Flinch: A Novel

Penzler Pick, August 2001: His previous thriller, Heartbreaker, was a smooth slam-dunk of a novel. Now Robert Ferrigno is back with his sixth book--and he's still making it look easy. Those who don't already know Ferrigno's work-- especially fans of Elmore Leonard, Daniel Woodrell, Robert Crais, and Carl Hiaasen looking to broaden their horizons--should check out this tale of sibling rivalry and serial murder in sunny, sinister Los Angeles.

Jimmy Gage, the hero, is a journalist, and a hard-working one. But when he's on the job, he doesn't cover school board meetings, mayoral press conferences, or even Lakers games. If a story doesn't have some angle that can sharpen his skewer, offering new ways to puncture the pompous, satirize the starstruck, or engineer an exposé, he'll move on to the next lurid opportunity. He's also a take-no-prisoners film reviewer, which is the same as being loathed and feared in a town where just about every dental hygienist has a script in turnaround. And in case these responsibilities are not keeping him busy enough, Jimmy writes a column slugged "Media Whore" for his employer, the wholly disreputable SLAP magazine.

Savvy readers probably won't be shocked to find beneath Jimmy Gage's jeering exterior a highly moral guy whose cynicism masks--as cynicism often does--an all-too-vulnerable romantic soul. Unfortunately, when a vicious serial killer calling himself "The Eggman" starts sending Jimmy boastful letters about his crimes, the police see it only as a tabloid tease set up by Jimmy himself.

Flinch is a terrific title for a story in which every character is an antagonist of at least one other. Why is Jimmy Gage sleeping with his brother's wife? And why is his brother making a strange set of Polaroids appear and disappear? Who is going to look away first? Whose self-control is out of control? You'll have to read it to discover the answer. --Otto Penzler