Thomas "T" Walker is a 57-year-old businessman trying to put his life together after downloading a questionable photo from the Internet and getting busted for child pornography. Driving from Virginia to Canada, Walker, against his better judgment, picks up young couple Jenny and Lester in New York. The seductive Jenny immediately begins flirting with Walker; Walker responds; Lester provides slow-burn menace. Slowly, the couple give Walker their story: they are fleeing a Tennessee drug dealer from whom Lester has stolen (and lost) $40,000. Jenny's advances get increasingly overt; Lester's jealousy matches them. As Walker drives on toward their destination, a cabin at Wolf Point near Ontario Bay, Falco gets considerable mileage probing Walker's psyche as he contemplates past mistakes, while Jenny hints at the possibility of a serious relationship and Lester tries to extract a lump sum from the once-successful Walker for a payoff. The intriguing climax features a series of not quite smoothly foreshadowed revelations about Jenny's past and her relationship with Lester, along with a shooting that may spell the end of this uncomfortable menage. Falco, whose selected stories were published by Unbridled in May as Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha, delivers a solid, small-scale thriller. (Oct. 18) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Tom Walker, a retired 57-year-old, leaves his home in Virginia for a spur-of-the-moment photography trip to the Thousand Islands region of upstate New York, where he spent idyllic weekends as a college student. Along the way, "T" stops to pick up a beautiful hitchhiker and her creepy boyfriend, knowing instinctively that they mean trouble. Sure enough, the two confess that they had planned to rob him but have changed their minds. T agrees to drive them to a deserted camp on the St. Lawrence River, where he gradually discovers the young woman's long history of sexual abuse and her boyfriend's penchant for drug-fueled violence. T lost his job and his family for downloading child pornography, and the girl's story causes him to reevaluate his guilt in that sordid affair. Though it is billed as a thriller, Wolf Point is really a study of midlife crisis and renewal, strong on psychology and packed with literary allusions but short on suspense. Falco is primarily known for his powerful short stories, including the recent collection Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha, which is a better introduction to his work. For larger collections.-Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch. Lib., Los Angeles Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
“Hitchcockian…the story hurtles like a brakeless truck toward its bloody denouement.” —The New York Times Book Review
"Gripping...skillful...moves quickly and convincingly to a satisfactory and satisfying ending." —St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Think of Edward Falco as William Blake with cinematic potential. As with Blake's famed paeans to the lamb and the "tyger tyger, burning bright," Falco's debut novel seeks to "shew the two contrary states of the human soul," to dissect innocence and experience down to the rumbling guts. And Falco, for one, understands that the best way to get there isn't necessarily by way of one precise incision. It's the knuckle-whitening twists along the way that reveal the human capacity for change and self-discovery: that point at which innocence becomes experience and experience is understood. … To keep his story from becoming so much made-for-TV sensationalism, Falco goes deep to explore themes of purity and corruption, beauty and decay, stupidity and wisdom.”—The San Diego Union-Tribune
“A mesmerizing thriller….[the] suspense starts on page one….I had never read Edward Falco before this book, but I will look up his other works, including a recent book of stories called "Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha."—The Daily Progress (VA)
“Intriguing….”—Publishers Weekly
“I recently wrote about (and interviewed him) Edward Falco's terrific new novel, Wolf Point. Whether or not you think crime fiction can [be] literary or will always remain beneath that quantified and oh-so-hallowed categorization, take it from me, this guy can write his ass off. Here is a compelling, insightful and compulsively readable crime novel that, of course, really isn't about crime, (tho Falco makes the most artful use of the genre's conventions) but instead reveals (and revels in!) one of Falco's favorite themes: how fast circumstances can change - and thus change one's life - in a flash…. this story moves in the most unexpected - and dramatic — directions so that by the dreamy and most satisfying ending we know we've just been taken for a thoughtful, entertaining and absolutely imaginative ride — one that, like the best fiction, period, stays in our minds for a long time after that final page is turned. Don't miss it.”—Peter Handel
“With the deft touch of a master, the author slowly reveals the reasons for Walker's seemingly cavalier attitude toward the possibility of violence that his young hitchhikers represent, and it has something to do with a certain photograph the authorities have found on Walker's home computer. This troubling, brilliant book reminds us that few people know themselves quite as well as they think they do."—Mystery Scene Magazine
“In Wolf Point, Edward Falco sets up an intriguing view of tattered lives, isolated from society and adrift. Falco makes each character realistic and worth caring about. The author avoids cliches as he delves into each person's psyche. Wolf Point is a talky mystery — the main action occurs as the three character divulge their pasts, hopes and fears — but the twists that arise during these conversations are haunting; and the author never lets us forget that brutality and destruction may be just around the corner….polished….Wolf Point never lags as it screeches to its surprise ending.”—Oline Cogdill, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
“Wolf Point is beautiful, bold, heartbreaking and wise. It calls to mind the work of several contemporary masters—people like Richard Yates, Andre Dubus, Richard Bausch and Theodore Weesner—writers who never get in the way of their own stories, truth-tellers for whom the lives of their characters are the most important element of all. This is a major work by a writer who deserves legions of loving readers." –Steve Yarbrough
“Wolf Point is a haunting work, a cautionary tale that by turns demonstrates that while no deed — good or evil — goes unpunished, absolution and redemption are possible if one is willing to pay the price. This is a work to be savored and, more importantly, reread. Highly recommended.”—Joe Hartlaub, Bookreporter.com
“A terrific thriller.”—Harriet Klausner
“The release of two Edward Falco books in one year is an unexpected treat. As in his book of short stories before it, Falco focuses on human dysfunctions and vulnerabilities in Wolf Point. Prose that is sometimes shocking, insightful and incisive is Falco's trademark….The tale is told suspensefully through flawed but sympathetic characters…quintessential Falco as he skillfully reveals the darker twists and frailties of human nature.”—Midwest Book Review
“[A] study of midlife crisis and renewal, strong on psychology and packed with literary allusions…”—Library Journal
"Wolf Point," written by Virginia Tech professor Edward Falco, opens like it's going to be one of those fast-paced, consciously no-frills thrillers that have more in common with Hollywood than literary novels. You know the ones: minimal set-up, quick plot hook and nonstop action with nice twists. Think of the films "Panic Room" and "Cellular," and you're in the right ballpark….
Readers looking for a simple, fast read may be a little disappointed with Falco's philosophical turn, but the narrative never slows….It's a cunning exercise that playfully thwarts its readers' expectations, and it should measure up nicely against your best efforts to think a few pages ahead of Falco.”—The Richmond Times Dispatch
“Wolf Point is billed as a "page turner," a "literary thriller," and on that level it does not disappoint. But for this reader, it's the underlying subject of seduction and betrayal, seduction and abandonment, and the damage they do that makes the book so interesting. In the guise of a psychological thriller, Ed Falco explores the landscape of exploitation, sexual and otherwise, and tells a classic tale of death and rebirth, of "transgression" and redemption.”–Kay Bonetti, Director of the American Audio Prose Library
“Categorized by the publisher as a "literary thriller," Wolf Point brings us the same quirky, sometimes menacing characters and vivid places we find in the stories. Despite the sometimes driving plot, this is a quiet book, full of contemplation by the narrator on love, regret, and redemption. It bears reading and re-reading.’—Beth Wellington in The Roanoke Times
“Filled with unbearable tension, and the temptation is strong to skip ahead to see who lives. Upon reflection, the reader will experience the novel both as thriller and social commentary.” —Booklist
“[The] novel…has a thriller’s pace and a literary novel’s heart.”—The Clarion Ledger
“Falco’s prose itself is admirable, his plot generates momentum and suspense, and he has a fine ear for dialogue….readers in search of a straightforward thriller will find plenty of tension on the way to a slam-bang climax.—ForeWord Magazine
“Falco remains one of the most powerful short fiction writers of his generation and Wolf Point, his second novel, shares some of the menacing tone of his first, Winter in Florida, though not its locale. Another dark ride filled with remarkable characters and startling insights.” —NOTRE DAME REVIEW
“Wolf Point is at its very heart a novel about redemption, not so much in the eyes of others as in one’s own vision of self….As with many of Falco’s works—his collection Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha is a gem—this is another masterpiece of character development. None are so simple in their motivations that their actions are predictable, and their interactions are authentic, unfortunate, and often poignant….This novel is an insightful glimpse into one raucous, life-altering weekend, and it’s a wonderful examination of sexuality and taboo.”—NewPages.com
