Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Aftershock (Dell) by Andrew Vachss

I was very sad to see the Burke series end, but was confident Andrew Vachss would still give me the best entertainment and food for thought in fiction with his new Cross series. That series doesn't beat this new series featuring ex-Legionnare Dell though. With this guy and his love, former Médecins Sans Frontières nurse Dolly Mr. Vachss has found the perfect guides into the world of sexual violence and the advocates for justice for the abused, just like Burke and his crew were.
When a teenage girl shoots a fellow student in the hallway people try to compare it to Columbine. The girl's not talking at first, but Dell sets out to investigate her reasons for shooting the student and discovers their hometown has a dark secret.
This story is a perfect combination of court room drama and vigilante justice as Dell enlists the aid of a lawyer and a really cool and original forensic psychologist to find out the truth.
Great, dark and chilling hardboiled prose, the best dialogue Vachss has written so far and a lot to think about.
A winner.

2 comments:

Sean Dexter said...

Hey J., how is this character different from Burke?

jvdsteen said...

He has no past as someone abused himself. He also has a life way more ''regular'' and less underground. Also, he's more mercenary than criminal. Really quite different I must say. I still love Burke more, but still, pretty cool.