Safe House. - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0375704302 ISBN 13: 9780375704307

Synopsis

Safe House, the latest in Andrew Vachss's series of Burke novels, begins when Burke's "brother," Hercules, is paid to scare off a neo-nazi stalker and accidentally kills the wrong guy. Burke finds himself unwittingly drawn into a world of white supremacists, stalkers, and safe house networks. What ensues is an intense rush to cover Hercules' tracks and, at the same time, bring down a New York City white supremacy ring.

About this title

Review

Vachss' hero Burke is as much an urban terrorist as a professional criminal, dedicated to smashing away at the world of sexual abuse and making a profit in the process; he and his dedicated crew of driven men and women are not entirely like any other characters in crime fiction...In Safe House, Burke is persuaded by two of his lovers to involve himself in the affairs of a woman whose Nazi ex-boyfriend wants to snatch their child and disappear into the Master Race underground--things are not that simple, because the unpleasant Lothar is playing a complicated game in which he has powerful protectors. Vachss writes with a crystalline intensity that at times almost becomes too much to believe in or bear; at his best, he captures the high adrenaline of people on the street and on the edge as well as far more distinguished writers. The touches of Hollywood and of melodrama here are part of his attempt to make us see that these things matter; Vachss is a passionate crusader whose thrillers are a fierce argument for righteous vigilantism as well as an impressively, and worryingly, enjoyable read. --Roz Kaveney

Review

"brutal beauty" (The Guardian)

"Burke is an acquired taste but an addictive one, and if you like your crime hard-boiled than he's your man." (Mail on Sunday)

"Andrew Vachss's protagonist Burke is a remarkable creation, unrepentantly criminal yet burning with outrage at the evils that men do...His fiction has always challenged taboos, tackling such issues as paedophilia and child prostitution, giving voice to the impotent and disenfranchised who struggle against a tide of indifference to their plight." (The Herald)

"It's rare to find a thriller as unfalteringly taut and suspenseful as this, let alone one as intelligent and psychologically perceptive ... in the best hard-boiled tradition." (The Scotsman)

About this edition

• ISBN 10: 0375704302
• ISBN 13: 9780375704307
• Binding: Paperback