Customer Reviews

Down Here

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Andrew Vachss' stories about Burke have covered a lot of ground since I started reading them. The early novels were deeply tortured, tales of an anti-hero scarred down to his core by a legacy of pain and abuse. Surrounding Burke are the members of his 'true' family. All children of the 'secret,' all people driven to living on the fringes of society, all finding meaning in their shared companionship. In this world Burke is both feared and loved. Loved for his fierce loyalty to those he shares a bond with, and fired by those who have made abuse a landmark in the corridors of darkness.

Burke is inteliigent, but not an intellect. He has friends like the Professor and the Mole for that. But he is street smart to the nth degree. While no longer the automatically violent character of the early novels, Burke has no qualms about the use of violence when his version of justice requires it. Down Here is a novel of complex interlocking plots, but the edge is still there as he searches for a way to unravel a plot to frame Wolfe, a woman he has long admired, for shooting a serial rapist she once convicted, who has now gone free on a technicality.

The more Burke digs into the accusations and the stonewalling by the district attorney's office, the clearer it becomes that there is more involved than the accusations against Wolfe. The FBI has become involved, as well as white supremacists and terrorists. Wolfe is a pawn in a deeper game. And while she fights to beat the case against her, it is not all that clear that she welcomes Burke's involvement.

To me, Down Here marks Burke's real return to the city and his friends. Previously, right after he returned from his 'trip' to the West Coast, his membership in New York's underground felt awkward and stilted. The entire cycle from the attempt on his life and his revenge was never entirely satisfactory, but with this story we are completely immersed again into Burke's milieu, moving through the edges of the shadow city, meeting a caste of characters that at once familiar and strange.

Vachss' writing is at a peak. We are used to a lot of action in a Burke story, and Down Here is a change of pace, focused on Burke's interior development and the intricacies of the plot development. In a way this is more like a police procedural than the pure action and suspense that Vachss often uses. With many volumes written in this series, the characters are tightly defined. While the story is completely readable on its own the newcomer will benefit from taking the time to read several of the earlier novels.

It's difficult to believe that Down Here is the fifteenth novel about Burke, that grown-up "Child of the Secret" who lives across the border that separates the normal world from the world of lawlessness and violence. The novels read more like one lengthy, continuing story, each book another chapter in the story arc of Burke's life. Some chapters are naturally more interesting than others, but all have been well worth reading, and Down Here is one of the more effective ones. There is a power to Vachss's writing that sustains and nourishes the reader during even the most procedural of scenes, and there are a great many of those here. That's only natural, however, since Burke is put in the situation of investigator. The woman he deeply admires and possibly loves, Wolfe, is a former sex crimes prosecutor who has been accused of attempted murder by a convicted multiple rapist now free on a technicality. Burke takes it upon himself and his colorful crew to prove Wolfe's innocence, but once that's done, there are still more puzzles to be solved and links to be made. The plot is primarily that of discovery, and it's to Vachss's credit as a writer that the process never becomes boring. Interest is maintained by his icy prose style, the never less than fascinating characters, and the viewpoint of Burke himself, who, in an ethically ambiguous situation, pimps himself, initiating an affair with the rapist's sister, an artfully drawn businesswoman of whom Burke grows fond. The core of Burke's "family" is present - Mama, Max the Silent, the Prof, Michelle, the Mole, and the adopted offspring Terry and Clarence. They're their usual helpful selves, except when they want to help themselves to some money. Burke's altruism toward Wolfe isn't always shared by Mama and the Prof, who seem frustrated by the lack of profit in this particular job. Their greed is a quality that makes them both a little less admirable but a lot more human. Burke's humanity comes through as well, in spades. He's a living, breathing character whose observations can be touching, but whose cynicism still stings. As always, Vachss's Zen-like refusal to use traditional chapter breaks makes the novel flow like a stream, and once you pick it up it's a tough book to put down. When you finally do, you'll find yourself wishing, not for the next book in a series, but for the next chapter in the dark, brooding, and somehow hopeful life of Burke.

The best thing about this book (next to the return of all Vachss' terrific characters) is the twisted plot. Forget about the standardized gumshoe pap that passes for mystery/suspense nowadays; Vachss knows how to keep the reader guessing. I have been waiting restlessly for the next Burke book to come out, and this one is *well* worth it.

I got this book online last week (what a cheap price), and I read it in one sitting, as I do with all of his books. LEt me tell you, for all you Burke fans, this is the book that we've been waiting for. I don't want to give anything away, but the relationship between Wolfe and Burke is fantastic in this book! You will not be disappointed.

Vachss is one of the greatest writers, period. He should be FAR more popular than he is right now. Tell ALL your friends to buy this book.

Well, at least Burke is back in New York City with his family (Mama, Max the Silent, the Professor, Michelle, the Mole, Clarence and Terry). That's a beginning! In the newest novel by Andrew Vachss, DOWN HERE, Burke has to come to the aid of Wolfe, a woman who is a former prosecutor of sex crimes for the DA's office and someone our slightly tarnished hero has loved for a long time. A sexual predator that Wolfe put away is now back on the streets. The only problem is that some unknown assailant put three bullets into him, and the freak is claiming that it was Wolfe doing the shooting. When Wolfe is arrested and charged with attempted murder, her friends quickly approach Burke for help. For Burke, this is his chance to show Wolfe just how much he truly cares for her. He immediately calls in his family for assistance and draws up a battle plan for getting Wolfe out of jail and proving her innocence. I have to admit to actually getting goose bumps of excitement about twenty pages into the book, thinking that Burke and Max the Silent were going to go ballistic in their attempt to save Wolfe. Unfortunately, that didn't take place. Basically what happened is that the family helped Burke to investigate the freak's background and his victims in an effort to find out why he lied about the person who shot him. Burke does a lot of meetings, driving around, interviewing, telephoning, worrying, and little else. By the last sixty pages of the book, I was trying not to fall asleep with boredom. Even Wolfe was telling Burke that he was no longer needed. Still, as in ONLY CHILD, it was great to have Burke back in his natural habitat with his family of choice. If only the author would interject more action into his novels, he would once again have books that stand out from the ordinary and display his skill as a writer with no comparison. The character of Wesley keeps being mentioned in the "Burke" series as if the author's teasing his long-time fans with future possibilities. I wish Mr. Vachss would just bring Wesley back so that he and Burke and Max the Silent can do what they're best at which is taking out the bad guys. Now, I will say that the price of DOWN HERE is more than reasonable. At $19.95, it's several dollars cheaper than the average hardcover. I don't know if that's the author's doing, or the publisher's. I would like to think that Mr. Vachss is trying to give his fans a break by easing the strain on their wallets. Will I buy the next "Burke" novel in hardcover when it comes out? As much as I whine about the new books in the series not being as good as the old ones, I'm still a "Burke" addict at heart. So, the answer is a definite "yes."

I've been a big fan of Vachss since Flood, but, while his already strong writing has steadily improved to where I find anything he writes a compelling read, many of the plots of the last few Burke novels have not been particularly compelling or memorable. Only Child would be the most recent example.

Down Here, on the other hand, has everything you'd want in a topnotch Burke novel. It's a detailed interweaving of plots and counterplots, with the gripping, airtight prose of a master of the genre. Throw in Burke's wry observations of human nature and perfect blend of cynicism and compassion and you've got one of Vacchs' best.

The latest Burke novel is a little more mellow than some of the previous books of the series. Part of that is because Burke himself is a changed man, I suppose. The old rage is still there at his core, but the rage is expressed more subtley.

Wolfe, a former prosector of sex crimes, is accused attempting to murder a rapist she put away years ago. Burke, who has had dealings with (and unresolved feelings for) Wolfe, is brought in to help the DA-turned-outlaw. But it soon becomes apparent that there is something far more to this groundless accusation as the city pushes a case that is worthless on its face.

Vachss demonstrates once again how good he is at dealing with the underside of society. His characters are hard-bitten, hard-fighting, fully fleshed out people, who are horribly damaged, in many aspects unsavory, and completely lovable.

But I was surprised at the relatively soft touch Vachss brought to this book. There's a great deal of tenderness in Burke, hinted at previously, that shines through more than usual. He's not above hurting people to get the job done, even appearing to enjoy it in some instances, but Burke seems to be tired of this violent life of his. The result is an unusually soulful entry in a series that is the very definition of hardboiled.

Andrew Vachss's character Burke lives in a gritty underworld most of us will never encounter outside the pages of a book. A fact for which we can pretty much all be grateful. DOWN HERE brings that world into our living rooms and rubs our faces in it, if only for about 300 pages, which is long enough.

Burke's unrequited love for the beautiful crime fighter Wolfe is what brings him and his family of choice back together, working to figure out who framed Wolfe for murder, and why. Wolfe has been arrested for murdering John Anson Wychek, a rapist she put away, who is now back on the streets due to some technicality.

While the plot will satisfy all but the most demanding of puzzle seekers, it is Vachss's characters who bring Burke's world to life. Long-time readers will recognize Burke's family: Max the Silent, the Prof, Pepper, Mole, and Michelle. Pansy has been replaced (sort of) by Bruiser, although there will truly never be another dog like Pansy.

I would not recommend starting to read Andrew Vachss with DOWN HERE; there are earlier books in the series which would be less convoluted. Reading DOWN HERE can be an exercise in reading between the lines because the back stories of the characters are important but not always well-explicated. There is almost a shorthand used by Vachss which, if a reader isn't familiar with the language, makes for some difficult connections. However, if this isn't the first Vachss for you, you won't be disappointed. DOWN HERE is Vachss at his best, working the language to death and wowing the reader while he does it.

Burke, as always, is a fascinating character. This book kept me turning the pages but the ending was hard to swallow. It did make sense but was just a little too pat, almost coincidental. I also did not like the way the Wolfe connection just petered out. But all that being said, I'm looking forward to the next one and I suppose that's a pretty good summation of my feelings.

The power of Andrew Vachss's writing and the appeal of Burke, his urban outlaw/vigilante protagonist, has seldom been on better display than in DOWN HERE, the fifteenth entry in this groundbreaking series. Like Burke, Vachss has a driving passion to squeeze off the poison being pumped into the veins of our society by predatory abusers of the young and weak, and these books are a vehicle for delivering his messages and their lessons. It is Vachss's passion and commitment that keep the series so vibrant, and his skills as a writer --- the lean, spare prose, the on-the-mark characterizations, the wincing realism --- that make them so damned readable.
DOWN HERE is more is more a straightforward tale of deduction and discovery than earlier books in the series. Burke --- back from the "dead", returned to the fold of his "family" of choice, once again prowling the streets and shadow-worlds of New York City --- is on a mission to prove the innocence of Wolfe, former sex crimes prosecutor, now falsely accused of the attempted murder of a vicious serial rapist freed on a technicality. Burke's long-smoldering though unrequited love for Wolfe pushes him to pursue this proof past the understanding of those closest to him, past the wishes of even Wolfe, perhaps past Burke's own understanding as well. This relentless, beyond-reason, beyond-profit motive quest manages to humanize Burke to a degree we haven't seen before. What's more, we find him to be a somewhat more subdued Burke than in the past. Subdued like a napping pit bull. When it counts, he is as focused and methodical and grimly determined as ever.
The plot of DOWN HERE is tight, the ending solid with a timely, unnerving twist. But its real strength is in the writing, the deepened layering of characters we have come to know and care about --- most notably, in this outing, Burke and the city. Yes, the city of New York, which is presented here as very much a living, breathing character. After exiling Burke to Oregon when he was "killed" in DEAD AND GONE, and then gradually reconstructing and re-connecting him there until his eventual return, Vachss seems to be re-embracing and re-experiencing the city with alterntely scathing then loving thoughts and observations. You may think you've seen New York before; in movies, on TV, via other books and the news media. But there is only one way to see it like Vachss presents it --- through the sensibilities of Burke. And like everything else we've experienced from that vantage point, what you get may not always be pleasant but it is sharp-imaged, dead-on accurate, and fascinatingly memorable.