Thorn Books in Order by James W. Hall
Thorn by James W. Hall contains 17 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.
Other series are also called Thorn: Thorn Books in Order: 2 Different Series.
- Books
- 17
- Published
- 1987–2024
- Confirmed
- 6 of 17 titles
- Pages on record
- 4,177 in 12 of 17 books
- Reading time
- 70–104 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,177 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 12 of 17 titles with a page count on record.
Thorn is a mystery and suspense series by James W. Hall, named after the character Thorn. Florida, Key Largo and Miami appear among the subject tags. Under Cover of Daylight (1987) opens the series, which has reached 17 books with Stare Down (2024). Other titles include Tropical Freeze, Buzz Cut, Blackwater Sound and Magic City. Family secrets and fathers and sons are further subject tags, and the series is ongoing.
How many Thorn books are there?
Thorn has 17 books, released between 1987 and 2024.
Thorn Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 17 Thorn 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.
- 1Under Cover of Daylight1987 · confirmed 3/41987–3/4
- 2Tropical Freeze1989 · 446 pages · confirmed 3/419894463/4
- 3Mean High Tide1994 · 403 pages · confirmed 2/419944032/4
- 4Gone Wild1995 · 449 pages · confirmed 2/419954492/4
- 5Buzz Cut1996 · 374 pages · confirmed 2/419963742/4
- 6Red Sky at Night1997 · 326 pages · confirmed 2/419973262/4
- 7Blackwater Sound2002 · confirmed 2/42002–2/4
- 8Off the Chart2003 · 337 pages · confirmed 2/420033372/4
- 9Magic City2007 · 321 pages · confirmed 2/420073212/4
- 10Hell's Bay2008 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/420083202/4
- 11Silencer2009 · 276 pages · confirmed 2/420092762/4
- 12Dead Last2011 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/420113363/4
- 13Going Dark2013 · 294 pages · confirmed 3/420132943/4
- 14The Big Finish2014 · 295 pages · confirmed 3/420142953/4
- 15Bad Axe2020 · confirmed 2/42020–2/4
- 16Trickster2022 · confirmed 2/42022–2/4
- 17Stare Down2024 · confirmed 3/42024–3/4
Is there a chronological order for Thorn?
No separate chronological order is on record for Thorn, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.
Do you have to read Thorn books in order?
You should read the Thorn books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Thorn book also stands alone.
Where to start with Thorn
Start with Under Cover of Daylight (1987), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Thorn book?
Stare Down (2024) is the newest Thorn book released so far.
Is there a new Thorn book coming?
No next Thorn book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Thorn at a glance
- Still running
- Thorn is still running, with a title published as recently as 2024.
- Release pace
- Thorn books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 4,177 pages across the 12 of 17 books with a recorded length, a median of 331 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Thorn books, 5 of 17, were published in the 2000s.
What the Thorn books are about
14 of the 17 Thorn books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: florida is tagged on 7 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Florida 7 of 14 books
- Mystery & detective 6 of 14 books
- Key largo (fla.) 3 of 14 books
- Suspense 3 of 14 books
- Family secrets 2 of 14 books
- Fathers and sons 2 of 14 books
- Miami (Fla.) 2 of 14 books
- Thrillers 2 of 14 books
More books by James W. Hall
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- James W. Hall books in order 30 books
Characters in the Thorn books
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Thorn P.I. books in order 17 books