Terminal

September 24, 2007
Vachss's 17th Burke novel (after 2006's Mask Murder) combines gritty realism with an over-the-top depiction of an omniscient spy network. Claude Dremdell, a white supremacist whose sole hope against his terminal illness is a pricy experimental Swiss treatment, ropes Burke into a plot to extort money from three wealthy men who years earlier committed a brutal murder (loosely based on the real-life Martha Moxley case), but were never suspected. Armed with only fragmentary evidence in the form of two checks, Burke turns for help to an Israeli intelligence operation working covertly in the U.S. with superhuman powers of information gathering. Lengthy tirades about the failures of the criminal justice system under the current Bush administration will distract even those who agree with them. In the end, the violent vengeance Burke seeks overshadows the worthy points Vachss makes about the continuing horrific sexual abuse of the young.

August 13, 2007
Vachss's 17th Burke novel (after 2006's Mask Murder) combines gritty realism with an over-the-top depiction of an omniscient spy network. Claude Dremdell, a white supremacist whose sole hope against his terminal illness is a pricy experimental Swiss treatment, ropes Burke into a plot to extort money from three wealthy men who years earlier committed a brutal murder (loosely based on the real-life Martha Moxley case), but were never suspected. Armed with only fragmentary evidence in the form of two checks, Burke turns for help to an Israeli intelligence operation working covertly in the U.S. with superhuman powers of information gathering. Lengthy tirades about the failures of the criminal justice system under the current Bush administration will distract even those who agree with them. In the end, the violent vengeance Burke seeks overshadows the worthy points Vachss makes about the continuing horrific sexual abuse of the young.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2007
Its not easy to contact Burke. One has to be connected to a labyrinth of contract killers, sexual avengers, anddeep-cover intelligence operatives. A member of the Aryan Brotherhood endures the process, offeringBurke a chance to capture three wealthy sexual predators and murderers. For Burke, an unforgiving avenger and protector of sexual victims, its a difficult but justifiable operation. The three predators tortured, raped, and killed a young girlin theirwealthy New England town 30 years ago as teenagers and got away with it. All three are nowrich and powerful.Burke knows the type; there are surely other victims out there. Burke sets an elaborate scheme in motionwith the help of his family, a ragtag platoon of miscreants. The seventeenth Burke novel is a typically dark sojourn to a world we pretend doesnt exist. Vachss, a lawyer and advocate for young abuse victims, uses these novels as a vehicle for education, as well as suspenseful, satisfying entertainment. Theres justice and revenge in Burkes worldthe real world should have such comforting clarity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)