Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780099451792
ISBN number: 0099451794
Label: Arrow Books Ltd
Manufacturer: Arrow Books Ltd
Page Count: 368
Printing Date: January 02, 2003
Publishing house: Arrow Books Ltd
Sale Popularity Level: 1398888
Studio: Arrow Books Ltd
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
When a psychopathic drug dealer forces Val to witness a cop's murder, Val knows he is in deep trouble. The cop was his best friend and, like Val, one of the good guys. So Val, survival instincts on full alert, heads for California and a new identity. But when he meets Kyle, the perfect girl subsequent door, his survival instincts shut down as others take over - which mean he doesn't see who is coming after him or the deadly nature of Kyle's dysfunctional family.
Amazon.com Review:
You know you're in smart hands in this latest thriller by Robert Ferrigno because his character, ex-undercover cop Val Duran, appears on the television quiz show Jeopardy. His reasoning? To catch the attention of a dangerous adversary named Junior. Val smiled, imagining Junior's expression when he saw the show. Junior taped every episode of Jeopardy. Half the dope dealers in south Florida were glued to the tube every afternoon, making bets, yelling at the contestants. Junior once shot out a forty-seven inch Mitsubishi over a missed answer.
Junior also killed Val's former partner and threatened his only living relative, his grandmother, Grace. Val takes the old woman with him from Miami, and they hide out in Southern California. Here, he plots some serious revenge on the Floridian villain. Complicating matters are a beautiful, troubled marine biologist named Kyle Abbott and her seriously dysfunctional wealthy family. There's also a pair of killer extortionists after the Abbott family's fortune--a gorgeous sociopath named Jackie and a monolithic Gulf War Syndrome victim named Dekker. They all start out as very nasty genre stereotypes, but end up, thanks to Ferrigno's marvelously deft touch, as understandable and even likable human beings. There are even a couple of fresh insights into the overused landscape of Los Angeles: 'Even before dawn the freeways buzzed with ambition. It made him homesick for the sultry indolence of Miami, cruising down the A1A, windows rolled down so he could smell the oleander blooming along the median.'
Other Ferrigno titles include Dead Man's Dance and Dead Silent. --Dick Adler
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
Robert delivers another vividly imagined and fast-paced page-turner. Some of the prose is a bit overheated, but slides by so smoothly we can easily forgive him. I do feel that, one day, he'll embrace more James Lee Burke and less punked-out James Ellroy and really give us a treat.
Ken Coffman is the author of Twisted Shadow and other novels.
Rated by buyers 
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In this comic thriller, the characters and settings snap, crackle, pop off the page.
Ferrigno keeps each of the characters distinct and interesting, whether he's in the head of protagonist, witty tough guy Val Duran, or whether he's exploring the people in Duran's life, like Junior, who has almost as much affection for Duran as he does his favorite program, Jeopardy!, but nevertheless wants Duran dead. Then there's "dead boy" Armando, the unlikely and eccentric muscle; the hulking, love-sick Dekker; Jackie, the lethal seductress who enchants both Dekker and pretty boy Kilo; Duran's shrewd Seminole grandmother, Grace; and Kyle, the sexy marine biologist for whom Duran falls hard.
The scenery is equally compelling, whether the action takes place in a Miami penthouse, a dangerous coastal cove in Southern California, or a backyard miniature golf course that pays tribute to cheesy horror films.
But despite the snappy settings and dialogue, there is also real suspense, primarily because the characters consistently seem motivated by their own inner demons and not by the needs of the plot. There are some unexpected "wow" moments, like when the two storylines converge, or when certain characters meet for the very first time, where the readers is left surprised, muttering, "Oh, that's it." And even the pay-offs for events that seem pre-destined from page 1 are layered with an unexpected poignancy.
Okay, so by now you know I love the book. My husband, who's much harder to please and has really liked only two or three of the books he's read in as many years, also claims this as a favorite. Ferrigno does something that is a challenge: he presents a flawlessly written and plotted masterpiece and makes it all look like entertaining, escapist fun.
Rated by buyers 
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Clearly Ferrigno's friends are writing some of these reviews. This book is really, really bad. Thin plot, with people doing dumb things just to move it along. And way too chatty: dialogue for the sake of dialogue. Blah blah blah. And please, don't compare Ferrigno to much better writers such as Hall, Hiassen, and Leonard. He's not even in their league.
Rated by buyers 
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I have just finished reading this which is my very first Robert Ferrigno book. I ain't gonna repeat the story here because that is up there in the Editorial Review.
Now, my two cents - Is Val Duran a returning hero ? I don't think so. Then why his past is mostly a gray area ? There is not enough information in there as to why exactly Steffano got killed, Val's past..and the most important of 'em all - how Val got onto the real person behind the whole scheme ?? I mean, what the heck ? Nothing is explained in this book!!! And since even beyond a certain point of extreme cerebration I drew a blank, I gave up !!
Some characters are pretty contrived like Jackie Hendricks and Junior, the plot is pencil thin..there are a lot of illogical things happening - why would Val wanna go on air when he is hiding out ? And why didn't Val turn the real culprit in when he is convinced that the person has committed a heinous crime ? beats me !!
The highlight of the book I must admit, is the razor-sharp dialogue that flies back and forth..especially that of Dekker and Val. Kept me through the book anyways. Worth a read. I deem this book worthy of 2.5 stars (since there is no decimal datatype here, I round it off to the subsequent whole number).
Rated by buyers -
Robert Ferrigno just keeps getting better. Unfortunately, this means that while "Heartbreaker" is far better than his 1990 debut novel, it is far worse than 2001's �Flinch.� Ferrigno once again depicts the low-lifes of Orange County, California, and features the usual noirish cast: a protagonist with his own "moral code," a femme fatale, a rich stepmother, a spoiled �pretty boy� playboy, and a hired thug.
�Heartbreaker� is a more deeply layered story than previous efforts, and he cleverly melds two main subplots centered in drug-obsessed Florida and in glitzy/seamy Orange County. For the most part, the writing is brisk and humorous, and Ferrigno does breezy dialogue and tense situations very well. (There�s also the usual graphic violence that may turn some readers off.)
However, the story�s implausible twists and betrayals made this a disappointing read. Why would someone trying to �lay low� appear on a drug-dealing killer�s favorite TV show and taunt him, thus making it easy to track him? There�s an unappealing victim who is portrayed as an admirable person, and an appealing person who abruptly changes towards the very end of the story. While these catch you by surprise, they seem contrived, especially in the latter example. �Flinch� is a much better book, although populated with similar characters and action, you don�t feel so manipulated.
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