Customer Reviews

Dead Man's Dance

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Robert Ferrigno can write. The Cheshire Moon and, especially, The Horse Latitudes prove that. With his southern California settings and dark, noir technique, he's been compared to James Ellroy. Dead Man's Dance falls a little short, though. It has evocative atmosphere, a couple of genuinely frightening psychopathic villains, a brooding, conflicted protagonist, some excellent minor characters, and a labyrinthine plot. The ending, however, just doesn't meet the high standard set by the rest of the book. It's not bad; it just isn't very satisfying. The book is definitely worth a read, but for a taste of Ferrigno's true potential, try The Horse Latitudes

As an investigative reporter who is not shy about getting involved in the uglier side of life, Quinn, the protagonist of Dead Man's Dance, is no stranger to humanity's dark underbelly. But when he has to investigate the brutal murder of his own stepfather, his protective veneer of professionalism and objectivity is entirely stripped away.

Dead Man's Dance is a well crafted murder mystery populated with a host of interesting characters. Readers know from the onset of the narrative that the killers are two frighteningly creepy hired guns named Hugo and Rick. The novel's mystery therefore revolves around the identity and the motivation of the person who has paid them to kill.

As Quinn pushes forward in his search for the truth he becomes aware that events occuring 3 decades in the past, some of which involve him personally, have led to his stepfather's killing.

Robert Ferrigno is a very talented novelist. The story is nicely paced and quite engaging. And the characters are well fleshed out and interesting. I look forward to reading other books by this same author.

The only thing I liked about this book was Hugo and Rick. the plot was so convoluted not to mention pointless that if it wasn't for his colorful killers I would have passed on it. Why would anyone want to start killing folk after thirty years? Too weak of a plot line for my taste.

Quinn the reporter and Jen the photographer are likeable characters. The bad guys while creepy - at least one of them is partially sympathetic. Loved the sultry assistant D.A. Ferrigno seems to be able to shift seamlessly from humor to suspense without losing a beat. The mystery itself - it was hard to figure out - but the getting there was worth the trip for me.

The conversation with Quinn, his teenage surfer dude neighbor and the surfer dude's forensic doctor wannabe girl friend starting on page 274 of the hardback is a classic.

I like the two Quinn novels, the two Jimmy Gage novels and Heartbreaker of the Ferrigno oeuvre.

5.0 out of 5 stars Vastly underrated writer, November 5, 2007
By EKelly "edserve" (Braintree, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Having read two of Ferrigno's mysteries (Dean Man's Dance and The Horse Latitudes), I can't wait to read all the others. Here the main character, Quinn, is three dimensional, fully, almost embarrassing, human; he does what many men do, so it is easy to identify with him. The tension coming from the many conflicts is as taut as a strung wire line. The other characters are real also, from the insufferable villain Fontayne, Quinn's loving yet divorced wife,Rachel, the father-like Joe Steps, the psychotic duo of Ricky and Hugo, and the lovable daughter Katie all contribute to making this a rich read. The narrative has as many twists as Lombard Street but is engaging.

I've read other Amazon reviews that fall to see the talent of Ferrigno, but to my mind, and I've read hundreds of mysteries, he is a major mystery writer who is woefully unappreciated.

This is a combination of IN COLD BLOOD and HELTER SKELTER, both about unnecessary killing of victims who did not deserve to die. In the first crime (opening scene) two cold blooded killers appear to be 'bungling amateurs' when they worm their way into the high-scale home of the superior court judge on a Sunday night when they know that his wife is not at home. How do they know this? Why, reading the society page of the newspaper.

To throw the police off kilter, they spray paint WHITE POWER! in red as the Manson group painted PIGS with blood in one of their murders. At first it seems to be revenge killings as another ex-con is savagely murdered.

The judge's former stepson (he'd been married to the mother) is on the police rolls and is able to gain entrance to the crime scene. He has not gotten in touch in person with him and now regrets his negligence. "Kids need regular contact; you can't do that by long distance."

More people die before the convict who can 'no longer dance' as he is confined to a wheelchair and was supposed to have died in prison 28 years ago is murdered by persons unknown. This was not an easy crime story to read, and the sex could have been left out. It detracted from the real story.

This was the first novel of Mr. Ferrigno's I have read. A good story in the basics but I couldn't help to think I'd read/seen this before on countless TV movies, or other police based stories,over the years.

Overall, this book is extremely forgettable. The only interesting characters are the killers. Quinn is a moody, unlikeable guy who has screwed up every relationship with EVERYONE in his life, except his daughter. The whole France subplot seems like filler. Quinn's publisher is too bizarre to even mention. "Joe Steps" never grabs you as an especially heroic figure and the climax comes and goes before the reader can even begin to get into it. I also have a problem with an Assistant District Attorney going into a stranger's apartment for a hairstyling session (maybe that's normal in California, but on the East Coast we still call for an appointment). I enjoyed Mr. Ferrigno's use of words and his powers of description. If not for these weapons in the arsenal, this rating would be much lower.