Down in the Zero (Burke) [Kindle Edition]

Andrew Vachss (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his seventh outing, Burke, Vachss's flinty ex-con and relentless crusader for abused kids last featured in Sacrifice , is still reeling after having killed a kid in a previous case gone sour. Here, he leaves his underground detective network headquartered in Manhattan's Chinatown for a rarified Connecticut suburb shaken by a series of teen suicides. Burke is hired to protect Randy, a listless high school grad whose absent, jet-setting mother did a favor for Burke years ago when she was a cocktail waitress in London and he a clandestine government soldier en route to Biafra. Still haunted by his experience in the African jungle and his encounter there with the suicidal tug of the abyss--the eponymous "zero"--Burke plunges into his plush surroundings with the edgy vindictiveness of a cold-war mercenary, uncovering a ring of blackmail and surveillance, a sinister pattern of psychiatric experimentation based at a local hospital and a sadomasochistic club frequented by twin sisters named Charm and Fancy. Vachss's seething, macho tale of upper-crust corruption is somewhat contrived and takes a gratuitously nasty slant toward its female characters.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Here is yet another hard-core novel in the author's series of fictional battles against child abuse amidst sleaze, slime, and the nearly surreal. Burke, who was last seen in Sacrifice (Knopf, 1991), is now confronted with young adult suicides and sexual blackmail in an affluent Connecticut suburb. Hired to watch the young son of a former lover, Burke is drawn into a bizarre situation populated by characters almost as strange as his friends. The suicides and the sadomasochistic sex, which are weirdly connected, force Burke to enlist his usual cohorts. Fans will want this crisply written work, but those not familiar with the bizarre characters who make up Burke's circle may be confused. Purchase where the series is popular.
Robert H. Donahugh, formerly with Youngstown & Mahoning Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 422 KB
• Print Length: 272 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (September 25, 2001)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FC1HRS
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,211 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Andrew H. Vachss, Esq. - Master of the Dark Side, September 19, 2000

By 

Jonathan G. Cardon "jcardonnyc" (NY, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Down in the Zero (Paperback)

By "Dark Side," I don't mean the occult. Real-life attorney Vachss has an intimate grasp on all that that is offensive to the majority of us who live quiet, (semi-)organized lives. We gasp and recoil at the real-life occurrence of a brutal act by one human against another. The world of Vachss is the opposite. Therein we are non-plussed by an act of kindness. His world is real; it is simply a world that most of us chose to deny the existence of. (<-Dangling participle - sorry!) Vachss' fictional characters and situations are damn close to reality. And it's often tough to take.

In this latest outing, Vachss takes his main character, Burke, to the upper class suburbs to fulfill a longstanding "debt." Burke, an abandoned and abused former ward of the state, (both in childhood and occasionally in adulthood) is a urban survivalist, con artist and city animal. He is also presently mourning his "accidental" killing of a small child. (I told you it was tough stuff to take!) But he adapts to this new, ritzy environment as only a true survivor can. (Vachss' fans will recall that he pulled this off before, in exurban Indiana, in "Blossom.") And, as always, he solves the underlying crisis through a combination of detective work, technological assistance, sheer bravado and unrelenting violence.

The common theme to all Burke novels is moral outrage. Once Vachss has overwhelmed us with the horror of the situation (and it always involves the sexual and physical abuse of children), we applaud his character as a vengeful angel. Burke consciously believes that he does what he does for the money. Nonsense. He's driven by the demons of his own abusive upbringing. And I wouldn't want him "cured' for the world...

Keep writing 'em, Andrew. I'll keep reading them and recommending them.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Burke in the 'burbs, May 15, 2000

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Down in the Zero (Paperback)

I have read all of the Burke novels, and this is not one of the better ones. I guess after the absolute horror at the end of the previous book, "Sacrifice," it is understandable that Burke had to back off a bit. But his adventure in suburban Connecticut just isn't terribly compelling and leads to perhaps the least satisfying climax of the whole series. Who would have thought that Burke's legendary "Zero" is situated among the strip malls and housing developments! Burke beginners should start elsewhere (I recommend "Flood" or "Blue Belle"). This one's for hard core fans only.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A dark and fascinating psychological thriller, May 11, 2000

By 

Doug Vaughn - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Down in the Zero (Paperback)

Those who have not read anything by Andrew Vachss have missed out on one of the really original voices in contemporary mystery writing. His recurring hero, Burke, has a shadowy past and an even more shadowy collection of friends and 'family'. The writing style is spare, the atmosphere is tense and the plots tend to emphasize a combination of quick violence and brooding psychological insights.

In Down in the Zero, Burke moves to somewhat unfamiliar territory in tackling the mystery of a rash of teen suicides. The action, while less ugly than in many of Vachss books, is typically emotionally charged. Burke is a unique hero - sensitive, flawed and competently violent when need be.

If you've never read Vachss and enjoy thrillers with a dark edge, give this one a try. It might give you a taste for more - and he has seven or eight Burke novels, all deserving of attention.