Andrew Vachss Books

Dell, a former mercenary, and his wife, Dolly, once a battlefield nurse, believe they have finally found peace in a deceptively idyllic town on the Oregon coast. Until early one morning, when a body washes up on the town's pristine beach. But this no accidental drowning--the corpse is covered with neo-Nazi tattoos . . . and the skull has been fractured with a spike. Eager to close the case before it can hurt tourism, the jumpy D.A. arrests Homer, a harmless schizophrenic whose wristwatch--a gift from God, he says--is engraved with a symbol that exactly matches one of the dead man's tattoos. Mack, the director and sole employee of the local mental-health outreach program, is outraged but helpless. He confides in Dolly, who, with her local connections and her husband's ruthless skills, is anything but. As the search for the real killer pulls them deeper into the world of hate groups, Dell and Mack together discover the treasonous fog of evil that hovers not only above their town but also above America itself. With this latest installment in his new Aftershock series, Andrew Vachss reminds us once again--in his inimitable, visceral prose-that for some, peace comes at a very high price.

Dell, a former mercenary turned assassin, is determined to protect his wife, Dolly, a former battlefield nurse, after she becomes embroiled in a neighborhood dispute and faces a threat. As he reverts to his old guerrilla tactics, he targets George Byron Benton, a local figure with a mysterious agenda. Dell's mission involves uncovering Benton's true intentions while devising a plan to restore Dolly's sense of safety, leading him back into a world of cold calculations and lethal execution.

Burke is one of the most cold-blooded yet strangely honorable heroes in the history of crime fiction, an outlaw who makes his living by preying on the most vicious of New York City's bottom-feeders, those who thrive on the suffering of children. In Andrew Vachss's tautly engrossing novel Burke is given a purse full of dirty money to find the infamous Ghost Van that is cutting a lethal swath among the teenage prostitutes in the hood. He also gets help in the form of a stripper named Belle, whose moves on the runway are outclassed only by what she can do in a getaway car. But not even Burke is prepared for the evil that is behind the Ghost Van or for the sheer menace of its guardian, a cadaverous karate expert who enjoys killing so much that he has named himself after death. A book so ferocious, with characters so venal and actions so breakneck, that you dare not get in the way...

His name is John, though some call him Ghost, or nothing at all. He's a killer, a loner, protected from the world by the hard armour of cynicism and bitter indifference. Then he meets Shella, a strip-dancer and the first person to see behind his steely mask. By the author of "Sacrifice".

Career criminal Burke’s skill at working the feathery edges of the law are legendary, and this isn’t the first time he’s been hired to trade cash for an abducted kid. But when the meet turns out to be an ambush, Burke’s partner is killed and he’s left for dead. Dumped on the steps of the ER, Burke hovers between life and death. While the police — and whoever wants him dead — are circling closer, biding their time. Burke escapes the hospital, his face forever changed by the surgery that saved his life. The whisper-stream mutters that he’s dead, and he certainly is gone. From New York, anyway. Burke is on the hunt, knowing he has to find whoever wanted him dead to protect his own life. And avenge his partner. Unable to call on his own family for assistance, Burke goes into his past for help. All the way back. All the way back to his origins as a “child of the secret.” The trail starts in Chicago, continues into the Pacific Northwest, then to the remote mountains of New Mexico. And ends in a place that exists only in the dreams of the darkest degenerates on earth.

Kriminalroman. Værst af al kriminalitet er sexmisbrug af børn, og privatdetektiv Burke skal opklare en afskyelig sag og må bruge sine kontakter i New Yorks underverden

A hit man defies the confines of a life sentence to avenge his sister's batterer.  An immaculately dressed man hires a street gang to extract his daughter from a Central American prison, for reasons as mysterious as they are deadly.  A two-bit graffiti artist with a taste for Nazi-ganda finds himself face-to-face with three punks out to make a mark of their own—literally—with a tattoo needle.From neo-noir master Andrew Vachss comes Everybody Pays , 38 white-knuckle rides into a netherworld of pederasts and prostitutes, stick-up kids and fall guys—where private codes of crime and punishment pulsate beneath a surface system of law and order, and our moral  compass spins frighteningly out of control. Here is the street-grit prose that has earned Vachss comparisons to Chandler, Cain, and Hammett--and the ingenious plot twists that transform the double-cross into an expression of retribution, the dark deed into a thing of beauty. Electrifying and enigmatic, Everybody Pays  is a sojourn into the nature of evil itself—a trip made all the more frightening by its proximity to our front doorstep.

Andrew Vachss has reinvented detective fiction for an age in which guilty secrets are obsolete and murder isn't even worth a news headline. And in the person of his haunted, hell-ridden private eye Burke, Vachss has given us a new kind of hero: a man inured to every evil except the kind that preys on children. Now Burke is back, investigating an epidemic of apparent suicides among teenagers of a wealthy Connecticut suburb. There he discovers a sinister connection between the anguish of the young and the activities of an elite sadomasochistic underground, for whom pan and its accompanying rituals are a source of pleasure—and power

In New York city, Burke stumbles on a brand of cruelty that is new even to him: a child programmed by fear to kill other children. To save the boy from the State, he goes after the real killers, the parents, and finds himself in the world of urban voodoo. The author also wrote "Flood" and "Strega".

Burke's newest client is a woman named Flood, who has the face of an angel, the body of a high-priced stripper, and the skills of a professional executioner. She wants Burke to find a monster for her - so she can kill him with her bare hands. In this thriller, Andrew Vachss's renegade private eye teams up with a lethally gifted avenger to follow a child's murderer through the catacombs of New York, where every alley is blind and the penthouses are as dangerous as the basements.

From a writer whose novels have been acclaimed for their unflinching exploration of evil comes a brilliant collection of short stories—some never before published—that distill dread back down to its essence—and inject it straight into the reader's back brain. Andrew Vachss might have scissored his characters from today's a stalker prowling around an anonymous high-rise; a serial killer whose transgressions reflect a childhood of hideous abuse; an inner-city gunman who is willing to take out a blockful of victims in order to win a moment of acceptance.Tautly written and endowed with murderous ironic spin, Born Bad plunges us into the hell that lies just outside our bedroom windows.

P.I. Burke gets unwillingly advertised as a gun-for-hire and pressure from the police and the Mafia, but decides to rescue a young girl from the dangers of a "safe house" for teenagers

Burke, a skilled underground man-for-hire, seeks vengeance after his girlfriend is murdered at a gay rights rally. His pursuit leads him to a mysterious vigilante named Homo Erectus, who is targeting gay bashers with increasing brutality. While many view this killer as a hero, Burke is caught between his mission to stop the violence and the moral complexities of his task. Hired to track down Homo Erectus, Burke must navigate a dangerous landscape where the lines between justice and revenge blur.

FIRST IN A NEW SERIESDell, an ex-Legionnaire was working as a mercenary when he first saw Dolly, a nurse with Médecins Sans Frontières. When they later married, Dell abandoned his work, and Dolly shed her identity. But not her calling—she became a teacher, confidant, and defender of dozens of teenagers in their Coastal Oregon village. When the star softball pitcher guns down a popular boy on the last day of school, Dolly knows this is no "school shooting". She goes all-in to protect "Mighty Mary" McCoy, even to the extent of unleashing her lethal husband.As Dolly uses her contacts to gain access to medical secrets, Dell returns to his no-boundaries past. Using guile, extortion, shadow networks--and, finally, an act of terrorism—he uncovers the secret MaryLou was willing to sacrifice her own life to protect . . . a soul-killing rite of passage demanded of the town’s most vulnerable girls, with her baby sister next on that list.

One of today's most powerful crime novelists brings his years of ground-zero experience with abused children to the adventure of the most popular super hero of our time. He introduces Batman to the ultimate evil -- child molesters -- and to a shocking revelation about the night-rider's own origins. Batman's battle with the sex industry begins in Gotham City, but the fire-zone will shift to thousands of miles and many continents away. Now the night-rider must reach deep within himself to summon the superhuman strength he needs to fight the most vicious and remorseless enemies he has ever faced . . . those who traffic in the flesh of children. Also, an essay by David Hechler on Child Sex Tourism.

Abandoning his duties as a sensei after his reckless arrogance causes the death of a protge, the war-weary Ho slowly attracts a motley band of followers before launching a desperate blackmail scheme that is complicated by the planned destruction of a building.

Chicago--the reigning #1 city in homicides--has no shortage of deadly gangs. And all those gangs know well that the Cross crew occupies a cinderblock bunker called Red 71 . . . the last place you want to go, unless you're willing to risk it being the last place you go. The crew is notorious for its deadly efficiency and its disinterest in anything but money. So why has it turned from seller to buyer, grabbing up houses on a decaying block where only a few holdouts remain? Both the cops and the underworld are watching closely . . . but are they the only ones?

Set against the backdrop of Chicago, this narrative delves into the complexities of urban life and the diverse experiences of its inhabitants. The story weaves together multiple perspectives, highlighting themes of community, resilience, and the challenges faced in a bustling city. Through rich character development, it explores the intersection of personal struggles and broader societal issues, offering a poignant reflection on what it means to live in a vibrant yet often harsh environment.

Even the deadliest gangs in Chicagoland fear the Cross Crew and carefully avoid their cinderblock bunker headquarters: Red 71 is well known as the last place you'd want to go . . . unless you’re willing to risk it being the last place you'll ever go. The Crew is notorious for its ruthless efficiency and cold-blooded cunning. Why, then, would anyone be foolhardy enough to threaten them–and even more dangerous–their loved ones? As Cross catches the scent of a far-reaching conspiracy, he realizes that it all connects to an unexplained event in his past: a massacre from which he emerged inexplicably unscathed, save for the blue mark on his face that pulses when danger is near. That scar has been throbbing more frequently of late. . . . If he's reading the signs accurately, Cross might find himself again facing a terrible menace that is not altogether human. * MEMO FROM: Captain Nathan Lancaster, Chief, Gang Surveillance Unit TO: All Precincts, Focus Near-North ALERT: Incoming Threats to Cross Crew, Situation Highly Unstable DETAILS: “Cross” and known associates clearly organizing response to perceived pattern of threats. Gang Intelligence indicates high probability of pre-emptive strikes. Report any suspicious and/or unusual activity in Badlands area immediately, gang violence alert level RED.

In his most original and compelling book yet, Andrew Vachss presents an electrifying tale of corruption in a devastated mill town. It is 1959--a moment in history when the clandestine, powerful forces that will shape America to the present day are about to collide.Walker Dett is a hired gun, known for using the most extreme measures to accomplish his missions. Royal Beaumont is the "hillbilly boss" who turned Locke City from a dying town into a thriving vice capital. But organized crime outsiders are moving in on Beaumont's turf, so he reaches out for Dett in a high-risk move to maintain his power at all costs. Add a rival Irish political machine, a deeply entrenched neo-Nazi "party", the nascent black power movement, turf-disputing juvenile gangs, a muck-raking journalist who doubles as a blackmailer, the FBI--a covert observer and occasional participant which may itself be under surveillance-- and Locke City is about as stable as a nitroglycerin truck stalled on the railroad tracks. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Burke, der illusionslose Großstadtkämpfer, ist wieder auf den Straßen von New York unterwegs. Zwei undurchsichtige Polizisten, ein Mann und eine Frau, belauern einander und sind auf mysteriöse Weise an ihm interessiert - und er an ihnen. In knapper, präziser Prosa beschreibt der amerikanische Anwalt und Erfolgsautor Andrew Vachss den erbarmungslosen Krieg zwischen zwei Menschen im New Yorker Milieu.

VOLLGAS!!!Eddie ist eine kleiner Gauner, der die Polizei hasst und schnelle Autos liebt. Sein Leben nimmt daher eine Wendung ins Spannende, als er J. C. begegnet. Das Superhirn einer hochprofessionellen Gang schätzt Eddies bedingungslose Loyalität ebenso wie sein Geschick am Steuer. Er heuert ihn an für einen Coup. Einen großen Coup. Alles läuft glatt – bis eine Frau dazwischenfunkt …

Roman um den New Yorker Privatdetektiv Burke, der sich ins Stahlrevier von Indiana begibtum einen Sexualmörder zur Strecke zubringen

Man könnte meinen, Burke, dem illusionslosen Großstadtkämpfer, macht keiner etwas vor. Täuschung, Grausamkeit und Lüge sind sein tägliches Geschäft, schon immer. Doch dann kommt Kite, der fanatische Anwalt, der die meisten Anschuldigungen wegen Kindesmißbrauch als eine Einladung zur 'Hexenjagd' bezeichnet. Burke ermittelt für ihn - und muß erfahren, wie weit Verrat wirklich gehen kann.

In Burke, Vachss gave readers of crime fiction a hero they could believe in, an avenger whose sense of justice was forged behind bars and tempered on New York's meanest streets. In this blistering new thriller, Burke is drawn into his ugliest case yet, one that involves an underground network of abused women and the sleekly ingenious stalkers who've marked them as their personal victims. Burke's client is Crystal Beth, a beautiful outlaw with a tattoo on her face and a mission burned into her heart. She is trying to shield one of her charges from a vengeful ex with fetishes for Nazism and torture. But the stalker has a protector, someone so informed, so ruthless, and so connected that he need only make a few phone calls to shut down Crystal Beth's operation for good—and Burke along with it. Sinuous in its complexities, brutal in its momentum, Safe House is Burke at the edge of his nerve and cunning. And it's Vachss at the peak of his form.

Le même enquêteur avec sa cohorte d'oiseaux rares, qui sévissaient dans le précédent roman intitulé ##Flood## (Livre de poche) éclaircit un autre cas marginal.

Tři detektivní romány spojuje nekonvenční postava newyorského soukromého detektiva, bývalého trestance. V prvním příběhu "Strega" pátrá po fotografi šestiletého sexuálně zneužitého chlapce a podaří se mu odhalit gang obchodníků s dětskou pornografií. Ve druhé próze "Smutná Belle" nastraží léčku, aby chytil sadistického pachatele únosů a vražd nezletilých prostitutek. Závěrečné vyprávění jej přivádí do městečka v Indianě, kde má rozhodující podíl na objasnění případu deviantního odstřelovače, který zabíjí teenagery v zaparkovaných autech. Detektiv Burke vyrůstal na ulici, v dětských domovech, polepšovnách a několik let strávil ve vězení. Nyní je pro něj výhodou kontakt s podsvětím i pomoc bývalých spoluvězňů. I když při vyšetřování především sexuálně motivovaných zločinů využívá drsných, někdy i nelegálních prostředků, vždy stojí na straně slabých a utlačovaných. Příběhy jsou vyprávěny v ich-formě úsporným stylem, založeným na dialogu. Celkem zdařile zachycují život lidí na okraji společnosti. Blossom omnibus Blue Belle Strega

Edice Detektivky. Soukromý pátrač Burke hledá v podsvětí velkoměsta člověka, který si zvolil zlo a povýšil zločin na umění. Další z řady románů amerického autora, propojených postavou soukromého vyšetřovatele a strážce pořádku z podsvětí Burkeho. Po nezvané návštěvě policie se Burke ocitá na ulici, to je však jen začátek dlouhé řady problémů, které ho čekají. Při pokojném shromáždění je zabita kolemjdoucími gangstery Burkeho přítelkyně Crystal Beth. Situace je nepřehledná a policie bezradná a přesto si někdo začne vyřizovat účty a likvidovat zločince, kteří na shromáždění zaútočili. Burke sám se pustí do pátrání, které ho nakonec dovede k člověku, který si zlo a zločin zvolil jako svůj životní program.