When last encountered (2000's Dead and Gone), career criminal Burke was on the rebound from a nearly successful assassination attempt, lying low and licking his wounds in Portland, Oregon. Severed from his connections in NYC, Burke survives on jobs--"violence for money" mostly--brokered by his live-in lover, Gem, an Asian beauty with a painful, larcenous past and a present to match.

At hand is a task Burke has done before: the recovery of a runaway, a 16-year-old girl named Rosebud. But Burke, an assassin with scruples, knows when things aren't right. Rosebud's father, Kevin, has a '60s-era contempt of "The Man" that doesn't jibe with his obvious wealth. Mother Maureen limps through life on pharmaceutical crutches. Younger sister Daisy and best friend Jennifer know things but won't share. As his search spirals out from Portland's mean streets, Burke encounters a mysterious young woman, Ann O. Dyne, who offers to help for a price. Her raison d'être is pain management--securing and dispensing medications vital to the terminally ill but held beyond their reach by a largely uncaring cadre of doctors, lawyers, and politicians. Eventually, of course, this plot line connects with Rose's whereabouts.

Andrew Vachss's MO here, as usual, is a mystery (Rosebud's disappearance) plus an actual cause célèbre (humane pain management). It's a risky formula that aims both to entertain and to enlighten. With its believably unbelievable characters, Vachss's spare noir, and steely pacing that counterpoints a bolt-upright climax, Burke's 13th outing is every bit as satisfying as the dozen that came before. --Michael Hudson


From Library Journal
Fans of Vachss will be thrilled to see that Burke is back in action. Presumed dead after an assassination attempt in Dead and Gone, Burke has gone into hiding in Oregon with his partner, Gem, who calls herself his wife. Biding his time in the hope of eventually making it back to New York, he takes on the task of tracking down a runaway teenage girl. As he scours the streets of New YorkBurke stumbles upon a clandestine society that illegally obtains prescription drugs for people suffering from extreme pain. Believing that they may ultimately hold the key to finding the runaway, he reluctantly agrees to help them obtain a stash of a revolutionary new drug. As Burke becomes drawn into the society's cause, what he finds instead is that he must deal with his own "pain management." Even though he has taken Burke out of his usual surroundings, Vachss has written another winner. For larger fiction collections. Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Burke, thug with a heart of gold, guardian angel of victimized women and children, resurfaces in Portland, Oregon, after an assassin left him for dead in New York. He's living from hand to mouth when he stumbles into a missing-child case. Burke suspects parental involvement in the disappearance of young teen Rosa, but nothing supports the theory. The trail leads first to Portland's red light district, where he hears about a serial killer whom the cops seem unwilling or unable to catch, and then to a deadly conspiracy involving illicit prescription drugs being peddled to victims of AIDS, MS, and cancer. This latest Burke novel once again addresses the series' common themes: personal isolation, distrust of authority, and the shameless exploitation of the defenseless by the powerful. Sometimes the exploiters are organized criminals, and sometimes they are cops; in this case, it's the medical establishment. Burke's world is harsh and unforgiving, but so is Burke. It's a match made in hell, and a growing contingent of dedicated noir fans wouldn't want it any other way. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
?Some of the cleanest, meanest, stripped-down-and-sparkling prose ever penned.? ?Austin Chronicle

?A beautifully brutal combination of pulpy noir and social commentary. . . . Vachss?s writing remains raw and hungry, with an epidermis of rage barely containing an infinite core of sadness.? ?The Miami Herald

?Andrew Vachss could send his hero Burke to Mayberry, and he?d still
manage to uncover a dark underbelly of sin and corruption.? ?Capital Times

?Gritty, fast-paced . . . One of the most hard-boiled and important crime series ever published.? ?Huntsville Times




Book Description
Andrew Vachss’s previous novel, Dead and Gone, prompted the Rocky Mountain News to say, “Starting a Vachss novel is like putting a vial of nitroglycerine into your pocket and going for a jog.” With his latest thriller, Vachss turns the heat up a notch by dropping his career criminal and ultimate urban survivalist, Burke, in the middle of some of the most dangerously determined humans he has ever faced.

Burke has gone “missing-and-presumed” from his native New York City, following a failed assassination attempt. The shadowy man-for-hire is scratching out an existence in the Pacific Northwest, waiting to see if it is safe to return.

Without his underground network of contacts and connections, cut off from his own people, Burke is forced to abandon his trademark complex scams. Instead, he returns to what he refers to as “violence for money.” When Gem, the professional border-crosser who calls herself his wife, brings him a job tracking down a runaway teenager, Burke finds himself in a long, dark tunnel of lies—lined with more games than players.

Burke takes to the unfamiliar streets, quickly and brutally establishing a presence. The whisper-stream carries him to a fanatical group of criminal Samaritans dedicated to supplying adequate drugs for those suffering from chronic pain. Forced into a potentially deadly alliance, Burke walks the wire between betrayals, risking it all for a girl he has never met. Because the State-raised outlaw knows better than most that there are many kinds of pain. And many ways to “manage” it.


Download Description
Andrew Vachss's previous novel, Dead and Gone, prompted the Rocky Mountain News to say, "Starting a Vachss novel is like putting a vial of nitroglycerine into your pocket and going for a jog." With his latest thriller, Vachss turns the heat up a notch by dropping his career criminal and ultimate urban survivalist, Burke, in the middle of some of the most dangerously determined humans he has ever faced. Burke has gone "missing-and-presumed" from his native New York City, following a failed assassination attempt. The shadowy man-for-hire is scratching out an existence in the Pacific Northwest, waiting to see if it is safe to return. Without his underground network of contacts and connections, cut off from his own people, Burke is forced to abandon his trademark complex scams. Instead, he returns to what he refers to as "violence for money." When Gem, the professional border-crosser who calls herself his wife, brings him a job tracking down a runaway teenager, Burke finds himself in a long, dark tunnel of lies-lined with more games than players. Burke takes to the unfamiliar streets, quickly and brutally establishing a presence. The whisper-stream carries him to a fanatical group of criminal Samaritans dedicated to supplying adequate drugs for those suffering from chronic pain. Forced into a potentially deadly alliance, Burke walks the wire between betrayals, risking it all for a girl he has never met. Because the State-raised outlaw knows better than most that there are many kinds of pain. And many ways to "manage" it.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Following a failed assassination attempt, shadowy New York City man-for-hire Burke is laying low in the Pacific Northwest. But that all changes when the professional border-crosser who calls herself Burke's wife brings him a job tracking a runaway teen. It doesn't take long for Burke to establish his presence on the streets. And it's only a matter of days before Burke is introduced to a fanatical group of criminal Samaritans dedicated to supplying adequate drugs to those suffering from chronic pain. Now, trapped in unfamiliar territory, Burke is on his own, navigating in darkness to rescue a girl who may not want to be saved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Andrew Vachss￯﾿ﾽs previous novel, Dead and Gone, prompted the Rocky Mountain News to say, ￯﾿ﾽStarting a Vachss novel is like putting a vial of nitroglycerine into your pocket and going for a jog.￯﾿ﾽ With his latest thriller, Vachss turns the heat up a notch by dropping his career criminal and ultimate urban survivalist, Burke, in the middle of some of the most dangerously determined humans he has ever faced.

SYNOPSIS

Andrew Vachss's previous novel, Dead and Gone, prompted the Rocky Mountain News to say, ￯﾿ﾽStarting a Vachss novel is like putting a vial of nitroglycerine into your pocket and going for a jog.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Fans of the Burke series who cheered the author's sudden relocation of his surly protagonist to the Pacific Northwest in Dead and Gone (2000) will be pleased by this latest installment. Burke, the sociopath ex-con with a reputation for hunting down "freaks" with an appetite for children, lands a new job combing Portland's seamy underbelly for a runaway teenager. Cut off from the members of the outlaw New York "family" who graced his earlier adventures, Vachss's postmodern Robin Hood continues to develop his web of West Coast contacts. A tip from his new lady love, Gem (who managed to survive the previous book when Burke himself nearly did not), leads the mauled Burke into a labyrinth of prostitution, deception and murder. Besides dealing with the oddities in the runaway's family, Burke must divine the motives of a cop chasing a serial killer preying on prostitutes, a stylish pimp with a long and dangerous reach, and a crusader against pain (or is she just a drug runner?) for whose mission the book is named. Providing clues as always through stepped-on snatches of dialogue, here Vachss finally lets his secondary characters speak for themselves, as opposed to being wholly defined by Burke's inner growl. While the dark worlds through which Burke journeys are not for the squeamish (Vachss draws upon his own experiences as an attorney for abused children), the author has managed to keep his violent series alive and vigorously kicking. 40,000 first printing. (Sept.) Forecast: Vachss's ultra-loyal readers seem unfazed by Burke's retreat from New York, and can be reliably expected to flock to this latest tale of the hard-boiled semi-hero's adventures. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Fans of Vachss will be thrilled to see that Burke is back in action. Presumed dead after an assassination attempt in Dead and Gone, Burke has gone into hiding in Oregon with his partner, Gem, who calls herself his wife. Biding his time in the hope of eventually making it back to New York, he takes on the task of tracking down a runaway teenage girl. As he scours the streets of New YorkBurke stumbles upon a clandestine society that illegally obtains prescription drugs for people suffering from extreme pain. Believing that they may ultimately hold the key to finding the runaway, he reluctantly agrees to help them obtain a stash of a revolutionary new drug. As Burke becomes drawn into the society's cause, what he finds instead is that he must deal with his own "pain management." Even though he has taken Burke out of his usual surroundings, Vachss has written another winner. For larger fiction collections. Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews