Book Review of Flood by Andrew Vachss

This was written in the early 80′ when subjects like child abuse were ignored and swept under the carpet of denial. No one liked to talk about this kind of subject, let alone write about it.

Meet Burke, ex-con, criminal, gambler, scam artist and private investigator. He takes cases that cops and most other private eye’s will not touch. If he takes the case at all. To say that Burke is cautious is like saying a junkie might be addicted. This guy is cagey, for very good reasons as people from both sides of the law might want him in jail or dead. Burke is suspicious of everyone except his close-knit adoptive family: Max the Silent: a deaf, mute, silent Mongolian martial artist, Michelle: a Transvestite hooker, Mole: a genius inventor who runs a junk yard packed with vicious dogs, The Prof: a brilliant philosopher street criminal.

Mama: the Chinese restaurant owner and racketeer. Pansy: Burke’s mastiff with a personality of its own. Burke drives a souped up performance car, given to him by a former client. The car looks like a beater, but is a small tank that out-races sports cars. One day, a woman named Flood approaches Burke to find the killer of her friend’s baby. Burke takes the case which takes him through the world of pimps, prostitutes and mercenaries. Because of his criminal background, Burke is able to enter doors where the normal citizens or police cannot…do not want to go. Eventually, Burke lures the baby killer into a trap, where his client, Flood, challenges the killer to a death match. Good fight scenes. I liked the short paragraph writing style and the social commentary about child abuse, human traffickers, drugs and the criminal justice system.

Book Review of Flood by Andrew Vachss