Mask Market

Burke #16

by Andrew Vachss

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 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 not only about a girl named Beryl, but also about himself.

This is classic dark, dangerous, and galvanizing, from the opening scene to the explosive climax.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Noir, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2006

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

[Melki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stop me if you've heard this one. A guy hires a private dick to find a woman...okay, okay, I've stopped. The only catches here are:
1. Right after hiring Burke to do the sniffing, the guy is gunned down in the street.
2. Burke has already looked for, and found, this woman once before, years ago when she was a girl.

Reading a Burke novel can be many things - depressing, horrifying, disgusting, sometimes entertaining and fascinating, and did I mention depressing? They are at the very least interesting. Except for this one.

Perhaps it's because this has all been done before by others, and by Vachss himself, that this one feels so tired and dull. Maybe it's because Burke is looking for a grown woman who appears to be in no immediate danger that there was no sense of urgency to the action.
It's possible that after sixteen books in the series, even the author is getting bored with this character.

I don't know, but this was a chore to read.

[Skip · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Richard]

I'm in the middle of this right now. The last couple of Burke novels have disappointed me--but this one is more like the first ones, with lots of personal stuff about Burke's gang. My favorite thing so far is when they go to Mama Wong's and have to have the mandatory three bowls of her notorious hot-sour soup, but Mama has switched her soup with an inferior stock (although what "inferior" might mean is anyone's guess), testing Burke to see if he'll notice. He does, of course, but then has to surreptitiously signal the Prof and Max about the scam. The notion of these con artists trying to trip each other up over something as trivial as soup is just too funny :-)

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 16th in the Burke series by Andrew Vachss. Other reviews of these books are interesting. I think you need to have read the series from the start, because people who come to this as their first exposure (and others in the series) really seem to react negatively. I suspect you need to get into the rhythm and also get used to just how dark the world that Burke inhabits is. They are dark, but they are also a work of art and, certainly the better ones, stay with you after reading.
This is one of the better ones. A tight plot, with lots of moving parts and a satisfying conclusion where everyone gets something approaching their just deserts. Don't read it if you're hankering for sunshine, rainbows and unicorns.

[Larry Bassett · Rating 4 out of 5]

it’s interesting that this is the first Burke book that I read and it led to me buying most of the series as used books (and I am still trying to sell some of those on eBay) and reading the entire series of 18 books. this has got to be one of the weirder books. And once again Burke is pretending he is someone else and getting into a fairly significant relationship with a woman as that fake character. He does that for a pretty extended period of time which seems like a pretty tough thing to pull off without a fair amount of emotional drainage. This is yet another book that I am now listening to in the audible format and that I apparently have no recollection from the prior print reading about a decade ago.
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This is a new author for me. I heard that Andrew Vachss was weird and that was all I needed to hear to try him out. The first dozen pages definitely fit that descriptor so I thought I was probably in the right place. I assumed that I would better understand what those beginning pages were all about as the book progressed. When the first sentence is

“I’m not the client,” the ferret seated across from me said.

you have to have some question in your mind. I did anyway since I’m not thinking this is Redwall . If you have patience, you will find out who the ferret is three-quarters of the way through the book.

I generally like movies that are set in NYC. I think that is about tall buildings and crowds of unique people. Mask Market, while not a movie, is set in NYC so that has me hopeful. On the other hand, I like thoughtful books. I don’t associate cute titles with thoughtful books so I have some doubts here. The source of the title doesn’t show up until the end of the book so I did carry that ‘why cute?’ burden with me too long.

This book is number sixteen in the Burke series so there are lots more where this came from. And what does it have? Well, some humor, lots clever wordplay, some references to current events, some suspense and killing, lots of criminals and intrigue. Oh, if you don’t want to know what people are wearing, this is not the book for you. I’ll bet by the second or third book in the series even somebody not paying close attention could spot the fingerprints of Vachss. Hopefully the formula will not be so obvious that it spoils. But, as I said, this is the first Burke for me and you probably know how first times are: you smile a lot and are not even a little bit bored.

Vachss also touches on a variety of progressive social issues. One of the briefly examined social issues in Mask Market is teenage suicide on Indian reservations. Other issues, too. Stalkers. Prostitution, of course. Terri Schiavo. Debt bondage and illegals. Lots of things to do with kids.

With a little love story around the edges. Unrequited and requited. Sweet and complicated.

Sick humor: “It’s always easier handling what you’re used to – that’s why people with my kind of childhood do so well in prison.”
Pearls of real information dropped or woven into the story: child-molestation and abuse and other crimes against children are regularly highlighted.

Commentary that is Fun for us NYC wannabes: “New York parking lots charge more per hour than some hookers, and they both end of doing the same thing to you.”

Burke drinks hot chocolate. What is that all about?

I waited for him to count the syllables in my question. I knew it had to be an even number, or he wouldn’t respond.

How does Vachss think these weird people up? This is my first of his books so I don’t really have a clue. But I am looking forward to having a clue in the future. This is a four star book for me and I will be reading more in the future. In some ways, the Burke series might be like the Stieg Larsson trilogy. You have to suspend disbelief and go with the flow. And unlike the dead Larsson, Vachss is cranking out the books. Looks like he has a couple coming out in 2012.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Herb Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starting on the 16th book of a series is not the best way to introduce yourself to the writer and his characters. I need to read some of the earlier stories to fully understand how I feel about this book. It's like stumbling upon two people engaged in a conversation covering past events and inside jokes, no matter how interesting they are you still feel you are missing something.

[J. Griff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. This was definitely NOT my favourite Burke story in the series. There seemed to be a lot of floundering throughout the whole book & needless reminiscing over old cases, Pansy as well as his loss of opportunity with Wolfe. I can only hope the next story is better. I wasn’t a fan of the narrator, what happen to Phil Gigante.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love the Burke series. the protagonist is a con-man/criminal, but you root for him because he avenges victims of child abuse and rape. i get some pent up anger and aggression out vicariously through these books.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read Vachss in years, since about the first 6-7 books, which were so dark and depressing, although gripping. This one is gripping, but much less of a downer. Vachss hasn't lost his crisp writing at all.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

what can i say? i love the burke series.

[Chris Lott · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my opinion Vachss went downhill with the Burke novels after Dead & Gone. This one isn't an exception.

Old runway of his from his early days is tied into a murder in the present day and it kind of just goes nowhere for most of the book. Burke is seeing some girl and spends way too many pages talking with her about things that don't move the story forward, along the way Burke goes to see a Dr about getting checked for colon cancer. Wolfe and company are extra cold to Burke all the time and that's their only personality trait for the whole Burke, even Bruiser growls like he always does with Wolfe mentioning he's never liked Burke.

The ending is what you'd expect, the girl was raped as a child and her mother let it happen. She became hard and cold then died at the end with Burke getting paid.

All in all the book is just boring and cliched.

[Diogenes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Burke episode with the familiar family of off-the-wall characters, various nefarious sub-plots, and a lot of preaching Vachss' gospel of child mistreatment (which one wishes were pure fiction, but are most probably based on real cases, considering the author's professional investment in the field). New Yorkers should enjoy his love-hate relationship with the City Lots of action, many anecdotes of past deeds, but bordering on 'you've read one, you've read them all' with no real surprises.

[Mike Nettleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books aren't for everyone. They take you into the seamy underbelly of New York and involve characters who are brutal, eccentric and in my eyes compelling. If you've read other books in Vacch's Burke series, you'll appreciate this one. If you are squeamish or turned off by the reality of man's baser nature, you might want to skip it.

[Rock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burke's back, but I'm not sure if I really liked how the story unfolded.
It felt like he was helping someone, that didn't deserve it, with payback she didn't even know she wanted.
More background from older stories than usual and that helped understanding the situations a little easier.
The flow was pretty good and the writing was great.

[Elizabeth Rebecca Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical Burke outing. Gritty with help from his unique friends. He has a girlfriend in this one for a short time. Rescues a small child and gives it to her to raise when she leaves him. Evil people get their just desserts. Hints of Russian involvement. A fairly good book.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primarily a review of previous books' storylines.

[MikeD · Rating 2 out of 5]

Same old, same old. Bit dull really.

[Mary Mackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, attention holding. Not a pleasant subject, but put across in a handleable format. Would I read another Vachss? Yes.

[Kirby Coe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book

I am on a mission to read all the “Burke” books. They’re great. Read them. Start with “Flood” and read them in order.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2006. Starting reading the Burke books in 1985 and I think this is his next to last one.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burke vs. a dead rogue financial planner

[Trilby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Vachss' "Two Trains Running," so I decided to give this other Burke novel a whirl. Unfortunately, the whirl turned into vertigo...That metaphor is typical of the narrator's speech. About halfway through this stale New York noir piece, I looked up the author online. Vachss, an attorney who specializes in child protection cases, has written way, way too many of these Burke novels, 22 to be exact. What some reviewer called "Dickensian larger-than-life" characters, however, I found to be the old, shopworn crew of male midlife crises: the big-breasted woman, the Asian bodyguard, the damaged narrator, the pit bulls with hearts of gold, etc, ad nauseam. Ditto for the underworld slang repartee between them. One thing I liked: the narrators' loathing of loud public "jabbering" on cell phones. In a scene on the Metro North Line, a hacker jams the cells of the "howler monkeys" in the car. For me that was a satisfying fantasy. The reason that "Trains" is so much better, I think, is that it's set in a Midwestern city, minus all the stock "family" and underworld figures of the New York Burke novels. I'll have to be pretty hard up to wade through another Vachss production.

[Harry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Personally, I couldn't continue. I found the main character insufferable. Maybe if it had been written in third person I wouldn't have taken issue, but I felt like the protagonist was working so hard to convince me he was mujeriego, cunning, colmilludo, badass, etc that I started to not believe him. Why would he keep telling me all this if it was inherently true? Metaphors were weak and dialogue was odd, especially prof. Where did he get that vocabulary from? who speaks such a weird mix of dated european vernacular and American slang, but always in rhyme? why? Anyways, got to a point where interesting advancements in the plot were too few and far between long stories to remind you Burke was, indeed, a hardcore criminal with a brilliant mind and a heart of gold. I Couldn't get into the world Vachss built and for that it receives this rating from me.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not my favorite Andrew Vachss novel, but it's solid. For those readers who don't know Andrew Vachss, he's a NYC-based writer who also spends time in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle, I'm surmising, as he's not that complimentary about Portland in his last several novels). He writes about a very dark side of New York. His protagonist is a criminal who searches out pedophiles for punishment, having been raised by the State and experienced all too many o the horrors he punishes.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been years since my last Vachss book, and my first audio. Hard-boiled is an overused understatement in his case. Burke is his tough hero (with a heart of gold) obsessed with abused children (he was one), and a very long and guilty memory. I enjoyed this quick listen, though there were times when his similes and metaphors crashed over the top of self-parody: suddenly, he's Guy Noir private eye, and it wrecked the tone.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on CD while driving my little truck to and fro. Because of that, I couldn't get into the flow of the story but did continue to the end. And the end seemed to support some of the story but there seemed to be a lot of unnecessary filler sections. Other readers have a better view of this book than I, but it was not one of my favorites.

There were sections where child molesters were brought to "street justice" and, I loved those parts.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

#124 09/03/06
MASK MARKET by Andrew Vachss
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Suspense, 2006, 241 pgs
TIME/PLACE: Present, NYC
CHARACTERS: Burke/outlaw investigator
COMMENTS: Burke is hired to find a missing woman. He discovers that he has already found this person once, 20 yrs ago. He rescued Beryl at age 13 from a brutal pimp.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mask Market (Burke #16) by Andrew Vachss (Pantheon Books 2006) (Fiction - Mystery) opens with Burke meeting a potential new client in a diner. The client hands Burke a computer disk then steps out to his car, and Burke watches as the client is assassinated. My rating: 5/10, finished 6/20/11.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was Vachss that got me into crime fiction way back in the early 90's. I hadn't read a Burke book in over 10 years as they are so hard to find in Australia. This was a bit of a disappointment. There are some trademark great one liners, but the story is bland and really quite pointless. I'll have to go back and re read the earlier works to get the Burke I remember.