Strega : A Burke Novel

Rating:
Summary: Vachss at his best
Review: While later on in this series he takes an unfortunate turn into action novel territory (from which he's slowly recovering), this is probably the best book in the whole series. If you're looking for the hardest noir out there, this is the farthest you'll get before having to raid the small presses. This comes after "Flood" in the chronology, although I don't think it's necessary to read that novel first (although it too is quite good.) "Strega" is not a wonder of the English language, but it is razor sharp in terms of characterization and visualization. Vachss doesn't think much of himself as a writer, but here he shows he has chops. His spare descriptions are vivid. It should be noted, however, this book is not for the weak of stomach. It's not gory so much as...you see more of the evil side of humanity in this book than you ever want to in real life, let me put it that way. Not a beach read, but an excellent book.