That’s a terrific set-up for a crime novel: The locked-room murder mystery transplanted to the cocoon of the car. Ferrari, however, is not after resolution so much as entanglement, a widening net of implication in which Mr. Machi finds himself ensnared ... Ferrari’s plotting is ingenious, not only in the way it unveils the kaleidoscopic, potentially viral network of Mr. Machi’s connections, but also in how it shatters the illusion of his mastery to reveal 'the great beast of paranoia' within ... Even as we shudder at the violence, we cannot help but appreciate the ironies ... hardly a work of literary gamesmanship. Instead, it offers contrapuntal pleasures ... What happens when your world blows up, when everything you thought you could count on is revealed to be a reverie? It’s a question a lot of us are asking in the surreal, occluded moment we have come to occupy.
Subtlety is not something Ferrari has time for. He barrels through this blackly comic story the way his protagonist, Luis Machi, barrels through life: loud, crude and indifferent to the finer points of character and plot as he rushes inexorably toward doom ... Heavy on action and dark humor — fluidly rendered in West’s translation from the original Spanish — Like Flies From Afar is for those who like their noir fast, short and nasty.
... comes with epigraphs from Jim Thompson and David Goodis, and Ferrari's writing is clearly modeled after theirs -- fast, sharp, and pitch-black dark ... a novel of comeuppance -- but Ferrari doesn't go for facile moral tales ... Ferrari's writing heart is in a deep, dark place, and that is where he brings the novel to in its conclusion ... Much here is familiar excess and outrageous behavior, but Like Flies from Afar is fast and furious and sly enough in Ferrari's presentation to work well on its multiple levels -- whether as simple thriller, socio-political critique, or anything in between. A solid little thriller, of and for our times.
This amazing mix of crime novel and detective story—think Jim Thompson—is even more of a nightmare—think Kafka—stunning in its power and originality. It should entice foremost crime noir aficionados, with potential to break out to a wider audience
... offers sharp social commentary, pitch-black humor, and a twist on the classic frame-up; his unsympathetic and cluelessly entitled narrator leaves readers with little choice but to align with a killer who leaves bodies in trunks.
... enthralling ... Ferrari tightly crafts an intense, noir narrative crosscutting between Machi’s struggle to dispose of the body and evidence without authorities noticing and vignettes featuring the considerable number of enemies, including bitter employees and jilted family members, who would go to this extreme for retribution. Those looking for a finely honed, pitch-black crime novel will be rewarded. With any luck, the author will soon be able to give up his day job.
... a profane and often hilarious tale ... [Ferrari] can turn a phrase — his descriptions and characterizations are trenchant and sometime hilarious ... There is enough profanity, perversion, and viscera here to make a slasher-movie director ecstatic. Expect to see the book on a big (or small) screen eventually ... Part detective story, part noir thriller, and part riff on everyday corruption both personal and political, Like Flies from Afar is a hard book to like, dealing as it does with such loathsome characters ... However, it’s ideal for reading during a pandemic. You won’t want to socialize with anyone after finishing it.
... a madcap mixture of Kafka, Bukowski, and Jim Thompson ... Though ultimately unsatisfying as a mystery, it works as an existential parable, with a protagonist whose character is destiny.
