 A longtime professor of literature and creative writing at Florida International University, Hall is perhaps best known for a series of crime/mystery novels starring the character Thorn.A loner who ties flies to catch bonefish, Thorn partners with his private-eye friend Sugarman to thwart a range of villains.Hall's writing often features a South Florida backdrop and explores the contrast between squalor and poverty coexisting with tremendous wealth and glamor.