Synopses & Reviews
A fathers murder and a sons ruthless betrayal are at the heart of the new novel by this “master of suspense” (Publishers Weekly)
Earl Hammond, the wealthy patriarch of a family of ranchers, lies dead, shot just as he was to donate his Coquina Ranch to the state to preserve it from developers. Spearheading the plan to save this environmental treasure was Thorn, a reluctant heir to a secret family fortune, who now finds himself in terrible danger as well. A pair of deviant brothers, both contract killers, kidnaps him and drags him to a game preserve, surrounded by herds of exotic and very dangerous animals. He is entrapped in a sinkhole—a geological dungeon from which there is no escape.
But Frisco Hammond, the dark sheep of the family, is drawn into the investigation of his fathers murder and Thorns disappearance. He suspects the crimes are related. Helping him is his brothers beautiful, troubled wife, Clare. They uncover a trail that leads back to the 1930s, to a cabal of powerful and rich men with a sinister plan.
Silencer pits brother against brother and wife against husband in a thriller that proves once again that James Hall is “the king of the Florida-gothic noir” (Dennis Lehane).
Review
PRAISE FOR JAMES W. HALL
“A masterful writer.” —James Patterson
“No writer working today . . . more clearly evokes the shadows and loss that hide within the human heart.” —Robert Crais
“The king of the Florida-gothic noir.” —Dennis Lehane
“Delivers taut and muscular stories about a place where evil always lurks beneath the surface.” —Michael Connelly
“I believe no one has written more lyrically of the Gulf Stream since Ernest Hemingway.” —James Lee Burke
“A master of suspense. . . . James Halls prose runs clean and fast as Gulf Stream Waters.” —New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
A father's murder and a son's ruthless betrayal are at the heart of the new novel by this master of suspense (Publishers Weekly)
Earl Hammond, the wealthy patriarch of a family of ranchers, lies dead, shot just as he was to donate his Coquina Ranch to the state to preserve it from developers. Spearheading the plan to save this environmental treasure was Thorn, a reluctant heir to a secret family fortune, who now finds himself in terrible danger as well. A pair of deviant brothers, both contract killers, kidnaps him and drags him to a game preserve, surrounded by herds of exotic and very dangerous animals. He is entrapped in a sinkhole--a geological dungeon from which there is no escape.
But Frisco Hammond, the dark sheep of the family, is drawn into the investigation of his father's murder and Thorn's disappearance. He suspects the crimes are related. Helping him is his brother's beautiful, troubled wife, Clare. They uncover a trail that leads back to the 1930's, to a cabal of powerful and rich men with a sinister plan.
Silencer pits brother against brother and wife against husband in a thriller that proves once again that James Hall is the king of the Florida-gothic noir (Dennis Lehane).
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 sixteenth novel. He and his wife Evelyn divide their time between South Florida and North Carolina.