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Andrew Vachss

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Mask Market: A Burke Novel Hardcover – Large Print, January 1, 2007

by Andrew H. Vachss (Author)

116

Book 16 of 18: The Ugly Daughter

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When a client who had hired him to find a missing woman is gunned down just minutes after their meeting, Burke launches an investigation to find Beryl Preston, a girl he had rescued from a brutal pimp and returned to her father some twenty years earlier.

Book 16 of 18

The Ugly Daughter
Print length

407 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Thorndike Pr
Publication date

January 1, 2007
Dimensions

5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0786292148
ISBN-13

978-0786292141
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thorndike Pr (January 1, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 407 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0786292148
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786292141
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.14 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches

Customer Reviews:
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Andrew Vachss

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Andrew Vachss has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social-services caseworker, a labor organizer, and has directed a maximum-security prison for "aggressive-violent" youth. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youth exclusively, and is a founding member of the Legislative Drafting Institute for Child Protection. He is the author of numerous novels, including the Burke series, three collections of short stories, and a wide variety of other material including song lyrics, graphic novels, essays, and a "children's book for adults." He is most currently engaged in the work of the Legislative Drafting Institute for Child Protection (ldicp.org). His books have been translated into twenty languages, and his work has appeared in Parade, Antaeus, Esquire, Playboy, The New York Times, and many other forums. His books have been awarded the Grand Prix de Littérature Policiére, the Falcon Award, Deutschen Krimi Preis, Die Jury des Bochumer Krimi Archivs and the Raymond Chandler Award (per Giurìa a Noir in Festival, Courmayeur, Italy). Andrew Vachss' latest books are Mortal Lock (Vintage, May 2013), SignWave (Pantheon, June 2015), and Carbon (Haverhill House, 2019). The dedicated Web site for Vachss and his work is vachss.com.

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4.3 out of 5

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scholasticus

Still writing winners

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2007

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I discovered the Burke books 16 years ago in a small run down Alaska bookstore. The man behind the counter told me to put down the trash I was reading and take "Flood" on the house. What a gift that book was to me. Vachss doesn't flinch from the reality of the "Children of the Secret." Nor does he waver in his ongoing war against those that hurt children. If you're looking for a hard eged hero who pulls no punches and takes no prisoners, the Burke books deliver. More importantly, the characters evolve and grow over time. This is the case with Mask Market. Burke hasn't lost his edge, though it has softened a bit. Like many of us the character looks back on some decisions and wonders if he would have taken the same action under the same circumstances now. It's this evolution of the Burke character that glues his universe together. Rather than a collection of short stories, the novels read more like excerpts from a complex life peopled by engaging and very real folks. I highly recommend reading the entire series from start to finish. It's an intense ride with a real message. Vachss is more than an author though, he's putting his money and his time where his pen is so to speak. His organization makes a difference in the lives of countless children. Read a Burke novel and if you aren't outraged, you're not listening....

3 people found this helpful

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Thomas J. Krueger

Solid but not remarkable

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2006

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Long-time fans of the Burke series will be pleased with the latest from Mr Vachss. While not as intense as others in the series, such as "Dead and Gone," "Mask Market" is a solid work that provides an evening of enjoyment.

The familiar cast of characters appear throughout the book, but this novel is more Burke's dialog with himself than much interaction with and the growth of others.

The ending is neatly wrapped up, but felt a little rushed. Everything at the end comes together quickly and neatly. I would have preferred a bit more conflict in getting to the end.

Overall, though, and enjoyable read. I'm sure I'll get more out of it when I read it again.

4 people found this helpful

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Joscelyn Hughes

Can't stop once you pick it up!

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2006

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I received Mask Market, the newest Burke novel, from Amazon on Tuesday. By Thursday, I had gobbled it whole like a juicy burger.

The plot is *very* twisty and completely unpredictable, which contrasted very well with the warm familiar feeling I have when reading about Burke and his family-of-choice. Of course, the most interesting thing about Vachss' characters is that time doesn't stand still between books. By now, Max the Silent's daughter, Flower, (a baby during Blue Belle) has started college at Barnard!

But although they all age, none stops growing. Burke's thoughts and reactions throughout this book point to an entirely surprising kind of self-awareness I never thought would happen.

Mask Market will make a good starting point for new readers into the Burke series, as well -- the story stands by itself, and anyone who starts here will be all the more interested in where Burke started.

9 people found this helpful

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Wayne C. Rogers

A step back, instead of a step forward!!!

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2007

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I think I've figured it out. About fourteen years ago, Andrew Vachss came to the conclusion that he didn't want his "Burke" series to add to the violence in the world, so he started toning down the violent action in his novels. His books became more cerebral in nature and less action oriented. His newest novel, Mask Market, continues with this approach. While not boring, the book is at times a strain. That's the only way I can describe it.

All the family is back for this new adventure: Max the Silent, Mama, Michelle, the Mole, the Professor, Clarence and Terry. When Burke meets a man about a potential job to find a missing person, the guy is swiftly murdered while going to his car to get Burke's money. Burke doesn't know whether or not he's in danger, too, so he sets out to find out who the killers are. It also turns out that the person the guy wanted Burke to find is a woman that our tarnished hero once saved when she was a teenager. Apparently, the murdered man had been funneling money from hedge accounts into her personal account because he was in love with her. Then, she up and took off, leaving him holding the empty bag. Burke wants to find her to see if he can keep her from being killed by the same people who murdered her boyfriend. It's a complex puzzle, but Burke and his family are smart enough to eventually put the pieces together.

Until about the last third of the novel, what Burke basically does is sit in Mama's Chinese restaurant and go over the problems with his cohorts, drive around the city looking for people with information that might solve the problems, talk to each of his family members individually about the problems, think about Wesley, think about his own childhood, go to his new girlfriend's apartment and listen to her story, and slowly work himself up to solving the blasted puzzle. There's only two short action sequences in the entire book and they are the murder at the beginning and then Burke having to defend himself against a couple of Jewish Russian mobsters. I didn't completely understand the ending and had to scratch my head in confusion as I attempted to digest the information that was given to the reader. Oh, and Burke has a girlfriend named Loyal, and he wants to try and help her with problems. The best scene in the book is when Burke talks to Charlie, the middleman who'd set up the initial meeting between our hero and the murdered man. That scene really comes alive as Charlie talks about his tour in Vietnam as a Tunnel Rat and how every place since then has been nothing but another tunnel to get through alive. That was great writing. Plus, there's a new character that sound pretty interesting--Toni, a sassy redhead with gorgeous legs, who just happens to be a man! One thing that Mr. Vachss does which is down right irritating, however, has to do with the dialogue. He has a habit of breaking off sentences as if someone is being interrupted while speaking. A few times would be okay, but he does this two-or-three times on every single page that has dialogue. It starts to be extremely irritating. At least it does to me. Burke starts sounding like the TV host, Charlie Rose, and I want to tell him to just shut up and let the other people finish what they're saying. Last, since the author apparently isn't going to bring back Wesley back (it probably has to do with the violence), I wish he'd stop bringing him up throughout the story. It's like he's teasing his old-time readers with a promise he has no intention of keeping.

I keep saying with each new novel I read by Andrew Vachss that it's going to be the last one, yet I keep buying them like an addict with a crack cocaine habit. I'll say it again, the first five novels in the "Burke" series is some of the best writing I've ever encountered. No one could come close to Mr. Vachss during those years in the late eighties and early nineties. Since then, my feeling is that he's primarily writing the books for the paycheck. I don't know. Maybe he donates the royalties to a fund for abused children. If he's going to continue writing the series, however, he should let Burke be himself. The character, after all, is a killer with his own unique code of honor. How many years has it been since Burke killed anybody? Quite a few! I bet there's a lot of people in New York City he could do that no one would even miss!

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Edgar L. Chapman

Good Burke novel, as the Vachss series approaches its end.

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2017

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Vachss is a superb "hard boiled" or crime novelist, and his Burke adventures are generally top drawer.

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Jenn RW

Vachss is a fantastic and descriptive writer. His Burke novels are wonderful, engaging and thrilling. I hope they keep on coming

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2014

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Vachss is a fantastic and descriptive writer. His Burke novels are wonderful, engaging and thrilling. I hope they keep on coming forever!!

One person found this helpful

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Peter

Back to his old stomping grounds

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2007

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After the disappointing Two Trains Running, Vachss returns to Burke and writes the kind of story that beats virtually all other writers out there.

The thing with Vachss is that he tells a story apart from the "mystery". The story is usually about child abuse and he does this extremely well, allows the reader to feel the issues and to help understand where Vachss is coming from - he is without a doubt an extremely important writer.

As for the mystery, well Vachss is not really here to tell a mystery story, it is more of an instructional tale that he weaves. The mystery is secondary and for me, I don't mind if it is a bit messy and unclear, Vachss has already grabbed me with his writings in the first two-thirds of the book.

Recommended.

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