Customer Reviews

Silencer (Thorn Mysteries)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If James W. Hall is not already on your "must read" list, do yourself the favor of adding him immediately. "Silencer" is his eleventh novel to feature Thorn, the Key Largo private investigator and crafter of fishing lures. Thorn inherited an immense fortune (see "Hell's Bay")and is interested in giving much of it away in humantarian efforts. His girlfriend, Rusty Stabler, brokers a deal with Earl Hammond Jr. to swap lands in a complicated deal that will result in the preservation of 300 square miles of inland Florida land.

But the night before the deal is to be finalized, Hammond is killed under suspicious circumstances in front of family and the Florida Governor and almost simultaneously, Thorn is kidnapped and thrown into a deep, seemingly impenetrable sink hole by the Faust brothers, hired killers who live on Hammond's Coquina Ranch. Earl Hammond's vast holdings have been kept free of development except for grandson, Browning's, efforts to establish a big-game hunting preserve for high rollers in a section of the ranch.

With Thorn trapped in the deep pit, Sugarman, his longtime friend and partner, and Rusty begin tracking him down. Enter Frisco Hammond, a Miami police officer, who is the older prodigal son and brother to Browning, who returns to the ranch to team with Clare, Browning's suspicious wife, to uncover the truth to what has happened at Coquina ranch.

What secrets does the Hammond Ranch harbor from its celebrity studded past (Edison, Ford, Hemingway, Rockefeller) that haunt Earl Hammond Jr. today? What are Browning and his buddy, Antwon Shelton, former NFLer, cooking up--and how is the Governor involved? Can Thorn find a way out of his underground prison to exact revenge against his kidnappers? Can Sugarman and Rusty find Thorn and penetrate the maze that is the Coquina Ranch? What role do Frisco and Clare play in untangling the mystery?

These questions are all satisfyingly answered in Hall's fast paced, multi-leveled suspense thriller that will, at times, have the reader rushing through pages to get answers. As in all his work, Hall is very successful at creating fully fleshed, believable characters along with tightly knitted plots punctuated by occasional raw violence and unexpected detours. James Hall is a great writer and friend to the Florida environs and I can often "see" the lands and people he describes just by reading his words. A highly recommended novel and author.

In Key Largo, Florida Rusty Stabler offers a deal to her reclusive boyfriend private investigator Thorn who has come into a nice but unexpected inheritance. He appreciate what she proffers as that will environmentally protect 300 square miles from avaricious developers. Part of the consideration would shut down Earl Hammond's Coquina Ranch game-hunting operation as he plans to donate his property to the State to keep it safe from greedy developers.

However, soon after Rusty pitches her proposal, someone kills Hammond and Thorn is kidnapped. While the sleuth is struggling to come around and escape, his friend Sugarman searches for him unsuccessfully. Meanwhile professional killers Jonah and Moses Faust are working a serial killer memorabilia deal on the side of their paying gig of abducting Thorn; and Hammond's sons (ex-football star Browning and Miami cop Frisco) want justice and plan to obtain it for their late father.

This is an excellent Florida wilderness thriller that grips the audience throughout while also making a strong case for the environment. Thorn is at his best digging his way out of ironically a natural prison of a deep sinkhole while Frisco and Browning's wife Clare investigate the murder and the abduction that they tie together by the protect the land deal; neither realizes the real connection dates back to Depression Era developers in this great suspense thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Thorn is a unique character. In the previous installment of this series he inherited a billion-dollar corporation, but spurned any involvement in its operation, leaving the day-to-day activities to his girlfriend, Rusty, who seems to be doing a bang-up job. Both, however, are interested in preserving the environment, and toward that end, Rusty develops a deal in which the State of Florida buys acres and acres of the company's land holdings for $500,000, which money can then be used to buy the Coquino Ranch and preserve it in its natural state, in which it has existed for generations.

But things are never easy where Thorn is concerned (he seems to get himself into all kinds of situations) and this deal is no exception. There are those who oppose the swap and take drastic steps to stop it, including murdering the owner of the ranch and putting a contract out on Thorn, who is kidnapped prefatory to shooting him.

The tale unfolds with vivid descriptions and deep suspense. How Thorn eludes his death and how his friends attempt to save him is gripping and poignantly written. This suspenseful novel certainly is one of the author's best, and it is highly recommended.

After his father, Earl Hammond, is shot dead and two deviant contract killers kidnap a family heir, Thorn, it is up to Frisco Hammond and his brother's wife to solve the two crimes, which may possibly be connected, in an endeavor that pits brother against brother, wife against husband. BT.
This latest thriller that features one of my favorite protagonists, Thorn--not even sure he has a first name--moves at a steady (fast) pace and never lets up. Great characters in the heartland of Florida makes for a good thriller that James W. Hall fans come to expect.

I am a little surprised to see some reviewers say they've read many of the Thorn books and yet identify him as a private investigator. He is just a guy that makes flies for fishing, wants to see Florida preserved and gets into a lot of trouble. His friend Sugarman (who is a private investigator) is frequently joking and lamenting that trouble follows Thorn. The earlier novels follow the same line but they also include his beginnings which involve a drunk driver, an accident and the surviving baby (Thorn). Of all of the Florida novelists that I read on a regular basis (Carl, Tim, R.W.W, Bob Morris) James W. Hall is the most skilled. I never roll my eyes at the descriptions or dialogue in his books (unlike the Doc Ford stuff) Even if the story isn't your cup of tea he gets you through it expertly (He's almost in J.D.M territory). I liked this Thorn book more than most. I think that if this book was 100 pages longer with Thorn's beginnings and more background for the bad guys and less background of the ranch, the book would have pleased more people.

I have read most of the Thorn Mysteries and found this book lacking. The book was an easy read but I found the storyline weak compared to the other books.

This wasn't my favorite Thorn book, but anything by James W. Hall is always a great read. I just personally like more of Thorn in the story.

This was my first time reading a James Hall novel, and after finishing "Silencer," I am not very inspired to read another one. The book was not bad, but there was nothing particularly memorable or exciting about it either. I found the characters and story somewhat flat and flavorless.

Revolving around a suspicious land deal in Florida, an environmentally-inspired millionaire, a troubled ranch family, and several other odd characters, I wanted to feel a sense of danger, the thrill of adventure and peril, but I actually felt nothing at all.

I often judge a book by how much I think about it in the days after I finish reading it. I never gave this one a second thought - not the characters, not how the story ended - nothing. Honestly, I never became emotionally involved with any aspect of this novel.

I didn't hate the book, and it is fine for a quick read if you're sitting by the pool or spending some time inside on a rainy day. However, if you want an edge-of your-seat thriller with an exciting climax, a sense of suspense, or any surprising twists or turns, choose a different book.

After many good books in the Thorn series, Hall is really going downhill. This is the worst Thorn novel I've read, and I will not buy another one.

Once again, someone underestimates Thorn. Looking to enjoy his good fortune that befell him in the course of the last story, Thorn discovers that no good deed goes unpunished. Lean and mean, the story has no brakes. A good quick read, because the reader can't stop either. We're losing a lot of good writers lately. Let's hope Hall continues for a long time.