Footsteps of the Hawk

FOOTSTEPS OF THE HAWK is the eighth book in the Burke series and as big fan I say Burke is back. Back to NYC and back with his gang of henchmen. Burke is best in NYC. (By the way, read the books in order. Really, it is a must.) This book is about cops, good, bad, phoney and the story moves a rapid pace. A hot dectective asks Burke for help. Max the Silent, Mama, the Prophet, the Mole and the others are back it this novel, I think they are my favorite 'team' in mysteries. If you are in to dark stories, gritty stories about the mean streets on New York City, Burke is your man.

Burke is caught in the middle of a conflict between two police officers, and isn't quite sure why - but knows it is bad. He has to work out which one, if either, is not dodgy, or the least dodgy, anyway. Meanwhile, the Prof is training a promising young fighter who has a chance to go a long way - and Burke and his team have a stake in the boy. The roots of what is going down lie in the past of these particular police individuals. Plenty of Pansy the giant mastiff here, too in more of Vachss' extremely spare styling.

First and foremost, Footsteps of the Hawk is a high octane, burn-your-weekend crime novel that will hook you into Vachss' work and world forever. Second of all, Andrew Vachss has expanded my mind. Really. At one of his readings, Andrew Vachss described his books as "non-fiction thinly disguised as fiction." The world his characters navigate is violent, nihilistic and unforgiving. And tragically real. But it is this context that makes Vachss' assertion of the potential of the human spirit and its capacity to love in spite of overwhelming degradation, cruelty and horror -- that makes it such compelling stuff to read. (This is his eighth book, and where it's not necessary to read them in order, here they are up to Footsteps of the Hawk: Flood, Strega, Blue Belle, Hard Candy, Blossom, Sacrifice, Down in the Zero).

Vachss started out as one hell of a crime writer ("Strega", "Blue Belle"). But by "Down in the Zero", he looked as played out as the Rolling Stones. "Footsteps" showed he's still capable of writing brilliantly. What makes this novel great is that it shows Burke has changed considerably from the person he once was (no longer carying a gun, keeping his temper in check), yet the change is completely plausable because, at his core, he's the same person (tough and cynical). Vachss's humor is as sharp as ever. So is his prose.

Burke is the anti-hero of the nineties. If you are ready to move on from the Robert Parker series than you areready for this new, extremely neurotic individualist. There is a zen quality to Burke -- things seem to happen around him and he has limited chances to influence his situation. He does have a team of equally colorful cohorts, who are perfect role players to Burke's Michael Jordan. Once you get used to this character its hard to stop liking him.