BUZZ CUT

Thorn Mystery #5

by James W. Hall

Buzz Cut Hall, James W.

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

373 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1996

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

[Labijose · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time that I read anything from this author. I found the plot well placed, but the characters a bit weak, not at all convincing. The dialogues are Ok, though. In short, a fast-paced thriller, but a forgettable one too.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thorn is seeing a hippie, and is having a good time with that, but everything else in his life is going bad. His tied flies don't work, his friend stops talking to him, and so forth.

Meanwhile, said friend is working on a cruise ship, where he needs Thorn's help. Thorn eventually gets onboard, and we get a cruise ship mystery.

Not bad, but not as action packed as some of the other novels in the series, I think.

[Pop · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say the villains were really evil and the good guys were great. Lot of Sugarman in this thriller alongside Thorn.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finished this book because I couldn't figure out where the plot was going, but finishing didn't help. Who was involved in the scam? Did Butler doublecross Lola? What on Earth was wrong with the lot of them? Can batteries generate enough current to kill?...and on and on...loose ends, ridiculous premises, longwinded philosophical screeds...and on and on!

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

So looking back on my reviews of the previous 2 or 3 books in the Thorn series, it seems I wasn't too crazy about them. For one thing, I prefer my mystery series to be first person, and this one is the omniscient narrator, telling the story from multiple sides, including the perp, so Thorn solving mysteries isn't part of the reason you would read one of these.

So why would you read these? Great action. A central (but not singular) character like Thorn who is kind of broken but kind of cool. Interesting side characters. And a crime with panache.

Well, this book has all that and more! It jumps into the action early and never lets up, as it tells the story of a twisted mind taking control of an ocean liner and Thorn and his lifelong friend Sugar (hired to crack the case) try to figure out what is going on and how to stop it before the liner crashes.

There's plenty of pop psychology, which can be annoying. But the villain in this book isn't as wacky as in previous books. I mean, he's a real psychopath, but his plan isn't as far fetched as in previous books and he seems to have it under control.

So I really enjoyed this one. Glad I already have the next one (Red Sky at Night) already in hand!

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The great James W Hall! Haven't read one of his in AGES and this is one I've read before, but I always liked the the story, a clever but unstable young man targets a cruise ship for sabotage and sheningans. Thorn gets dragged in when his friend Sugerman gets injured, there's also a (beautiful of course, ah the 80s trope of even less chauvanistic writers to dwell lovingly on the beauty of their female characters even when, as in this case the beauty is a curse, getting close to the idea that it's not her or anyone's looks it's bloody men) runaway heiress, tricked on board by the unstable guy who has an unhealthy fixation on her. Remember Speed 2, the one set on a boat? Pity they didn't give Hall a truck full of cash for the rights to this and used the plot, easily ooomphed up for cinema with some explosions and shootouts. Ah well.

[Barbara Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I scanned a lot of this one. The villain is into etymology and his long explanations of words became burdensome. Just excessive. The author also went off into narratives to express his own observances about various subjects or into the character's back stories well past the point in the story that made it of any interest. There was just too much disconnect that had nothing to do with the plot (compelling plot!).

[Don Gorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

good fun

(3 1/2). I had read one of the Thorn series prior to this and thought it was decent. His book is much better. A wonderful bad guy, truly nasty, evil and super intelligent really makes this one stand out. Trying to stop him takes up the entire story, with just a few minor diversions. And it works. Thorn and his friend Sugar have their hands full and nothing comes easy. Good stuff.

[M. Sprouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the previous four novels in the Thorn series and this one is definitely the best. It starts a bit slow, but its worth the wait. The Villain is top-notch. I usually don't like it when authors such as James Lee Burke or even James W. Hall spend too many words on the bad guy, but for this novel it worked. Still Thorn and Sugar are not in it nearly enough. It is a nice thrill ride with several good twists.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay read. Pretty far fetched. Thorn breaks up with one woman he was living with and jumps right into bed with another. Not my kind of man. This is my first by this author. I won't seek out his other books in the series. This is book #5.

[RBReichart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coincidence rains (sic!) on my life: Sept 9, 2017 brought hurricane Irma and

Key Largo into history, and both words imoortant in the beginning of this book! It also yields some real character development along with a wildly braided plot and a wonderful etymological decoration.

[Pete Ffrench · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well thought out and written story with justice done at the end and a happy ending for Thorn and Sugarman with the ladies. Rover will come round and trust him again eventually. Sugarman's family really should work on their relationships though.

[Donald Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

A messed up family

A tale with a lot of rabbit holes. Wealthy family tree with madness in the branches. Pretty people, Bobby traps, and murder. You'll enjoy reading and trying to figure it out

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Little Bit

confusing at times, or I'd have given 5 stars. I was very lost in more than one spot. Sometimes, an author just overdoes it! Too much detail where less said would have been better.

[False · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sociopaths, cruise liners, television personalities, extortion, corruption, dysfunctional families, what more can you ask for?

[Mark Bassignani]

Interesting. Different.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2001. Suspenseful and steamy.

[Susan Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another GREAT addition to the Thorn series. Mystery.

[Dewey Carroll Brackett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much profanity

The story was ok but the profanity was awful. I do not recommend this book. God's last name is not damn.

[Bruce Davidson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had an amusing premise, but the execution is deeply flawed. Hall’s writing is too wordy, and his chaotic sentences take away from the book’s potential.

[Daniel Rasmussen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

It is really hard to come up with something more than that. Not a single likeable person in the entire book. Nothing more to say!

[Robert James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was great but the ending was a little convoluted. The villain was very well written but came on as a little like Frankenstein's monster in the end. The dude just kept coming back.

[RALPH BURDICK · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of close shaves!

A good read, not exceptional but definitely I’m worth the read. A great story line that kept my interest until the end. I’m sure Mikey liked it!

[Marilyn Ruttan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was good

The storyline and the characters kept me guessing and totally hooked. The only thing that I didn't like was reading that the poor dog was abandoned.

[Brand Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excruciating

I finished the book (finally) so I didn’t rate it a 1. While the story line was interesting, the book just went on and on and on…..

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another page turner, Thorn is a tough but caring protagonist. Jim Hall can write a thriller, and I'm sure glad he does .......

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very good. I expect more from James Hall.

[RonMele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Enjoyable read, plenty of suspense, action and intrigue to keep your interest. Interesting cast of characters. I would read this author again.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#5 in the Thorn series. Finalist 1996 Hammett Prize.

Thorn series - Reuniting with Thorn is his old friend Sugarman - Mean High Tide (1994). Sugar signs on as head of security for a billion-dollar Miami-based cruise ship line and Thorn encounters an unusually chilling adversary. Sugar's task is to catch a chimerical murderer whose victims all have some relationship to the company's gambling flagship, the M.S. Eclipse, from which the criminal has been stealing $50,000 per month. Danger promptly surfaces, as Sugar is nearly killed by the psychopathic Butler Jack, who has stun-gun electrodes attached to his fingertips and who plans to hold the Eclipse and its passengers hostage for a king's ransom. Jack also has designs on Monica Sampson, the long-missing daughter of the cruise line's owner, but Thorn, who winds up aboard the ship along with Sugar, casts eyes toward this young beauty as well.

[Boots S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorn's best friend, Sugarman, has taken a job as security for the wealthy owner of a cruise ship. Thorn goes to his friend's side when a mad man attacks Sugaman with a knife in one hand and 400,000 volts of electricity in the other. When Thorn reaches Miami, he finds a bizarre mystery of extortion and violence swirling around Morton Sampson, owner of the cruise line. The plot thickens as Morton's wife, Lola, is revealed as the mother of both Sugarman and the killer, Butler Jack. Anyone interested in words will enjoy the quoted dictionary meanings of many of the words Butler Jack has memorized.