Thorn P.I. Books In Order

Publication Order of Thorn Books

The Thorn P.I. series is a series of suspense and thriller novels written by the noteworthy American author James W. Hall. All the novels of the series feature the main protagonist in the form of a private investigator named Thorn. The author did not feel the need to provide a first name to this character as he became famous with his shortened name. The novels of the series show that Thorn is not an actual private investigator, but he is rather an avenger. The author has done character specifications of Thorn based on the protagonists characterized by the authors Elmore Leonard, Spenser, Travis McGee and Henry David Thoreau. The series began in the year 1986 when its first novel was published by author James W. Hall. Since then, he has gone on to write thirteen more novels in the series between the years 1978 and 2014. As depicted in the series by the author, the main character Thorn lives in the Florida Keys and strives to catch the criminals. He is shown as more of a loner.

A private-eye named Sugarman is the friend of Thorn and also his partner in solving the criminal cases. The two worked together to thwart a number of villains. The plots of the novels of the series are often set against the backdrop of Florida, including the Key West and Everglades. In the initial novels of the Thorn P.I. series, it is revealed that the parents of Thorn died on the same day when he was born, by getting run over by a drunk driver when they were returning home from the hospital. Somehow, Thorn survived the accident, but the truck driver did not care to take the family to the hospital. However, 19 years later, Thorn took his revenge by hunting down the killer and taking his life in an attempt to bring the lost ones back. After the death of his parents, Thorn was raised by an unknown lady, who became his foster mother. After some time, she gets raped by some men and left for dead. With the intention of taking revenge once again, Thorn tracks them down and kills all the six men. He too gets nearly killed in the process. Soon, he finds a lover in the form of an attorney, who earns her living by defending the criminals of South Florida. She too leaves him after some time and moves out of Florida, only to leave Thorn as a loner once again. However, he tries to start a new life from the remains of his old one and continues to work as a private investigator.

The first novel among the 14 of the Thorn P.I. series was published by the W. W. Norton & Company publishing house in the year 1987. It was titled ‘Under Cover of Daylight’. The plot of this novel is set in Florida, United States and is based on the life of the main protagonist, private investigator Thorn. The opening sequence of the plot of the novel introduces Thorn as a lonely person, who is always on the hunt of the ones who have caused him personal losses. He seems to have a rigged character and lives in the breathtaking landscapes of South Florida. Before giving a detailed account of his life, the novel shows his past when at the age of nineteen, he had killed the drunk truck driver, who had killed his parents on the day when he was born. Fifteen years have passed to that savage act of revenge, but Thorn is still caught in that moment and cannot escape the darkness that he acquired on that night. He has tried not to tell about it to anybody, not even to his best friend and private-eye named Sugarman.

Even his lover, Sarah Ryan does not know about the depth of the pain that Thorn feels in his heart. Sarah Ryan works as an attorney and is always indulged in working on the court cases of his clients. Hence, she is not able to give enough time to Thorn. This makes him remain lonely for most of the times. Soon, one more nightmare begins with his life when his foster mother is found raped and slaughtered. Thorn is once again taken back to the same darkness and begins to taste the rage of killing the rapists of his foster mother. He begins his hunt for the killers and waits patiently for treating them the same way he had treated the drunk truck driver 15 years back. Thorn succeeds in killing all the six of them, but ends up taking too many injuries on himself. He too goes very much close to death, but lives somehow by overcoming his injuries. However, he does not feel left alone by death and believes that he is going to witness more like this in the future. The novel proved to be a smooth and well crafted story with an exciting narrative. Its action-filled plot and believable characters were very much liked by the readers. Author James W. Hall was also praised by the critics for efforts in writing down the interesting novel.

The second novel of the series was published by the W. W. Norton & Company publishing house in the year 1989 and under the title ‘Tropical Freeze’. The plot of this novel is set in the blue-water and exotic locale of South Florida, where criminality and greed have deep roots. In the opening sequence of the plot one of the boyhood friends of Thorn named Gaeton Richards disappears mysteriously. Gaeton used to work as an FBI agent and was among the best of friends of Thorn. His disappearance had entangled Thorn in a deceitful web of intrigue and violence and due to which he began searching the seamy local bars and the shining ocean villas. Soon, Thorn falls in love with the beautiful sister of Gaeton Richards and realizes that she was getting stalked by a jealous and lunatic one-sided lover. He also gets indulged with a rogue government agent who is involved in a number of murderous scams. The search for Gaeton Richards takes Thorn into an unforgettable and criminal underworld of amoral hired goons, petty crooks and some dangerous losers. The novel proved to be a terrific read as it had a tangible and gritty sense of settings and characters. The narrative of the novel with a poetic touch and violent and sexual scenes was also liked by the readers. The critics praised author James W. Hall for writing the suspenseful and provocative plot of the novel. He was also appreciated for his penetrating, astringent and gripping style of writing. His passion for Florida can very well be seen in the lyrical narrative, unusual images and spare language of the novel. On the whole, the novel was declared as successful, explosive, action-packed and suspenseful.