False Allegations

US: Vintage Books USA, 1997. Paperback. Very Good. In the first rank of American crime writers. . . . Next to Vachss, Chandle r, Cain and Hammett look like choirboys."--Cleveland Plain DealerBurke--ex- con, mercenary, sometime killer--makes his living preying on New York's mos t vicious predators and avenging their innocent victims. But in Andrew Vach ss's mercilessly suspenseful new novel, Burke finds himself working the oth er side of the street, where guilt and innocence are as disposable as the s heets in a Times Square hotel--and as dirty.Burke's new employer is Kite, a fanatical crusader who specializes in debunking "false allegations of chil d sexual abuse. Kite has a case that may be the real thing, but needs Burke to tell him if it is. And if mere money can't persuade Burke to cooperate, Kite has plenty of other incentives at his disposal--including a fanatical bodyguard with a taste for corsets and brass knuckles. A tour guide to hel l written in icy prose, False Allegations is Vachss at his most unnerving." Burke is the toughest talking first-person narrator since Mike Hammer."--Lo s Angeles Times"Vachss . . . writes hypnotically violent prose."--Chicago S un-Times.