[Burke 10] • Safe House

### Amazon.de

*Safe House*, the latest in Andrew Vachss's series of Burke novels, begins when Burke's "brother," Hercules, is paid to scare off a neo-nazi stalker and accidentally kills the wrong guy. Burke finds himself unwittingly drawn into a world of white supremacists, stalkers, and safe house networks. What ensues is an intense rush to cover Hercules' tracks and, at the same time, bring down a New York City white supremacy ring.

*Safe House* offers up Vachss's repertoire of repeat characters. The most fascinating are Burke's prison "family," the Prof, Max the silent, the Mole, Michelle, Clarence, Mama, and, of course, Burke himself, who is as hard-edged as ever. The family's willingness to help one another, even die for one another, is the emotional string that ties the books together. There are also two new female characters, Vyra, the affluent Jewish housewife and Crystal Beth, half Inuit, half Irish safe house madam. Though not as believable as their male counterparts, Vyra and Crystal Beth have powerful secrets of their own and add a soft, human element to the story.

Like other Vachss novels, *Safe House* embraces the dirty, grim life of the ex-con for hire. The most compelling aspect of Safe House is Vachss's no-holds-barred writing style. He spares nobody's feeling and minces no words in this rough, gritty and often painfully raw crime story. --*Mara Friedman*

### Amazon.co.uk

Vachss' hero Burke is as much an urban terrorist as a professional criminal, dedicated to smashing away at the world of sexual abuse and making a profit in the process; he and his dedicated crew of driven men and women are not entirely like any other characters in crime fiction...In *Safe House*, Burke is persuaded by two of his lovers to involve himself in the affairs of a woman whose Nazi ex-boyfriend wants to snatch their child and disappear into the Master Race underground--things are not that simple, because the unpleasant Lothar is playing a complicated game in which he has powerful protectors. Vachss writes with a crystalline intensity that at times almost becomes too much to believe in or bear; at his best, he captures the high adrenaline of people on the street and on the edge as well as far more distinguished writers. The touches of Hollywood and of melodrama here are part of his attempt to make us see that these things matter; Vachss is a passionate crusader whose thrillers are a fierce argument for righteous vigilantism as well as an impressively, and worryingly, enjoyable read. --*Roz Kaveney*