Synopses & Reviews
Bestselling author and “master of suspense” (The New York Times Book Review) James W. Hall combines the haunting atmosphere of Deliverance with the sheer terror of Cape Fear in his most ambitious thriller to date.
IN THE DEEP, DARK MANGROVE SWAMPS
Wealthy Florida matron Abigail Bates is on a canoe trip down a backwater river when suddenly, from out of nowhere, she is held underwater to drown by a strange and merciless killer…
DANGER LIES BENEATH THE SURFACE
Thorn is aboard a houseboat in Hells Bay when he is confronted by Abigails son and alluring granddaughter. Thorn soon learns that they are his long-lost relatives—and that he is about to inherit a great fortune. Hes also about to find out that being a member of the Bates family comes with a price…
AND A KILLER HIDES IN PLAIN SIGHT
As he searches for clues about Abigails murder, Thorns houseboat becomes a precarious island of safety as he and the others find themselves hunted by an invisible enemy. For someone out there knows much more about the Bates familys dark past than Thorn does. Someone who has lived a lifetime in their shadow—and has seen the damage their wealth and influence has caused. Someone who is determined to exact revenge on the family… no matter what the cost.
“A white-knuckle thriller that draws on our deepest fears.” —Booklist (starred review)
“A thoroughly indulgent and hardy stew of a thriller.”—Miami Herald
Review
"Despite the testosterone-laden final pages, which stretches credibility as Hall physically and mentally overcomes a near-impossible situation, this will keep readers glued to their armchairs." Library Journal
Review
"No writer working today...more clearly evokes the shadows and loss that hide within the human heart." Robert Crais
Review
"The king of the Florida-gothic noir." Dennis Lehane
Review
"Delivers taut and muscular stories about a place where evil always lurks beneath the surface." Michael Connelly
Synopsis
Master of suspense James W. Hall's
Hell's Bay sends Thorn deep into the wilds of South Florida, in a story with all the haunting atmosphere of
Deliverance and the sheer terror of
Cape Fear.
Descended from pioneer stock, the Bateses are an aristocratic Floridian family with vast holdings in real estate and mining. When matriarch Abigail Bates is discovered drowned in the Peace River, a chain of events is set into motion, embroiling Thorn with a family he never knew he had and a fortune he doesn't necessarily want.
Thorn is leading a fishing expedition into the isolated lakes and mangrove swamps of Hell's Bay when Abigail's son and beautiful granddaughter arrive, claiming Thorn as a long-lost relative and asking him to solve the woman's murder. Little do they know that the killer is already on their trail. Soon their houseboat becomes a precarious island of safety in a landscape of escalating violence. What does the killer want? And why is their predator so enraged, determined to kill them all no matter what the cost?
As Marilyn Stasio said in The New York Times, "If violence can be poetic, Hall has the lyric voice for it." In this tour de force of fear and suspense, Hall shows how one family's dark past comes back to haunt its most remote member and may ultimately cost him his life.
Synopsis
Wealthy Florida matron Abigail Bates is on a canoe trip down a backwater river when suddenly, from out of nowhere, she is held underwater to drown by a strange and merciless killer…
Thorn is aboard a houseboat in Hells Bay when he is confronted by Abigails son and alluring granddaughter. Thorn soon learns that they are his long-lost relatives—and that he is about to inherit a great fortune. Hes also about to find out that being a member of the Bates family comes with a price…
As he searches for clues about Abigails murder, Thorns houseboat becomes a precarious island of safety as he and the others find themselves hunted by an invisible enemy. For someone out there knows much more about the Bates familys dark past than Thorn does. Someone who has lived a lifetime in their shadow—and has seen the damage their wealth and influence
Synopsis
Master of suspense James W. Halls Hells Bay sends Thorn deep into the wilds of South Florida, in a story with all the haunting atmosphere of Deliverance and the sheer terror of Cape Fear.
Descended from pioneer stock, the Bateses are an aristocratic Floridian family with vast holdings in real estate and mining. When matriarch Abigail Bates is discovered drowned in the Peace River, a chain of events is set into motion, embroiling Thorn with a family he never knew he had and a fortune he doesnt necessarily want.
Thorn is leading a fishing expedition into the isolated lakes and mangrove swamps of Hells Bay when Abigails son and beautiful granddaughter arrive, claiming Thorn as a long-lost relative and asking him to solve the womans murder. Little do they know that the killer is already on their trail. Soon their houseboat becomes a precarious island of safety in a landscape of escalating violence. What does the killer want? And why is their predator so enraged, determined to kill them all no matter what the cost?
As Marilyn Stasio said in The New York Times, “If violence can be poetic, Hall has the lyric voice for it.” In this tour de force of fear and suspense, Hall shows how one familys dark past comes back to haunt its most remote member---and may ultimately cost him his life.
About the Author
JAMES W. HALL is an Edgar and Shamus Award-winning author whose books have been translated into a dozen languages. He has written four books of poetry, a collection of short fiction, and a collection of essays. This is his fifteenth novel. He and his wife, Evelyn, divide their time between South Florida and North Carolina.