Rating: 
Summary: A Bit Of Everything
Review: Alexandra Rafferty overcomes a shocking childhood incident before growing up to become a forensic photographer. Although appearing to have put her past behind her, she still lives with it, affecting her marriage to Stan, an armoured truck driver who thinks he has devised the perfect crime, a plan in which he would rob his own truck, after which he and his girlfriend would leave Miami to live on the proceeds.Inevitably, Stan's perfect crime isn't so perfect after all, having attracted the attention of some other life-long and low-life criminals who can see an easy profit for the taking. Somehow, the money falls into Alexandra's hands and she suddenly finds herself on the run from her husband, the opportunistic criminals and, just to add a nifty twist, a serial killer. With all of these people chasing the same person, their paths are bound to cross at some point with unpredictable results. There are all sorts of interesting and strange characters making up the book: with Emma, the young pool cleaner who keeps a pet cockroach on a string leash in her pocket; and Lawton, Alexandra's father, an ex-policeman who is slowly losing his memory. He is a tragic figure who still has a very important part to play in the story's outcome. This is a brisk thriller joining together a desperate chase across Florida with the tension and terror of not knowing when or where the serial killer will strike next.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome
Review: An awesome suspense thriller which kept me turing the pages. This was definitely one of the best books I've read this year.
Rating: 
Summary: HUGE Disappointment
Review: James Hall is a gifted writer; that's why I can't understand why or how this book was written. Hall writes two types of books; the series about unofficial private detective Thorn, and stand-alone books in the crime category which feature bold plots and crazy characters in the tradition of Elmore Leonard. Body Language was obviously meant to be the second type of book, but in addition to the "crime-gone-wrong" plot which is littered with bizarre villians, there is also a second plot which is a hackneyed, boring "Silence of the Lambs" rip-off plot of the type that sprang up in dozens of horrible novels after Thomas Harris hit the jackpot with his masterpiece in the early 90s. I honestly can't belive that anybody, especially a writer of Hall's caliber, would tackle such an overdone genre these days. He attempts to combine the serial killer and "crime of the century" plots, which turns the book into a muddled, confusing novel that doesn't seem to know what it's trying to be. The writing is also far below his normal standard; there are some sex scenes that are written so poorly that even the most low-paid romance writer would be embarrased to put her name on them. Hall's dialogue in this one is also stilted and uninteresting. In addition, the "mystery" of the serial killer is so simple and predictable that most readers will have it figured out before the first 100 pages. Try Hall's other books if you want a good, entertaining read. Only try Body Language if you're having trouble sleeping.
Rating:
Summary: HUGE Disappointment
Review: James Hall is a gifted writer; that's why I can't understand why or how this book was written. Hall writes two types of books; the series about unofficial private detective Thorn, and stand-alone books in the crime category which feature bold plots and crazy characters in the tradition of Elmore Leonard. Body Language was obviously meant to be the second type of book, but in addition to the "crime-gone-wrong" plot which is littered with bizarre villians, there is also a second plot which is a hackneyed, boring "Silence of the Lambs" rip-off plot of the type that sprang up in dozens of horrible novels after Thomas Harris hit the jackpot with his masterpiece in the early 90s. I honestly can't belive that anybody, especially a writer of Hall's caliber, would tackle such an overdone genre these days. He attempts to combine the serial killer and "crime of the century" plots, which turns the book into a muddled, confusing novel that doesn't seem to know what it's trying to be. The writing is also far below his normal standard; there are some sex scenes that are written so poorly that even the most low-paid romance writer would be embarrased to put her name on them. Hall's dialogue in this one is also stilted and uninteresting. In addition, the "mystery" of the serial killer is so simple and predictable that most readers will have it figured out before the first 100 pages. Try Hall's other books if you want a good, entertaining read. Only try Body Language if you're having trouble sleeping.
Rating:
Summary: Forget Hannibal, Read a real thriller
Review: James W. Hall is one of the handful of truly first-rate thriller writers, along with Burke and Connelly and Lehane. He's written nine top notch novels of suspense with rich characters, complex plots, and a host of wonderfully delicious bad guys. In Body Language he adds a new twist. Lawton Collins, the old guy who's Alexandra's dad, is simply one of the funniest, scariest and wisest and saddest characters I've ever read. His role in this novel deepens the book's emotional levels greatly. Along with the usual lyrical writing and hardboiled, funny dialog, Body Language is right up there with the best of Hall. And that's saying something.
Rating:
Summary: Memorable Characters
Review: Miami-based Alexandra Rafferty's been on the run for eighteen years because she killed the neighbor boy who raped her and her father helped cover up the crime. These horrific events when she was eleven have overshadowed her entire childhood. A police crime scene photographer, she's kept the world at bay with karate, "the art of deflecting human touch," but feelings can't stay submerged forever. Her marriage to a thuggish ex- jock is dying and her father's Alzheimer's is dragging her down. Everything blows up when her husband, a Brinks truck driver and true crime buff, plans a heist. Readers will be intrigued to see the sparkling town in "The Truman Show"--Seaside, Florida--play a major role in the novel, but Hall's attempt at an Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiassen mix of crime and comedy doesn't always work. Still, Body Language is a well-written thriller, and Alexandra and her father make a surprisingly appealing pair. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to par
Review: Read Under Cover of Daylight, Buzz Cut or Mean High Tide if you want a good book by this author. This one has some great possibilities, but it just doesn't quite live up to those. Situations were too contrived and obvious. Check it out of the library and you will get your money's worth. :-)
Rating:
Summary: Edge of the Seat
Review: This book was riveting. You never knew what to expect around the next corner. The auther constantly kept you guessing and wondering how much more tragedy was necessary in this poor woman's life. I could never imagine the culprit as it turned out.
Rating:
Summary: MIAMI MAYHEM
Review: This is my first Hall book, and obviously the first in a new series featuring the unflappable Alexandra Rafferty, a crime scene photographer with a dark secret from her childhood. A neighborhood boy raped her; she went to threaten him with her cop father's gun, and accidentally shoots the boy dead. Dad helps cover up the crime, and no one suspects the truth, or do they?
Flash up to the present day and Alexandra finds herself involved in a serial rapist killer's horrifying carnage. Add to this a truly psychotic husband who is planning a major armored car heist, and two thieves who are like something out of a David Lynch movie, and you have the many ingredients of this strange, but mesmerizing, crime novel. If things weren't bad enough, Alex's father is now senile, suffering from Alzheimer's, and getting her in more trouble than she could ever dream possible. Hall goes out on a limb in his treatment of the father's character. The overwhelming tragedy of Alzheimer's should never be milked for comic relief, but Hall does this quite often, seguing sometimes very uncomfortably from serious repercussions of the disease to the inherent "comical" side effects. The book has a nice pace and Hall certainly demonstrates a feel for his locales. (...) It's fairly obvious who (the rapist) is, (...) so obvious, you almost want to laugh at his attempt. The characters of Norman, Emma and Jennifer are so over the top, they never achieve one moment of lucidity or credibility. Emma and her pet cockroach; Norman in his Quasimodo shroud; and dimwit Jennifer, the epitome of the dumb blonde provide some comic relief, but they are so sinister and unlikeable, you can only welcome their inimitable demises. Perhaps Hall tried to hard to give us a complex novel that he forgot his audience's suspension of belief levels.
Rating:
Summary: Body Language
Review: Though he assembles a plot with a lot of possibilites, James Hall's downfall in Body language comes in the area of character development. Put simply, the author tries too hard in creating these characters, all of whom are indescribably complex. There is no way to get a handle on anybody. If he would have backed off a little bit, the characters would have become more believable. The finale was solid, but maybe because I was so glad to get there.
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