Hard Candy

By Andrew Vachss

In this mercilessly compelling thriller, Burke—the private eye, sting artist, and occasional hit man who metes out a cruelly ingenious vengeance on those who victimize children—is up against a soft-spoken messiah, who may be rescuing runaways or recruiting them for his own hideous purposes. But in doing so Burke becomes a target for an entire Mafia family, a whore with a heart of cyanide, and a contract killer as implacable as a heat-seeking missile. Written with Vachss's signature narrative overdrive—and his unnerving familiarity with the sub-basement of American crime—Hard Candy is vintage Burke.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 25, 2001
• ISBN: 9780375719042

Reviews for Hard Candy

[rockhead515-580421 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoy these books.
I just wish I could make them last a little longer ;-)

[johnwculuris · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first reaction to the start of this novel could legitimately be: “Why is Vachss cleaning up loose ends from a previous book now?” Turns out it is completely relevant to this story. Perhaps he had learned from an oversight earlier in the series. In his second book, Strega, Burke was dealing with a loss suffered in his debut outing; and the angst did not particularly match what the readers had experienced at his side in Flood. This time we know exactly how far Burke has fallen as a result of his latest loss.Burke’s World is populated by people like himself, living on the fringes of New York City, along its underbelly. These are almost always long-term relationships: some are personal, some are professional, a few are antagonistic. All are to one extent or another ambiguous. This time Burke entwines himself with an early girlfriend and a childhood friend turned hit man, the latter suspecting that Burke is encroaching on his territory thanks to previous events growing in stature as it circulates through the rumor mill. As always, Vachss drags elements from the seamy side of life into harsh daylight, and enthralls you along the way. A master craftsman with a successful effort.

[naggedman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Amazed this hasn't been reviewed in LibraryThing. I was spellbound, found it very difficult to put down. One hopes the mean streets of NY are (were) not quite so bad as painted here but the writing is superb. Read it.