Burke gets a little out of his comfort zone, but still manages to get the job done.
Good story but the writing was a bit jumpy and incomplete at times. ( )

First in this series not to be based in NYC. An old cellmate, Virgil, asks for Burke's. Virgil's wife, Rebecca, comes to New York because Virgil is hiding with their nephew, Lloyd, in the outskirts of the Indiana mill town where they live. The scene where Rebecca and Virgil size each other up is great. She convinces him to help: Burke and Virgil are tighter than blood makes most brothers. Lloyd is accused of a heinous crime for which he claims innocence, and the evidence is scant; however, the local cops want the crime solved. Not sure of his innocence either, Virgil asks Burke to make sure. Another great scene. Meanwhile, Burke is snooping around trying to find the real perp, having to get assistance from the local detective and Blossom, a local diner waitress, who has her own personal motives to find the killer. Lloyd's becoming a man along the way is another strong point of this book as is the relationship between Burke and Virgil. ( )

The book was okay. The chapters in this one were very short which for reasons unknown to me, I tend to be able to get through books like that quicker. What I really didn't like about the book was the fact that it was written in short choppy sentences. It could have used a lot more detail. I had a lot of difficulty picturing any scene of the book in my head and it changed scenes so often and suddenly it was a little hard to keep up. Another problem that I had with the book was the fact that it ended so quickly, the book built and built and built to the killer and when the Author finally got to him and his capture it came to an end so quickly you was left going "What happened?". It felt as if he just was in a hurry to make it end, like I do with chores. Also I would have liked to seen more murders and more detail on them, like what the victims looked like, where they were shot stuff like that. Like I said before it could have used a lot more detail all around, characters, plot, climax, conclusion everything. It all boils down to the fact that there is just not enough detail in the book to make it 3 star worthy or higher.

Characters

Blossom, was a whore no and's, if's or but's about it. As a waitress she acts all sweet and innocent but once you see the real her, behind closed doors so to speak, she's a freaking whore. And I thought that one waitress was bad.

Virgil, scared me. He's been in prison for murder and he knows stuff, stuff that shouldn't be known.

Prof, he's a very confusing man. He was always talking in rhyme without any reason. It was weird.

Burke, he's a badass hero who walks around acting like he's not.

And there was another guy, Wesley, he was mentioned a lot and every time he was I pictured the guy West from "Common Law" (If you have never seen it, you won't understand.) I would have liked to have seen more of him but he's dead so that's wasn't going to happen.. ( )

You run a risk when you remove a series character from his environment. You take away a large part of what the reader comes to the book expecting. Vachss attempts to counteract this by spending some time watching Burke, his protagonist, operate in and around the New York City cesspool before heading out to Indiana to help a “brother.” In Burke’s world a brother is someone for whom there nothing you will not do. Burke is asked to determine whether a kid living in his brother’s house is the sniper who has been shooting up the local lover’s lane. Once determining the kid’s innocence, for various other reasons Burke sticks around to find the shooter.

The fifth Burke novel is the least successful so far. Part of the reason may stem from reading a 1990 novel in 2016. The elements of human depravity that Vachss routinely exposes was virtually unknown then; today, sadly, they are common knowledge. The novel’s other drawback is structural. Vachss had taken a turn toward scattershot chapters. There are chapters that consist of ten or so lines, others of less than fifty words. 186 chapters form the book. The results? Scenes are no longer built and atmosphere is lost.

I’ll have to get used to it because writers seldom go back from this. Luckily, Vachss is such a great storyteller that I know I’ll be entertained regardless. But is greatness still obtainable? Since the series--not particular eras or individual books but the entire series--is so highly regarded, I have to think so. Either way I’ll read them all. Burke and his family of friends are endlessly fascinating. ( )

I absolutely love this series. It's so amazingly gorey and makes your toes curl up just reading it! It's very down-and-dirty and can be quite graphic...but is a really fast read too. ( )