Customer Reviews

Under Cover of Daylight

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having recently read the latest volume in the Thorn series ('Blackwater Sound') to my great satisfaction, I decided to pursue reading the rest of the novels, this time in more orthodox order. I began this first book expecting an enjoyable, but slightly less effective story and discovered instead that the Thorn tales start right out with a tour-de-force. James Hall has been writing for a while, and it is a bit embarrassing to have to admit that I somehow managed to miss a writer of this caliber.

'Under Cover of Daylight' is about revenge, to put it plainly. Fifteen years earlier the 19 year old Thorn killed Dallas James, the man whose driving caused the death of Thorn's parents before Thorn had even known them. Now 35, Thorn has yet to integrate that death and accept himself, to get his life past that awful moment and back on track. These hidden feelings interfere in his current relationship with Sarah Ryan, a Miami lawyer, who is also the close friend of his foster mother, Kate Truman. Kate and Sarah share another interest, a deep desire to keep commercialism from destroying the Florida Keys.

Suddenly Kate turns up dead in her boat... Deeply stricken, Thorn is once again compelled to take justice on himself. One more time he seeks revenge. The two quests, one by a 19 year old boy and the other by a mature man, play against each other. Thorn seeks a more complicated blood price this time... All of this is threaded together by his feelings for Sarah, for a relationship that takes as many twists and turns as the complex plot of the book.

I was surprised again by the depth of Thorn's character. It would be far easier for Hall to make Thorn into a good-guy heavy, but that never happens. Underneath the seemingly unambitious and directionless maker of fishing lures are surprising facets of character. Hall's facility with character is not limited to Thorn. Sarah, and Sugarman, Thorn's closest friend also manage to avoid becoming stereotypes. Perhaps most surprising are the killers themselves, who spring to life - unpleasant, tormented, and psychotic, but totally fascinating.

This is a treat of a book, from its eccentric actors to the details of fishing and life in the Keys. It creates a Florida that you want to go down and touch. To see if it might just be real after all. You will find much violence, but little of it excessive. There is a fine sense of what is needed to bring the story home without the need to disgust or offend the reader. I am looking forward to the remainder of this series. You should too.

This is the novel where Hall introduced Thorn, his anti-hero protagonist. This is the best of Hall's novels - it's the template after which all of the others are patterned. It has all of the elements that make hall's work exciting - the lazy Florida Keys setting, the quirky characters, the complicated plots, and the brilliant prose. This book also has an intensity the later ones lack - Thorn is like a force of nature, and in this book, you really FEEL that. This is the single best crime novel I have ever read.

I don't know how I managed to go this long without being aware of James W. Hall, but I did. I was a huge Travis McGee fan and, although Hall's Thorn character is quite different from John D. McDonald's wonderful knight-errant, it was great to return to south Florida for a terrific story. Thorn is a much more gritty character than McGee, and Hall's writing style is also grittier. Thorn is a hermit-like eccentric with a troubled past who earns a living in the Florida Keys making bonefish lures. He winds up in the middle of a mystery that he decides to resolve himself. Hall describes his setting beautifully and fills his version of the Keys with some odd and quirky characters. All of his characters, even the minor ones, are rich and well fleshed out. The story flows smoothly and the pages fly by. I'm looking forward to reading all of Hall's mysteries, especially those featuring the Thorn character. Very highly recommended.

I HAVE READ EVERY ONE OF JAMES W. HALL'S BOOKS AND I AM HOOKED ON THEM, I CAN'T WAIT FOR EACH NEW ONE AS IT COMES OUT AND ONCE I HAVE STARTED READING I CAN'T PUT IT DOWN, NEEDLESS TO SAY THIS HAS CAUSED ME MANY SLEEPLESS NIGHTS. I BELIEVE ANYONE WHO PICKS UP JUST ONE OF HIS BOOKS WILL ENJOY THEM AS MUCH AS I DO.

What I enjoyed most about this book was it's very real depiction of the people and life in the upper keys. The places are real and his descriptions are right on. If you have ever cruised down US1 and enjoyed the laid back keys lifestyle, you'll enjoy reading this book.

I have always tried to read and authors books in order but unfortunately I failed miserably when it came to Hall's Thorn books. Most series where you read the books out of order its a minor miss step but here it was a huge mistake. While Hall's books, for the most part, can stand on its own you don't truly understand the Thorn character until you've read Daylight.

Under Cover of Daylight is not just a story of murder and revenge but a scathing biopsy of the everchanging culture of Southern Florida. As we cut through the layers of this shifting society we take an uncomfortable look two people who relationship give a whole new meaning to love-hate. While the literal suprises are few the emotional surprises are many.

I'm a big fan of James Hall and have read all his novels. While Under Cover of Daylight was his first novel, it was actually the last one I read - and it's one of his best.

As far as South Florida crime novelists go, Hall is darker and grittier than most. Like his contemporaries, Hall's novels are filled with quirky characters and villains that are as likely to kill one another as they are to harm the novel's hero. His heroes (Thorn in this case) are flawed and complicated. But what sets Hall apart from other writers in this genre is his writing. The Keys literally leap off the page with prose that is almost poetic at times.

Hall is one of the best writers working in the crime genre. His novels (this one included) deliver the quirky characters and twisted comedy we expect from a South Florida crime novel but with a much darker edge.

I haunt the bookstores for good novels pertaining to the Keys and only recently did this important work of Hall's become available. Although this is where it all starts with Thorn - great character background and motivational set up - it is also a fine read. Would you believe, greedy developers willing to bend the law and squeeze the little guys out for obscene profit: a lack of concern for the character and individualism of Keys communities, condos at any costs? Somehow the book seems relevant today, and when the characters repeatedly stress they are not against progress but somewhere we must draw a line we hear the same complex emotions that are at the heart of every development discussion today, twenty years after the original publication. All this and a great Thorn style plot. Perfect for those rainy/windy days when the bonefish are shying away or the lobsters are not in season.

In 1987's "Under Cover of Daylight" James W. Hall introduces Thorn, the nonconformist antihero, and reveals his troubled past.

It is a believable suspenseful story of secrets, revenge, personal loss and an elaborate land grab scheme.

A drunken driver who escaped conviction killed Thorn's parents.

At age nineteen, Thorn avenges their death.

Twenty years later, living in the Keys---life seems good for Thorn. His hand made bone fish flies are in huge demand---there is plenty of time for Thorn and his friend Sugarman to enjoy the Keys lifestyle---and prosecuting attorney Sarah Ryan has entered his life.

And then---a psycho hired killer murders Thorn's adoptive mother (who actively opposes the condo developers). Once again Thorn is compelled to find justice on his terms.

This is a dynamic debut novel. All the characters are richly drawn; the Keys come vividly to life, the plot races along and the resolution is most satisfying.

"Under Cover of Daylight" is a most worthy reread for all fans of James W. Hall and Thorn.

James Hall has long been a poetic author. Under Cover of Daylight brings his poetic rhetoric to the surface. I highly recommend reading this book