Horse Latitudes

by Robert Ferrigno

Danny DiMedici's ex-wife Laura is missing, there's a corpse in her blood-spattered beach house, and Danny is the prime suspect. Desperate to get to Laura before the cops, Danny returns to the underworld he had known as a drug-dealer, a world of fast sex and hard drugs, casual violence and sudden death. Danny walks the knife-edge between law and order and dark dealings, but as the line begins to blur he must decide, once and for all, where he stands.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Suspense

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

About the author

Robert Ferrigno is an American author of crime novels and of speculative fiction. I've written twelve novels in the last twenty years, most crime thrillers. Sins of the Assassin was a finalist for the Edgar, Best Novel, by the Mystery Writers of America in 2008, and my comic short story, "Can I Help You Out?" won the Silver Dagger, Best Short Story, by the Mystery Association of Great Britain.

Series:
* Jimmy Gage Mystery
* Assassin Trilogy

My most recent book is The Girl Who Cried Wolf (2013), a contemporary crime thriller.

Reviews

[Scoats · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book on our shelves that I have no idea how long I have owned it or how I obtained it. I never heard of the book or the author prior to reading this. I suspect I paid next to nothing for this book.

Sometimes the best things in life are free (or close to it). The Horse Latitudes is one of them. After three books that in order were disappointing, given up as not worth reading, and given up on until reading the prequel first, this one really hit the spot.

I was hooked from even before the book started. Before the story begins, there is 1/2 page description of the Horse Latitudes.

The Horse Latitudes was an area of the Atlantic Ocean where the trade winds died, becalming sailing ships on their journey to the New World.

To get underway, it was necessary for the sailors to lighten ship by throwing part of their load overboard - furniture, bolts of cloth, crates of china, even the cannon. The most severe and profound doldrums could be escaped only by abandoning their most precious cargo - horses.

Once the frightened animals were pushed over the side, the sails began to fill. The horses swam after the ships for miles before they drowned. Their screams haunted the superstitious sailors for the rest of the voyage.

Wow. This book never let up. A great plot, well drawn characters, a great pace. This book is a masterful mystery thriller. I'm giving this the full 5 stars since I can't imagine how this book could have been better. It's masterful.

Written and set in 1990, this book covers the same ritzy ares of metro LA that T. Jefferson Parker writes so elegantly about. Ferrigno and Parker's writings remind me of each other. I almost wonder if they are the same person. Based on what I remember of a newspaper interview with Parker decades ago, I suspect they aren't.

[Yuckamashe · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read this it was pretty hard core to me. I've read a lot darker and more disturbing books since this. But, the cover and the title are extremely memorable to me. They scream 80's Miami Vice.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty dark story of low end and high end crimes, deviancy, consequences and at times just pure evil. Some of the story surrounding our protaganist Danny, a dealer who gets out of the game only to be dragged back in, could have turned into a real "finding oneself" sort of story but Ferrigno mostly played it pretty straight - Danny does what he has to to save those he cares about.

Worth the read if into the dark noir, criminals of all types with the cops already just a step behind sort of stories.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at a Salvation Army when I was like 17 and to be honest the only reason I bought it was because of how cool the cover looked (I own the first release of the book from the 90s.) I never bothered to read it until I found it while digging through my closet. Overall the book was a page turner, although some parts of it bored me. The ending was the part I disliked the most for the simple fact that it ended so abruptly and left many questions of the plot unanswered. Overall I would recommend this book, but it definitely should have been more well thought out.

[LJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

HORSE LATITUDES - G
Ferrigno, Robert - Standalone

Retired drug dealer Danny Dimedici passes the days by swimming, spending what's left of his ill-gotten capital, and mooning over his divorce. When ex-wife Lauren disappears from her beach home and a dead scientist is found hanging naked from her ceiling, Danny is dragged into a silly extortion scheme over a pop-science miracle drug.

It starts off well but then becomes a bit of a mess.

[Canavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

✭✭✭½

[Scoats · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book on our shelves that I have no idea how long I have owned it or how I obtained it. I never heard of the book or the author prior to reading this. I suspect I paid next to nothing for this book.

Sometimes the best things in life are free (or close to it). The Horse Latitudes is one of them. After three books that in order were disappointing, given up as not worth reading, and given up on until reading the prequel first, this one really hit the spot.

I was hooked from even before the book started. Before the story begins, there is 1/2 page description of the Horse Latitudes.

The Horse Latitudes was an area of the Atlantic Ocean where the trade winds died, becalming sailing ships on their journey to the New World.

To get underway, it was necessary for the sailors to lighten ship by throwing part of their load overboard - furniture, bolts of cloth, crates of china, even the cannon. The most severe and profound doldrums could be escaped only by abandoning their most precious cargo - horses.

Once the frightened animals were pushed over the side, the sails began to fill. The horses swam after the ships for miles before they drowned. Their screams haunted the superstitious sailors for the rest of the voyage.

Wow. This book never let up. A great plot, well drawn characters, a great pace. This book is a masterful mystery thriller. I'm giving this the full 5 stars since I can't imagine how this book could have been better. It's masterful.

Written and set in 1990, this book covers the same ritzy ares of metro LA that T. Jefferson Parker writes so elegantly about. Ferrigno and Parker's writings remind me of each other. I almost wonder if they are the same person. Based on what I remember of a newspaper interview with Parker decades ago, I suspect they aren't.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this three times. I find it gripping, even with slightly ridiculous villains like the bodybuilding twins. Danny's relationship with Lauren is chilling because he loves her even as she betrays him, manipulates him, discovers her dark side. The main villain, a scientist who hunts and has lived with tribes in Africa, considers himself a tough predator -- I did find him chilling as well. Southern California noir at its best.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this when it was first published in 1991 and ripped through it all excited. Still pretty good writing, even if the villains are a bit cartoonish. As with other Ferrigno books I've read, a lot of the scenes don't do much, but the style is energetic and fun so who cares. Would have been a better book if all the scenes meant more.

[Liza reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost put this book down five separate times. I took a chance on an author I had never heard of and it just didn’t work out for me. So much irrelevant information throughout this story that stages out and the twists was completely inconsequential.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1994. Ferrigno's first novel of is a winning combination of noir violence, L.A. attitude, drug inspired lunacy and storytelling bravado. I still read Ferrigno to this day.

[Julie Sandel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very bleak

[Alex Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great shoot-'em-up (in all senses), carve-'em-up thriller from the 70s. Can't remember a thing about it, but I really enjoyed it. Did he write anything else? Ah, yes, about 15 more. If I see one on the $! shelf, I'll pop.

[Paul Sand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nasty but well-written noir yarn about an ex-drug dealer trying to go straight, complicated by the fact that his ex-wife is missing from her blood-soaked house. "I hate it when that happens." Lots of colorful characters, some of whom remain alive at the end of the book.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Offbeat murder mystery. Ex-drug dealer's ex-wife's boyfriend is murdered in her home.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 2.75

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this when I was living in the setting, in Huntington Beach. That was the only reason why I read it.

[Rickk Montoya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first "Real" book I ever read, back in Jr high, so I'm a little nostalgic.