James W. Hall Books in Order
James W. Hall has written 30 books, published between 1987 and 2024. The first book is Under Cover of Daylight (1987) and the newest is Stare Down (2024). Publication order is the reading order below. 17 of the 30 books listed here are in the Thorn series, which has its own page: Thorn books in order.
- Books
- 30
- Published
- 1987–2024
- Confirmed
- 7 of 30 titles
- Pages on record
- 6,996 in 21 of 30 books
- Reading time
- 117–175 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,996 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 21 of 30 titles with a page count on record.
South Florida is where James W. Hall sets his crime fiction. The American author and longtime creative writing professor is best known for the Thorn novels, whose title character is a loner who ties fishing flies and works alongside his private-investigator friend Sugarman. Key Largo and Miami supply the geography, and the books hold poverty against wealth. Hall's 30 catalogued titles open with Under Cover of Daylight (1987) and reach Stare Down (2024); Harper McDaniel names the later series. Hall is actively publishing.
How many James W. Hall books are there?
James W. Hall has 30 books, released between 1987 and 2024. They include 2 series and 10 titles listed outside any series.
James W. Hall Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 30 James W. Hall books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 11987–3/4
- 219894463/4
- 3Paper Products1990 · 172 pages · confirmed 2/419901722/4
- 4Bones of Coral1991 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/419914162/4
- 5Hard Aground1992 · 360 pages · confirmed 2/419923602/4
- 619944032/4
- 719954492/4
- 819963742/4
- 919973262/4
- 10Body Language1998 · 336 pages · confirmed 2/419983362/4
- 11Rough Draft2000 · 335 pages · confirmed 2/420003352/4
- 12Hot Damn!2002 · 248 pages · confirmed 2/420022482/4
- 132002–2/4
- 1420033372/4
- 15Forests of the Night2004 · 384 pages · confirmed 2/420043842/4
- 1620073212/4
- 1720083202/4
- 1820092762/4
- 19Over Exposure and Six Other Stories2011 · confirmed 2/42011–2/4
- 20All My Pwoblems2011 · confirmed 2/42011–2/4
- 2120113363/4
- 22Hit Lit2012 · 294 pages · confirmed 2/420122942/4
- 2320132943/4
- 2420142953/4
- 252016–3/4
- 2620172742/4
- 272018–2/4
- 282020–2/4
- 292022–2/4
- 302024–3/4
James W. Hall series and characters in order
Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.
- Thorn books in order 17 books
- Thorn P.I. books in order 17 books
James W. Hall books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Harper McDaniel in order
2 booksBibliomysteries in order
1 book- 30. The Haze
Standalone books
10 books10 James W. Hall titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read James W. Hall books in order?
You only need to read James W. Hall books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with James W. Hall
Start with the first book of the James W. Hall series you want to read: Thorn starts with Under Cover of Daylight (1987) and Thorn P.I. starts with Under Cover of Daylight (1987). The earliest catalogued title overall is Under Cover of Daylight (1987).
What is the newest James W. Hall book?
Stare Down (2024) is the newest James W. Hall book released so far.
Is there a new James W. Hall book coming?
No next James W. Hall book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards James W. Hall has won
Wikidata records 2 awards for James W. Hall. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Edgar Awards2006Won
- Shamus Award2003Won
James W. Hall at a glance
- Still publishing
- James W. Hall published a book as recently as 2024.
- Release pace
- James W. Hall books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 6,996 pages across the 21 of 30 books with a recorded length, a median of 335 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most James W. Hall books, 9 of 30, were published in the 2010s.
What the James W. Hall books are about
23 of the 30 James W. Hall books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: thorn (fictitious character) is tagged on 12 of 23. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Thorn (Fictitious character) 12 of 23 books
- Florida 9 of 23 books
- Mystery & detective 8 of 23 books
- Key largo (fla.) 4 of 23 books
- Miami (Fla.) 3 of 23 books
- Suspense 3 of 23 books
- Thrillers 3 of 23 books
- Family secrets 2 of 23 books
- Fathers and sons 2 of 23 books
- Policewomen 2 of 23 books