Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Good Read!
Review: James Hall is a fantastic writer! I read other suspense novels and few of them engage me as much as James Hall. In Rough Draft James Hall creates a villain named Hal who is a wonderful character study - complex, evil and with a little bit of humanity. What more could you want in a antagonist? The heroine in Rough Draft has a son with mental issues. Reading the first part of the book, it seems like the kid shouldn't have as severe mental problems as he does. He witnessed his grandparents death, but his mental problems seem over-the-top for what he witnessed. However, this is why James Hall is so good. By the end of the book you suddenly understand why the boy is the way he is. One other thing about this book: it is actually two mysteries in one -- worth reading!
Rating:
Summary: Retelling of Bones of Coral?
Review: James Hall is a terrific writer in every respect. Not only are his characterizations vivid and his plots intriguing, but his use of language often creates a tone or mood that is poetic in its beauty or depth. In fact, Hall started writing as a poet. However, in this most recent outing, I feel that Hall is slightly off his mark. I've read all his published works to date, and recently I re-read Bones of Coral because it was so good. So I was unpleasantly surprised when I noticed all the parallels between Rough Draft and Bones of Coral. Both works feature two couples that are in some sense mirror images of each other. The "good couple" in both novels have a beautiful woman at the peak of her career brought low by family tragedy and a hero who has seen better days but retains a lot of Travis McGee's influence; the "evil couple" both center around a psychopath with an unhappy childhood who is simply unable to understand normal human interactions and his female counterpart who follows him to depths of depravity believing herself to have found her soul mate. I think Bones of Coral is Hall's best book to date; and after getting over the parallels I was able to enjoy Rough Draft. But I must say that in this book Hall seemed to me to concentrate more on plot (the ending is more interesting than that of Bones of Coral) and less on the characterisations and descriptions and settings which have made his other works so enjoyable to me. Rough Draft seemed like it could have been written by any of a number of good mystery writers; Bones of Coral could only have been written by Hall. I hope that he recaptures the quality of his earlier style--but I do appreciate that this wasn't another Thorne book. Poor Thorne has about had it, and I'm not sure after Red Sky at Night he'll ever be able to return. But that's okay--Hall doesn't have to write a series like so many other of today's authors in order to write a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Jim Hall just gets better!
Review: Just like Body Language, this is a great novel. The main characters, Hannah and her son, are very endearing. The pace never lets up, the book is very well written, with many different and colorful characters.Jim Hall is a GREAT writer! I don'tknow why he is so underpublicized....he is better than many of the top suspense/mystery writers with the big names. Read his books!
Rating:
Summary: James Hall is the Devil in Disguise
Review: OK, I'll admit to being a Hall fan since Daylight and Tropical Freeze--all his poor series-hero Thorn wants is to sit in the Keys and zone out into a humid, salty torpor when BLAM...some thug kills his stepmom/girlfriend/best friend and he's back in revenge mode. Words are Hall's playground, and he never fails to bend them in a new way that makes you feel his hero's rage. His antagonists come with unexpected, nicely-twisted traits from wannabe Yuppiedom to tag teams of cross-dressers paired with U>S> Senators. In Rough Draft, his bad guy may be the most recognizable acquaintance who ever showed up at your door. Then you discover that he's there to twist your head off with all the skills, experience, and casual sociopathy he needs to make sure he will be the only one of you to walk out alive. (e.g. even Jackie Chan would be a little too slow to save himself.) This is a sly and complex story that will make you tingle...arguably his best yet.
Rating:
Summary: Hal is a great villain, but I'd rather have Thorn!
Review: Over the years James Hall has given us some creepy, psychotic villains in his books. Dougie Barnes, the rhyme-spouting muscle bound half-wit from Bones of Coral, Harden Winchester, the paranoid ex-CIA killing machine from Mean High Tide, Martina from Hard Aground, and my persoal favorites, Orlon and Raion, the twin terrors from Gone Wild. None of these villains can hold a candle to Hal Bonner, the demented hit-man from Rough Draft. He is one sick puppy! Raised in foster homes by sick, disfunctional families, Hal is a stone cold killer with a heart colder than an Arctic Winter. After he murders a U.S. Senator's daughter, the FBI is under extreme pressure to catch him. They set a trap for using an innocent civilian, Hannah Keller, as bait. The story moves along slowly and then explodes into an exciting climax....END
Rating:
Summary: Miami Sizzzler
Review: The Grove, Stiltsville, the Orange Bowl...murder, mayhem, and white collar crime, no one depicts this town better than James W. Hall. This is an immensely satisfying tale of the aspects of Miami usually left out the Chamber of Commerce brochures. Novelist, ex-cop, crime victim and soccer Mom, Hannah Keller finds her full life disrupted by an FBI sting which places her as the bait for Hal. This Hal is not a computer but rather sociopathic hit man who literally rips his victims' hearts out of their chests. Hal is assisted by Misty Fielding, daughter of a big time embezzler. Misty, a brilliant but obsessed ex-Hooters girl, finds in Hal a soul mate whose quest for job security neatly dove-tails with her own homicidal instincts. Hannah's aggressive quest for justice leads her into harm's way, where armed with street smarts and a cast of Miami characters that would be unbelievable in any other town, she confronts and conquers pure evil. While there may not be too many surprises, this is one of the best in the Miami mystery genre. Take it from a native Miamian, it could happen here.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent cover-to-cover
Review: There are no lulls in this suspense/crime/mystery novel. The drama flows rapidly from first to last page. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: WOW! WHAT A THRILLER!
Review: this is my very first book of james hall that i've read and, since i enjoyed it sooooo much, i'm actively seeking out each and every one that he's written before! this was the ultimate cat & mouse game with a terrific cast of characters! i particularly liked viewing the juxtaposition of hannah (the lead character) and erin (hannah's lead character in HER book)....Hal is a sociopath of the highest order and would most certainly equal Boy in Bogner's phenomenal 'to die in provence'! hall's easy style of writing makes you just zip through this book to the very satisfying ending which was truly a surprise as well as an excellent conclusion! i can't wait to read all of his other books and i'm grateful that there are sooooo many for me to enjoy! grab this book fast...you'll be glad that you did!
Rating:
Summary: WOW! WHAT A THRILLER!
Review: this is my very first book of james hall that i've read and, since i enjoyed it sooooo much, i'm actively seeking out each and every one that he's written before! this was the ultimate cat & mouse game with a terrific cast of characters! i particularly liked viewing the juxtaposition of hannah (the lead character) and erin (hannah's lead character in HER book)....Hal is a sociopath of the highest order and would most certainly equal Boy in Bogner's phenomenal 'to die in provence'! hall's easy style of writing makes you just zip through this book to the very satisfying ending which was truly a surprise as well as an excellent conclusion! i can't wait to read all of his other books and i'm grateful that there are sooooo many for me to enjoy! grab this book fast...you'll be glad that you did!
Rating:
Summary: Keeps you wondering 'til the end!
Review: This is the first James Hall book I ever read and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Hall creates characters that are clearly presented and embedded in your mind. From the gruesome Hal to the motherly heroine Hannah, Hall's portrayals are exceptional. This is a really fast read and it doesn't slow down a bit-it actually picks up in the last 50 or so pages until the very end.
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