Flinch

Michael Harris

In Flinch, Ferrigno's prose is as good as ever, and his craftsmanship even better.
— Los Angeles Times

Publishers Weekly

In this engaging, darkly comic thriller, tabloid journalist Jimmy Gage returns to Los Angeles from a self-imposed exile and finds his ex-girlfriend, Olivia, married to his brother, Jonathan, a polished and philanthropic plastic surgeon. The brothers' absurdly competitive relationship the title of Ferrigno's sixth novel (after The Horse Latitudes) refers to a childhood game in which each tried to make the other flinch is ratcheted up significantly when Jimmy finds Polaroid "splatter shots" of six bodies in Jonathan's possession. Are the people in the pictures the victims of the self-styled serial killer Eggman, who took responsibility for the crimes in a letter to Jimmy? Or are they simply random corpses, part of the "background noise" of contemporary L.A.? A huge cast of quirky, interesting characters, multiple story lines and an indelible setting contemporary Los Angeles with its "blank sensuality and lubricious greed" contribute to the densely patterned mosaic of this always entertaining and often riveting novel. Ferrigno is a great interpreter of L.A., a city of manufactured dreams and unbridled ambition, and an incisive critic of its popular culture. Scenes and characters bristle with energy, and the conflict between the brothers is real and compelling. Ferrigno may bite off more than he can chew at times the tangled plot sometimes obscures the drama, and the mesh linking all the elements could be more tightly woven. Still, the expansive canvas, spot-on characterizations, excellent prose and incisive dialogue will please those readers who like their mysteries more complex and ambitious than the average work of genre fiction. Agent, Mary Evans. 15-city author tour. (Oct. 16) Copyright2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Ferrigno's sixth novel (after Heartbreaker) follows an eccentric cast of characters through the gritty underbelly of Southern California. Jimmy Gage returns to Los Angeles after a year in Europe to find that he can't escape his past. Still at large is the Eggman, a serial killer who destroyed Jimmy's credibility as a journalist. The people Jimmy wronged are out for revenge and closing in fast, and Jimmy finds the woman he loved now married to his brother a successful plastic surgeon and Jimmy's main suspect in the Eggman case. It's up to Jimmy to catch the killer while watching his own back and nursing a broken heart. This thriller is slow to start, the plot and subplot have little to do with each other, and most of the action takes place in the past. Yet Ferrigno redeems the novel with his ability to develop memorable characters, believable dialog, and dark humor. His characters crackle with intensity, and fans of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen will appreciate his style. Recommended for large public libraries. Emily Doro, "Library Journal" Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.