Robert Ferrigno - The Wake-Up (2004)
Robert Ferrigno's The Wake-Up is the latest in a string of wonderful, off-beat and inventive novels from this Seattle author who knows Los Angeles better that most of the city's denizens.
Frank Thorpe is a black bag expert for a shadowy government agency, the kind of man you call on when you need something illegal done for a good cause. Thorpe is haunted by a mission gone terribly wrong, in which an opponent known only as "The Engineer" killed someone dear to Frank's heart.
Now Thorpe is determined to find The Engineer and extract his revenge. Along the way, he gets involved with a whacked out surfer who runs a drug empire, his social climbing wife, their two viciously cruel bodyguards (one of whom apparently can't be killed), and enough bizarre, funny and original characters to fill two Elmore Leonard books.
Not only is it a delight to read, but Ferrigno's work is also worthy of notice because he doesn't seem interested in following the conventions of the genre. He doesn't have a series character, doesn't use tried and true plots and apparently doesn't care about happy endings or the other "must have" elements that publishers insist on.
In short, he's an original -- and an extremely talented one at that. It's amazing that Ferrigno hasn't become a bigger name on the publishing scene. His books are like a breath of fresh air -- something most of us can use, whether we live in L.A. or not.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Book Reviews | Permalink
Comments
This should be in the New York Times Best Sellers.
Posted by: Rich Jewelry | Dec 29, 2010 12:54:22 AM
