Customer Reviews

Hard Candy

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The most compelling character in the Burke "detective" series, the assassain Wesley, is the star of "Hard Candy," one of the best books in the Burke series. Wesley is a killing machine, and no one can stop him, not even the mob. When the mob takes Wesley on, he plays cat and mouse with them...and litters the streets with bodies. The book also features Candy, a woman from Burke's childhood and through her Vachss provides more insight into his title charachter's psyche. Because it relys so heavily on the reader's knowledge of the background of the charachters, this is not the Burke novel to start with. But it is quite a satisfying read for the initiated.

Andrew Vachss has done it again. Picking up where "Blue Bell" left off, Burke is now a depressed recluse due to loss of his love. To make matters worse, an old flame named Candy reappears in his life. Candy had broken his heart and she now wants him to reclaim her daughter. Also reappearing in Burke's life is the psychotic assassin Wesley and the red-haired witch Strega. The book begins strong and then seems to become undone. However, Vachss masterfully pulls the strings together for an explosive (literally) ending to a satisfying piece of literature.

This is the fourth in the Burke series. I have been reading the series in order and so far, this is my favorite, along with "Strega." I do recommend reading the series in order, and I particularly suggest you don't start with "Hard Candy" as prior understanding of the characters is essential.

As a great fan of noir, I am devouring the Burke series. These books are so grim, so gritty. But in "Hard Candy" Burke is depressed and withdrawn from the events of the last book, so there is a whole new level of despair. As if Burke weren't already a hard case!

If you like Ellroy, if you enjoy minimalist prose that hits hard, if you like a hard-boiled noir that's ultra-bleak and smoky, Andrew Vachss is for you. And while you'll enjoy all of the first four books of the Burke series, you'll derive a special dark pleasure from sucking on "Hard Candy."

If the world is fast going to hell in a hand basket then the Burke novels gives you a microscopic view of the scummy bottom of that basket. An old flame hires Burke to do a job that will "save" her daughter. Be forewarned, this is not escapist reading but a searing look into a fiery hell of a world that God has abandoned. Required reading for those who like their Roman Noirs black as night and as bitter as unsweetened chocolate.

In the summer of 1991 I picked up this book and before I'd read 10 pages I knew I'd really discovered something. Andrew Vachss is not only a great writer but he has probably done more than anyone in America to raise the consciousness of the public about the prevalence of child abuse and the ways in which to combat it.

I started reading these books long ago, actually when Strega came out and fell instantly in love with them. While personally I feel that vacchs has lost his way and should consider developing a new character, Hard candy is one of my favorite novels ever. Hard enough to make Chandler wince, it is a fascinating study in sociopathology, from many points of view. It is a walk down the dark streets that few know exist, much less contemplate examinig, full of double crosses, dialogue to make one weep with joy, it kept me on the edge of my chair the whole night long. The story of a hard man caught in a triple cross betweem the mob, a hooker and a hit man, trying to find his path.It is a blessing to know that men can still write like vacchs could,i applaud this effort wholeheartedly

If you want to spend an evening in the sleaze of New York City, pick up an Andrew Vachss and he'll give you quite a ride.

Give yourself the opportunity to be mesmerized with street tough dialogue and staccato-like description by sticking with the story until you get used to his writing style. You will also need to know the cast of characters, especially the women in protagonist Burke's past, in order to get the most out of each story. However, even if you haven't read the books in order, you can still piece together the relationships and the storyline.

All your senses will be put to use. Sights, sounds, and smells of the city will envelop you from the slobbering Pansy under a musty blanket in the back of the tank-like Plymouth transporting a rat to his death, to the consultation with Lily, the social worker who examines the physical damage done to abused Elvira.

Hopefully you get the idea. Vachss isn't for everyone but for those who like realism with a message, there are none better!

"Hard Candy" is Andrew Vachss' fourth Burke novel, a sequel of sorts to "Blue Belle," book three. Tackle "Blue Belle" first, if you're interested, for a richer, more comprehensive read.

Burke, is in a deep funk after losing his woman. Before Belle died, she asked Burke to pay her debts. He does what she would have wanted. But he is still cold, empty, locked in an inner jail he can't walk out of. "Once I could always find something on the sweet side of the edge I lived on. It was gone. Even in prison, there were some things you could laugh at. That was then." Vachss continues to reveal more of Burke's character, his grim inner world and his past in "Hard Candy." He is one of the most complex protagonists I have encountered in popular fiction - edgy, dark, an outcast, as hard-boiled as they come, a scam artist who is a standup guy, a righteous man, and above all, a survivor. Burke, the man, and the strange folks who people his world and call him" friend," are what make me a faithful fan and keep me hooked on the series.

Word is out on the street that Burke, a sting artist, is now a gun for hire. There is heavy fallout from the rumor. The police hassle him and old friends, the kind he never wanted to see again, come out of the woodwork looking for him. First, Candy, an old flame from his reform school days, gives him a call - after all these years. "Little Candy. A whore in her heart, even then. Just what I needed to cheer me up." Candy is still a working girl - we should all be so successful - with mega-upscale digs and a fortune invested in her face and body - silicon implants, face lift, collagen injections, electrolysis, colored contact lenses, a wig in every color, a department store's worth of clothes, make-up, furs - more Neiman Marcus than Macy's. Can she be funding herself? What's her scam? Her teenage daughter, Elvira, dropped out of school and is with a so-called cult in Brooklyn. Candy wants Burke to bring her girl home. He agrees to check things out. In Brooklyn he meets the charismatic, soft-spoken Train, who maintains a safe-house for kids. Elvira is a member of his tribe. But is Train the real deal? Are the teens safer with him than on the streets? Burke has his own suspicions.

His involvement with Train reunites him with another acquaintance from his adolescence - Wesley, a killing machine, a robot with a resume of death to show for his life. Burke always wanted to be just like him, totally cold, emotional as ice. Wes warns Burke off his turf - he stepped over the line once, without knowing it, when he killed Mortay in "Blue Belle." Now Burke's life is on the line if he messes with Wesley's work again. Just to make things interesting, the Mafia is also on his case. And Strega, the witch he wanted to forget, contacts him with a request.

The usual suspects are all present, including: Max the Silent, a Mongolian warrior who calls Burke brother; Pansy is a warrior of another species - she's a Neapolitan mastiff and Burke's roommate; the Mole, a pasty-faced genius who lives in a bunker beneath a high-tech junkyard; the Prophet, a scam artist who speaks in rhyme; Mama Wong, group doyenne - a Chinese Jewish mother and restaurateur. She cares for the gang, takes Burke's messages, holds his stash and feeds him hot and sour soup; Michelle, a gorgeous transvestite who is about ready to go to Denmark for a life-changing operation; and the now famous souped-up Plymouth. "The Mole makes sure to change the car's color after it is used on a job."

As always Vachss narrative hits hard. His street tough dialogue and staccato-like prose lend authenticity to this raw, darker than noir world - a world where unspeakable horrors are perpetrated upon innocent children. The author, a leader in the child protective movement, calls it "a war," and considers his writing as powerful a weapon as his litigation. He openly admits that he writes about the abuse of children because he wants to raise people's awareness of what's going on, and he'll reach a wider audience with fiction.

This is a powerful novel - part of a superb series. Kudos to Andrew Vachss!
JANA

If you want to read a feel-good story filled with light humor and zany problems, Andrew Vachss is not the way to go. His series of novels featuring tough guy Burke are, to say the least, grimly hard-boiled, but sometimes it's good to see the dark side of things. Hard Candy, the fourth novel in the series, is as sordid as Vachss's previous books and is, for those who like this sort of stuff, it is quite entertaining.

Hard Candy is clearly a sequel to the previous novel, Blue Belle, and I would not suggest going into this book without having read its predecessor (if you haven't read Blue Belle, don't continue reading this review, as it will have spoilers). The events of Blue Belle have thrown Burke into a state of depression; all his usual pleasures - sex, gambling, ripping off "freaks" - are unappealing to him. Revenge, however, still drives him.

In Blue Belle, Burke killed the vicious Mortay, but he was unaware that Mortay was also targeted for a hit by the Mob. The local don had hired an assassin named Wesley to do the job, but since it was Burke who did the kill, the don refused to pay. This had led Wesley on a vendetta against the Mob, and Wesley is very good at what he does. Burke gets caught in the middle and is also targeted by the Mob. This leads to an alliance of sorts with Wesley, a man Burke has known since childhood and who was for a time, Burke's idol.

Meanwhile, another childhood acquaintance, a cold-as-ice hooker named Candy, has recruited Burke to retrieve her daughter Elvira from the custody of Train. Train seems to be a force of good, taking in runaways and becoming a sort of cult leader to them. Burke senses something else, however, and Train is also a target for Wesley.

Unlike earlier novels, the other members of Burke's "family" have relatively limited appearances with the exception of his "brother", Silent Max. For as much as anything, this book deals with the bond between the two, a bond that was hurt because of the events of Blue Belle. Burke's attempts to fix things with Max and fix his own soul in the process are the real focus of this book.

When depicting his dark version of New York and its denizens, Vachss often walks a fine line between grimness and absurdity. There is something rather surreal about Burke's world, and at times I think this is a weakness in the series. Nonetheless, overall, Hard Candy continues Vachss's string of good books and should please readers of his earlier novels.

Candy, an old flame of Burke's, brings back haunting images
of his past when she calls on him for a favor. Her daughter
is caught up with a religious guru who expects more than
faith from his followers. Burke and his family of underground
misfits find themselves in a chilling double-cross, in yet
another of Vachss's addictive reads.