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dantastic's review against another edition
3.0
Devasted over the death of an innocent on his last case, Burke takes a job that sees him in the Connecticut suburbs investigating a string of teen suicides. Burke's investigations take him into a web of S&M and blackmail that he may never escape...
Andrew Vachss' Burke stories are so bleak that they make the apocalypse look inviting by comparison and this one is no exception. Like the previous tales, Burke's case takes him up against uncomfortable subjects like child abuse. This time, Vachss also throws S&M and blackmail into the mix for good measure.
As I journey farther down Burke's dark path, I notice he continues to grow as a character, something that doesn't happen very much in a series of this kind. Burke shows a remarkable amount (for him) of patience with Randy and is actually nicer to some of the other players than he normally is. While I missed most of the usual supporting cast, Mama and The Prof were in fine form.
The characters of Randy and Fancy were among the most interesting in the series so far, both in their backgrounds and the way they interacted with Burke. It's not very often you see a borderline sociopathic detective befriend a teenage boy or have a dominatrix as a sidekick but Vachss really makes it work.
While I liked Down in the Zero, I didn't love it. The mystery seemed forgotten at times and was in no way solveable, and the side plot about the computer disk and the gems felt tacked on. It felt like a "rebuilding" sort of book so Burke would be ready for whatever gets vomited in his path in the next one. Other than that, it was a pretty enjoyable read. I now know more about S&M than I ever wanted to.
Andrew Vachss' Burke stories are so bleak that they make the apocalypse look inviting by comparison and this one is no exception. Like the previous tales, Burke's case takes him up against uncomfortable subjects like child abuse. This time, Vachss also throws S&M and blackmail into the mix for good measure.
As I journey farther down Burke's dark path, I notice he continues to grow as a character, something that doesn't happen very much in a series of this kind. Burke shows a remarkable amount (for him) of patience with Randy and is actually nicer to some of the other players than he normally is. While I missed most of the usual supporting cast, Mama and The Prof were in fine form.
The characters of Randy and Fancy were among the most interesting in the series so far, both in their backgrounds and the way they interacted with Burke. It's not very often you see a borderline sociopathic detective befriend a teenage boy or have a dominatrix as a sidekick but Vachss really makes it work.
While I liked Down in the Zero, I didn't love it. The mystery seemed forgotten at times and was in no way solveable, and the side plot about the computer disk and the gems felt tacked on. It felt like a "rebuilding" sort of book so Burke would be ready for whatever gets vomited in his path in the next one. Other than that, it was a pretty enjoyable read. I now know more about S&M than I ever wanted to.
libier's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
iam_griff's review against another edition
4.0
Here I am ending the 7th book "Down in the Zero" in the Burke series. I do love the gritty, Noir style writing of Andrew Vachss. This story takes Burke out of the rougher parts of NYC & has him in a upscale & ritzy town in Connecticut by the son of an old "acquaintance" who is scared due to a rash of teen suicides that aren't be reported in the paper. Burke's investigation starts off a lot slower than the rest of the series & wasn't till about about half-way thru before I started to figure out where the story was going (or I could just be a bit denser than I thought). I still plan on continuing with the series for at least a few more books.
colonel2sheds's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
wasorrell's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't enjoy it. It's built like the other Burke novels I've read, a time bomb with a clock that speeds up as you go until you can see the minute hand spinning. You can tell it's built by a master craftsman, a mahagony box with seamless construction. By the time it explodes and you find out it's filled with roofing nails, rock salt and dog shit it's too late to run and you realize you're the target.
Vachss makes no bones about this being his goal, and I knew the deal when I picked it up. Of course I'm reading the rest of the series. Everyone's got to face down the demons at some point.
Vachss makes no bones about this being his goal, and I knew the deal when I picked it up. Of course I'm reading the rest of the series. Everyone's got to face down the demons at some point.
ericwelch's review against another edition
4.0
Burke, Vachss' anti-hero, is a quasi-detective, part vigilante, who has a soft spot for protecting children. We learn during the course of the novel that he grew up in an orphanage, has no memory of either parent, has served time in prison, where he learned much of his "trade" from the "Prof" who speaks in bizarre rhymes, and was a mercenary in Africa.
In this novel (basically your good, fun, fast, read - great for trains, planes or buses), he is summoned to help protect a young boy whose mother Burke had known briefly in the distant past. Randy, who lives in a very wealthy area, is concerned because many of his friends have been committing suicide, and he thinks someone, or something, is driving them to it. All of them have been treated by the Crystal Cove mental facility, and all of them took their lives within ninety days after having been treated and released. Sensing there may be money to be made in the arrangement somewhere, Burke is soon in the middle of a bizarre
scheme to hide people by giving them new identities, and a concomitant blackmail scheme mixed up with some rather kinky sex.
Burke is not perhaps as interesting a character as Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley, but he certainly keeps your attention.
In this novel (basically your good, fun, fast, read - great for trains, planes or buses), he is summoned to help protect a young boy whose mother Burke had known briefly in the distant past. Randy, who lives in a very wealthy area, is concerned because many of his friends have been committing suicide, and he thinks someone, or something, is driving them to it. All of them have been treated by the Crystal Cove mental facility, and all of them took their lives within ninety days after having been treated and released. Sensing there may be money to be made in the arrangement somewhere, Burke is soon in the middle of a bizarre
scheme to hide people by giving them new identities, and a concomitant blackmail scheme mixed up with some rather kinky sex.
Burke is not perhaps as interesting a character as Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley, but he certainly keeps your attention.
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