Magic City: A Novel [Kindle Edition]

James W. Hall (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the fast, entertaining 14th novel from Edgar- and Shamus-winner Hall (after 2005's Forests of the Night), the sharp-witted, multitalented Key Largo beach bum, Thorn, follows his girlfriend, Alexandra, to Miami, where he's caught in the violence whirling around a decades-old photograph taken during the 1964 Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Liston heavyweight boxing championship. After Thorn is threatened by two Cuban-American men looking for Alexandra's father, he starts investigating and in short order uncovers evidence of a plot to destroy all copies of the photo—and, if necessary, kill anyone who owns or has access to the prints. As Alexandra's father—a retired Miami cop as well as an old friend—is one such person, Thorn naturally takes a personal interest in stopping the men. While Thorn is no Travis McGee (John D. McDonald holds the edge in depictions of sharp-witted Florida beach bums), Hall offers lively characters, livelier dialogue and an excellent depiction of contemporary south Florida. 75,000 first printing; author tour. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Give Thorn credit. He's trying--trying to make accommodations with the modern world, anything to demonstrate to crime-scene photographer Alexandra Rafferty that he is committed to their relationship. Hence his radical decision to stay with Alex's Alzheimer's-afflicted father in Miami while she attends a seminar. But the "ragged, hustling pulse of Miami" does crazy things to Key Largo recluse Thorn, making his "hypersensitive antennae" gyrate like an overheated Geiger counter. It's not paranoia this time, though, as Thorn stumbles into the middle of a crime spree prompted by a black-and-white photograph taken during the 1964 Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston heavyweight-championship fight in Miami. The bad guys want the photo, a gift from the photographer to Alex's father, and are willing to do whatever needs doing to get it. Thorn starts out as he always does, merely trying to protect his loved ones, but eventually, inevitably, defense changes to offense: he knew the "feel of the tipping point--when his trot became a gallop, the gallop grew to a crazy, hurtling rush, and by God, once again he found himself sprinting over the suicidal edge." Hall continues to explore the ever-intriguing psychodynamics of his unconventional hero, but he also adds a new dimension to the series with the fascinating look at Miami in the 1960s. Not since the superb stand-alone thriller Hard Aground (1993) has Hall delved so deeply into the fetid foundation on which contemporary South Florida was built. Another outstanding chapter in one of the genre's most consistently first-rate series. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 506 KB
• Print Length: 336 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (March 6, 2007)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000Q80SOO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,333 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hall's still got the "magic" even after two decades, May 4, 2007

By 

Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magic City: A Novel (Hardcover)

Magic City is significant not only for James W. Hall's seductive storytelling, but also because it represents a milestone of sorts, marking Hall's twentieth year as a novelist. Yes, fans, it's been twenty years since the superlative Under Cover of Daylight, which, by the way, featured the same protagonist as Magic City, the enigmatic Thorn. Oh how time flies when you're having fun...

This time out, the mayhem is triggered by a forty-year old photograph, a picture of then Mayor of Miami Beach Stanton King and his guests in the audience of the 1964 prizefight between Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston. Its reappearance at a retrospective of the photographer's work sends certain parties into a panic, causing them to trigger a search for all extant copies. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for action/thriller fans, one of those copies belongs to the father of Thorn's paramour Alexandra, retired cop Lawton Collins. Pulled into the matter by circumstance, Thorn meets lethal force with equally lethally force in an attempt to protect his loved ones.

Fast paced, harrowing, and thoroughly compelling, Hall's fourteenth novel proves once again that Miami Beach is still a fertile breeding ground for thrillers, as the author holds a mirror up to the last forty years of the city's history, even as he puts his series character Thorn through some very demanding paces. Hall's regular readers and fans of writers as diverse as John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiaasen, Randy Wayne White, James O. Born and Tim Dorsey will no doubt enjoy this offering.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When the federal government, the CIA, Cuban rebels and the Catholic Church are involved, action reigns, May 29, 2007

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic City: A Novel (Hardcover)

On February 25, 1964, Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston. In Miami, Florida, a 12-year-old boy named Manuel Ricardo Morales, known as Snake, listens excitedly to the radio transmission of the fight. Originally from Cuba, Snake and his family came to Miami to elude the Fidel Castro regime. On this night, most of the members of the Morales family are killed, as Snake sees who he believes to be Castro's hit men enter his home and leave him an orphan. Although he fights back valiantly --- like his hero, Cassius Clay --- Snake also loses his beloved girlfriend, Carmen, to these thugs.

A photograph of the fight becomes critical to the plot from this point forward --- because sitting in row three of that picture is the man responsible for these horrific murders. A now-grown-up Snake discovers that Lawton Collins is in possession of a copy of the photograph and goes to Lawton's house to retrieve it. There, he and his friend find Thorn Truman, our protagonist, who is engaged to Alexandria Collins. "He would find the photo, decipher its meaning, and then do what was necessary, accomplishing each step with dispassionate focus. As Cassius had fought. Aloof, above the fray, deliberate, calculated, and merciless."

Lawton Collins is a terrific character. A retired cop, with a great sense of humor and irony, he is not a fan of Thorn dating his daughter. "It's about time she got back," Lawton said. "Leaving her old man in the hands of an unreliable doofus, what kind of daughter would do that to her defenseless old dad."

As a highly valued CIA operative, Pauline Caufield's role in maintaining a high-profile manufacturing executive cover provides readers with a second plot. The two storylines come together with the significance of the Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston photo.

What is particularly interesting about MAGIC CITY is the weaving and depth of the plot lines. Just when you think that James W. Hall has written a commonplace novel, he smacks you with another piece of the puzzle. This incredibly well-crafted story has all the elements to surprise, captivate and reassure the reader that this is a book worth reading.

Thorn Truman is hesitant to leave his home in the Florida Keys for his visit to Alexandria in Miami. He will soon see that he has good reason to be reluctant, as his trip to Miami will be nothing but ordinary. When the federal government, the CIA, Cuban rebels and the Catholic Church are involved, action reigns. Who is exonerated, who is blamed, and who sinks back into the woodwork? Read MAGIC CITY and find out for yourself.

--- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not up to usual standards, May 31, 2009

By 

R. Lamfers (Olympic Peninsula, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magic City: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

While I am a fan of the Thorn series, this one started out promising, but turned a little cartoonish in the last 50 pages. Lola was very unbelievable with her "stinging". I also couldn't get past all of the amazing coincidences (people still living in the same place after 40+ years and remembering the details of a particular crime.)

I will, however keep reading about Thorn. Hopefully James Hall will get back on track.