that Thorn and Darcy really don't drive it very well. In theory, we're here to see Thorn and Darcy's quest to avenge the death of her brother and his friend. In practice, they're both so tragically incompetent that when they finally succeed it doesn't feel earned. Clues fall into their laps, Darcy gets honest-to-God psychic impulses that tell her exactly who the killer is, and then when they finally go to punish the killer, for some reason Thorn stops Darcy from killing him, insisting that they do it "the right way." Given the fact that he killed a man last novel, and then tried to kill another, this seems like a non-sequitur. There's also another rape scene in the novel that I found unpleasant, to say the least. I can't really call this one needless, because it does actually drive the plot forward, but if that makes you uncomfortable, this book is not for you.

[M. Sprouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has been a while since I gave a two star rating, but this book was just "okay". It's not bad, but it has nothing to keep it out of the bargain bin. In fairness it was written thirty years ago. There were several things I liked, especially the very beginning which seemed almost like a different book. I thought then, "this is going to be a very good book" the writing was very fine in those first dozen or so pages. So maybe that was the part that was sent to the publisher to see if they'd accept this book, I don't know. I also liked Thorn. He seems a likable enough protagonist with enough flaws to relate too. Thorn is also a man of action which is what you need in a novel like this.

Unfortunately there were a fair amount of blemishes. Like others have said this novel jumps around a good deal and often not in a logical way. It gives a disjointed feel, and I occasionally had to check if I'd skipped a couple pages. Next, would be the inconsistent feel of the villain. At the beginning he was Mr. FBI and the last half of the book, Boss Hogg. While I'm on the down slope, let's not forget that our boy Thorn basically caused a couple of deaths by not seeing the obvious coming. Overall not as enjoyable as Hall's first book, which was just a bit better. I'll give him one more try and see if the third time's a charm.

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

+++Thorn is building his home with recycled lumber and falls afoul of a building inspector. He is also concerned about Gaeton Richards a childhood buddy who seems to be involved with some kind of shady operation and to complicate matters he is losing his heart to Darcy Richards, Gaeton's sister and also a lifelong acquaintance. Papa John's bar is a run down dive off the beaten track & Papa has conned some people for years but is looking for a replacement and having no luck at all. Another old pal Sugarman is not impressed with Thorn's theories. Illegal immigration, murder, landscaping, coercion, boats, sheds, linoleum, canals, and Key Largo all figure into this high octane novel.+++

[Eric Jolly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love the Florida Keys - love the quirkiness of the characters. Thorn is an unconventional and imperfect hero.

All that said, I just can’t get into the plot of these books. They just go all over the place...the action is hard to follow (I.e. no idea what happened when Ozzie had Thorn stuck to the linoleum)...a lot of storyline left open (what happened to Myra, the crooked agent)?

Sorry, not a favorite. I’ve read two of these books and probably won’t read any more.

[Keith Withers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding action packed

A thriller to compete with all thrillers. Ex policemen and current FBI officers interchange lives to confuse even the cleverest of profilers. Murder and mayhem abounds as the good, the bad and the ugly contest with each other to prove their true worth. Who is sitting on which side of the fence ? Can the good guys conquer the evil ones ? A read to keep you on the edge of your seat and keep you page turning late in to the dark hours.

[Patrick Farley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what it was, but multiple times throughout this book I kept getting the sense that I had missed a chapter or missed a paragraph. The plot should be relatively straightforward, but the action and plot seemed hard to follow, maybe it was because I was not that interested in the characters, but I think it had more to do with Hall's writing style. I am not even sure what the motivations behind the deaths in the book were ... surely it was mentioned???

[False · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second of Hall's books that I am reading. Great style in the mind of Elmore Leonard. Covers mystery and crime in Florida the way Parker had Boston covered. I'll be reading all of his books. I have a feeling that Florida's conservation and original ancestors of Florida (Conches) are going to feature regularly in these books.

[Varrick Nunez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read from the 80s. I'm going to finish the whole series, kind of (Florida) Keys noir mysteries.

Thorn is kind of similar to Jack Reacher in terms of his sensibilities, but he's also kind of an anti-Reacher b/c he never strays far from Key Largo, and usually not by his choice but by circumstances of the misadventure he's involved with.

[Charles L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy can WRITE!

Another excellent read about Thorn and his buddy Sugar! James W Hall tells a good story and puts some great characters in it. Moving on to the next (#4) in the Thorn series!

[RBReichart · Rating 4 out of 5]

a weird mix of sex snd mayhem . . . With a semi-hint of antisocial politics

. . . If you can guess my meaning. Perhaps another editing would have cleaned off the fuzzy passages. Good guys playing bad ones, and vice-versa.

[Allen Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointed

The keys South Florida I live there that was accurate however the story jumped too much from one character to another not quite as good as a few other books however still a great writer

[Richard94611 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confused and Confusing

I would skip this one and try another if I were you. There’s nothing compelling about it. Thorn isn’t given the full play as a character that he could be given, and there’s a lot of gobbledygook scattered throughout the novel.

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disturbing

Complicated and dark. I had trouble finding a rythm to this story, when I did, it was hard to put down. Got mad about Gaeton, then happy about Thorn and Darcy. This was brutal and felt very organic. Not sure if I'll read the next one....but not sure that I won't.

[Pop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it really deserves more stars 😊

Enough said. I could use up a hundred words to describe how great the book is but don’t have the words to describe it. Mr. Hall’s a great author with an amazing imagination.

[Jayne P. Loff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Col

Strange yet possible story. World is as Wacko as this one and in Florida too. Sunny skies is not all they have

[Gene Rathgeber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good fun read

Like the author and love Thorns lifestyle, I can get lost in the conch lifestyle reading these books.
I look forward to the next Thorn novel

[Carl A. Marine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just OK

Didn't hold my attention as well as first book. It took some time to finish because I wasn't rushing to pick it back up.

[Jerry King · Rating 2 out of 5]

1989

[NV · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rambling

Rambling storyline with card board characters with no depth. Very disappointed in the story line. Will be reading any more of this series.

[Matt English · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was too zany and

unrealistic for me.

[LOU B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better than #1, but still entirely too much detailed drivel that has little or no effect on the primary plot.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Tonybe787 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little crime novel set along the Florida coast.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m probably one of a very few reading this old series. Hall is a very accomplished noir writer, creating enjoyable characters and hinkey bad guys. Great dialog!