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Title: First Burke I've enjoyed in a while
Review: I respect the heck out of Andrew Vachss' ideas and his issues, but those things are not why I read mystery novels. I loved the first few books in the Burke series-- found them taut and edgy, dark and smart. Lately though I had the feeling that the medium had gotten lost in the message and I'd found the books harder and harder to read._Dead and Gone_ takes Burke in a new direction and takes a little bit of the crusading hero out of my favorite anti-hero. The death of Pansy and his new face force him in a new direction and into the reach of new characters in a different part of the country. I liked the character of Gem (even if I'm a little jealous of every other woman in Burke's life :)) and I found Burke a lot more interesting this time around.It isn't perfect, and the plot ends up feeling a bit contrived, particularly at the end. But the mood is pretty close to right on, and that's what I read Vachss' novels for anyhow.
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