Reviewed By: Jon Jordan - Crime Spree Magazine - RAM
Only Child
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Andrew Vachss
Class/Genre: Mystery
Series: Burke # 14
Knopf, 2002
This is the 14th novel featuring Vachss’s outside the law hero Burke. Two books ago, in Dead and Gone Burke moved to Seattle. Pain Management also took place there. Now in Only Child Burke has come home to New York. In his absence some things have changed (the world Trade Center was destroyed) and some things have remained the same, like his family. This book opens with Burke reacquainting himself with his family and assuring them that he’s ok, or at least as ok as Burke gets. They help set him up with a new place to live, an new car(another Plymouth) and then set about finding work, because being on the run has depleted most of Burke’s funds.
Mama has an idea about a sting they can pull on people who are smuggling in Chinese people. As they are setting it up, Burke takes a meeting with a mob boss. Giovanni’s daughter has been killed and he thinks it’s a message for him. He wants Burke to find out if this is what really happened or if it is a freak who killed his daughter. And so, Burke takes the case, an actual murder investigation. The only problem is the case is a year old and the clues are all but non -existent. Burke takes his family to Long Island and in his own style tracks down the truth behind the murder of a sixteen year old.
The Burke books are not exactly great literature, but the stories told are well crafted and entertaining. I really enjoy these books, even if they do get a little bit “out there” with all the intricate planning and scheming. Reading Vachss is like having dinner with a friend you don’t see often, it’s interesting, informative and well worth the time.
Jon Jordan - Crime Spree Magazine - RAM
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jon Jordan - Crime Spree Magazine - RAM
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