The Wake-Up

by Robert Ferrigno

Book Overview

'Strange the things our fates pivoted on: a kid selling gum and candy, a hard charger in a hurry, and a beached spook with a bad attitude.'The beached spook is Frank Thorpe, in limbo having recently... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375422498
• ISBN13: 9780375422492
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Pantheon Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Wake-Up and read this superb thriller!

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. Reviewed by David Montgomery, Mystery Ink

I loved it!

This was a fantastic, breezy, thoughtful crime novel. I've never read Ferrigno's works before but now I intend to. A colorful, eye-catching cover houses a story about redemption and revenge, with some of the most realistic, human dialogue I've read in a "noir" novel. The characters are what makes this story stand out (although the hook of administering a "wake-up" to a real scumbag drives the plot). Thorne (our lead) is an incredible character. He's too real to even be iconic. The sadness that permeates his existence immediately makes him likeable, even as he sticks up for the little guy and has a righteous sense of justice despite the fact that he is a professional killer (he boils over when an innocent acquintance is murdered). The burgeoning love story between Thorne and his sexy and down-to-earth neighbor Claire is provocative, flirty and engaging. I almost wanted more scenes of them together. While the subplot involving Thorne's revenge on The Engineer (who killed Thorne's lover and teammates years before) could have been more climactic, the beautiful dialogue, lack of pretense, and multi-layered, believable characters make this book an absolute must-read for fans of mystery, thriller and even romance novels. Anyone who loves great writing should read this book right away.

I've all his books. This one was the best so far

So often, we hear that so-and-so just does not write like they used to. Not so with Mr. Ferrigno. Excellent book. Sometimes, his work is a little overly surreal to me, sometimes the characters are a little under-developed (though I loved ALL his books) but this one ties it all together really well. There were a couple things that I did not see coming, though I should have. I like that. For fans of hard boiled mysteries, you will really enjoy this latest work. The character of Frank is by no means anyone we have never met before in crime fiction, but he's Ferrigno's version of the "black ops guy lives with us" and it's a great version. Thoroughly enjoyed it and I recommend it highly.

The New Master

Great crime writing is not easily accomplished, but the key to it is easily stated--the feel of total freshness accompanied by absolute fidelity to the genre. The new master of this activity is Robert Ferrigno and THE WAKE-UP solidifies his position. The characters are quirky and engaging, the plot unexpected and clever, the one-liners classic. One line in particular sets a new standard. Unfortunately, it cannot be quoted here. It is a world-weary musing on the degree to which every job becomes just that, something you do because you're paid to do it. The line concerns a service-industry worker for the King of Siam. Check it out and then try to forget it. You won't be able to do so.

An extremely well-written novel in which everything works

I am, I confess, a sucker for revenge novels, especially for well-written ones. Accordingly, when I discover an extremely well-written novel that deals with settling scores, I find myself ready to press the work into as many hands as I possibly can. The one that I am passing on to you, right now, is THE WAKE-UP by Robert Ferrigno. Ferrigno has gone from hitting his stride with last year's SCAVENGER HUNT (in the running for the MWA's Best Mystery Novel of 2003, even as I write) to racing at a full gallop with THE WAKE-UP. This is one of those novels in which everything works, at least narratively. Things go badly at times for Frank Thorpe, the flawed but sympathetic hero of the piece, but it just serves to keep things interesting from first page to last and to keep the reader consuming all of those pages in between. Thorpe is a very smart, very dangerous government operative who makes an error in judgment that costs him dearly --- not only with respect to his job but also in his personal life. The object of his error, and his resultant enmity, is a man known only as The Engineer, who seems to have disappeared after shattering Thorpe's career. Thorpe, still haunted by his judgment lapse, is about to leave southern California for a much needed change of scenery when he witnesses an arrogant, casual act of rudeness and cruelty visited upon a young boy. Thorpe's anger at The Engineer needs some diversion --- at least until he can locate The Engineer himself --- so he makes it his business to avenge the boy. The author of the rude act is Douglas Meachum, a self-important art dealer who tends to regard everyone as objects living in his world. It doesn't take long for Thorpe to interject himself into Meachum's world and give him a mild shock to the system, or what Thorpe refers to as "the wake-up." In doing so, however, Thorpe soon finds himself involved in a dangerous game with a designer drug manufacturer, his business-minded, social-climbing wife, and their psychotic but strangely endearing enforcers. And The Engineer, interestingly enough, is once again about to intrude into Thorpe's life in a very bad way. Ferrigno's novels have always possessed a unique edginess tinged with a dark humor, and THE WAKE-UP is no exception. As a result, anything can happen in a Ferrigno book; in THE WAKE-UP anything, and everything, does. This is the book that will move Ferrigno's name to the 'A' List of a multitude of readers. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub