Blackwater Sound: A Novel (Thorn Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

James W. Hall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2002 | Series: Thorn Mysteries

It comes out of nowhere--an airliner silently dropping from the sky into the torpid shallows of Florida's Blackwater Sound. Thorn witnesses the crash and pulls the survivors to safety, soon finding himself thrust into the media spotlight as a reluctant hero--and consumed by an elaborate conspiracy born out of the psychotic fantasies of a prominent Florida family. But their link to the doomed Rio-bound flight only touches the surface of a private world of murder, power, and revenge. And it's luring Thorn and crime-scene photographer Alexandra Rafferty dangerously close to the harrowing family secret that should have perished in the flames...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A powerful Florida family, its high-tech fortune dwindling, is haunted by an elusive, enormous blue marlin that claimed the life of its eldest son, who was meant to restore the family's prominence. But the Braswells are tormented by even darker secrets, such as incest and treason, that drive this dark, atmospheric thriller to an explosive conclusion, which might have been pulled straight from recent headlines. James Hall pits Thorn, his series protagonist, against the Braswells and their deadly plans. Although an existentially morose antihero is a convention of the mystery genre, Hall manages to transcend it with a fascinating plot and a powerful narrative, resulting in a suspenseful and resonant novel that shows off his well-developed talents for character development, place, and pacing. The author of 11 previous mysteries (including Mean High Tide and Rough Draft), Hall gets better with every book, and this one continues the trend. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Hall's dangerous bone-fishing iconoclast Thorn (Under Cover of Daylight, etc.) and gorgeous police photographer Alexandra Rafferty (Body Language) join forces in a thriller that should swell the author's ranks of admirers. From dramatic beginning to chilling ending, Hall's never been better. When a passenger plane crash-lands near Thorn's boat in the Florida coastal waters, Thorn finds himself thrust into a rescue operation that leads him deeper and deeper into the lunatic world of the Braswell family. The Braswell children boy genius Andy, psychopathic Johnny and dangerously beautiful Morgan make an impressively deadly combination. When circumstances lead Alexandra's wandering and forgetful father, Lawton Collins, into Thorn's path and into the clutches of the Braswells, Thorn and Alexandra become uneasy allies. There's much more at stake than the rescue of one endearing old man with a confused mind the Braswells' evil plans to market a terrifying device promises a reign of terror of awesome proportions. But all that is secondary to Hall's celebration of human and animal determination and grit: Thorn's principled effort to rescue Lawton and a great blue marlin's savage fight to survive. Hall's marlin is a magnificent creature, which the Braswells have hunted for a decade like Ahab after Moby Dick. Hall the poet and Hall the novelist have never been more beautifully melded than they are in this book. The result is suspense, entertainment and high-quality literature. (Jan. 7)Forecast: Backed by a national author tour and ad campaign, with pre-pub raves from Dennis Lehane, James Lee Burke, Robert Crais, Scott Turow and Michael Connelly, this crime novel seems destined for bestsellerdom.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; First Edition edition (November 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312986289
• ISBN-13: 978-0312986285
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another solid Hall thriller, January 13, 2002

By 

Avid Mystery Reader (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackwater Sound: A Novel (Hardcover)

Blackwater Sound brings together Thorn and Sugarman with police photographer Alex and her father from Body Language. As usual, Hall delivers an excellent thriller with superb pacing, interesting characters and a few explosions here and there. We hate the people that Thorn hates, but still feel the ambivalence for hating someone who deserves it.

I was glad to see some more of Sugarman in this book, as he's a chracter who's intrigued me in other books. Bringing in Alex from his other series doesn't feel gimmicky at all -- it's a very natural weaving of two sets of characters that I already knew from having read all of the other Hall books.

Starting with Blackwater Sound would deprive a reader of some fuller character understanding from the other books -- but would certainly motivate someone to go back and read all of the other books to learn more about them.

Just a good, solid, enjoyable book.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Quiet Man, January 25, 2002

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackwater Sound: A Novel (Hardcover)

Long ago I read a Thorn story and promptly forgot the title. Every time I’d read a mystery with a Florida setting, I thought of Thorn. I’d question mystery experts about a guy who lives on the Keys, a real outsider who doesn’t want any ties and cares not about material things. Recently, I saw a message on the Amazon Discussion Board about “Blackwater Sound,” immediately made the connection, and ordered the book. I was not disappointed.

The haunting prologue described young Andy Braswell who, attempting to attach an electronic device on a Moby Dick sized marlin, was dragged and lost at sea. Ten years later, his mother has committed suicide, his father is still obsessed with catching the marlin, and his brother and sister are emotional wrecks.

The story proper opens with a horrendous crash of a commercial airliner into Blackwater Sound off Key Largo, FL. Thorn is part of the rescue operation. The crash, the sounds and the aftermath, are skillfully and almost poetically rendered by the author. I thought I had read the ultimate in crash descriptions in Andrew Klavan’s “Hunting Down Amanda,” but Mr. Hall is in a class by himself.

The story is well paced and the characterizations are excellent. These are stand-alone type people. After you have read this book, you will surely agree that dysfunctional families are each different unto themselves. The technology is a little weak, but is more than made up for by the stirring battles between man and marlin. Mr. Hall’s expertise is in fishing not gadgets. Recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Pleasure!!!, December 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Blackwater Sound: A Novel (Hardcover)

Thorne is back, which means we all have good reason to rejoice. As much as I loved Hall's previous two books -- "Body Language" and "Rough Draft" -- I was ready to hang with my old buddy Thorne again.

Hall is the best of the Florida writers -- in fact, he may just be the best living suspense novelist. And, the great news is that "Blackwater Sound" as as good as anything he's ever written. There plot is both elegant and subtle -- no super-villians or schtick. It's smart stuff all the way through. Enormously entertaining crime fiction that's also fine literature.

I'm ready for his next one.