Buzz Cut

James Hall's novels about a gloomy Florida loner named Thorn are fine, dark reads. This one features an ace villain named Butler Jack who takes a giant cruise ship and its 2,000 passengers hostage, and then gives them lectures on history and language while Thorn tries to find a way to rescue them. Under Cover of Daylight, in which we're told about the source of all his angst, was Hall's first Thorn story.