Flood: Amazon.ca: Andrew Vachss: Books

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Product Description

About the Author

Andrew Vachss, an attorney in private practice specializing in juvenile justice and child abuse, is the country’s best recognized and most widely sought after spokesperson on crimes against children. He is also a bestselling novelist and short story writer, whose works include Flood (1985), the novel which first introduced Vachss’ series character Burke, Strega (1987), Choice of Evil (1999), and Dead and Gone (2000). His short stories have appeared in Esquire, Playboy, and The Observer, and he is a contributor to ABA Journal, Journal of Psychohistory, New England Law Review, The New York Times, and Parade.

Vachss has worked as a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a caseworker in New York, and a professional organizer. He was the director of an urban migrants re-entry center in Chicago and another for ex-cons in Boston. After managing a maximum-security prison for violent juvenile offenders, he published his first book, a textbook, about the experience. He was also deeply involved in the relief effort in Biafra, now Nigeria.

For ten years, Vachss’ law practice combined criminal defense with child protection, until, with the success of his novels, it segued exclusively into the latter, which is his passion. Vachss calls the child protective movement “a war,” and considers his writing as powerful a weapon as his litigation. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

26 Reviews

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A SIZZLING THRILLER TO HEAT THESE COLD DAYS, Nov 12 2009

By	Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Flood: A Novel (Audio CD)

Amazing when you think that this iconic thriller was first written some 25 years ago. Since then there have been a number of copycats who have tried to imitate Vachss's tough guy narrative or replicate the jaw-dropping cast of characters who dwell in hero Burke's netherworld, but it can't be done. Vachss set the pace when he introduced his quixotic hero, a guy with a record and standards he's set for himself. Burke is a street wise (or more accurately dark alley wise) misfit who takes on cases that baffle the police.

A gorgeous gal named Flood comes to him asking for help in finding a child killer so as she delicately puts it she "can kill him with her bare hands." The search is on through some of the most dangerous places in New York City and among the lowest of the lowlifes, the desperate depraved denizens of the City. However, while police and other private eyes would be put off by the likes of these, they're people Burke knows and understands.

Vachss writes in a gripping almost staccato style, which is the way actor Christopher Lane narrates the story. It's a task to take on the voices of not only Burke but also his crew of pals, such as a panhandler dubbed the Prof and a genius in electronic who dwells under a pile of junked cars.

If you want a sizzling thriller to heat these cold days, FLOOD is for you.

- Gail Cooke

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3.0 out of 5 stars Fun and fast paced, Mar 26 2004

By	"boomerangomp" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flood (Paperback)

This book is entertaining by all means and will not leave you bored at any point during the novel. If that is what you are going for, than by all means pick up this novel, it will not leave you disappointed. The characters are incredibly interesting and at some points Vachss reminded me of Spillane, my all time favorite mystery writer. The only problem I had with this book was with the main character. Everything seems to go his way, not necessairly in the events of the story, but in his past. Numerous times when an object is referenced to, Burke will go ahead and explain how he attained it, and this happens quite often. In the first few pages you learn why Burke does not pay for his apartment, and you think "Wow, that is pretty cool." And then when you read about his friend Max the Silent, you think, "Wow, that is pretty cool." And you think this when you learn about his mail, or when you learn how his calls are routed. It just seems too convenient and fantastic. I have not read any of Vachss' other books (I plan to), but I have heard from friends that they are all about child molesters. This isnt a good thing, writers should write about more than just one topic.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and Original, Jun 21 2003

By	"jdny" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flood (Paperback)

I recently revisited the first book in Vachss' BURKE series -- FLOOD. This book still holds up and shows what an inventive and original writer Vachss really is. When it was originally released it was a tour de force of masterful and original crime fiction. Something that the genre was seriously lacking -- precise, hard-hitting writing combined with anger and outrage at the crimes visited upon society's innocents. Many years later the book still stands as a uniquely original and compelling piece of fiction-fact. We all know *now* the truth of what Vachss writes. To try and compare him to anyone else writing in the crime-fiction genre just isn't possible and does other authors a disservice. FLOOD is a one of a kind masterpiece and Vachss is a one of a kind writer, who writes from ground zero in the war against the predators who prey on the innocents.

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Not So Good
I am a fan of James Lee Burke, Alan Furst, Robert Parker, John Sandeford, etc., and I really hoped to like this novel by Andrew Vachss. Read more

Published on Jun 11 2003 by Andrew Simmons

4.0 out of 5 stars A dark universe
The first book in Vachss's Burke series, Flood is a good tough-guy sort of mystery and is as hard-boiled as they come. Read more

Published on Dec 12 2002 by mrliteral

4.0 out of 5 stars Darkly funny
This is the first in the Burke series. I read the second (didn't even know they were a series at the time) when I was a teen... Read more

Published on Oct 27 2002 by A. Trotter

4.0 out of 5 stars Andrew Vachss' FLOOD
Burke is a man of many trades. All learned and honed on the New York streets and some of the toughest penitentiaries. These days his livelihood is made as a private detective. Read more

Published on Oct 12 2002 by Christopher Mc Nally