About the Author

James Hall, a former art critic of the Guardian, was awarded the first Bernard Denvir Prize for an outstanding young critic. He is the author of 20 novels, 14 of which feature Thorn, the off-the-grid loner who lives a primitive existence in Key Largo, Florida. Thorn and his friend Sugarman, an African-American PI, team up to solve exotic crimes from animal smuggling to piracy to kidnapping to espionage. Hall has won the Edgar Award and the Shamus and several of his novels have been optioned for film.

Reviews

"Haunting... page-turning... [Hall] delivers  the eerie sexuality, matter-of-fact absurdity,  bizarre characters and convoluted plot that have  become his signatures" -- The Miami  Herald.

"An engrossing, spellbinding, and  a truly different work; a thriller with the real  thrills!" -- Nelson Demille.

"A  pounding action thriller!" -- The  New York Times Book Review.

"Rich atmosphere, wild in action and peppered with  colorful characters, hall nails you to each page  until the suspense-laden climax." -- Clive  Cussler.

"Haunting... page-turning... [Hall] delivers the eerie sexuality, matter-of-fact absurdity, bizarre characters and convoluted plot that have become his signatures" -- The Miami Herald.

"An engrossing, spellbinding, and a truly different work; a thriller with the real thrills!" -- Nelson Demille.

"A pounding action thriller!" -- The New York Times Book Review.

"Rich atmosphere, wild in action and peppered with colorful characters, hall nails you to each page until the suspense-laden climax." -- Clive Cussler.

Hall's (Bones of Coral, Audio Reviews, LJ 9/15/93) novel begins with a part-time detective being murdered while diving. The detective's lover, Thorn, picks up the threads of the investigation and uncovers such shady characters as Winchester, an elite, government-trained assassin and fish farmer, and his daughter Sylvie, a sexual predator who persuades her conquests to try to kill her father. Winchester casually murders his would-be assassins. To him, murder is nothing; he's more concerned with developing the red tilapia, a fish that could revolutionize the fishing industry (and destroy Florida's environment). Sound a bit implausible? One could pull a muscle trying to suspend disbelief. This all provides context, or just pretext, for the sex and violence that make up the bulk of the tale. The real mystery is why the producer would waste the reading talents of Frank Muller on a project like this. Not recommended.-John Hiett, Iowa City P.L.