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They meet in a no-name diner. A shadowy man hands Burke a CD dossier of someone he wants found. Minutes later, as Burke watches from an alley, his client is gunned down by a professional hunter-killer team. Burke slips away, unsure if he's been spotted. Later, when he examines the dossier, he discovers that the missing woman is Beryl Preston, a girl he'd rescued from a brutal pimp twenty years earlier--when she was only thirteen--and returned to her father. Now he has to find her again--not show more only because she might be in danger, but also because he has to prove to himself that his rescue mission hadn't been financed by a predator who wanted his "property" returned. His search will force him to confront a new kind of human ugliness and, finally, to practice the survivalist triage that has marked--and cursed--his life since childhood. In Mask Market, Burke the outlaw investigator finds himself searching for the truth: not only about a girl named Beryl, but also about himself. This is classic Burke: dark, dangerous, and galvanizing, from the opening scene to the explosive climax. show lessTags
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PansyBurke The 18th and final Burke novel. A fantastic conclusion to a brilliant series!
Member Reviews
I love Burke stories and was not disappointed with Mask Market. It's Burke himself who is so compelling as a truly admirable antihero. In this one we get more of Burke's family: Prof, Max, Michelle, the Mole, etc., all extraordinary, all freakish, all with something to teach, and all adhering to an us vs. them moral code that reads as completely natural.
Burke revisits one of his earlier "rescues" when an erstwhile teen runaway pops up in the middle of his current investigation, whereabouts unknown. As usual, Vachss uses the circumstances to express Burke's unrelenting emotional pain and his own scathing views on the American justice system and the children who fall through its cracks.
Burke revisits one of his earlier "rescues" when an erstwhile teen runaway pops up in the middle of his current investigation, whereabouts unknown. As usual, Vachss uses the circumstances to express Burke's unrelenting emotional pain and his own scathing views on the American justice system and the children who fall through its cracks.
The weakest book in the series -- you can check the GR ratings. Burke agrees to meet a guy in a bar, who wants him to track someone down; however, the guy is gunned down when he goes to get Burke's retainer, making Burke wonder whether they were after him. Vachss then spends the rest of the first half of the book blathering about past cases, Burke's family, Pansy's death, eventually tying the dead guy to an earlier rescue case. Perhaps Vachss has fallen into the Patricia Cornwell trap of preferring her characters over a plot. Hope not.
I've enjoyed the Burke novels for some time now (they sort of bleed together after a while, but I enjoy Vachss's style a lot) - this is one of the weaker ones. Burke stories seem to be at their best when they're relatively uncomplicated affairs - the story here is complicated and all over the place, and the book suffers as a result.
Rated “Good" in our old book database.
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Author Information
Hardboiled writer Andrew Henry Vachss was born on October 19, 1942 in New York City. He attended Case Western Reserve University and the New England School of Law. Vachss has worked in many government and law enforcement organizations, ranging from the U. S. Public Health Service to the New York City Juvenile Justice Planning Project. Vachss' work show more as a writer includes a series of books featuring an unlicensed private detective named Burke. Burke's appearances include Flood, Strega, Blue Belle, Hard Candy, Blossom and Sacrifice. Vachss has also written comic books and graphic novels. (Bowker Author Biography) Andrew Vachss was born on October 19, 1942 in New York, New York. He graduated magna cum laude from the New England School of Law in 1975 and received a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University in 1965. Some of Vachss' extensive experience include positions as an Attorney and Consultant, Adjunct Professor at the College of New Resources, New York, NY, Director of the Juvenile Justice Planning Project, New York, NY, Project Director of the Dept. of Youth Services, Boston, MA, and Unit Supervisor for the Dept. of Social Services, New York, NY. He is a member of the American Society of Criminology, National Association of Counsel for Children, American Professional Society of the Abuse of Children, and PEN American Center. Vachss' first novel, "Flood" (1985), began his series of detective stories that feature the unlicensed private detective known as Burke. Burke narrates the novels "Flood," "Strega," "Blue Belle," "Hard Candy," "Blossom," and "Sacrifice." His subject matter uses child-related sex crimes, which is something Vachss spent his entire career observing. His literary awards include the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere for "Strega" in 1988, The Falcon Award for "Strega" in 1988, and Deutschen Krimi Preis, Die Jury des Bochumer Krimi Archivs for "Flood" in 1989. Vachss has also written collected short stories: "Born Bad" (1994), and "Everybody Pays" (1999). He is also a contributing editor for Parade Magazine. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Andrew Vachss is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.
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Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Mask Market
- Original publication date
- 2006
- People/Characters
- Baby Boy Burke
- Important places
- New York, New York, USA
- Dedication
- for . . .
Eddie Adams, who risked his life to show us the truth;
Joe LaMonte, who finally found his way to the door;
Eddie Little, who fell off the Horse no man can ride forever;
Rex Miller, who told i... (show all)t big;
Son Seals, who left to work a better room;
and for . . .
Steve: childhood pal, crime partner, lover of science, doomed boy. - First words
- "I'm not the client," the ferret seated across from me said.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"I just might," I said, lying to her for what I knew was the last time.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 302
- Popularity
- 105,788
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.54)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 15
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 4
