Rating: 
Summary: Take me back
Review: A good old fashioned style scores big. This is a good one. Nobody's good and some are real bad. The author plays his cards close, and holds to the last page.
Rating: 
Summary: Vachss Proves It Yet Again
Review: Andrew Vachss doesn't need his iconic protagonist Burke to knock the reader for a loop. This book was a pleasure from the cover to the core; action-packed and smooth as silk. It's the first in Vintage's new line, and for sure every other author who produces for the series will have one hell of a high level to live up to.
Rating:
Summary: A getaway from the norm, but a great read none the less
Review: Andrew Vachss has a long series of hits with the Burke books. (Also recommend each of them). The Getaway Man is something different and new for Mr. Vachss. The characters come to life and emotional attachment occurs. The main character is a criminal but you care for him none the less. This book is a quick read that leads you through the life of Eddie who's only goal is driving. Through a series of stays in prison, comes out and begins driving for a series of criminals, each case seemingly to get more complex. Eddie gets through the story with his simple views on life and fierce loyalty to the people he drives for. After all, he's a professional. The last page makes the whole trip worth the time to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Man, This Thing Sticks In Your Head
Review: At first I thought it was just a good guy against bad guy thing. And it is. But then I saw it was much deeper. It's kinda like those Bible stories. Like remember Adam and Eve? Cause what's good and bad isn't so easy to figure out. Watch your [butt], bro. The snake is always waiting.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Tale ... Done Right!
Review: Crime, criminals, loyalty, betrayal, and innocence, it doesn't get any better than this timeless story. Vachss has assembled an amazing crew for a ride you won't forget. The road twists and turns but the end is always in sight right up to the last page ... or so you think. Vachss again shows his talent in this book. While many may only know him through his hard-boiled Burke novels, this book shows the amazing range of Vachss' talent and is a not to be missed tale.
Rating:
Summary: Jim Thompson would be proud
Review: Fan of tough-guy, noir-esque fiction? Enjoy the bleak, cynical tough-guys popularized by Chandler, Thompson and Willeford? Vacchs pays homage to all of them in _The Getaway Man_. Eddie gets his start stealing cars but soon finds his true calling. Driving getaway cars for armed robbers. His reputation grows after a stoic performance during a bank heist gone bad. After release from prison, he hooks up with a solid career criminal, J.C. Naive - but completely dedicated to his craft - Eddie soon finds that his new pals come with a complicated set of questions. I believe Jim Thompson would have thoroughly enjoyed _The Getaway Man_ and I look forward to Vacch's continued efforts in a pulp fiction revival.
Rating:
Summary: Jim Thompson would be proud
Review: Fan of tough-guy, noir-esque fiction? Enjoy the bleak, cynical tough-guys popularized by Chandler, Thompson and Willeford? Vacchs pays homage to all of them in _The Getaway Man_. Eddie gets his start stealing cars but soon finds his true calling. Driving getaway cars for armed robbers. His reputation grows after a stoic performance during a bank heist gone bad. After release from prison, he hooks up with a solid career criminal, J.C. Naive - but completely dedicated to his craft - Eddie soon finds that his new pals come with a complicated set of questions. I believe Jim Thompson would have thoroughly enjoyed _The Getaway Man_ and I look forward to Vacch's continued efforts in a pulp fiction revival.
Rating:
Summary: Four and a Half...
Review: First off, I really enjoyed this book. The plot was perfect and the pacing was awesome. The long and short of it is the protagonist is a 2 bit criminal who like most 2 bit hoods try for the one big score which is where the fun begins...Lots of plot twists and turns... Eddie started out as a car thief but then turned into the driver. And this is where my only problem with the book is. I would have easily give five stars but for the incessant repetition of the expression "I'm the driver..." that Eddie uses at every possible chance. I swear this phrase must have appeared 50 times in a 200-page book. He would refuse to be the gunman saying, "I'm the driver"... When the other bad guys tried to get him involved in planning he refuses and says "I'm the driver"... and even when he meets a woman his pick up line is "I'm the driver".... I guess that works for felon groupies. He even tries to rent movies that are about driving. Anyhow this really got on my nerves by page 50 and by the end of the book those 3 words "drove" me crazy. However, the Hitchcock-like ending does compensate for this gross repetition. I would strongly suggest taking this book for a "drive" if you want an awesome pulp story - but be prepared for it to "stall" a bit when it comes to dialogue.
Rating:
Summary: Far From A One-Tracked Story
Review: From a very early age Eddie only ever had one dream and that was to be a driver. This is the story of how he realised that dream and how he came to earn the respect of his peers, which was one of the few things in life he valued. It seems that it didn't matter how good or bad someone was according to Eddie, if they complimented him on his driving, then they were okay in his book. Eddie makes a very interesting character. He was a mixture of extreme naivety when it came to common emotional issues, but he had an instinctive cunning when it came to survival. It gives him a much deeper level of complexity than was first apparent and is one of the great strengths of the book. I found this to be a very quick read and is modelled off the old pulps of yesteryear, both in external appearance and in content. The writing is succinct and to the point and the story moves along at great pace before reaching a shattering conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: Vachss Returns with a Good One!
Review: His best since Shella. The Burke books were getting to be repetitive and Vachss a paraody of himself. This is good old time crime novel
fun, although Vachhs does not in some child abuse and vigalante
vengeance to keep up appearnces, covers some "same ol'" ground
here and there, and the ending you could see coming half-way
through the book (it's almost like an extended version of some
of his patent "twist" short stories). Still, Vachss is back. I was
afraid he'd lost his touch there for a while...
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