From Publishers Weekly
Wirth's vocal interpretation of Burke, Vachss's famously driven defender of oppressed children and women, is an insightful mixture—tough, unruffled, pensive, dangerous and, considering the character's past hard-boiled appearances, surprisingly tender at times. The novel marks a sort of rebirth for the self-appointed sleuth, who is wearing a new face, thanks to an assassin's bullet and a skilled surgeon, and an outlook that is at least a shade less grim than in the past. This time, he's hunting for a woman he saved from a life of prostitution 20 years ago. She knows why his latest client was murdered and by whom. But she doesn't want to be found. Burke's detecting process is relatively straightforward, depending, as usual, on his "family" of colorful streetwise characters, each of whom is given his or her due via Wirth's dexterous delivery. Vachss also allows his protagonist a little more time than usual for self-reflection, as well as a prolonged romantic relationship that could, for once, end happily, and again Wirth rises to the challenge, softening Burke's hard edges during those sequences without turning him into a sentimental sap.
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From AudioFile
Renegade Private Investigator Burke finally gets a customer; then, shortly after he leaves, the man is killed. Despite no possibility of financial gain, Burke has a personal interest in finding the man's missing wife and solving his murder. Matching wits against another of New York City's seedier inhabitants, Burke must use all his resources to figure out who's behind the murder. David Joe Wirth's voice is not quite edgy enough for the story's tone and setting, but, at the same time, if his voice were any more tense, it would feel artificial. Instead, he invokes a quiet, solemn tone that can, at times, make Burke feel more akin to Buddha than to Dirty Harry. L.E. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
