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Thorn Mystery #10
Hell's Bay
Wealthy Florida matron Abigail Bates is on a canoe trip down a backwater river when suddenly, from out of nowhere, she is held underwater to drown by a strange and merciless killer...
Thorn is aboard a houseboat in Hell's Bay when he is confronted by Abigail's son and alluring granddaughter. Thorn soon learns that they are his long-lost relatives—and that he is about to inherit a great fortune. He's also about to find out that being a member of the Bates family comes with a price...
As he searches for clues about Abigail's murder, Thorn's houseboat becomes a precarious island of safety as he and the others find themselves hunted by an invisible enemy. For someone out there knows much more about the Bates family's dark past than Thorn does. Someone who has lived a lifetime in their shadow—and has seen the damage their wealth and influence has caused. Someone who is determined to exact revenge on the family...no matter what the cost.
Thorn is aboard a houseboat in Hell's Bay when he is confronted by Abigail's son and alluring granddaughter. Thorn soon learns that they are his long-lost relatives—and that he is about to inherit a great fortune. He's also about to find out that being a member of the Bates family comes with a price...
As he searches for clues about Abigail's murder, Thorn's houseboat becomes a precarious island of safety as he and the others find themselves hunted by an invisible enemy. For someone out there knows much more about the Bates family's dark past than Thorn does. Someone who has lived a lifetime in their shadow—and has seen the damage their wealth and influence has caused. Someone who is determined to exact revenge on the family...no matter what the cost.
Audio CD
First published February 5, 2008
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About the author
James W. Hall
89 books488 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
November 18, 2025
A good fast-paced thriller ( as a thriller should be) which I read quickly. This is one of Hall's Thorn series, set in Florida. I saw a blurb by Dennis Lehane calling this "Florida-gothic noir." As good a description as any!
Thorn is a character living in the Florida Keys, a guy who loves fishing and wants to be left alone. But he gets drawn into dangerous situations. In this book, he's a guide on a houseboat going into Hell's Bay--when he and the people he's with come under attack. There's a connection to the drowning death of an old woman whose family is one of the biggest landowners in Florida. Someone is out to get revenge with Thorn caught in the middle.
I don't read a lot of thrillers, but I would say Hall is up there with Patterson, Baldacci, Lee Child, and others who seem to be more popular. What I particularly like about the Thorn books is how Hall evokes the essence of the Florida Keys and Florida overall in his stories. Thorn is a character who loves the wondrous natural beauty of Florida and is also saddened by the ongoing rape of the land...
Thorn is a character living in the Florida Keys, a guy who loves fishing and wants to be left alone. But he gets drawn into dangerous situations. In this book, he's a guide on a houseboat going into Hell's Bay--when he and the people he's with come under attack. There's a connection to the drowning death of an old woman whose family is one of the biggest landowners in Florida. Someone is out to get revenge with Thorn caught in the middle.
I don't read a lot of thrillers, but I would say Hall is up there with Patterson, Baldacci, Lee Child, and others who seem to be more popular. What I particularly like about the Thorn books is how Hall evokes the essence of the Florida Keys and Florida overall in his stories. Thorn is a character who loves the wondrous natural beauty of Florida and is also saddened by the ongoing rape of the land...
June 12, 2020
When an old lady of Florida pioneer stock is murdered, it turns out she is a long lost relative of Thorn's. She leaves him a fortune. The rest of the family, whom he finally meets, isn't too thrilled about the whole thing.
He and the family go deep in the swamps to fish some new lakes, created by a hurricane, and more murders start.
Not bad. Not as crazy as some Florida novels.
He and the family go deep in the swamps to fish some new lakes, created by a hurricane, and more murders start.
Not bad. Not as crazy as some Florida novels.
February 6, 2011
Just when you think its safe to go into the water.
There are many writers who use the State of Florida as the locale for their mysteries. A few that come to mind are; Randy Wayne White, Tim Dorsey, and Carl Hiaasen. You may now add James W. Hall to your list.
Although this is the first book I have read by him, he has over 10 novels to his name and most are centered in the Florida area.
Phosphate mining has always been an enviormental problem for Florida. The problems are manifested in the revenue collected by the mining, and the health hazards that are caused by phosphate mining.
This issue becomes the centerpiece for "Hell's Bay". Daniel Thorn is a recluse by choice and has little use for society. He is an outdoorsman and he champions nature and the enviorment.
Abigail Bates, the matriarch of the Bates family, is head of the biggest phosphate mining company in Florida. Her daugher tries to enlighten her on the dangers of mining phosphate, and Abigail agrees to canoe down the Peace River to see what destruction will be caused by further mining. Abigail is found dead in the river and her death is attributed to drowning, even though there are suspicions of foul play.
Thorn is leading a fishing expedition into the Florida Everglades and Abigail's son and daughter are part of the group. Thorn finds out that he is a lost relative of the Bates Family and could hold the deciding vote on key family business matters.
Thorn is convinced by the daughter that her mother has been murdered and asks him to investigate the drowning. Little do they know that the killer is already stalking them in the Everglades and is planning on killing the entire expedition, or could one of the Bates family members be trying to protect their mining interests.
The book has a lot of good action that takes place in the swamps of Florida, which in itself makes interesting reading, and has good characters. It also has the added problem of the ongoing phosphate battle in Florida.
There are many writers who use the State of Florida as the locale for their mysteries. A few that come to mind are; Randy Wayne White, Tim Dorsey, and Carl Hiaasen. You may now add James W. Hall to your list.
Although this is the first book I have read by him, he has over 10 novels to his name and most are centered in the Florida area.
Phosphate mining has always been an enviormental problem for Florida. The problems are manifested in the revenue collected by the mining, and the health hazards that are caused by phosphate mining.
This issue becomes the centerpiece for "Hell's Bay". Daniel Thorn is a recluse by choice and has little use for society. He is an outdoorsman and he champions nature and the enviorment.
Abigail Bates, the matriarch of the Bates family, is head of the biggest phosphate mining company in Florida. Her daugher tries to enlighten her on the dangers of mining phosphate, and Abigail agrees to canoe down the Peace River to see what destruction will be caused by further mining. Abigail is found dead in the river and her death is attributed to drowning, even though there are suspicions of foul play.
Thorn is leading a fishing expedition into the Florida Everglades and Abigail's son and daughter are part of the group. Thorn finds out that he is a lost relative of the Bates Family and could hold the deciding vote on key family business matters.
Thorn is convinced by the daughter that her mother has been murdered and asks him to investigate the drowning. Little do they know that the killer is already stalking them in the Everglades and is planning on killing the entire expedition, or could one of the Bates family members be trying to protect their mining interests.
The book has a lot of good action that takes place in the swamps of Florida, which in itself makes interesting reading, and has good characters. It also has the added problem of the ongoing phosphate battle in Florida.
June 10, 2010
James W. Hall is one of my favorite "light" reads. Nothing complex here, just a good basic writer with a nice protagonist who happens to see the world the way I do most of the time. A guy who wants to do the right thing (whatever that is) but isn't in search of things to do right. You either know what I mean or you don't....no worries.
In any case, Thorn and his sidekick Sugarman are into another adventure not of their choosing (sort of) and, as usual, things have not turned out quite as planned. Also as usual, over the course of the story, Hall takes his readers on a basic trip into another environmental issue in South Florida which is the typical trademark of his writing. I won't spoil it for you but it's something I didn't really know much about and am now motivated to discover more about the issue.
The typical Hall story is lightly written but quick on pace. You won't get bored. The descriptions of the natural elements of the Everglades are wonderful and, of course, Hall makes sure we understand how the factors of human strength and frailty are constantly at odds with one another with the result being that he shows us how imperfect we all are no matter how hard we try.
Summer is about to start. This is a great beach, airplane, or vacation read. Pick it up and put it down or read it in one sitting. No nightmares, guaranteed, and perhaps a simple insight or two.
In any case, Thorn and his sidekick Sugarman are into another adventure not of their choosing (sort of) and, as usual, things have not turned out quite as planned. Also as usual, over the course of the story, Hall takes his readers on a basic trip into another environmental issue in South Florida which is the typical trademark of his writing. I won't spoil it for you but it's something I didn't really know much about and am now motivated to discover more about the issue.
The typical Hall story is lightly written but quick on pace. You won't get bored. The descriptions of the natural elements of the Everglades are wonderful and, of course, Hall makes sure we understand how the factors of human strength and frailty are constantly at odds with one another with the result being that he shows us how imperfect we all are no matter how hard we try.
Summer is about to start. This is a great beach, airplane, or vacation read. Pick it up and put it down or read it in one sitting. No nightmares, guaranteed, and perhaps a simple insight or two.
January 21, 2010
Thorn is a Florida outdoorsman who does rough stuff on the side, but you root for him to come out on top. He's in the mold of Travis McGee, but Mr. Hall's prose is richer than JDM's. Enjoyable tale of a fishing vessel marooned in the Everglades with a maniacal lady killer stalking it.
August 28, 2012
Well, I do like James W Hall but I got about a third of the way thru and realized I had read it previously. Since the book was only published in 2008, it must not have made a tremendous impression. But I was going thru difficult times then so will give James the benefit of the doubt.
July 11, 2009
Her mission was simple. Good death, noble death, useful death, taking as many with her as possible. Find out whose side God was on.
- Hell’s Bay, p. 208
For the past twenty years, Florida has been a breeding ground for detective fiction. Edna Buchanan, Carl Hiassen and the late Charles Williford are highly successful writers who seem to draw inspiration from Florida’s heady mixture of retirement communities, drug cartels, violence, hurricanes and shady real estate ventures. Shortly before his death, a journalist asked Williford why he chose to live and write in Miami. “Because it has the second highest crime rate of any city in America!” he said.
Since 1987, James W. Hall has written fifteen gritty, tension-ridden crime novels, many of which follow the exploits of Daniel Oliver Thorn (his friends just call him Thorn), and his best friend, “Sugar” Sugarman, a private investigator. During the last twenty years, Thorn has remained a rootless devotee of fly-tying, salt-water fishing, earning his livelihood as a capable guide for summer tourists. He also has a knack for stumbling into life-threatening situations.
In addition to having a gift for creating an atmosphere of near-palpable danger, Thorn’s creator, James W. Hall, has a gift for creating villains – killers who can raise the hair on a reader’s neck. Each of Hall’s novels, from “Under Cover of Daylight” to “Hell’s Bay” contains a lethal maniac who gradually emerges from the printed page like a demon rising from a midnight lake.
This time out, Thorn (now middle-aged and beginning to worry about his future) agrees to serve as navigator and guide for a state-of-the-arts vessel that can penetrate undiscovered areas of the Everglades. Owned by Ginger, a former girlfriend, the “Mothership” comes equipped with its own pure water system, a chef and luxurious accommodations. In addition, its maiden voyage will be made with only four well-heeled clients. What could possibly go wrong?
Needless to say, all hell breaks loose. Two of the clients turn out to be Thorn’s niece, Mona Milliagan and a smirking uncle, John Milligan – relatives that Thorn has never met. In fact, he did not know they existed. The other two clients are obnoxious but non-threatening: an arrogant reporter for an outdoor magazine and an irritating photographer who enjoys bating his fellow passengers.
In short order, Thorn learns that he has a billionaire grandmother, Abigail Bates, who has recently drowned under suspicious circumstances in the Peace River. Thorn senses that his relatives may not have his best interests at heart – especially since he is heir to Abigail’s fortune - so he contacts Sugarman, asking that he look into the old woman’s death. What becomes readily apparent is that Abigail Bates was one of the most hated women in Florida. Much of her wealth is derived from the state’s notorious phosphate mines – a chemical that has poisoned rivers, wildlife and the people who work in the mines.
The narrative in “Hell’s Bay” alternates between Sugarman’s investigations back on the Peace River and Thorn’s belated discovery that his life is in danger … not from his relatives on board the Mothership, but by his grandmother’s killer, a woman named Sasha Olsen.
Sasha has vowed to kill the entire Milligan clan. Although murder may never be justifiable, Sasha does have provocation. An experienced “special forces’ veteran, she learned to kill with deadly efficiency in Iraq.
Returning to Florida, she is employed by the Milligan mines, marries a gifted teacher and had a child who is also gifted. Then, her husband contacts cancer and immediately becomes an outspoken critic of Abigail Bates and her lethal industry. After the son develops lung cancer, the family continued to stage rallies and organize protests. However, support wanes and Sasha and her son begin to contemplate their own kind of justice.
After her husband dies, Sasha promises her son that she will do two things: “cut the snake’s head off” and give him (the son) a Viking funeral. Sasha steals a yellow bass boat, raids a gun shop, and with her dying son on board, she glides into the Everglades, searching for Thorn, John Milligan and anyone else foolish enough to get in the way. Taken all in all, she is a daunting opponent since she is a night-fighter, a marksman and has the ability to hold her breath under water for long periods of time. She is also inordinately strong.
So saddle up, dear reader. Before the final page, you will encounter racist cops, corrupt politicians, twelve-foot bull alligators, calculating/sexy women, storms, a sinking ship and … a Viking funeral ignited with a match and lighter fluid.
- Hell’s Bay, p. 208
For the past twenty years, Florida has been a breeding ground for detective fiction. Edna Buchanan, Carl Hiassen and the late Charles Williford are highly successful writers who seem to draw inspiration from Florida’s heady mixture of retirement communities, drug cartels, violence, hurricanes and shady real estate ventures. Shortly before his death, a journalist asked Williford why he chose to live and write in Miami. “Because it has the second highest crime rate of any city in America!” he said.
Since 1987, James W. Hall has written fifteen gritty, tension-ridden crime novels, many of which follow the exploits of Daniel Oliver Thorn (his friends just call him Thorn), and his best friend, “Sugar” Sugarman, a private investigator. During the last twenty years, Thorn has remained a rootless devotee of fly-tying, salt-water fishing, earning his livelihood as a capable guide for summer tourists. He also has a knack for stumbling into life-threatening situations.
In addition to having a gift for creating an atmosphere of near-palpable danger, Thorn’s creator, James W. Hall, has a gift for creating villains – killers who can raise the hair on a reader’s neck. Each of Hall’s novels, from “Under Cover of Daylight” to “Hell’s Bay” contains a lethal maniac who gradually emerges from the printed page like a demon rising from a midnight lake.
This time out, Thorn (now middle-aged and beginning to worry about his future) agrees to serve as navigator and guide for a state-of-the-arts vessel that can penetrate undiscovered areas of the Everglades. Owned by Ginger, a former girlfriend, the “Mothership” comes equipped with its own pure water system, a chef and luxurious accommodations. In addition, its maiden voyage will be made with only four well-heeled clients. What could possibly go wrong?
Needless to say, all hell breaks loose. Two of the clients turn out to be Thorn’s niece, Mona Milliagan and a smirking uncle, John Milligan – relatives that Thorn has never met. In fact, he did not know they existed. The other two clients are obnoxious but non-threatening: an arrogant reporter for an outdoor magazine and an irritating photographer who enjoys bating his fellow passengers.
In short order, Thorn learns that he has a billionaire grandmother, Abigail Bates, who has recently drowned under suspicious circumstances in the Peace River. Thorn senses that his relatives may not have his best interests at heart – especially since he is heir to Abigail’s fortune - so he contacts Sugarman, asking that he look into the old woman’s death. What becomes readily apparent is that Abigail Bates was one of the most hated women in Florida. Much of her wealth is derived from the state’s notorious phosphate mines – a chemical that has poisoned rivers, wildlife and the people who work in the mines.
The narrative in “Hell’s Bay” alternates between Sugarman’s investigations back on the Peace River and Thorn’s belated discovery that his life is in danger … not from his relatives on board the Mothership, but by his grandmother’s killer, a woman named Sasha Olsen.
Sasha has vowed to kill the entire Milligan clan. Although murder may never be justifiable, Sasha does have provocation. An experienced “special forces’ veteran, she learned to kill with deadly efficiency in Iraq.
Returning to Florida, she is employed by the Milligan mines, marries a gifted teacher and had a child who is also gifted. Then, her husband contacts cancer and immediately becomes an outspoken critic of Abigail Bates and her lethal industry. After the son develops lung cancer, the family continued to stage rallies and organize protests. However, support wanes and Sasha and her son begin to contemplate their own kind of justice.
After her husband dies, Sasha promises her son that she will do two things: “cut the snake’s head off” and give him (the son) a Viking funeral. Sasha steals a yellow bass boat, raids a gun shop, and with her dying son on board, she glides into the Everglades, searching for Thorn, John Milligan and anyone else foolish enough to get in the way. Taken all in all, she is a daunting opponent since she is a night-fighter, a marksman and has the ability to hold her breath under water for long periods of time. She is also inordinately strong.
So saddle up, dear reader. Before the final page, you will encounter racist cops, corrupt politicians, twelve-foot bull alligators, calculating/sexy women, storms, a sinking ship and … a Viking funeral ignited with a match and lighter fluid.
November 15, 2011
About ten years ago, I stumbled across a little book called Buzz Cut from some guy named James W. Hall. Picked it up cheap at a used book store because the blurb on the back mentioned the Florida Keys and I'm a sucker for any plot that dips south of Miami. I remember liking it well enough, though not being particularly blown away at first but, after finishing, pondered the story in the days that followed. Unlike most of Dorsey and Hiaasen's creations, whom I love dearly, the character of Thorn had some heft and accomplished his goal by sheer stubbornness and perseverance rather than any sort of heroic personal integrity.
In the intervening years, I found my eyeballs scanning the shelves more frequently in search of more Thorn books. After reading most of them, gotta put James W. Hall right up there with the best of the best when it comes to Florida adventure and simply damn good writing.
Story:
As are most books reviewed at Tropical Fiction Reviews, this one is another page-turner, so get ready to lose sleep. Our man Thorn reluctantly agrees takes on the role of fishing guide for old flame Rusty, who has convinced a couple of rich friends to finance the construction of a mega-cruiser houseboat. The plan is to take clients from her home base in Key Largo into the wilds of the Everglades to fish waters untouched for decades, maybe centuries.
Meanwhile, octogenarian, Abigail Bates, the head of a sprawling conglomerate that is makes its living pillaging the central Florida landscape, is murdered. A slight digression. Much of the Hell's Bay plot revolves around yet another big-bad-corporation-raping-the-land scenario. We get it. Seriously, we do. Hiaasen has told us ad nauseam. And this horse as a plot device has been beaten past death into equine-sized molecules. Skip the outrage, Mr. Hall. If anyone really cared about this sort of stuff it would have been stopped a long time ago. Adding your voice to the others crying in the wilderness matters is not why we drop coin for your words.
Let me put it like thus. Environmental concerns are certainly legitimate plot points, but when the inclusion is so heavy-handed that certain passages should contain "environmentalist wacko" warnings, I can't help but sigh in frustration. Got an opinion? Fine. Got an ax to grind? Don't do it on my dime, please.
But I digress.
On Thorn and Rusty's first trip into a region of the Everglades known as Hell's Bay, everything that can go wrong does, and they end up cut off from the world while a lunatic picks them off one at a time. The whole thing is linked to a massive family inheritance of which Thorn was unaware. Don't you hate it when that happens? Hell's Bay is a slow burn of a read that cuts off our heroes path of retreat one at a time until there's nothing left for Thorn to do but bull rush the antagonist. While Thorn and friends are under siege on the water, Thorn's long-time compadre, Sugarman, pursues the other end of the mystery in a small town up the peninsula. Their paths collide just in time - whew!
Writing:
The only reason Hell's Bay doesn't get my absolute top rating is because of the moralistic tone of the environmental degradation, but the writing is just so dang good I can't count much off. Expect a quality and depth of prose that goes far beyond the usual bestseller list book. Well-rounded, living, breathing characters - even the minor ones - and botanically lurid descriptions that make you feel like you are IN the swamp with big, fat drops of sweat plopping from your brow into your lap. However, Hall paces himself, slipping his descriptions in so subtly and professionally that he manages to avoid the momentum killing over-verbiage deployed by so many.
The Bottom Line:
Hell's Bay might not be the very best Thorn mystery written by this Edgar Award winning writer, but it's pretty darn close.
4.5 out of 5 stars
In the intervening years, I found my eyeballs scanning the shelves more frequently in search of more Thorn books. After reading most of them, gotta put James W. Hall right up there with the best of the best when it comes to Florida adventure and simply damn good writing.
Story:
As are most books reviewed at Tropical Fiction Reviews, this one is another page-turner, so get ready to lose sleep. Our man Thorn reluctantly agrees takes on the role of fishing guide for old flame Rusty, who has convinced a couple of rich friends to finance the construction of a mega-cruiser houseboat. The plan is to take clients from her home base in Key Largo into the wilds of the Everglades to fish waters untouched for decades, maybe centuries.
Meanwhile, octogenarian, Abigail Bates, the head of a sprawling conglomerate that is makes its living pillaging the central Florida landscape, is murdered. A slight digression. Much of the Hell's Bay plot revolves around yet another big-bad-corporation-raping-the-land scenario. We get it. Seriously, we do. Hiaasen has told us ad nauseam. And this horse as a plot device has been beaten past death into equine-sized molecules. Skip the outrage, Mr. Hall. If anyone really cared about this sort of stuff it would have been stopped a long time ago. Adding your voice to the others crying in the wilderness matters is not why we drop coin for your words.
Let me put it like thus. Environmental concerns are certainly legitimate plot points, but when the inclusion is so heavy-handed that certain passages should contain "environmentalist wacko" warnings, I can't help but sigh in frustration. Got an opinion? Fine. Got an ax to grind? Don't do it on my dime, please.
But I digress.
On Thorn and Rusty's first trip into a region of the Everglades known as Hell's Bay, everything that can go wrong does, and they end up cut off from the world while a lunatic picks them off one at a time. The whole thing is linked to a massive family inheritance of which Thorn was unaware. Don't you hate it when that happens? Hell's Bay is a slow burn of a read that cuts off our heroes path of retreat one at a time until there's nothing left for Thorn to do but bull rush the antagonist. While Thorn and friends are under siege on the water, Thorn's long-time compadre, Sugarman, pursues the other end of the mystery in a small town up the peninsula. Their paths collide just in time - whew!
Writing:
The only reason Hell's Bay doesn't get my absolute top rating is because of the moralistic tone of the environmental degradation, but the writing is just so dang good I can't count much off. Expect a quality and depth of prose that goes far beyond the usual bestseller list book. Well-rounded, living, breathing characters - even the minor ones - and botanically lurid descriptions that make you feel like you are IN the swamp with big, fat drops of sweat plopping from your brow into your lap. However, Hall paces himself, slipping his descriptions in so subtly and professionally that he manages to avoid the momentum killing over-verbiage deployed by so many.
The Bottom Line:
Hell's Bay might not be the very best Thorn mystery written by this Edgar Award winning writer, but it's pretty darn close.
4.5 out of 5 stars
May 18, 2009
There's something comforting to me about reading a new book in a familiar series. I thought this was one of the better "Thorn" novels by James W. Hall. The villain is apparent right from the start, oh wait, there are several villains--one is the woman (an ex-miliary soldier) who is stalking our hero and his fishing party, and the other, larger villain is a corporation who is killing, and has killed, more people than the soldier will get rid of in this outing.
The soldier's husband died of lung cancer precipitated by living in proximity to mountains of radioactive phosphate, leavings from mining operations, and her son is dying of the same thing. There are big questions here, of course--is murder ever justified, do motives matter? Well, sure, motives do matter, but in this case quite a few innocent people die in the process.
Thorn is talked into being the "manly man" on a fishing expedition organized by an old lover who wants to start a business of luxury fishing vacations in the Everglades. Their first party is a father and daughter pair and an outdoors writer and her cameraman. Along for the ride is the old lover's mentally disabled brother--a five star chef--and on the outskirts is Thorn's old friend Sugarman, who's trying to figure out what's going on while being distracted by a pretty Black sheriff who knows more than she's telling.
I read "Hell's Bay" in one long Sunday afternoon. The suspense isn't in finding out "whodunit," but in finding out how. A terrific book, one of the best in the series.
The soldier's husband died of lung cancer precipitated by living in proximity to mountains of radioactive phosphate, leavings from mining operations, and her son is dying of the same thing. There are big questions here, of course--is murder ever justified, do motives matter? Well, sure, motives do matter, but in this case quite a few innocent people die in the process.
Thorn is talked into being the "manly man" on a fishing expedition organized by an old lover who wants to start a business of luxury fishing vacations in the Everglades. Their first party is a father and daughter pair and an outdoors writer and her cameraman. Along for the ride is the old lover's mentally disabled brother--a five star chef--and on the outskirts is Thorn's old friend Sugarman, who's trying to figure out what's going on while being distracted by a pretty Black sheriff who knows more than she's telling.
I read "Hell's Bay" in one long Sunday afternoon. The suspense isn't in finding out "whodunit," but in finding out how. A terrific book, one of the best in the series.
July 27, 2011
A murder mystery set in the feral Florida Keys wildernness, flawed characters, might versus right, and a hint of romance make Hell's Bay a good read and a fast paced thriller.
A huge company, run by an 86 year old wealthy Florida matron,is not taking care of its' waste and cancer caused by this waste is killing off people. A woman,Sasha, who has lost her husband and is losing her son to cancer, caused by this company's uncaring policies, is the murderer. We know this right from the start. Down the road and unbeknown to our hero, Thorn (a self-described hermit who has hidden himself away and spends his days tying flies) is lured out of his den by an old love and talked into being a fishing guide "for just one week of his life". Thorn and Sasha's paths cross when guests on board the house boat reveal to Thorn that the murdered woman (86 year old Abigail Bates) is his grandmother and he has just inherited her land and her company. Sasha has marked Thorn for her next victim and the game is on.
A good read and not predictable. I liked it.
A huge company, run by an 86 year old wealthy Florida matron,is not taking care of its' waste and cancer caused by this waste is killing off people. A woman,Sasha, who has lost her husband and is losing her son to cancer, caused by this company's uncaring policies, is the murderer. We know this right from the start. Down the road and unbeknown to our hero, Thorn (a self-described hermit who has hidden himself away and spends his days tying flies) is lured out of his den by an old love and talked into being a fishing guide "for just one week of his life". Thorn and Sasha's paths cross when guests on board the house boat reveal to Thorn that the murdered woman (86 year old Abigail Bates) is his grandmother and he has just inherited her land and her company. Sasha has marked Thorn for her next victim and the game is on.
A good read and not predictable. I liked it.
July 11, 2017
A decent South Florida thriller. It's not a mystery because we know who did it early on. Once the scene is set in the first few chapters the suspense takes off. On the one hand we gradually learn more about the why, on the other we want to know who's coming out of the backwoods alive. What I really like is that it's full of normal, damaged people slogging through various moral quagmires. A really solid read. I'd read several Hall books in the '90s but it's been awhile since I picked one up. It won't be so long this time before I'm back for another. The one drawback was the audiobook performer. He's more of a reader than a performer. Barely made any attempt to differentiate the character voices. And he had this odd cadence to his reading where each sentence has its own emphatic arc that peaks in the middle. Very distracting and I didn't really get used to it by the end.
August 4, 2017
I literally had to drag myself to finish this book. A wealthy family, sitting on a ton of land (with secret oil deposits) arranges to sell this huge hunk of preserved land to the newly rich Thorn. What ensues is mayhem, murder and once again Thorn getting himself into a sticky wicket. Someone his love interest survives this book. I wouldn't bet on it for the next one. Women die off like fruit flies around him. Hall's lessons in this one? Once again, land preservation and hunting wild creatures imported for just that--the hunt and death. A clichéd rapper wants big horns on his wall. Why not just get grillz?
March 3, 2008
You learn who did it by Chapter Two... and can't wait to find out the whys and wherefores. Very well-written, with a taut plot and characters that hold your interest. There are enough twists and turns to make it even more riveting. I will read more of his books.
August 20, 2018
Ok book. A little to far fetched and long winded. But I made it to the end. Would not be one I would recommend.
July 29, 2019
3.5 stars.Pretty formulaic,and I did suspend disbelief,but I liked the characterizations,his descriptions of wild Florida are wonderful,and hee kept me in the readers seat.
November 28, 2021
Descended from pioneer stock, the Bateses are an aristocratic Floridian family with vast holdings in real estate and mining. When matriarch Abigail Bates is discovered drowned in the Peace River, a chain of events is set into motion, embroiling Thorn with a family he never knew he had and a fortune he doesn't necessarily want.
Thorn is leading a fishing expedition into the isolated lakes and mangrove swamps of Hell's Bay when Abigail's son and beautiful granddaughter arrive, claiming Thorn as a long-lost relative and asking him to solve the woman's murder. Little do they know that the killer is already on their trail. Soon their houseboat becomes a precarious island of safety in a landscape of escalating violence. What does the killer want? And why is their predator so enraged, determined to kill them all no matter what the cost?
As Marilyn Stasio said in "The New York Times," "If violence can be poetic, Hall has the lyric voice for it." In this tour de force of fear and suspense, Hall shows how one family's dark past comes back to haunt its most remote member---and may ultimately cost him his life.
Thorn is leading a fishing expedition into the isolated lakes and mangrove swamps of Hell's Bay when Abigail's son and beautiful granddaughter arrive, claiming Thorn as a long-lost relative and asking him to solve the woman's murder. Little do they know that the killer is already on their trail. Soon their houseboat becomes a precarious island of safety in a landscape of escalating violence. What does the killer want? And why is their predator so enraged, determined to kill them all no matter what the cost?
As Marilyn Stasio said in "The New York Times," "If violence can be poetic, Hall has the lyric voice for it." In this tour de force of fear and suspense, Hall shows how one family's dark past comes back to haunt its most remote member---and may ultimately cost him his life.
August 7, 2023
I did not enjoy this book. The general plot could have been interesting if not for the really poor characters and their total lack of development. Sugarman was the only interesting character.
Thorn is an annoying recluse who hates people who just happens to be the heir to a massively rich family that he doesn’t even know? Milligan is a rich, entitled drunk (shocking). And the person who plays the innocent role the whole time turns out to be the villain (whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Sasha and her son Griffen sucked. I found myself cringing every time the book switched to their perspective.
Thorn is an annoying recluse who hates people who just happens to be the heir to a massively rich family that he doesn’t even know? Milligan is a rich, entitled drunk (shocking). And the person who plays the innocent role the whole time turns out to be the villain (whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Sasha and her son Griffen sucked. I found myself cringing every time the book switched to their perspective.
April 17, 2025
I hve enjoyed the 2 books in this series I have read even though thy are a little on the macho side. (Is he always responsible for the death of a vulnerable dependent of either a lover or ex lover?)
However the plots are wonderfully complex the problems all too plausible and the background of the Everglades just faantastic.
However the plots are wonderfully complex the problems all too plausible and the background of the Everglades just faantastic.
September 4, 2017
James W. Hall is a Floridian and the setting of the book is naturally Florida. The plot includes ecology, greed, suspense, violence, disease and beautiful descriptions. The conclusion was wholly satisfying.
May 29, 2022
The Thorn series had apparently slipped off my radar, which is a shame because James Hall is terrific writer.
Definitely a nice entry in the series, and I'm going to finish them up in the near future.
Definitely a nice entry in the series, and I'm going to finish them up in the near future.
July 3, 2017
One of the best from a strong series.
March 17, 2018
Great adventure novel One of the best I have ever read Fully developed characters and scenery A flawed hero similar to Travis McGee by John Macdonald Plot is very similar to Cape Fear
July 12, 2008
http://miamisunpost.com/022808bound.htm
Bound Thursday, Feb. 28, 08
Fishing Expedition
In James W. Hall’s Hell’s Bay, somebody’s gonna get bit
By John Hood
Here’s the setup: An iron-hard dame and her recalcitrant ex-lover pilot a tricked-out houseboat into the thick of the Everglades’ still surprisingly primordial 10,000 islands. On the craft: the dame’s slow-witted brother (who happens to be a master chef); a blowhard captain of industry and his cantankerous daughter (who happen to be at each others’ throats) and a big-city travel writer and her large-mouthed lensman (who happen to not give a shit about anybody but themselves).
Sounds idyllic, right?
Wrong.
This is James W. Hall we’re talkin’ ’bout — a cat whose tales are far from idyllic. And this is Hell’s Bay (St. Martin’s, $24.95), the place where the swamp secretes a very special something.
And that something is phosphate, or at least the phosphatic leftovers. See, that captain happens to be head of an outfit called Bates International, king of the companies that best rape Florida’s midland. In other words: He believes the world is his oyster, and he’s gonna eat it up in one gulp.
But don’t think for a minute that the captain or his company’s ever been content with a mere mouthful, let alone a massive violation. No, once they’ve victimized the landscape, they leave behind mountains of radioactive waste just so those who live on the landscape get to be vics as well.
It’s ugly, it’s gruesome and it’s all true, despite the fact that this is fiction. Go ahead, Google phosphate mining and see if I’m lying. Then check the disease rate of those who dwell near the depths that have been dug into our world.
Hall, who was tipped by a whistle-blower who found that bureaucrats have no chance against bureaucracy, takes the sad truth of a very heavy matter and spins it through a story that encompasses greed, guts, double-dealing, triple crosses and enough so-called unforeseen circumstances to make your blood boil. People get pushed, people get prodded and people get shoved, right over the edge of whatever humanity’s left.
And, of course, people get dead, in some of the most diabolical ways imaginable. Not everybody deserves it, perhaps, but, hey, such is life.
And nobody living is immune to death — even the man named Thorn, Hall’s erstwhile anti-hero, who here returns with a heroism only a reluctant warrior can muster. Faced with a finality that few can fathom, Thorn stoops to the occasion and goes lower, harder and deeper than even his most accomplished adversary.
Refreshingly, for all the bad guys, Thorn’s most formidable foe is a gal who’s lost more than most and been trained to win regardless. Another warrior, see? Brass-tacked, bare-boned and trained by the good ol’ U.S. of A.
But this expertly trained dame is not driven by slogan or platitude or some wind-blown stars and bars; she’s driven by loss, a loss so profound and elemental that even the evilest swamp creatures allow her a pass. So too do some of her compatriots, chief among them a black female small-town sheriff named Timmy, who’s loyal to a core she can only question.
Which is kinda the whole point of Hall’s wham-bam murder mystery, to raise the most unanswerable questions imaginable, among them: At what point are we justified in breaking the law? To what extent is murder permissible? How far can we go before we’ve gone too far? And, who the hell are we to judge anybody?
Sure, it’s a fishing expedition, and sure, some people are destined to get bit, but if you don’t get your ass out on the water where the wild things are, how the hell are you gonna reel?
Bound Thursday, Feb. 28, 08
Fishing Expedition
In James W. Hall’s Hell’s Bay, somebody’s gonna get bit
By John Hood
Here’s the setup: An iron-hard dame and her recalcitrant ex-lover pilot a tricked-out houseboat into the thick of the Everglades’ still surprisingly primordial 10,000 islands. On the craft: the dame’s slow-witted brother (who happens to be a master chef); a blowhard captain of industry and his cantankerous daughter (who happen to be at each others’ throats) and a big-city travel writer and her large-mouthed lensman (who happen to not give a shit about anybody but themselves).
Sounds idyllic, right?
Wrong.
This is James W. Hall we’re talkin’ ’bout — a cat whose tales are far from idyllic. And this is Hell’s Bay (St. Martin’s, $24.95), the place where the swamp secretes a very special something.
And that something is phosphate, or at least the phosphatic leftovers. See, that captain happens to be head of an outfit called Bates International, king of the companies that best rape Florida’s midland. In other words: He believes the world is his oyster, and he’s gonna eat it up in one gulp.
But don’t think for a minute that the captain or his company’s ever been content with a mere mouthful, let alone a massive violation. No, once they’ve victimized the landscape, they leave behind mountains of radioactive waste just so those who live on the landscape get to be vics as well.
It’s ugly, it’s gruesome and it’s all true, despite the fact that this is fiction. Go ahead, Google phosphate mining and see if I’m lying. Then check the disease rate of those who dwell near the depths that have been dug into our world.
Hall, who was tipped by a whistle-blower who found that bureaucrats have no chance against bureaucracy, takes the sad truth of a very heavy matter and spins it through a story that encompasses greed, guts, double-dealing, triple crosses and enough so-called unforeseen circumstances to make your blood boil. People get pushed, people get prodded and people get shoved, right over the edge of whatever humanity’s left.
And, of course, people get dead, in some of the most diabolical ways imaginable. Not everybody deserves it, perhaps, but, hey, such is life.
And nobody living is immune to death — even the man named Thorn, Hall’s erstwhile anti-hero, who here returns with a heroism only a reluctant warrior can muster. Faced with a finality that few can fathom, Thorn stoops to the occasion and goes lower, harder and deeper than even his most accomplished adversary.
Refreshingly, for all the bad guys, Thorn’s most formidable foe is a gal who’s lost more than most and been trained to win regardless. Another warrior, see? Brass-tacked, bare-boned and trained by the good ol’ U.S. of A.
But this expertly trained dame is not driven by slogan or platitude or some wind-blown stars and bars; she’s driven by loss, a loss so profound and elemental that even the evilest swamp creatures allow her a pass. So too do some of her compatriots, chief among them a black female small-town sheriff named Timmy, who’s loyal to a core she can only question.
Which is kinda the whole point of Hall’s wham-bam murder mystery, to raise the most unanswerable questions imaginable, among them: At what point are we justified in breaking the law? To what extent is murder permissible? How far can we go before we’ve gone too far? And, who the hell are we to judge anybody?
Sure, it’s a fishing expedition, and sure, some people are destined to get bit, but if you don’t get your ass out on the water where the wild things are, how the hell are you gonna reel?
April 29, 2013
With each novel,James Hall demonstrates he is a master of synthesizing beautiful, lyrical prose concurrently with an edge-of-your-seat, stay-up-all-night thriller.
An example of the superior ability of this author's craft: "The Florida Bay spread out to the western horizon as flat and motionless as a slab of burnished silver. The red disk of sun had dissolved halfway behind the distant mangrove islands and was sending flares of green and blue into the cloudless heavens."
"The slate sky started to spit rain...."
While slowly delighting in the imagery, word choice, and figurative language, the reader is spurred onward by the heart-thumping, suspenseful intensity of the plot. This reader had to notate the most favorite excerpts to visit again and again - even after finishing the book! Feasting on such prolific, powerful prose in an intensely potent, fast-paced story line with endearing, dynamic characters, is pure enjoyment!
An example of the superior ability of this author's craft: "The Florida Bay spread out to the western horizon as flat and motionless as a slab of burnished silver. The red disk of sun had dissolved halfway behind the distant mangrove islands and was sending flares of green and blue into the cloudless heavens."
"The slate sky started to spit rain...."
While slowly delighting in the imagery, word choice, and figurative language, the reader is spurred onward by the heart-thumping, suspenseful intensity of the plot. This reader had to notate the most favorite excerpts to visit again and again - even after finishing the book! Feasting on such prolific, powerful prose in an intensely potent, fast-paced story line with endearing, dynamic characters, is pure enjoyment!
June 25, 2008
This one got a little crazy toward the end, but was still good. Lots of nature in these Hall books. I think the author has an environmentalist bent kind of like John D. McDonald who wrote the Travis McGee books also set in Florida. The character Doc Ford in the Randy Wayne White books is similar to Travis McGee in the McDonald books. The books are fun, but seem kind of dated now. The McGee books all have a color in the title like "The Quick Red fox". Wikipedia has a good write-up if you Google Travis McGee. If you find the paperbacks around they will probably be old and will look like trashy little books, but they are sleepers.
December 11, 2010
I haven't read the previous books of the series and my low rating may be a reflection of this fact because the characters felt one dimensional. The book switches from third person narrative to bad first person narrative when the main character is around; I found this switch annoying and unnecessary. How did the large boulder find itself on a Florida river? Florida isn't Colorado. The book would probably translate better to TV and this could function as a plot for a Miami Vice in retirement episode. I'm from the particular area and the hero has a similar background and the fictionalization goes too far, like the boulder.
July 30, 2012
Excellent suspense with Thorn and Sugarman in a race to avert a vendetta as they work in separate but converging spheres in south Florida. The corporate evil this time lies with the phospate mining barons, and the environmental impact of their industry is highlighted as a backdrop to this character-driven tale. Plenty of twists abound as characters show their true colors under duress, in this case the set of fishing trip guests aboard a houseboat which gets disabled and besieged in a remote part of the Everglades. Much about Thorn's family origins are revealed, which sadly comes with more negatives than positives.
May 11, 2010
I met James W. Hall at a writing conference in Seaside, Florida, a few years ago. He taught several of the conference's workshops and was interesting, witty and helpful. As a result, I went home and read several of his books and loved them. I don't know why, but I didn't read his books for a while (just busy, I guess), but I was pleasantly surprised to discover he has grown even better in his writing with this book, and I think that's unusual for a published writing to experience that sort of growth. I highly recommend anything he writes.
May 16, 2011
I was trying not to read this book because I wanted to read a different book instead but this was so compulsively easy to consume that I couldn't help myself. As crime novels go it's a good one, with a fascinating setting, a bunch of characters who feel like they're part of a series but stand alone well enough, and a lot of neat little details along the way. I like that the book is written with such an ecological slant but the bad guys are crazy ecoterrorists. The whole thing is airport novel fun. The final boss battle is killer.
March 22, 2015
#10 in the Thorn series. Florida beach bum Thorn lives off the grid and earns some money crafting highly prized bonefish flies. Periodically he gets called upon to right a wrong.
#10 - Thorn agrees to crew for ex-lover Rusty on a trip to fish hidden Everglades lakes. Their first customers include a man and his daughter who introduce themselves as Thorn's uncle and cousin. Cousin Mona tells Thorn that the death of their wealthy grandmother was murder. Friend Sugarman agrees to look into the old lady's death.
#10 - Thorn agrees to crew for ex-lover Rusty on a trip to fish hidden Everglades lakes. Their first customers include a man and his daughter who introduce themselves as Thorn's uncle and cousin. Cousin Mona tells Thorn that the death of their wealthy grandmother was murder. Friend Sugarman agrees to look into the old lady's death.
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