Hard Candy - Hardcover

Vachss, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394577914 ISBN 13: 9780394577913

Publisher: Knopf, 1989

Synopsis

In this mercilessly compelling thriller, Burke—the private eye, sting artist, and occasional hit man who metes out a cruelly ingenious vengeance on those who victimize children—is up against a soft-spoken messiah, who may be rescuing runaways or recruiting them for his own hideous purposes. But in doing so Burke becomes a target for an entire Mafia family, a whore with a heart of cyanide, and a contract killer as implacable as a heat-seeking missile. Written with Vachss's signature narrative overdrive—and his unnerving familiarity with the sub-basement of American crime—Hard Candy is vintage Burke.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Vachss has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social caseworker, and a labor organizer, and has directed a maximum-security prison for youthful offenders. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youth exclusively. He is the author of numerous novels, two collections of short stories, three graphic series, and Another Chance to Get It Right: A Children's Book for Adults. His work has appeared in Parade, Esquire, Antaeus, The New York Times, and many other forums. Born and raised in New York City, he now lives in the Pacific Northwest.

The dedicated Web site for Vachss and his work is www.vachss.com

From the Inside Flap

ilessly compelling thriller, Burke—the private eye, sting artist, and occasional hit man who metes out a cruelly ingenious vengeance on those who victimize children—is up against a soft-spoken messiah, who may be rescuing runaways or recruiting them for his own hideous purposes. But in doing so Burke becomes a target for an entire Mafia family, a whore with a heart of cyanide, and a contract killer as implacable as a heat-seeking missile. Written with Vachss's signature narrative overdrive—and his unnerving familiarity with the sub-basement of American crime—<b>Hard Candy</b> is vintage Burke.<br><br><br><i>From the Trade Paperback edition.</i>

Reviews

At the onset of Vachss's fourth street-smart novel featuring unlicensed New York private eye Burke, word is out that the ex-con PI has become a gun-for-hire. Besides coping with this crazy rumor, Burke contends with two figures from his youth who suddenly turn up. One of them, Candy, now a miniskirted call girl fond of whips and leashes, wants Burke to rescue her teenaged daughter from a cult in Brooklyn; the other, Wesley, an Uzi-toting hit man, already has the cult's leader, Train, in his sights. When Burke learns that the cult safehouse is a baby-breeding operation, vigilante-style justice ensues. Burke's turf--the sleazy underbelly of New York, a world of street kids, drug pushers, mafiosi and crooked lawyers--springs to life in cinematic scenes. Fans of Vachss's previous hard-core crime fiction ( Flood ; Bluebelle ) will find familiar characters, among them Michelle, the transsexual hooker; Max the Silent, a mute Tibetan martial arts strongman; and electronics whiz Mole, who lives in a bunker under a Bronx junkyard. 40,000 first printing.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394577914
• ISBN 13: 9780394577913
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 241