Forests of the Night - A Novel

From an acclaimed “master of suspense”(New York Times Book Review) comes a thriller in which Thorn must confront an assassin whose victims and methods are taken directly from the script of a popular TV show

April Moss writes obituaries for the Miami Herald.  Her son, Sawyer, also a writer, has been scripting a cable TV series called “Miami Ops” and has been using his mother’s work as a central element of the show's storyline.  In “Miami Ops,” a serial killer is using obituaries published in the local paper as a blueprint for selecting his next victims.

But midway through the season, a copycat appears off-screen, a real-life killer who is using the same strategy to select victims.  When this serial killer crosses paths with the reclusive Thorn, he has no choice but to leave his sanctuary in Key Largo and join forces with a young policewoman from Oklahoma who is investigating the murders.

In addition to the show’s head writer, April’s other son, Sawyer’s twin brother, works on “Miami Ops” as the lead actor.  Could one of them be involved in the killings?  Or are they orchestrated by the director of the TV series, an aging mogul who badly needs a hit? And what about the female star of the show, a deliciously strange young woman who seems willing to do anything to promote her career.

Thorn walks into this hotbed of entertainment business intrigue totally unprepared for the life-altering shocker he’s about to face. This loner from Key Largo has brought down his share of killers, but he's never confronted one that was his own flesh and blood.

With the pacing of a thriller, and the lyrical prose for which Hall is renowned, this story pits Thorn against a killer—or killers—whose motives are as elusive as their identities.

It began peacefully enough, on one of Florida's private islands.

At a reception hosted by a notorious Russian black marketeer, Doc Ford uses darkness, and his friend Tomlinson, as cover to get an underwater look at the billionaire's yacht. By the time Ford surfaces, everything has changed.

Environmental extremists have taken control of the island. Or are they thugs hired by the Russian's competitors? Whatever the motive, they have herded everyone together and threatened to kill one hostage every hour until midnight unless their demands are met-at which point they will just blow everybody up.

Electronic jammers make communications with the outside world impossible. The only hope of avoiding terrible consequences: The militants do not know Ford's capabilities, or that he is still on the loose. But that situation won't last for long . . . and the clock is ticking.

After Joe Pike saves a man's life, the man's family seems oddly resentful. Maybe because they're not who they seem to be-including the seductive Dru. But it's more than a charade-it's a trap. And Pike's already been hooked...