Customer Reviews

Flinch : A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Flinch" is a fast-paced mystery detailing a cat and mouse game between a low-rent journalist and his brother, a high priced plastic surgeon who the journalist suspects of being a serial killer. The title refers to the relatively innocent sado-masochistic games of their adolescence, magnified in the present to deadly proportions.

Ferrigno writes in an updated noir style, using crisp dialogue, oversized villains, and the sleazy/glitzy settings in Orange County, California. Although writer Jimmy Gage has the requisite cynicism and a balance of fair play and tough defiance, he's not strictly out of the Sam Spade mode either: His sense of moral outrage is a bit askew, and he doesn't always use the best of judgment. Additionally, the novel contains some very graphic violence, more gruesome than the traditional style.

The novel moves briskly, unimpeded by the several minor characters and related subplots. Other than a romance with Detective Jane Holt that develops a little too quickly, the plot twists are both plausible and genuinely surprising. Ferrigno captures the outrages and pretenses of Southern California without stereotyping. Much better than his more famous "The Horse Latitudes," Ferrigno has written a brisk and believable story that grabs your attention from the first page.

"Flinch" is a unique book that defies categorization. It combines intriguing mystery with edgy satire, all complemented by wickedly dark humor. Robert Ferrigno has created a fascinating place, populated with some delightfully whacko characters. I couldn't wait to find out what happened to these people next.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about "Flinch" is how sympathetic a character Jimmy Gage (the protagonist) turns out to be. Under his callous, jaded, and cynical exterior beats the heart of a warm and honorable man. His character gives the story a firm center, grounding the madness in reality, and thus making the story more moving and effective.

Read it for the mystery, read it for the humor -- whatever the reason, just read "Flinch." You won't be disappointed.

Reviewed by David Montgomery, Mystery Ink

"Flinch" is a fast-paced mystery detailing a cat and mouse game between a low-rent journalist and his brother, a high priced plastic surgeon who the journalist suspects of being a serial killer. The title refers to the relatively innocent sado-masochistic games of their adolescence, magnified in the present to deadly proportions.

Ferrigno writes in an updated noir style, using crisp dialogue, oversized villains, and the sleazy/glitzy settings in Orange County, California. Although writer Jimmy Gage has the requisite cynicism and a balance of fair play and tough defiance, he's not strictly out of the Sam Spade mode either: His sense of moral outrage is a bit askew, and he doesn't always use the best of judgment. Additionally, the novel contains some very graphic violence, more gruesome than the traditional style.

The novel moves briskly, unimpeded by the several minor characters and related subplots. Other than a romance with Detective Jane Holt that develops a little too quickly, the plot twists are both plausible and genuinely surprising. Ferrigno captures the outrages and pretenses of Southern California without stereotyping. Much better than his more famous "The Horse Latitudes," Ferrigno has written a brisk and believable story that grabs your attention from the first page.

While one does become suspicious early in the book regarding "who" done it.....the mix of characters and their ultimate fates is an engrossing read. Ferrigno continues to excel !

Jimmy Gage is a newspaper reporter and movie critic for Slap Magazine, a tabloid on a par with those sold in supermarkets. Amidst his office mail, he receives a letter from the Eggman, a serial killer who has slain six people. The Eggman brags that no law enforcement official has found a link between the homicides. The police conclude that Jimmy wasted their time and made up a story to gain notoriety for himself and his paper. He leaves town under a cloud.

Jimmy returns home a year only later to find his brother married to the woman he loves. He also finds a set of Eggman graphic pictures in Jonathan's beach house. By the time the police arrive, the photos are missing. Jimmy and Jonathan begin a rematch of their cat and mouse game that ran the former out of town once before.

Robert Ferrigno has written another action-packed thriller that sends chills up and down the spines of the audience. Jimmy is an interesting protagonist who remains likeable even as he rushes into trouble without thinking about the consequences. FLINCH is the ultimate cat and mouse game in which a blink may prove a lifetime for the loser.

Harriet Klausner

This book beats the hell out of Heartbreaker. I was so unimpressed with Heartbreaker that it took me several months to go around to Flinch. I'm not sure what happened to Ferrigno, but this book was so much better. Our hero, JImmy Gage, is great. Tough, tender hearted, and has great friends (who make great characters). Was a perfect story? No. The ending was a bit too neat, but I laughed, I cared and I look forward to the next one.

THE HORSE LATITUDES (with the accompanying explanation) was one of the best crime titles since THE BIG SLEEP and I, THE JURY. FLINCH is Ferrigno's best novel since his smash debut. A brother vs. brother book, the setting is Babylon, California-style and Babylon is crowded. In addition to the brothers Gage there is a rich mix of subsidiary characters--nearly an ensemble cast--and the narration cuts between individuals and individual time levels, first revealing enormities and then depicting them in detail.

The texture is dense and neatly-layered, the plot rhythms are perfect and the triple-climax conclusion is pure genre gold--all in all a lovely mix of pain and pleasure, tears and laughter, instruction and entertainment. This is the Sodom and Gomorrah Express, with all the right stops along the way and a satisfying conclusion.

Like Ellroy, the farther Ferrigno gets from Southern California, the greater his capacity for nailing it. This is an up to date cultural tour as well as prime crime fiction.

There are hundreds if not thousand of thrillers out there about serial killers. Anyone familiar with the genre has probably seen it all, which makes the challenge greater for the really good authors. Fortunately, Robert Ferrigno lives up to the challenge with Flinch.

Jimmy Gage is a top-notch tabloid reporter back in town after a year abroad. Before he left, he received a letter from the Eggman, who purported to be a serial killer. After investigation, it appears the Eggman is only a hoax, and by the time of Jimmy's return, the crimes remain unsolved. By accident, however, Jimmy stumbles upon evidence that the Eggman might be his brother, a sibling he has had a rather strained relationship over the years (not made any better since the brother married Jimmy's ex-girlfriend).

This might make for a rather routine novel, but at times, the Eggman story is merely incidental as Jimmy copes with the other characters in his life including a loan shark, her dim-witted bodyguard, a crippled but still deadly fence/drug-dealer and his lethal assistant. Like an Elmore Leonard novel, the characters and how they interact is as important as the plot. And also like Leonard, there is a dark humor that amuses but does not diminish the suspense.

If Ferrigno has a fault as a writer, it is only that he sometimes takes a while to produce a new novel. Other than that, Ferrigno is consistenly great, and this book continues his string of quality work.

From the reviews I expected Flinch to be my kind of book, hard-boiled and twisty with complex characters and taut dialog.

Man, was I wrong. The characters never come alive. The bloated witless dialog goes numbingly on and on. And the serial killer plot couldn't fill half a page - a guy accidentally stumbles across photos that prove who the killer is, the end.

The subplots are worse. The action scenes may be some of the lamest and least credible ever written. How could anybody possibly enjoy this stuff?

Avoid Flinch.

This was one quick read for me, simply because I could not put it down. I had previously read Heartbreaker by Ferrigno & thought it was great, so I picked this up only to find it even better! Ferrigno is definitely going on my FAVORITES list & I plan to read all of his that I can get my hands on. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you love a stunning & clever thriller that does not let up until the final page!