The Questioner

by Andrew Vachss

An all-new novelette by Andrew Vachss, author of the acclaimed Burke series For all secrets created, a tiny percentage is kept against any intrusion. The ultimate extractor of such secrets is The Questioner – a man who has trained himself to become empty, who uses that emptiness to listen fully, to sense what others need to hear, to respond in ways that lead them to reveal their most protected thoughts. Disdaining torture or coercion, he mines those secrets with nothing more than conversation. For those who meet his price – governments, multinational corporations, and the most complex criminal organizations – The Questioner obtains information. The secrets he learns can create or topple empires, win or destroy fortunes, lubricate the gears of the world ... or grind them to a halt. But as the Questioner moves from one target to the next, just beyond the outer edge of his probes lurks something dangerous to his own emptiness. It will force him to turn his powers inward, to ask how he became what he is, and to find a truth he has never sought. Praise for The Questioner “Oh, my goodness. This is Andrew Vachss at his most engaging and insightful. The Questioner comes across as both riveting tale and instructional guide to the savage mind, the ones who lurk on the outskirts of society and identify victims like hungry lions determining the weakest antelope in a herd. This story looks right into the primitive brain of those who seek control over others for power and dark satisfaction. Right down to the last thrilling and chilling lines of this gripping tale, it's obvious Vachss knows something the rest of us actually know deep in our own primitive brains but are afraid to address. Vachss opens that door for us and turns on the light, dim and as bug-swarmed as it might be, and lets us see, and feel, the ugly truth.” —Joe Lansdale, author of the Hap and Leonard series “Andrew Vachss after literally a lifetime of vigilant service to the marginalised and abused has produced his finest work. A stunning, vital, necessary book that is so desperately needed in these insane times.”—Ken Bruen, author of the Jack Taylor series, Blitz, London Boulevard “The Questioner is vintage the unparalleled insights into the darkest aspects of human nature; the unflinching portrayal of a societal underbelly Vachss has seen firsthand, and understands like no other writer I’ve ever known. But it’s a departure, too, introducing a new character whose abilities are more cerebral than physical, an interrogator who knows that ‘lie detectors’ are useless against someone who can’t feel guilt, but who doesn’t need a machine because he has something himself.”—Barry Eisler, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Killer Collective About the author Andrew Vachss has been a federal investigator (USPHS), a social services caseworker, and directed a maximum security institution for “aggressive-violent” youths. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youth exclusively. His articles and essays have appeared in Parade, MSNBC, New York Daily News, New York Times, Newsday, the ABA Journal, and the Journal of Psychohistory, along with numerous other forums. He is the author of more than thirty novels and three collections of short stories, which have earned him such international awards as the Grand Prix de Littérature Policiére (France), the Falcon Award from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, the Deutschen Krimi Preis (Germany) and the Raymond Chandler A

35 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2018

About the author

Andrew Vachss has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social-services caseworker, a labor organizer, and has directed a maximum-security prison for “aggressive-violent” youth. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youths exclusively. He is the author of numerous novels, including the Burke series, two collections of short stories, and a wide variety of other material including song lyrics, graphic novels, essays, and a “children’s book for adults.” His books have been translated into twenty languages, and his work has appeared in Parade, Antaeus, Esquire, Playboy, the New York Times, and many other forums. A native New Yorker, he now divides his time between the city of his birth and the Pacific Northwest.

The dedicated Web site for Vachss and his work is
www.vachss.com. That site and this page are managed by volunteers. To contact Mr. Vachss directly, use the "email us" function of vachss.com.

Reviews

[Mustafa Marwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ultra short novella. It has the usual well-crafted prose of Andrew Vachss but I was not convinced how The Questioner convinced his captors with his point of view.
The topic is super interesting though. Interrogation and influencing techniques. I wish to see a full work tackling this issue as brilliantly as it was tackled by the modern classic: The Contortionist Handbook.

[Svyatoslav Albireo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just finished the translation Mr. Vachss' first fiction book into Russian - Flood. And now I've read his last novelette. His style became even much brighter, as a diamond under right light. The accents are right and exact, in each sentence, and each phrase. Each word is paced properly. It is about the style. About the idea. It's very useful, and important thing for the future and life itself. I was born in USSR, and there was idea in our new soviet fairy-tales, when monsters from old creepy, ghost stories, from old fairy-tales worked for good of USSR, Baba-yaga was a keykeeper or a watchwoman, or a babysitter, a silvan was a forester, ghosts were speed-postmen and so on. It showed, all un-fiters\un-likers could be useful, and be adopted by society, and\or just live your life, without fouling all around; we had some writings about psychopaths, who can find their place, without harming people. I believe in that. Mr. Vachss said more than one, psychopaths are people without empathy and with sense of entitlement. And I am sure the society has to stop taking as sacral and romantic all those pseudo-cold-blooders, sufferer-super-heroes, and other misfit x-men, who live above\over\super of society and nourish their offences against mankind. It's time to return them all into our human system (I don't mean any government's systems, it's just about all human family). It's ok, if someone has a lack of empathy, but we should ruin their sense of entitlement. And this novelette is a great chance, maybe only one chance, not only for the society. It's a great chance for psychopaths too. For those people who can't find their place in society and life, maybe they could do it, after reading it. Not all. But if we get even some part of them, really best ones of them, they will\could work WITH us, not AGAINST us. It's not just a story, not just a novelette, it's a chance, a way to the better future.
Is it possible to make this story better? Yes. Making it longer, a novel from a novelette.
I like such people, as the main character is. I like to read about them. I like an intellect. I am tired of emotional whimperers in any narrative art, tired of damaged heroes, and all these martyrs. So, I would like to read more about a man with a great mind. I’d like to know who are those people, who hired the main character.
I strongly recommend this hope of life to read. It is so important to see beauty and usefulness. Don't waste this chance. So, I am extending my right hand, guiding your fingers to my pulse with my left and swear that on my life, you'll like it. And this is the truth.

[Ellis Amdur · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like some of Vachss very much. This book, however, (quite small - 36 pages) lacks a moral core. It is told from the perspective of an amoral man for hire, who gets people to reveal their secrets, and is utterly indifferent to what happens to them next - he lies, makes promises, and once the secret is revealed, is indifferent to the death or torture of the person he questioned.
Vachss had an approach that to make the world aware of evil, enacted upon children, is then perpetuated onward. In his best work, he is successful, in that his characters, although damaged, retain a drive towards good.
However, without a moral perspective, there is little difference between a true-crime account of a psychopath who gets aware with his crimes and this book - artfully done, but spiritually vacuous.

[Jim Mcmanus · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a Vachss. That's all you need to know.

[Lorenzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never read an Andrew Vachss novel or story before, so this was completely new to me. All I have to say is, color me impressed. Although nothing that might make the reader feel too much happens, the way Vachss writes this "Questioner" character is incredibly unnerving. There was a sense of dread during the whole of this novelette. Mostly because, while you take this Questioner at face value with what he is saying about his job, you know there might be some deep psychopathy beneath the coolness and arrogance. I am ready to delve deeper into his novels!

Also, that cover art looks fantastic.

[Michael Fredette · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Questioner, Andrew H. Vachss [2018].

An ebook short: In a subterranean urban lair, a master interrogator—not affiliated with any government or law enforcement agency—seeks to uncover the truth about a wealthy man guilty of unspeakable crimes. A brilliant fragment—I would’ve loved to see it expanded to a longer work.

***
Andrew H. Vachss (pronounced ‘Vax’) was an attorney who represented children and youth exclusively on a pro bono basis and the author of numerous crime novels. His debut, Flood, was heralded as “…the revenge novel of the year.” His most recent works, Carbon and Blood Lines were published posthumously.

[Alfred Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Sure If It's a Story or a Lecture on the Underground

That Mr. Vachss has spent time with life's underbelly is obvious to anyone who's read him through the years. While his knowledge is formidable, the writing about it can be heavy-handed to where I just wanted him to get on with the story.
That being said, I found the Questioner's analyses of humanity interesting enough to finish the book.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief trip into darkness

Vachss always shines a light into the darkness of the human condition. This time, it's through his Questioner, an interrogator who gets the answers that others can't, or won't.
Tightly paced and keeps you engaged, this quick read is hopefully not the last time we will meet this enigmatic character.

[Scott Cumming · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found out about this one through David Nemeth's unlawfulacts.net site that's a go to for news and views on the small press crime fiction scene. It's a novelette about a questioner who doesn't use conventional methods for extracting information. The story is light on plot and acts as a maual of sorts on how he gets the job done. It was completely fine, but the lack of real plot left me cold.

[eric struble · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Vachss book universe, its definitely one of his lesser efforts.

More a character study than a plot driven story, but the main character and the traditional Vachss style of prose still makes it essential reading for his fans

[alan morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff

Needs to be developed to a full story what happens next?, got a lot of potential, maybe burke in his new career

[Lori Savolainen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice...

Another great short by Andrew Vachss. Definitely worth a read. Not too time consuming, can be read in a matter of minutes.

[Strega · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, sharp, and will make you think