Rough Draft (Bookcassette(r) Edition) [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

James W. Hall (Author), Sandra Burr (Reader)

Book Description

Series: Bookcassette | Publication Date: January 1, 2000

When her parents were murdered, Hannah Keller was 3,000 miles away, on leave from her job with the Miami Police Department. Her family's only survivor on that deadly day was Hannah's six-year-old son Randall. While fishing on the dock behind his grandparents' house, the boy glimpsed the killers, and later discovered his grandparents' bullet-riddled bodies. Five years later the trauma of that day still haunts the boy. He lives in terror that the killers will return for him. Hannah is no longer a cop but now works full time as a novelist, and is trying to do whatever she can to heal her son's wounds. But when she receives a coded message apparently from her parents' killers, the entire episode explodes again. Teaming up with a maverick FBI agent from the Miami field office, Hannah begins to track the killer. As she moves deeper into the labyrinth, she discovers, to her horror, that she and her son are being used as pawns in an elaborate scheme - a trap designed to catch one of the world's deadliest assassins. Hannah and Randall become entangled in a bitter feud, a burning vendetta, and the mind of a bloodthirsty professional killer.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

James Hall's series about beach bum Thorne (Mean High Tide, Buzz Cut, Hard Aground) placed him firmly in a Holy Trinity of Floridian crime novelists. Like Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen, Hall brought to life Florida's alluring, addictive mix of sand and ocean, hibiscus and alligator, tanned skin and pastel stucco. Rough Draft, however, is less concerned with place than with plot: Miami is a cipher, a generic background for the convoluted whodunit (or perhaps more precisely, who's doing it to whom) Hall weaves around former policewoman and successful crime writer Hannah Keller.

Fiercely protective of her brilliant but haunted 11-year-old son, who five years ago witnessed the murders of his grandparents (presumably by the embezzler his grandfather was pursuing), Hannah becomes an unwitting pawn in an FBI operation to catch Hal Bonner. Bonner is a Cali assassin with a particularly brutal "signature." Since J.J. Fielding escaped with $463 million in drug money, Hal is hot on his trail; if--the FBI assumes--he can be persuaded that Hannah has found Fielding and the cash, he'll emerge from hiding to exact revenge. They lay a series of clues for Hannah to follow, beginning with a gruesomely annotated copy of her first book that seems to be a direct message from her parents' killer. But as the 72 hours allotted to the plan unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that Hannah will not be led by breadcrumbs; she prefers making her own path.

For sheer presence and emotional depth, Hannah may not be on a par with Alexandra Rafferty, the Miami police photographer of Body Language, and the machinations of the FBI agents--mostly an unpleasant bunch who are wound tighter than the proverbial top--may seem so labyrinthine as to verge on the ridiculous. But Hall serves up a delicious pair of villains in Hal and Misty (who is stalking Hannah for her own purposes). The slow-thinking killer and the quick-talking Hooters girl are chillingly vicious and oddly funny; picture a Capra-esque screwball courtship conducted at the Bates Motel. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran thriller master Hall (Body Language) exhibits a new dimension in this latest suspense novel. His intrepid protagonist Thorne conspicuously absent, he again features a female protagonist. Five years ago, beleaguered Miami police detective and single mom Hannah Keller was closing in on J.J. Fielding, a banker/money launderer for the Cali drug cartel. But when agents got close to nabbing Fielding, he disappeared with $463 million in embezzled cash. Meanwhile, Keller and her loving parents were about to celebrate her big break; she'd just sold her first mystery novel for a sizable sum. Her happiness turned to horror when she discovered her mother and her father, a former U.S. Attorney, dead--assassinated gang-style by killers leaving Fielding's "calling card" and a sole witness, Keller's then six-year-old son, Randall. The case has remained unsolved since. Now, Miami FBI agents Frank Sheffield and Helen Shane are out to capture the man who murdered a U.S. senator's daughter. They're sure that the killer is Hal Bonner, hired gun for the Cali cartel, and they decide to use Keller and her son as decoys to capture Bonner. Meanwhile, looking for revenge is Fielding's disturbed daughter, Hooters' employee, Misty. Filled with rage at her father's disappearance, she's determined to kill young Randall. In a creepy plot twist, Keller finds a copy of her first novel marked with scribblings that contain a code, possibly from Fielding himself. Solid suspense builds as the FBI, Misty and Hal chase Keller in choppers, cars and UPS vans. An expert creator of grotesque villains and fast action, former poet Hall raises the crossbar with his sensitive insights into the human condition. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Bookcassette; Unabridged edition (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567404952
• ISBN-13: 978-1567404951
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,516,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from James Hall, January 13, 2000

By 

Dennis R. Beresford (Athens, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rough Draft (Thorn Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I eagerly await each new book from James Hall, having read him from the beginning. Rough Draft is another outstanding South Florida suspense story. Each Hall book is completely different, with new characters, etc. But they retain the riveting writing style, perverse humor, and intriguing plot that grab you and won't let go. Hal and Misty in Rough Draft are characters that border on preposterous yet are still very believable in today's violent world.

Hall doesn't seem to get the same recognition as Carl Hiiason, Elmore Leonard or some other current greats but he's number one on my list of favorites.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hall is at the top of his form here, March 23, 2000

By 

Craig Larson (Maple Grove, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rough Draft (Thorn Mysteries) (Hardcover)

James Hall has rapidly become one of my favorite authors, whether he's writing another book in his Thorn series, or the stand-alone thrillers he's been producing lately. _Rough Draft_ is one of his stand-alones, but the characters he creates here are compelling enough to warrant their own series.

Single mother Hannah Keller, a former policewoman turned bestselling author, is concerned about her withdrawn son. The boy apparently was an eyewitness to the murder of his grandparents many years before by a man Hannah's father was prosecuting for embezzlement.

The FBI is aware of her circumstances and an especially devious agent-in-charge sets up an elaborate sting, aimed at the vicious mob killer, Hal Bonner, an odd, inhuman, almost robotic man, with a grisly trademark to his slayings. The agent in charge of the investigation into the death of Hannah's father years before, Frank Sheffield, shows up again and starts to fall in love with Hannah.

Just based on this brief summary, you'd be right in thinking this is a pretty convoluted plot for a thriller, but Hall makes it work. His characters are real, believable human beings and they're often put in situations of extreme jeopardy. Not all will survive. It is also to Hall's credit that he almost manages the feat of making us care about the inhuman Hal, who becomes involved in a love affair of his own during the course of the story.

This is an excellent, fast-moving thriller, and highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jim Hall just gets better!, April 4, 2000

By 

Maureen Kopper - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rough Draft (Thorn Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Just like Body Language, this is a great novel. The main characters, Hannah and her son, are very endearing. The pace never lets up, the book is very well written, with many different and colorful characters.

Jim Hall is a GREAT writer! I don'tknow why he is so underpublicized....he is better than many of the top suspense/mystery writers with the big names. Read his books!