Vachss, Andrew

Mask Market: A Burke Novel (Burke Novels)

Average customer rating:

A step back, instead of a step forward!!!
slipping
New stories and old Friends
Harsh and intriguing
Surprised, and nicely....

Mask Market: A Burke Novel (Burke Novels)
Andrew Vachss
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375424229
Release Date: 2006-08-15

Book Description

They meet in a no–name diner. A shadowy man hands Burke a CD dossier of someone he wants found. Minutes later, as Burke watches from an alley, his client is gunned down by a professional hunter–killer team. Burke slips away, unsure if he’s been spotted. Later, when he examines the dossier, he discovers that the missing woman is Beryl Preston, a girl he’d rescued from a brutal pimp twenty years earlier—when she was only thirteen—and returned to her father. Now he has to find her again—not only because she might be in danger, but also because he has to prove to himself that his rescue mission hadn’t been financed by a predator who wanted his “property” returned. His search will force him to confront a new kind of human ugliness and, finally, to practice the survivalist triage that has marked—and cursed—his life since childhood. In Mask Market, Burke the outlaw investigator finds himself searching for the truth: not only about a girl named Beryl, but also about himself.

This is classic Burke: dark, dangerous, and galvanizing, from the opening scene to the explosive climax.

Customer Reviews:

A step back, instead of a step forward!!!.......2007-06-08

I think I've figured it out. About fourteen years ago, Andrew Vachss came to the conclusion that he didn't want his "Burke" series to add to the violence in the world, so he started toning down the violent action in his novels. His books became more cerebral in nature and less action oriented. His newest novel, Mask Market, continues with this approach. While not boring, the book is at times a strain. That's the only way I can describe it.

All the family is back for this new adventure: Max the Silent, Mama, Michelle, the Mole, the Professor, Clarence and Terry. When Burke meets a man about a potential job to find a missing person, the guy is swiftly murdered while going to his car to get Burke's money. Burke doesn't know whether or not he's in danger, too, so he sets out to find out who the killers are. It also turns out that the person the guy wanted Burke to find is a woman that our tarnished hero once saved when she was a teenager. Apparently, the murdered man had been funneling money from hedge accounts into her personal account because he was in love with her. Then, she up and took off, leaving him holding the empty bag. Burke wants to find her to see if he can keep her from being killed by the same people who murdered her boyfriend. It's a complex puzzle, but Burke and his family are smart enough to eventually put the pieces together.

Until about the last third of the novel, what Burke basically does is sit in Mama's Chinese restaurant and go over the problems with his cohorts, drive around the city looking for people with information that might solve the problems, talk to each of his family members individually about the problems, think about Wesley, think about his own childhood, go to his new girlfriend's apartment and listen to her story, and slowly work himself up to solving the blasted puzzle. There's only two short action sequences in the entire book and they are the murder at the beginning and then Burke having to defend himself against a couple of Jewish Russian mobsters. I didn't completely understand the ending and had to scratch my head in confusion as I attempted to digest the information that was given to the reader. Oh, and Burke has a girlfriend named Loyal, and he wants to try and help her with problems. The best scene in the book is when Burke talks to Charlie, the middleman who'd set up the initial meeting between our hero and the murdered man. That scene really comes alive as Charlie talks about his tour in Vietnam as a Tunnel Rat and how every place since then has been nothing but another tunnel to get through alive. That was great writing. Plus, there's a new character that sound pretty interesting--Toni, a sassy redhead with gorgeous legs, who just happens to be a man! One thing that Mr. Vachss does which is down right irritating, however, has to do with the dialogue. He has a habit of breaking off sentences as if someone is being interrupted while speaking. A few times would be okay, but he does this two-or-three times on every single page that has dialogue. It starts to be extremely irritating. At least it does to me. Burke starts sounding like the TV host, Charlie Rose, and I want to tell him to just shut up and let the other people finish what they're saying. Last, since the author apparently isn't going to bring back Wesley back (it probably has to do with the violence), I wish he'd stop bringing him up throughout the story. It's like he's teasing his old-time readers with a promise he has no intention of keeping.

I keep saying with each new novel I read by Andrew Vachss that it's going to be the last one, yet I keep buying them like an addict with a crack cocaine habit. I'll say it again, the first five novels in the "Burke" series is some of the best writing I've ever encountered. No one could come close to Mr. Vachss during those years in the late eighties and early nineties. Since then, my feeling is that he's primarily writing the books for the paycheck. I don't know. Maybe he donates the royalties to a fund for abused children. If he's going to continue writing the series, however, he should let Burke be himself. The character, after all, is a killer with his own unique code of honor. How many years has it been since Burke killed anybody? Quite a few! I bet there's a lot of people in New York City he could do that no one would even miss!

slipping.......2007-05-13

Slipping a touch on this one, Andrew appears to be increasing content of his own personality while depleting his characters.
Still a good read.
Still the greatest subject matter and morals message.
Still not available in Australia, but still worth the cost of importing for personal collection.

New stories and old Friends.......2007-04-03

Every time I finish reading one of Andrew Vachss' Burke series of novels, I feel sad, as if I am not going to see dear friends for a year. Vachss has created a family that is as diverse, interesting, compelling, and likable as any in American literature. Despite their aversion to traditional (and often hypocritical) authority, this band of brothers and sisters virtually define traditional values, from Mama's leadership to the quiet dignity and strength of Max the Silent, from the competence of the Mole to the unlimited and unconditional love of Michelle. More importantly, each and every one of these lovable outcasts is intensely and unshakably loyal -- perhaps not to the law, but to each other, to their word, and to doing the right thing.

Andrew Vachss is America's leading voice for the protection of children from sexual exploitation. In Mask Market, however, Vachss shows astonishing integrity by self-critically questioning the unintended, perhaps even tragic consequences of his hero's well-intended actions decades before. Self-criticism, of course, is astonishingly rare in today's world, and as usual, Vachss leads the way with his brutally clear vision and words that cut like lasers across the page.

If you care about kids, if you enjoy suspense, if you care about the right kinds of people, or if you just like to read, this book is a must-read. Whether your taste runs to philosophy, crime, or action, this book is a must read. If you haven't read Vachss, give him a try, and you will be hooked. For now, until the next Burke novel, I miss my friends.

Harsh and intriguing.......2007-03-26

Another dark Burke novel exploring the under belly of society. Burke, cautious as ever, has to find out why a potential client is killed over something in Burke's past. Again, Burke gets drawn down dark paths that people do not want to talk or think about: child-porn and the baby market. Where the villians mask themselves as upstanding citizens and criminals make justice. Intriguing characters. Gets you thinking hard about right, wrong and downright evil. --Doug Setter, author of One Less Victim

Surprised, and nicely...........2007-03-17

This was my first Vachss book and I listened to it rather than read it. What a wonderful surprise to find such an engaging character, an intricate story with lots of curious morality, and the most wonderful, kind ending a person could imagine.

It is tightly written, moody, and gritty. The story is frightening as well as uplifting in an undefinable and, well, wierd way.

I highly recommend it.

Average customer rating:

Everything Burke is...
A Good Read
Vachss at his best - if you know the backstories
Mesmerizing!
Best Burke in a while

Down Here: A Burke Novel
Andrew Vachss
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Only Child
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Mask Market: A Burke Novel (Burke Novels)

ASIN: 1400076110
Release Date: 2005-04-12

Book Description

For years Burke has harbored an outlaw's hard love for Wolfe, the beautiful, driven former sex-crimes prosecutor who was fired for refusing to "go along to get along." So when Wolfe is arrested for the attempted murder of John Anson Wychek, a vicious rapist she once prosecuted, Burke deals himself in. That means putting together a distrustful alliance between his underground "family of choice," Wolfe's private network, and a rogue NYPD detective who has his own stake in the outcome.

Burke knows that Wolfe’s alleged "victim," although convicted only once, is actually a serial rapist. The deeper he presses, the more gaping holes he finds in the prosecution’s case, but shadowy law enforcement agencies seem determined to protect Wychek at all costs, no matter who it sacrifices. Burke ups the ante by re-opening all the old "cold case” rape investigations, calls in a lot of markers from both sides of the law, and finally shows all the players why "down here" is no place for tourists.

Download Description

Bone-crushing impact, set in a milieu that clogs your lungs and stings your eyes, Down Here is the penetrating and remarkable new thriller from the master of American noir.</p>

For many years, Burke has carried a torch for Wolfe, the beautiful, driven former sex crimes prosecutor who was fired for refusing to "go along to get along." They share a marrow-deep hatred of predators but walk different sides of the street when it comes to justice. So when Burke hears that Wolfe has been arrested for attempted murder, he knows something is double-wrong—and deals himself in.</p>

Putting together a distrustful alliance between his "family of choice," Wolfe's outlaw network, and an informant inside the police department, Burke starts with the alleged victim, a brutal serial rapist Wolfe had personally prosecuted. He's back on the street because his conviction was reversed, and any of his long list of victims has plenty of motive to kill him. The deeper Burke gets into the investigation, the more holes he finds in the case against Wolfe. Yet the DA's office continues to press forward, and Burke has to find out what their game is. No stranger to devil's bargains, Burke reopens the rape investigations—his way—and discovers an artist whose violent work in progress is a whole city's nightmare.</p>

Customer Reviews:

Everything Burke is..........2007-03-21

Great. Just love the entire series. The staccato writing style just works for me. Would love to see this on film, just can't imagine who would be Burke.

A Good Read.......2006-11-06

Some years ago, I read "Flood" and "Strega" and enjoyed them. As a casual fan of Mr. Vachss, I enjoyed the quick pace and grit of "Down Here," though I wished he'd developed the two female characters - Laura and Wolfe - more. There were the makings of a really interesting anti-love triangle here. Instead, "Down Here" is essentially an investigation/mystery story, enjoyable if a bit forgettable. I won't rush out for another dose right away, but Vachss is still one of the writers I know will entertain without demanding too much from me.

Vachss at his best - if you know the backstories.......2006-08-17

Andrew Vachss's character Burke lives in a gritty underworld most of us will never encounter outside the pages of a book. A fact for which we can pretty much all be grateful. DOWN HERE brings that world into our living rooms and rubs our faces in it, if only for about 300 pages, which is long enough.

Burke's unrequited love for the beautiful crime fighter Wolfe is what brings him and his family of choice back together, working to figure out who framed Wolfe for murder, and why. Wolfe has been arrested for murdering John Anson Wychek, a rapist she put away, who is now back on the streets due to some technicality.

While the plot will satisfy all but the most demanding of puzzle seekers, it is Vachss's characters who bring Burke's world to life. Long-time readers will recognize Burke's family: Max the Silent, the Prof, Pepper, Mole, and Michelle. Pansy has been replaced (sort of) by Bruiser, although there will truly never be another dog like Pansy.

I would not recommend starting to read Andrew Vachss with DOWN HERE; there are earlier books in the series which would be less convoluted. Reading DOWN HERE can be an exercise in reading between the lines because the back stories of the characters are important but not always well-explicated. There is almost a shorthand used by Vachss which, if a reader isn't familiar with the language, makes for some difficult connections. However, if this isn't the first Vachss for you, you won't be disappointed. DOWN HERE is Vachss at his best, working the language to death and wowing the reader while he does it.

Mesmerizing!.......2005-12-26

Mesmerizing!

Down Here is just another example of Andrew Vachss' fascinating novels. The stories are truly mesmerizing and hold one's interest from the beginning to end. The action is fast paced with no holds barred. The characters are intriguing and often lovable. Other characters are those you love to hate. I would recommend buying the hard cover versions of his books as they are real keepers!

Best Burke in a while.......2005-07-28

I've been a big fan of Vachss since Flood, but, while his already strong writing has steadily improved to where I find anything he writes a compelling read, many of the plots of the last few Burke novels have not been particularly compelling or memorable. Only Child would be the most recent example.

Down Here, on the other hand, has everything you'd want in a topnotch Burke novel. It's a detailed interweaving of plots and counterplots, with the gripping, airtight prose of a master of the genre. Throw in Burke's wry observations of human nature and perfect blend of cynicism and compassion and you've got one of Vacchs' best.

Average customer rating:

Terminal: A Burke Novel (Burke Novels)
Andrew Vachss
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Mask Market: A Burke Novel (Burke Novels)
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ASIN: 037542508X
Release Date: 2007-09-25

Only Child: A Burke Novel (Burke Novels)

Average customer rating:

Read this book!
Better Than the Last, But still Flawed
Try To Put It Down, I Dare You!
"Classic" Burke
Burke, Back in Town

Only Child: A Burke Novel (Burke Novels)
Andrew Vachss
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375414878
Release Date: 2002-10-08

Amazon.com

Andrew Vachss's series hero, an outlaw vigilante named Burke, is on the trail of the man who murdered the teenage daughter of a Mafioso whose secret affairs with a black woman and a gay crime boss make Tony Soprano's sub rosa relationship with his psychiatrist seem inconsequential. More accustomed to committing crimes than investigating them, Burke comes out of retirement and reunites with his New York family, a group of criminals who join him in a clever ruse to unmask the killer. The circuitous trail eventually leads to an underground filmmaker whose disturbing brand of noir vérité was responsible for the girl's death; as usual, Burke metes out vengeance with a steady hand. As usual, Vachss turns in a suitably dark, violent thriller with a strong narrative drive and an explosive conclusion. --Jane Adams

Book Description

After years on the run, Burke is desperate to return to his native New York, the only way he can reconnect with his outlaw “family.” But to survive in their part of the City, where reputation is everything, Burke must take major risks to reestablish his presence. So when a Mafia man contacts him about the murder-as-message of his sixteen-year-old daughter—the offspring of what he calls an “outside the tribe” affair that he must keep secret at all costs—Burke’s depleted bankroll persuades him to step out of the shadows and do something he hasn’t done in years . . . actually investigate a crime.

Burke needs cover to penetrate the teenage subculture of the Long Island town where the girl lived and died, so he puts together a crew of gifted role-players, including a pair of lesbian “power exchangers” who market their special brand of sex on the Internet. When Burke himself surfaces as a casting director, seeking tomorrow’s stars for a movie to be shot on location, the investigation quickly spins off into uncharted depths. What he discovers is a new kind of filmmaking, a new kind of violence, and a predator unlike any he’s ever known. When they meet head-on over a brutal work of cinéma vérité, only one of them will survive the final cut.

Download Description

After years on the run, Burke is desperate to return to his native New York, the only way he can reconnect with his outlaw "family." But to survive in their part of the City, where reputation is everything, Burke must take major risks to reestablish his presence. So when a Mafia man contacts him about the murder-as-message of his sixteen-year-old daughter -- the offspring of what he calls an "outside the tribe" affair that he must keep secret at all costs -- Burke's depleted bankroll persuades him to step out of the shadows and do something he hasn't done in years... actually investigate a crime.

Burke needs cover to penetrate the teenage subculture of the Long Island town where the girl lived and died, so he puts together a crew of gifted role-players, including a pair of lesbian "power exchangers" who market their special brand of sex on the Internet. When Burke himself surfaces as a casting director, seeking tomorrow's stars for a movie to be shot on location, the investigation quickly spins off into uncharted depths. What he discovers is a new kind of filmmaking, a new kind of violence, and a predator unlike any he's ever known. When they meet head-on over a brutal work of cinÃƒÂ©ma vÃƒÂ©ritÃƒÂ©, only one of them will survive the final cut.

Customer Reviews:

Read this book!.......2004-04-11

This book is the greatest! The author's critique of movie worshippers is the best ever.

Better Than the Last, But still Flawed.......2004-01-23

Andrew Vachss lost the thread of his Burke books about five years ago. What he needs is a good editor again to tell him what's working and what isn't. I have to say, though, that he seemed to be getting back on track with this one, although there's about 80 pages of padding. I kept saying to myself, "Get to it, Vachhs, and stop babbling!" Finally I gave up and just couldn't finish. Still, I remain a fan of the man's work.

Try To Put It Down, I Dare You!.......2003-12-03

It is 4:30 in the morning.
Now that we have established that little fact, let me tell you a little bit about my reading habits. I have a library full of books. Heck, I work in a book store. I adore books. A nice little chunk of every day is spent reading something. Since my son was born almost a year ago, this reading mostly takes place at the foot of the stairs to my apartment while I draw on a pipe so the smoke won't offend anyone else in the house. I usually read in twenty to forty minute sessions, usually enough for a bowl or two of Vanilla Cavendish. After that I put the book down and go about my day (or night as it usually turns out). It is like my own little sanctuary, and that is where I leave it. There is a stack of books at the foot of the stairs I am currently working through. In the last year I have never brought a book back up with me to continue. There is always a good spot to put a book down, believe me. At least I thought so until I started Only Child today. I read while I smoked, then I came up to the living room and read while my wife watched TV, then I returned to the spot and smoked some more (at least with a pipe I am looking at lip and throat cancer rather than that lung stuff), followed by a stint in the rocking chair and finally finishing with a last smoke while the book raced to its conclusion. I am not a fast reader either. I tend to savor books. The closer this book got to the final pages, however, the faster I read. I read as I walked up and down the stairs. I read as I went to the kitchen for a soda. I just couldn't look away from this book. In my younger days, I might have read a book straight through, but age (and being an aging father) has caught up with me. Now it is an unknown experience. Until I started Only Child today.
I am not going to go into plot elements and how wonderful and engaging and hard Mr. Vachss writing is or even how amazing the character of Burke is at he has evolved over the years and in the pages (and you should read the Burke novels in order as there is definite evolution and continuity). You probably know all that. I am simply going to tell you that in years of reading some really wonderful books, the experience of having found one so intriguing that I couldn't put it down until it was done is an experience I haven't had in a very long while.
It is 4:30 in the morning, and I couldn't be happier. Or more blown away.

"Classic" Burke.......2003-08-09

This is a return to the sort of Burke story that got me hooked on the series in the first place. It was great to have Burke reconnected with his New York "family". I'm always impressed with Mr. Vachss' abilities as a writer on every level, plot, dialouge, texture and (especially in this instance) a killer ending - he certainly doesn't disappoint here. If you are unfamiliar with the series, this would be a good place to jump in, if you are already a Vachss reader, you can be sure that a great series continues to thrive with this installment.

Burke, Back in Town.......2003-08-06

It took Andrew Vachss nearly two full novels to get his tarnished hero, the underworld figure Burke, back to his native New York from his exile on the West Coast. Burke's return is more than wlecome, for it pumps new life into a series that was growing somewhat stale heading into its 15th volume. Though bringing Burke home causes "Only Child" to start a little slow, it picks up the pace after about pasge 25, and is ultimately one of the better entries in the series.

This time out, Burke is hired by a closeted homosexual gangster to investigate the murder of his teenage daughter. Burke enlists his usual crew: The Mole, The Prof, Michelle, Mama, Max the Silent, etc., to help him track the killer. The investigation eventually leads to a video ring that is taping violent "reality" encounters featuring local teenagers.

Once again, Vachss has managed to mine the depths of human depravity to lend additional weight to his story. Crime novels simply don't get much grittier than this. Though some of his dialog still tends to be a bit over the top (the worst offenders this time out are the two lesbian porno queens), no other mystery writer working today writes with such cuttingly sharp prose or with a better feel for the streets.

Download Description

In this cauterizing thriller, Andrew Vachss's renegade private eye teams up with a lethally gifted vigilante to follow a child's murderer through the catacombs of New York, where every alley is a setup for a mugging and every tenement has something rotten in the basement.

Customer Reviews:

Vachss rocks!!.......2007-06-12

This is dark stuff bigtime, but so well done and entertaining. Plus, you learn a lot about some unfortunate things that happen throughout our society.

Worth Considering -- Very Carefully.......2006-08-31

As entertainments, the Burke books aren't bad. As introductions to the world of the perp and the awful stuff they do, they're not bad. As indictments of a society that permits empowered perps to continue to do their thing, they're not bad. As a means of moving adult molestees from first stage denial (or repressed memory) into second stage anger, they're not bad.

As reinforcements of relentless, recycled rage, however, I have a problem with them. Anger is a very useful second stage in the process of recovery from the severe childhood trauma Vachss descibes, but anger is only the second of fives stages in recovery... and staying stuck in it is pretty much what turns people -in- to the sort of monsters that populate the pages on Vachss's work.

I deal with recovering adults molested as children. Over the past 18 years, I have known hundreds of them. Vachss is quite popular with many of them. Among these people, it appears to me that the skews toward channeling anger towards others, reactive emotional triggering, and resistance to treatment are clearly higher than is the case among those who are not his devotees.

Which concerns those of us who watch these people at fairly close range.

The Vachss novels are very affectively (emotionally and behaviorally) stimulating. The majority of recovering molested and battered people strongly tend towards stimulation-seeking to the extreme. Likewise, many are molesters and batterers themselves.

Thus, I think it useful to post a bit of a warning here: If one is a recovering molestee, batteree, cult or Stockholm Syndrome victim -- or suspects he or she is -- they might do well to take the preceeding information into account as they monitor their emotional reactions, ruminations of thought, and behavioral motivations during and after reading any of these novels.

Therapists who find out that clients are reading or have read these books may find that the blockade-busting / memory-retrieval aspect of Vachss's work is useful, but be on the lookout for the reactivation potential.

Vach's first novel.......2006-03-31

This is not Vach's first book. There is an even earlier book out there that was never published! If you go to Vach's website, he has on there his first unpublished book that tells the story of Wesley. It is equally amazing as the rest of the Burke series. I just read it and it cleared up quit a bit for me. I suggest everyone else to give it a try.

Gripping and completely absorbing.......2006-03-08

I just started reading Vachss last week. How did I never come across this author before now? His writing is extraordinary and compelling. I became aware of his writing through Amazon several months ago and as a fan of James Lee Burke, Lee Child, and others I thought I would give Vachss a try. I am so glad I did! I approached this, his first novel, with some trepidation both because the subject matter dealt with the sexual abuse of children and because the novel was over 20 years old and I feared it might be somewhat dated. I needn't have worried on either count.

As a human being, and a father of four, I thought I might not be able to emotionally handle scenes of child abuse. Vachss is careful though to keep us removed in time, space, and perspective from those events. There are no first person accounts from a child's point-of-view. We the readers, and the protagonist, learn of these events after the fact. As far as the novel being dated, it never really seemed to be. There are a few anachronisms in telephone and computer usage but the material is just as fresh, relevant and interesting today as when Vachss wrote it twenty years ago.

This novel features a quasi-private investigator/con man/ex-con, Burke. Burke has no first name; his parents never put one on the birth certificate before they absconded. One of the best things about Vachss' writing is he a master of showing, rather than telling. I feel like I know the protagonsit extremely well after four novels, but I still can't tell you what he looks like or how tall he is or whether he is attractive or not, or even how old he is. Vachss understands these details are not relevant to good story-telling. Just as we understand ourselves from the inside out, so too do you understand his characters. To say Vachss is a master of characterization is not enough praise; he paints people that are as real to you while reading as your mother or your best friend.

In this story Burke is hired by a young woman named Flood. She is a plump, five foot scrappy blond, out to find the pedophile who raped and murdered her friend's daughter so she can kill him with her bare hands. Hands hardened by years of martial arts training in Japan. What follows is a gripping, harrowing tale of love and loss, sin and redemption, good and evil found in the unlikeliest places all painted against the seamy underbelly of New York.

I loved this book so much I ordered the rest of the series through Amazon and have plowed through the next three in as many days, and I am getting ready to start the fifth one tonight. I whole-heartedly recommend this book, and thus far the entire series.

Vachss first Burke .......2005-08-02

Vachss had a clear and graphic style. He weaves an intriguing plot with characters with plenty of color, and with vague histories.
In all, a very exciting and interesting book.

Average customer rating:

The return of Burke
Pulls no punches.
The Toughest Crime Novel I Have Read - OUTSTANDING!!
strega, the witch
Atmosphere is not enough

Strega: A Burke Novel
Andrew Vachss
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Flood
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ASIN: 0679764097
Release Date: 1996-01-30

Book Description

Andrew Vachss's implacable private eye has a new client, Strega. She wants Burke to find an obscene photograph—and that search will take him into the ocean that flows just beneath the city, an ocean whose currents are flesh and money, the anguish of children and the pleasure of twisted adults. It is a place that Burke can visit only at the risk of his sanity and his life. But between the power of Strega and his own sense of justice, there is no turning back.

In Strega one of our most acclaimed crime writers gives us a thriller that might have been imagined by Dante. For this is a tour of hell with no stops left out, conducted by a novelist who writes with the authority of the damned.

Download Description

Burke is an ex-con with many ways of earning a buck and his own code of honor: he only does private eye work if the money and the client are right. Strega is an icy, beautiful Mafia princess who offers Burke money and sex to find a piece of kiddie porn. Burke agrees and hits the streets with his bizarre friends to plunge into the nightmarish world of child abuse.

Customer Reviews:

The return of Burke.......2006-08-04

A couple years ago, I read Flood, the first book in Andrew Vachss's series of Burke novels. It was a good novel, albeit rather grim. I always figured I'd read another in the series, but it kind of fell off the radar for a while until recently. With Strega, the second book in the series, I am back to Burke and this time I think I'll stick with him for a while.

Burke is an unlicensed private eye working the mean city streets. Although he has something of a moral code, he is also a scammer and petty crook who's done time and could easily be doing it again. In Burke's world, there are the citizens (the "regular" folk who are law-abiding) and the street-wise, who exist on the fringes. Burke is clearly in this second class as are most of his acquaintances.

In Strega, Burke is drafted by the title character to obtain a photograph. This Polaroid of her young nephew documents an act of pedophilia; she feels that if she can destroy the photo in front of the boy that he will begin to recover from the trauma. For Burke, this is a needle in a haystack sort of case, but he takes it on, motivated primarily by the promise of big money (and some not-so-subtle threats). His search will take him into the seedy world of child pornography.

The supporting characters in the Burke books are both a strong point and a weakness. On the one hand, they make the story more interesting; on the other hand, they are generally so off-beat that they can take away from the gritty realism: we have Max the deaf-mute killer giant, the Prof who constantly speaks in rhyme, Mama Wong the restaurant owner who is almost a stereotype and Michelle the transvestite prostitute with a heart of gold. Yes, they are entertaining, but they're on the brink of being silly which is not an adjective that fits well with this story (fortunately that line is never really crossed).

The only other real flaw with this book is that it takes a while (nearly 100 pages) for the plot to really go anywhere. Fortunately, there is enough going on outside the main story to keep the reader intrigued. Strega is a nice, tough-guy mystery that is a good, fast read. If you like your crime stories, hard-boiled, this should satisfy your appetite.

Pulls no punches........2006-02-11

When I first read this book, I immediately read it again. It is about a private detective, ex-con who goes where the law cannot and seeks what citizens either cannot stomach or like to ignore. It is a crash course into the hard, sick industry of child-molesters and child abusers. The P.I. Burke is a few degrees above totally criminal, but righteous enough to seek justice. The story entertained but also opened my eyes to a world of just plain evil.

The Toughest Crime Novel I Have Read - OUTSTANDING!!.......2005-01-20

"Strega" is Andrew Vachss' second novel starring Burke, the hard-boiled, in-your-face, ex-con detective, who still isn't sure on which side of the law he prefers to operate. Abandoned at birth, father and mother unknown, Burke has no real first name. "Baby boy" is the name on his birth certificate. The novel is set 1980s NYC, before Mayor Guiliani came to office and cleaned up the mean streets - or tried to. "Strega" is also the first Andrew Vachss book I have read. I must say, I am very impressed by his writing style and storyline. Most of the Burke series deals with hunting down and prosecuting child molesters, as does this novel. Mr. Vachss has selected a noble cause, and deals professionally and knowledgeably with the topic. The author is a lawyer, specializing in prosecuting child abuse cases, so he certainly has the expertise to be an advocate. He openly admits that he writes about the abuse of children because he wants to raise people's awareness of what's going on, and he'll reach a wider audience with fiction.

P. I. Burke is the narrator. And the narrative, at times, goes off on a tangent, like Burke's thought processes. The PI is a careful guy. He always returns to make his point. I think this occasional stream of consciousness is extremely effective and enhances the detective's persona. Vachss still manages to maintain a tight writing style throughout. Everything and everyone comes under Burke's cynical, seen-it-all scrutiny. I have never learned more about the underworld and life behind bars than in this novel. I find the descriptions of the seamier side of life, the one "citizens" rarely observe, to be fascinating. Burke's expert eye takes in details of life on the street that I never would. "The streets were quiet, but if you look close, you could see things. Two guys standing against the wall of a darkened gas station - the wool caps on their heads would turn into ski masks when they pulled them down, hands in their pockets. A lonely prostitute in a fake-fur coat with a white mini-skirt underneath, looking to turn one last trick before she called it a night. A van with blacked-out windows driving by slowly, watching the woman while the two men in the shadows watched the van. In New York, the vultures work close to the ground."

Vachss populates his world with a colorful assortment of characters: Max the Silent, a mute Mongolian version of Conan the Barbarian with creative ways of communicating; Pansy, a vicious Neapolitan mastiff, just like the kind that came over the Alps with Hannibal; the Mole, a pasty-faced genius who lives in a bunker beneath a high-tech junkyard; the Prophet, a scam artist who has done too much time behind walls to care; Mama Wong, group doyenne and Chinese restaurateur, "keeps her prices high and the ambience foul to discourage yuppies." She cares for the gang and holds Burke's stash; Michelle, a gorgeous transvestite who needs to "break out;" and Immaculata , Max's Vietnamese love interest, a child therapist. I should add here that our hero drives a souped-up Plymouth, another important character. It usually looks like it's been painted with rust. That's the fresh coat of primer it almost always sports - "the Mole makes sure to change the car's color after it is used on a job."

Julio, a big-shot mob figure and acquaintance of Burke's, strong-arms the PI to take a new case. Julio's close family friend, Gina, is an Italian princess with lots of charisma. She is desperate to recover an obscene photograph of a little boy. The child, Scotty, is her six-year old daughter's playmate. Gina calls herself "Strega," ("a witch-bit*h you could lust after or run from. You could be in the middle of a desert and her shadow would make you cold."), is not above manipulation or anything else that will assist her in getting her way.

The search for the Polaroid picture will take Burke and his band of men to the dark side, to a world they never wanted to know, filled with the anguish and pain of children.

Realistic - some of the toughest prose I've read - amazingly lifelike characters - riveting! What more can I say??
JANA

strega, the witch.......2003-12-03

Andrew Vachss is a great writer and a crusader for children's rights. His books are hard-boiled crime fictions wrapped in a strong sense of morality. Good stuff.

Atmosphere is not enough.......2003-06-14

This book certainly has all the noir atmosphere and gritty authenticity that Vachss is known for, but in other respects it's not all that strong. The plot here is very thin; for all its brevity, the book is bulked up to a certain extent with a lot of peripheral stories and vignettes, which, while often fascinating in themselves, feel a little too much like filler. This feeling is reinforced by the extensive description of actions toward an end: getting in the car, driving up the West Side Highway, going and getting the dog...

Other elements contribute to this sense of flaccidity. The character of Strega is not really sufficiently developed, and her psychology is not very convincing. Vachss's secondary characters - the Mole, Max the Silent, Michelle - are always fun, but they tend to border on parody; and while I always enjoy them in themselves - especially Max - Vachss flirts with the risk of undermining his credibility with their over-the-top portrayal.

Amazon.com

Vachss and his quasi-hero Burke are definitely not for the squeamish, dealing largely with stories about abused children. But he is a strong and angry writer who has carved himself out a unique territory in the dark landscape of the thriller. In his 11th Burke novel, Vachss uses the work of the real Dr. Bruce Perry, the Houston psychologist and pioneer researcher into recovered memory, to center the story about a shady lawyer who specializes in getting such cases thrown out of court.

Book Description

"In the first rank of American crime writers. . . . Next to Vachss, Chandler, Cain and Hammett look like choirboys."
--Cleveland Plain Dealer

Burke--ex-con, mercenary, sometime killer--makes his living preying on New York's most vicious predators and avenging their innocent victims. But in Andrew Vachss's mercilessly suspenseful new novel, Burke finds himself working the other side of the street, where guilt and innocence are as disposable as the sheets in a Times Square hotel--and as dirty.

Burke's new employer is Kite, a fanatical crusader who specializes in debunking "false allegations  of child sexual abuse. Kite has a case that may be the real thing, but needs Burke to tell him if it is. And if mere money can't persuade Burke to cooperate, Kite has plenty of other incentives at his disposal--including a fanatical bodyguard with a taste for corsets and brass knuckles. A tour guide to hell written in icy prose, False Allegations is Vachss at his most unnerving.

"Burke is the toughest talking first-person narrator since Mike Hammer."
--Los Angeles Times

"Vachss . . . writes hypnotically violent prose."
--Chicago Sun-Times

Customer Reviews:

My favorite of the Vachss Burke Books!.......2005-11-17

Andrew Vachss would have to be considered my favorite writer. He write some of the most hard, heavy, disturbing, graphic, and redemming material I have ever read. This book, was certainly no less.

False Allegations is a story about Burke, a mercanary investigator dredging into whether a child abuse case was fabricated or real. He is hired by a man named Kite, who debunks false "Child Abuse" cases. One thing to note, is that Burke is fanatical in helping children. It is his one honorable and honest trait. Otherwise he is no less a con-man/hit man who presides over a "family" of criminals.

Anyway, this was excellantly written, the plot was really good, the characters were fully explored. Excellant book!

I would strongly recommend this book!

Very Disturbing but quite true.......2001-05-28

Of all the Burke novels that I have read which would be all of them, this one disturbed me the most. It struck a nerve in me and it scared me because the truth can't be denied. False Allegations is a testimony of how to keep a rape society going. If you are interested in transforming our society than this is the book to read. Burke enters the controversial ground of recovered memories but not for the reasons he thinks he is. He meets Dr. Bruce Perry who is not a fictional person. I have made use of Dr. Perry's research in my career as a teacher of children who have been abused. If you like poetic justice, this book also includes that in such a way that one can't help but cheer. This is not a novel to take lightly.

More truth to "False".......2000-05-16

After two mediocre entries in the great Burke series ("Down in the Zero" and "Footsteps of the Hawk") Vachss starts to breath life back into his main charachter again. Burke is reenergized and back at what he does best, dealing with abused children and borderline psychotic females. Vachss's early Burke novels ("Flood," "Blue Belle," "Blossom" and "Hard Candy") remain the best of the series. But with "False Allegations" he begins a revival which has carried him through the two most recent novels. Thankfully so. A world without Burke would be a duller world, indeed.

Hey, it's not so bad, really..........1999-05-08

Okay, so this isn't the *best* Burke novel, but some of the things I had read about it almost had me scared to read it. Luckily, it's not nearly as preachy or slow or off-track as they'd have you believe. I was expecting it to turn into a textbook or something, but nope, it's definitely a Burke novel, and still a good one, with some convoluted plot twists going on, especially at the end. You can't really fault Vachss for having an "agenda" with his novels, 'cuz, face it, that's what the man's about. His novels are all about promoting the things Vachss likes (from dogs to cool cars to Judy Hensky to loyalty as the cardinal virtue, etc.) and damning the things he hates (which should be obvious - the man's obsessed, but more power to 'im for that). But the bottom line is, Vachss would never steer you toward anything that wasn't good for you. He ain't preachin' - he's *testifyin'*. And ya gotta respect him for it. This is one guy I have heavy, heavy respect for, both as a fine writer and a heckuva stand-up, sincere human being, and I've been putting in work to promote this guy's work to any and everyone I can. This may not be the Burke novel you want to start with, but it shouldn't be too big a disappointment to those who've taken the ride a few times already. Even if it's the weakest of the series, the series is so incredibly strong that you can't go wrong, schoolboy... ;)

A greater writer, who has earned the right to preach!!!.......1998-04-27

I have enjoyed reading the noir of Andrew Vachss. His is a very hard boiled, no holds barred style, and will always, if nothing else leave his readers thinking. However, I'm rather surprised by the negative feed back Vachss has received for "False Allegations". The novel is certainly in keeping with Vachss' style and his character Burke. It is fast paced, and reads like his other works. Yet many seem to feel it is a bit preachy. To a certain extent it is preachy, But so what? Vachss having devoted his life to the helping of children, and abused children in particular, has earned the right to give a bit of a sermon if he so desires. His detractors should keep in mind that as a lawyer he didn't have to specialize in children' assistance, and defense. He could have specialized in other areas of law, become a real shark, and earned a fortune. But he didn't, and instead devoted his career to child welfare, and protection.And what they will learn is that unlike so many people in our day, Vachss doesn't simply talk the talk, he also walks the walk!!! Which is more than most people can say today. To not just believe in something, (Whatever it might be.) but living it on a daily basis. While I fully recognize that as noir prose, this novel isn't as hard boiled as his other Burke novels, nevertheless it is still a great read with a very legitimate message. It is for this reason that I gave it a ten. I have recently read "Safe House", the latest Burke novel, it was excellent, and I look forward to more in the Burke series. The series should be read in order starting with "Flood", and "False Allegations", the ninth in the Burke series should not be passed up.

Average customer rating:

Grim and gritty
best burke novel/ 2nd best book by vacchs
Burke Is Back! And Blue Belle Is OUTSTANDING!
The best book in the Burke series
The book I wished would never end...

Blue Belle
Andrew Vachss
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679761683
Release Date: 1995-07-04

Customer Reviews:

Grim and gritty.......2006-09-17

In the world of hardboiled mysteries, there is hard-boiled and there is HARD-boiled. Andrew Vachss's Burke stories definitely fit into this latter category; they teem with a tough grittiness that is rarely exceeded in the genre.

In this tale, Burke is asked by a pimp named Marques to take on a bounty for the operators of the Ghost Van, a vehicle that is patrolling the streets and killing prostitutes. His contact with Marques is initiated through Belle, a stripper with a past filled with abuse and incest. She is definitely damaged and she appoints Burke to fix her, becoming his lover with a dedication that borders on obsession.

The search for the van brings an even more vicious evil in the form of Mortay, a psychotic killer who is an expert martial artist and is virtually unbeatable in hand-to-hand combat. Mortay wants to face Burke's friend Max in single combat; while Burke knows that Max might win such a fight, even a victory could have bad repercussions. For Burke, therefore, the task is to avoid such a duel to begin with.

There are some nice things about this third novel in the Burke series. In particular, we get a better look at his inner demons and see that is toughness is partially a façade to keep those demons at bay. The principal flaw is the same as with the other books: the world portrayed in the story is so dark it is not as much real as surreal; I think that this diminishes some of the impact of the grimness. Another problem, the plethora of eccentric characters who also reduce the stories plausibility, is toned down in this book.

Despite the imperfections, I do enjoy reading these stories but they are definitely not for everyone: they are loaded with explicit sex and violence that could turn off some readers. If you have not read any in the series, I recommend starting with Flood, the first in the series, as there is continuity between the books. But even as a standalone, this is a good tough guy mystery.

best burke novel/ 2nd best book by vacchs.......2005-07-31

The best book by Vacchs that I have read is "Stella," which is very similar to his Burke books but is about a true loner, so we don't get the constant, overly sentimental scenes of Burke's "family" of fellow misfits. But this one is almost as good, mostly because it keeps a leash on the cuteness. Highly recommended.

Burke Is Back! And Blue Belle Is OUTSTANDING!.......2005-02-08

Andre Vachss' "Blue Belle" is my third Burke novel. All three book are excellent, but Burke, the man, and the strange folks who people his world and call him" friend" are what keeps me a faithful fan. They are my focus, whatever the plot. And the plots are good, fast-paced and riveting. However, this far-out group of characters has me hooked on the series. Burke is as complex a figure as they come, and he grows, evolves and changes with each book. I have never encountered anyone quite like him before in fiction. He is a hard-boiled, in-your-face, ex-con detective, who still isn't sure on which side of the law he prefers to operate. A survivor, at all cost, he is also a stand-up guy. Vachss delves more into Burke's past here, reveals more about his various prison stints and what he learned there. Fascinating stuff. If you are a Vachss/Burke fan, or become one, I would suggest that you try to read the books in order - at least the first 3 or 4. Of course, every novel stands on its own, independent of the others, but the character's development is continual. There are also references to past events, and for a richer reading experience it is helpful to know the history. If you're just looking for a good read, and not interested in becoming a Burke maven, then by all means, read at random.

"Blue Belle" is one hard-hitting novel, reminiscent of crime fiction in the 1940s and 50s, though much more disturbing. Burke, as always, is our narrator. Everything and everyone comes under his cynical, seen-it-all scrutiny. I have never learned more about the underworld and the seamier side of life, the one most people rarely observe, than through the author's narrative. Burke's expert eyes take in details of life on the street that mine never would. His gritty urban world is one where "citizens" dwell side-by-side with "maggots."

A "ghost van" is terrorizing New York City's prostitutes. A gang of fiends, traveling in a big, smoke-colored van, are brutally murdering teen streetwalkers, young girls, only thirteen and fourteen years-old. A group of pimps put together a war chest and hire Burke to take the van off the streets. Pimps are, after all, businessmen, and lost merchandise and declining profits are bad for business. When the Prophet, a friend, mentor and "colleague" of Burke's, "scopes the scene" for information concerning these killers, he encounters a psychopathic martial arts freak by the name of Mortay, ("muerte"). As a result, the Prof winds up in St. Vincent's Hospital with two broken legs, in a world of hurt. Mortay has been hitting the city's dojo's and challenging each sensei to a death match. He will not allow anyone to walk away, and has killed everyone he has forced to fight him. He gave the Prof a message. He wants to fight Max The Silent, a mute, 20th century Mongolian warrior who calls Burke "brother." Max and his woman have just had a baby daughter, whose life Mortay threatens if Max refuses to accept the challenge. Burke senses a connection between the van and Mortay. He just has to find out what it is and how to eliminate both problems....while protecting his brother's family. Grim.

New developments occur in this novel which will have a long term effect on our protagonist. Burke has a lifetime history of living a loner's existence. Belle, "a big sweet-smelling girl with a snake tattoo on her thigh" meets our man to set up an initial appointment with Marques, the pimp. Burke and Belle act on a mutual attraction, which then begins to grow into a relationship. She is a voluptuous exotic dancer, a superb getaway-car driver, and she loves our man. Her past is dark. So what else is new?

The usual suspects are all present, including: Max the Silent, now a father, who "makes his living as a courier, moving things around the city for a price. His collateral is his life;" Pansy is a warrior of another species - she's a Neapolitan mastiff, just like the kind that came over the Alps with Hannibal; the Mole, a pasty-faced genius who lives in a bunker beneath a high-tech junkyard; the Prophet, a scam artist who speaks in rhyme; Mama Wong, group doyenne - a Chinese Jewish mother and restaurateur, "keeps her prices high and the ambiance foul to discourage yuppies." She cares for the gang, takes Burke's messages and holds his stash; Michelle, a gorgeous transvestite who is about ready to go to Denmark for a life-changing operation; I should add here that our hero drives a souped-up Plymouth, another important character. It usually looks like it's been painted with rust. That's the fresh coat of primer it almost always sports - "the Mole makes sure to change the car's color after it is used on a job."

Mr. Vachss' writing is bleak, gritty, disquieting. His chapters have gotten shorter, his prose choppier - it adds to the ambiance. The author is a lawyer, who specialized in prosecuting child abuse cases. He has worked as a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a caseworker in New York, and managed a maximum-security prison for violent juvenile offenders. Vachss calls the child protective movement "a war," and considers his writing as powerful a weapon as his litigation. He openly admits that he writes about the abuse of children because he wants to raise people's awareness of what's going on, and he'll reach a wider audience with fiction.

"Blue Bell's" grittiness may not be for everyone, but it is one fantastic novel. Highly recommended!
JANA

The best book in the Burke series.......2003-12-16

If you like Vachss' Burke series, don't miss this one. This book contains Burke's greatest love interest (besides his dog Pansey). It also has a lot of information and action involving his "family". The way that Burke's family of misfits understand and stand by him is one of the reasons why I have read and reread each book in the Burke series and look forward to each and every one as they are released. This one is my favorite of the series. If you didn't think that Burke would ever find his ideal woman or at least one who wasn't using him for something, you were wrong. Do things work out for Belle and Burke? Well those of you who have read the later books in the series know the answer and those who haven't will have to get a copy to find out.

The book I wished would never end..........2003-08-11

This book was so good, I read it over a span of 2 days. I never wanted to put it down. Burke is an excellent example of a street-level character that is tough, multi-leveled & real. Vachss writing explores all angles of his characters and is great at explaining past occurrences in his Burke series to newcomers without dragging it out too long for the familiar. Vachss' writing is well researched and he makes me wish his books could go on forever. Blue Belle is my favorite of his Burke books so far and I hope this series never ends because all the Burke books are great.

Average customer rating:

A dark, creepy thriller! Another winner for Vachss!
A good crime novel
Not The Same Burke
A novel of the twisted workings of human hearts
Not What I Expected

Choice of Evil: A Burke Novel
Andrew Vachss
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375706623
Release Date: 2000-05-16

Amazon.com

With the possible exception of James Ellroy, Andrew Vachss is the mystery writer with the darkest heart and the most troubled soul. Like his 10 other books about the enigmatic outlaw private eye called Burke, Choice of Evil deals with unpleasant subjects--ritual murder, pedophilia, sexual deviance--the full force of which are never dampened by attempts at tact or taste. Vachss is not an author to look away from the nasty, or try to soften any of life's lowest blows.

That said, his latest does start off on a light note when Burke's giant mastiff, Pansy, is grabbed in a police raid. Burke and his motley crew of helpers--people with names like Mole, Crystal Beth, and Max the Silent--stage a raid on the animal shelter, and in a zany scene worthy of Lawrence Block or Donald Westlake, set free a herd of caged canines. All too soon, however, darkness descends as Crystal Beth--Burke's main squeeze and an activist for abused women--is killed at an outdoor rally, apparently by someone who hates homosexuals. Following this atrocity, a vigilante calling himself Homo Erectus declares war on gay bashers, and also on pedophiles who seek to link their cause to gay rights. Burke is hired to find this vigilante and keep him safe before the cops nab him.

Mentioning pedophilia to Burke is like waving a red flag at a bull: he can (and does) go on for many pages about this particular evil as he and a friendly lesbian dominatrix link Homo Erectus to a supposedly long-dead killer from Burke's own past.

To absorb the full force of the Burke canon, read other books in the series: Safe House, Blossom, Blue Belle, and False Allegations. --Dick Adler

Book Description

When his girlfriend, Crystal Beth, is gunned down at a gay rights rally in Central Park, Burke, the underground man-for-hire and expert hunter of predators, vows vengeance. But someone beats him to the task: a shadowy killer who calls himself Homo Erectus and who seems determined to wipe gay bashers from the face of the earth. As the killer's body count rises, most citizens are horrified, but a few see him as a hero, and they hire Burke to track him down...and help him escape.

In Choice of Evil, Burke is forced to confront his most harrowing mystery: the mind of an obsessive serial killer. And soon the emotionally void method behind the killer's madness becomes terrifyingly familiar, reminding Burke of his childhood partner, Wesley, the ice-man assassin who never missed, even when the target was himself. Has Wesley come back from the dead? The whisper-stream says so. And the truth may just challenge Burke's very sense of reality. Expertly plotted, addictive, enthralling, Choice of Evil is Andrew Vachss' most haunting tale to date.

Download Description

The murder of his bisexual girlfriend at a gay-rights rally leaves Burke with only one choice: revenge. But he has competition: someone going by the name Homo Erectus has begun a killing campaign against any and all gay-bashers -- the same breed that killed Burke's lover. The police want Homo Erectus caught and convicted, and they think he could be Burke. The gay-rights community wants Homo Erectus to be shielded from the law, and Burke is their choice for the job. Burke finds himself simultaneously an avenger, a suspect, a conspirator. But as Burke pursues Homo Erectus -- whose crimes seem morally defensible to some -- the murderer begins to reveal an even darker side to himself: he is striving to be a consummate killer, engaging in murder not for the sake of the kill but merely for the art. And it's an art he will perfect by delving into the world of the supernatural, and ultimately toying with the spirit of a man Burke had long ago watched go to his grave. In "Choice of Evil", Andrew Vachss gives us Burke at his edgiest, and moving closest to the edge: coming face to face with the most horrific workings of the human heart and mind.

Customer Reviews:

A dark, creepy thriller! Another winner for Vachss!.......2006-07-13

Man oh man, Mr. Vachss!!! You just refuse to allow your protagonist, ultra anti-hero Burke, more than one novel's worth of happiness in a romantic relationship. You keep killing-off his women! At least allow them to live and love together for 2 books' worth! Imagine my chagrin to find, before page 20 in "Choice of Evil," that you had deep-sixed Burke's latest, Crystal Beth (I keep thinking crystal meth...what were you thinking???). She appeared in your previous bestseller "Safe House," a lovely lady, half Inuit, half Irish, a kind and gentle activist for abused women, determined to stand by her man...and love him no matter what. Tell me, how am I supposed to believe that in what seems to be a drive-by hate shooting at a gay pride demonstration, with 3 dead, that Crystal Beth coincidentally happens to be one of the victims??? You lost credibility with me on that one. I mean, out of hundreds, Crystal Beth manages to get hit? Otherwise, "Choice of Evil" is a terrific book, as always! For readers of this review...I really didn't spoil anything because, as I previously stated, this horrific event occurs by page 20. And... there is much more non-related action which take place before that. Are you curious? I won't tell. There's a Job-like character in the comic strip Lil Abner, "Joe Btfsplk," who walks around with a cloud over his head and jinxes everyone he comes into contact with. More and more I am reminded of Joe when I read about Burke and his romantic counterparts.

In this, Andrew Vachss' 11th Burke novel, our dark hero, who seems to grow more morose with each episode (and can you blame him?), calls vengeance the name of the game. Burke wants to "get" Crystal's killer(s). So does someone else. Enter a shadowy psychopath with Homo Erectus as his/her moniker. He...or she appears determined to wipe all gay bashers and pedophiles from the face of the earth. At first police believe Burke is the "doer." After all, his major hatred is reserved for pedophiles. And gay bashers killed his girlfriend. Gradually, the killer's MO, his signature, is that of Wesley, the ice-man who wouldn't know an emotion if it slammed him in the face. Wesley, a brilliant assassin who never missed, used to be Burke's homeboy. The two met in prison and found they are both past "Children of the Secret." But Wesley is dead. Or is he? As the body count climbs, and it climbs high, Burke is hired to track the serial killer, and of all things, to help him escape.

While not as brilliant as Mr. Vachss earlier novels, "Flood" & "Strega," "Choice of Evil" is well plotted and provides an excellent read. The usual suspects appear here: Max the Silent, a mute Mongolian version of Conan the Barbarian with creative ways of communicating; Pansy, Burke's Neapolitan mastiff, just like the kind that came over the Alps with Hannibal; the Mole, a pasty-faced genius who lives in a bunker beneath a high-tech junkyard; Michelle, a gorgeous former transvestite who recently "took the plunge;" Terry, Mole and Michelle's adopted son; the Prophet, a wise old scam artist who has logged-in too much time behind walls and was Burke's original mentor; Mama Wong, group doyenne and Chinese restaurateur, "keeps her prices high and the ambiance foul to discourage yuppies." She cares for the gang and holds Burke's stash; I should add that our hero drives a souped-up Plymouth, another important character. It usually looks like it's been painted with rust. Strega, a persona from the past, makes a guest appearance here, and former DA Wolfe, for whom Burke has a major jones, returns to tease fans into believing that maybe there's a chance for the two of them to make-it in a relationship...that is if Mr. Vachss doesn't kill Ms. Wolfe off in the next installment.

Another winner for the author, who is a lawyer and major advocate for abused children.
JANA

A good crime novel.......2002-04-10

As a stand alone novel, it is perhaps too heavy with references to previous novels but the disturbing nature of the story is strong enough to prevent those moments from becoming too distracting. The story is actual a mystery, as Burke (the protagonist) attempts to find the killer of his girlfriend Crystal Beth and discovers that her death is actually a great deal more horrific given who the murderer may be. The plot is not only an exploration of what kind of adult a State run (specifically New York) childcare department can produce but also the seamy criminal culture of pedophiles and serial killers. Be forewarned this book is not a comfortable read. Mr. Vacchs skill is enough that a great deal of the book is read with a fair amount of dread as one damaged character appears after another, with the character Burke being the axle of which this wonder-wheel of strange and unusual individuals revolve. So what's to like about this book? It's a crime genre novel and if you enjoy that kind of book it is well done and swimming with enough criminals and insinuated violence to make your skin crawl. The dialogue reads the way people speak so there is a flow that makes you the 3rd person in the scene, but there can be a bit of a struggle as characters interrupt each other's dialogue to express their own thoughts. In regard to the cast of characters, it's hard not to appreciate the loyalty Burke and his adopted street family share, but it's an uncomfortable appreciation given the nature of many of the relationships between the characters, most of them being practicing criminals. There is enough hints in Burke's thoughts that you know he has been made by his violent childhood circumstance and as an adult he's decided that this is the life he will lead, doing crimes and occasionally killing criminals that fall into the categories he finds abhorrent. Burke seems to be two people, either he is just a criminal with a vengeance streak or he's a victim turned criminal to get close to his source of vengeance. In either case Burke can be a depressing and vengeful character in this novel, as the reader begins to realize it doesn't really matter if he is either of those two people, (vengeful criminal or victim turning to crime for vengeance. One can't help suspecting that no matter what good comes from his actions Burke doesn't have a chance in hell of ever being happy or particularly stable. What this novel did succeed in doing is galvanize me to buy past Burke novels to fill in some of the character gaps. All in all, this book kept me turning the page and wondering what Burke's next novel will be about.

Not The Same Burke.......2001-02-27

.. "Choice of Evil," though full of the urban misery and blues we've come to expect, doesn't pack the same punch. Granted, it would be hard to top "Sacrifice."

Burke's women either leave or die. So, Crystal Beth dies in what seems to be a drive-by at a gay pride rally. We get Burke the Sleuth, but not the Avenging Angel. The online search for the killer teases us with the possibility of Wesley's return..

What I miss in recent Vachss is the destruction of children as a plot element; lately it's left in the background as a short-hand device for character development. True to form, there's the Next Twisted Woman - a dominatrix named Nadine. their dialogue is a departure from the usual Burke-woman banter; Burke seems downright crotchety. His impatience with female posturing is at an all-time high. Nice to see Strega again, though. She still scares Burke 'cause she's a reminder that despite his resignation, he still desires...

As Vachss moves an aging Burke further away from ground-zero vengeance, he moves into Thomas Harris-style psychological intrigue. Give me the hellish terrain of "Sacrifice" and "Hard Candy." Reempower him as the bloody-handed avenger of the Children of The Secret.

A novel of the twisted workings of human hearts.......2001-02-11

A rally in Central Park to protest against gay bashing encounters a murderous drive-by resulting in five people down and two dead. One of the dead is Crystal Beth, Burke's girlfriend. Claiming responsibility is someone calling themselves "Homo Erectus". Burke is unsurprised when the cops pull him in for questioning because he is homeless, homicidal, a man gun and unable to find the shooters who killed his last chance at love. Choice Of Evil is a novel of the twisted workings of human hearts, the dark side of the human experience, and the bleak life offered marginal men and women caught up in webs of fear, bigotry, violence, and evil.

Not What I Expected.......2000-12-29

I decided to read this because I am a fan of Maggie Estep, and she is a fan of Vachss. The story line sounded interesting, and although I am unfamiliar with the characters in his books and this is not typically within the genre I choose to read, from the beginning I was fascinated. I was intrigued with the idea of Homo Erectus, and the rapture became more and more encompassing as the pages turned. The plot has many, shall we say, twists and turns. I was surprised at different revelations, but all I will reveal is that I was hooked, and I definitely recommend it. This work is very stimulating, with diverse and generally devious characters, descriptive action, and the plot is perfectly woven as is Vachss' wicked unraveling.

Average customer rating:

Get real...
Uneven, but any Burke novel is a treat
Not bad, but same ol same ol.
ALMOST AS GOOD AS BLUE BELLE
Sweet and Sour

Dead and Gone: A Burke Novel
Andrew Vachss
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375725261
Release Date: 2001-09-11

Book Description

From the modern master of noir, Andrew Vachss, comes this heart-topping and bestselling new thriller that completely reinvents the Burke series.

Urban Outlaw Burke barely survives an attack by a professional hit squad that kills his partner. With a new face, Burke goes into hiding. And on the hunt. Dead and Gone takes him from the streets of New York City through a cross-country underground, and deep into his own tortured past. The violent journey ends in a place that exists only in the dreams of the darkest degenerates on earth.

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When urban fringe dweller Burke goes on an assignment to trade cash for a missing child, he's drawn into a trap designed with bullets and blood. Now his beloved dog Pansy is dead and he lies in a hospital bed hovering in a netherworld of nightmares and hallucinations close to death, far from the family that loves and protects him. When the police issue a death certificate for Burke, the dark angel of the powerless goes deeper underground than ever before to find out who ordered the hit on him and avenge his faithful companion. The only trail leads through the Russian mob to the parents of the kidnapped boy. But in order to connect the dots, Burke needs the help of an ex intelligence officer, a Russian speaking Chinese girl named Gem, and childhood friend who finds patterns where others see chaos. At the end of this dark tunnel Burke discovers a world where the Russian mob, neo-nazi skin heads, and other low-lifes intersect and where the hit on Burke is a minor sideshow in a major scheme to create the ultimate sanctuary for the twisted and perverse.

Customer Reviews:

Get real..........2007-06-24

His name is Burke. If you've read Vachss before, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, you still know. He's that `good' guy who's so hardened from life's blows he's almost bad. He's the living refutation of the old maxim that lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place. Poor Burke--what hasn't he suffered? Well, I guess you have to cut Vachss a break; after all these Burke novels, he's got to keep coming up with new chips to put on his hero's shoulders, new secrets to reveal, fresh atrocities once suffered. Burke's past is a minefield of post traumatic stress that a fly couldn't land on without detonating; you practically can't ask him if he wants a refill on his coffee without expecting a punch in the mouth. Virtually everything causes him to flash back on some horrific childhood molestation or beating. It's safer to ignore him altogether.

Anyway, that's Burke. Still angry. Still rescuing kids, still chasing down pederasts, still erupting into marginally appropriate rages, even after all these years. More power to him, I guess.

As for *Dead and Gone,* well, this time around he's lured into an ambush. I won't go into details because it ruins the surprise, even though the blockhead who wrote the copy for this novel gives it away right there on the back cover. Burke is grievously wounded, blah blah blah. He struggles grimly to recover, yada yada yada. He's driven by what he's always driven by: the thirst for revenge.

Okay, you know you've got to suspend disbelief when you're reading a novel like this. For all its so-called `gritty realism,' it's basically a macho fantasy. The realism only extends to such things like getting the weapons specifications correct, accurately describing the logistics of a boat ride from Key West to Oregon, knowing the latest street nicknames for heroin. Any other contact with the real world is purely incidental. So it is that Burke happens to know an entire community--an entire community!--of underground experts in virtually every specialized field you can imagine. In fact, one seems to materialize out of thin air whenever the situation requires. Need a plastic surgeon, a computer genius, a couple of tons of dynamite. Either Burke knows a guy or he knows a guy who knows a guy. And all these folks are living in the shadows, bad guys ((or gals)) who are really good guys ((or gals)), and they've all been victims of abuse. It's like Robin Hood and his Band of Merry Men. They only hurt the evil and help the innocent. They're called the `Children of the Secret.'

And I'm even willing to buy it. Although, in *Dead and Gone* I think Vachss overuses the device until it becomes a parody of itself. Fact is, Burke spends a lot of time just hanging around places while this or that reclusive outlaw genius figures out where Burke is supposed to go next and upon whom he's supposed to wreak his homicidal tantrum of vengeance. It's a good thing he's picked himself up a spunky girlfriend, a thumb-sucking Cambodian cutie named Gem. Yes, she literally has a thumb-sucking habit. But she doesn't suck her own. She sucks Burke's! She's perfectly okay with her new boyfriend's brooding depressions and psychotic overreactions. His erectile dysfunction--no problem! She'll work with him on that. And she'll go the whole 9 yards, no Viagra shortcut for her. By the end of the novel, she's gotten so used to the unpredictable emotional weather around Burke that when she feels the instantaneous subzero drop in room temperature that tells her she's inadvertently said something to displease her angst-filled new boyfriend, she drops her shorts and bends over for a spanking. He obliges. `Did I suffer enough,' she asks. I kid you not. Burke may have had it rough as a kid, but, man, he's living large now.

You'd think that after swallowing all this, you'd be able to swallow the pay-off of this novel, but Vachss seems almost to be daring you, if he's not trying to choke you altogether. Really, he needs to dip back into the Great Big Book of PC Villains and find himself some new bad guys. Pedophiles, yawn, but fine, if we must, and, after all, that is Burke's whole thing. Even if we must force ourselves to believe that they exist in numbers that would dwarf the population of India, China, and half the United States combined. But I cannot, I simply cannot accept that we still fear the takeover of our government by neo-nazis. Isn't one bogeyman enough? Does Vachss have to throw in the other old bugbear, too? And, on top of it all, in defiance of all reason, propose that white supremacists and pederasts are actually forming an alliance, that they're uniting to form a....well, you'll just have to read it for yourself. It may be too dumb for words, but Vachss has managed to write it down all the same.

Well, I've written a lot about this book and I really didn't dislike it for what it was...which isn't much. Just a bit of entertainment, some mental popcorn, not to be taken too seriously. I can't imagine anyone reading too many Burke novels in a row, however; they're all too much the same. Maybe one every three years or so would be enough. I'll get back to you then.

Uneven, but any Burke novel is a treat.......2005-02-13

This is the twelfth Burke novel by my reckoning - "Pain Management" is the thirteenth - and it's a little different. While some readers may find that hard to accept, it is implicit in Andrew Vachss' style of merciless realism. Without giving too much away, Burke's elaborate defences finally let him down as he accepts one job too many. It spells the end of his life in New York, and very nearly the end of his life period. Things drifted a little out of focus for me as Burke sets out to track down those responsible, winding up in Portland, Oregon with a new identity and a new girlfriend. But then the momentum builds again, relentlessly, to an elegantly understated climax. On the way, we get some more flashes of Burke's early life when he and Wesley befriended a saintly boy with a talent governments would kill to lay their hands on. And pay a flying visit to a place that is almost literally out of this world.

Vachss' style can't be everyone's favourite, or he would be top of the best-seller lists. But I for one rate his books as one of the things that make life worth living.

Not bad, but same ol same ol........2005-01-13

This is who knows what number in the Burke series. Although each book is a self-contained mystery, you're really best reading the earlier books first to get a handle on the characters and the flashbacks that occur.

But by this book, things seem a little tedious. Burke spends too much time brooding, and thinking. Yeah we get, bad stuff happened to you, bad stuff happens to other people. You're tortured, you want to hurt others. We get it. Move on already.

The action is pretty slow in this book too, after the inital chapter book spends about a third of the book just 'laying low' and another third slowly tracking down those who hurt him. (read: a lot of waiting, and following. yawn)

Still the character of Burke and his relentless pursuit of those who hurt and prey on children is admirable, even if his methods are usually not. (Although you have to wonder if those people get what they deserve.)

ALMOST AS GOOD AS BLUE BELLE.......2002-08-12

VACHSS IS EXCELLENCE - SOME OF HIS BOOKS ARE MORE DISTURBING THAN OTHERS AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM. BURKE IS A CHARACTER OF A LIFETIME. WITH BURKE , VACHSS HAS ENSURED HIS PLACE IN CONTEMPORARY MYSTERY WRITING AND CAN REST ASSURED THAT HE WILL KEEP MAKING MONEY FOR HIS TRUE PASSION IN LIFE, HELPING CHILDREN.

Sweet and Sour.......2002-03-19

I bought this book because of its reported resemblance to the Parker novels of Richard Stark. In reality Vachss' hero, Burke [those acquainted with Cockney rhyming slang will prefer the spelling Berk] is a million miles from the formidable, self-sufficient Parker. He is entirely dependent on an unbelievably politically correct group of people who display a dog-like devotion to the egregious hero. Members of the ethnic minorities thus patronised will be irritated by this device. As far as I know there is not yet a collective noun for such a group so let me suggest the coinage "luvvies" which is current in London for disgusting media folk.

The author misses his target which is the excellent hardboiled American detective style by such a wide margin as to have his book sink in a morass of glutinous sentimentality.

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