Rough Draft [Hardcover]

James W. Hall (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: St. Martin's; First Edition edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312273479
• ISBN-13: 978-0312273477
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)

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Single mother Hannah Keller, a former policewoman turned bestselling author, is concerned about her withdrawn son.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!