Synopses & Reviews
It's been years since Burke has been home, years since he's seen his "family" and worked in the underbelly of New York City. Although his appearance has changed, his reputation grown dusty and his wallet thin, his skills and his crew remain razor sharp. So when he is contacted by a mob boss to investigate the murder of his illegitimate daughter, Vonni, Burke takes the job and begins searching for an unspeakably brutal killer.
Posing as a casting director looking for tomorrow's stars, Burke reaches out to the high school students who knew Vonni, and may know the identity of the killer. Before long he unearths a perverse enterprise a young director pursuing a brutal new type of cinema verité.
Review
"Only Child is reliable Vachss, another page-ripping underground procedural with harsh relevance and prose that qualifies the real-life children's lawyer for his own adjective. (Vachssatious?)" The Seattle Times
Review
"Though it doesn't break new artistic ground for Vachss, the book is another harrowing glimpse of the urban underworld from an author who clearly knows his terrain and whose sympathy for the truly innocent the children is unstinting." Publishers Weekly
Review
"The plot is perfect, the investigation is compelling, and the payoff is bittersweet but satisfying." The Jacksonville Sun
Review
"Repellant stuff, as always, but it will be sought out by devoted Vachss fans." Connie Fletcher, Booklist
Review
"Many writers try to cover the same ground as Vachss. A handful are as good. None are better." People
Review
"[Vachss] writes a hypnotically violent prose made up of equal parts of broken concrete block and razor wire." Chicago Sun Times
Review
"There's no way to put a [Vachss book] down once you've begun...the plot hooks are engaging and the one-liners pierce like bullets." Detroit Free Press
About the Author
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 youthful offenders. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youths exclusively. He is the author of numerous novels, including the Burke series, two collections of short stories, and wide variety of other material including song lyrics, poetry, graphic novels, and a “childrens book for adults.” His books have been translated into twenty different languages and his work has appeared in
Parade, Antaeus, Esquire, Playboy, The New York Times, and numerous other forums. He lives and works in New York City and the Pacific Northwest.
The dedicated web site for Vachss and his work is www.vachss.com.