Heartbreaker [Import] [Paperback]

Robert Ferrigno (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books, Incorporated; New Ed edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099409887
• ISBN-13: 978-0099409885
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,146,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in South Florida, a tropical backwater rife with mosquitoes, flying cockroaches and the sweet stink of life. My youth was spent stealing science-fiction paperbacks from the local mini-mart and cutting tunnels through the palmetto thickets behind my house with a machete. Later, I regularly burned down those palmettos for the pleasure of seeing the fire trucks arrive, sirens blaring.

After earning degrees in Philosophy, Film-Making and Creative Writing, I thought that I would be happy as a college professor, writing dense, literary novels which I would assign to my students. I found, however, that being a professor was mostly a matter of going to meetings, and that I hated reading, let alone writing dense, literary novels. Instead, I went back to my first love, poker.

The next five years I gambled full-time, living in a high-crime area populated by starving artists, alcoholics, and drug dealers. I was comfortable there, and became friends with many people who would later populate my novels, the loveable, but dangerous sleazeballs as they have often been described. After a time, I got restless and used some of my winnings to start a punk rock magazine called The Rocket, where I interviewed the Clash, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, etc. The success of The Rocket got me a job as a feature writer for a daily newspaper in Southern California, where I took the adventure-and-new-money beat.

Over the next seven years I flew jets with the Blue Angels, drove Ferraris and went for desert survival training with gun nuts. More importantly, the newspaper taught me to train my eye and ear, to observe, to research, and how to use direct, concise language to create a character, and set a scene. The newspaper was a great gig but I wanted to write novels. I quit my day job.

My first novel, THE HORSE LATITUDES, (1991) was called the fiction debut of the season by Time magazine. It was, however, only May. I have since written seven more novels. My work has been described by the Washington Post as "Quentin Tarantino territory, with drugged-out and sometimes violent people in search of sensory overload, but what makes it all not just bearable, but often compelling, is Ferrigno's scorching wit and his relentless moral sense."

I love writing crime thrillers. At their best they are an honest portrayal of the human heart, within the context of love, humor, ambition, greed and betrayal. Just like life, the good guys are usually tainted, and the bad girls are smarter than anyone. While I can no longer understand a word of my undergraduate thesis on the philosophy of British logical positivist Ludwig Wittgenstein, thanks to researching my novels, I can steal a locked car within thirty seconds, effectively clear a jammed Mac-10 machine gun, and make crystal methadrine from ingredients found in any supermarket. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and fun, July 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Heart Breaker: A Novel (Hardcover)

I can't remember the last time a I read a book in a day because I couldn't wait to find out what happens next and the characters were so compelling. I remember liking THE HORSE LATITUDES but did not read the two novels in between. Terrific and entertaining read!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific!, March 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Heart Breaker: A Novel (Hardcover)

Eight months ago in Miami, the Jackson brothers, working for Junior, a drugpin, kill undercover cop Steffano. At a Cuban restaurant Steffano's police partner Val Duran shares a meal with the Jacksons. The hired guns take immense pleasure in bragging to Val about the bombing death of Steffano as much as the meal they savor. Fearing for his own life, the next morning Val flees for Los Angeles.

Not wanting to obtain any jobs involving law enforcement, Val quickly accepts work as a stuntman. Val also meets and falls in love with Kyle Abbott. However, he soon finds himself embroiled with a family on the ropes. Kyle's half-brother hires some thugs to kill his wealthy stepmother. Adding to his woes, Junior wants Val dead. As both situations and his passion for Kyle heat up, Val finds himself in the middle of trouble that easily could leave him dead.

No one who enjoys a fast-paced Hollywood mystery will suffer from a broken heart after reading Robert Ferrigno's best novel in about a decade (since THE HORSE LATITUDES). The story line is reminiscent of Elmore Leonard's Shorty tales as the myriad of subplots blends together into an action-packed story line where California dreaming meets Miami vice. Fans of the sub-genre will cherish Val for his quest for love even as thugs threaten his life. Readers will definitely desire his return in a sequel.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Summer reading..., July 29, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heart Breaker: A Novel (Hardcover)

It was a blast! Heartbreaker was just the right thing for a summer's afternoon. The characters were a little shallow; but, what the heck! It was still fun. The story was fast paced and action filled. Take a copy with you on your next vacation.