Saturday, July 5, 2008

Hell's Bay by James W. Hall

Title- Hell's Bay
Author - James W. Hall
ISBN 978-0-312-35958-4
Genre - thriller/suspense
Number of pages 306
Rating 2.75 out 5

Daniel Thorn agrees to be a fishing guide for a luxury commercial undertaking by his former lover. His job is to take small groups out on week long fishing trips into the Florida everglades on a custom made houseboat.. The first customers are a travel writer with her photographer and a father/daughter pair who turn out to be Thorn's uncle and niece. Before long they find themselves to be the target of a killer who is determined to kill them all.

James Hall has written a straight forward story that follows the traditional plot device, an isolated location and a small group of people under attack, and is able to give the reader a sense of building suspense. There are few twists and turns, and few characters to keep track of. Hall does however give a very good sense of setting. I found myself wondering why Thorn, a man who hates the impact of modern society on nature, would agree to take a commercial venture into an untouched and unspoiled area of the everglades. Overall, Hall's thriller is very readable but felt that something was missing.

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