The Getaway Man

by Andrew Vachss

Eddie starts stealing cars long before he's old enough to get a license, driven by a force so compelling that he never questions, just obeys. After a series of false starts, interrupted by stays in juvenile institutions and a state prison term, Eddie's skills and loyalty attract the attention of J.C., a near-legendary hijacker. When he gets out, Eddie becomes the driver for J.C.'s ultra-professional crew. J.C., the master planner, is finally ready to pull off that one huge job every con dreams of ... the Retirement Score. But some roads have twists even a professional getaway man couldn't foresee ...

Andrew Vachss, a writer widely acclaimed for breathing new life and death into the crime genre, here presents a classic noir tale, relentlessly displaying and dissecting not guilt, but innocence.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Noir, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Hard Boiled

193 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

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

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simpleton car thief and getaway driver Eddie drifts in and out of prison until hooking up with J.C, a master planner. Things go south quickly when J.C.'s girlfriend Vonda wants a getaway man of her own...

I've greatly oversimplified the plot but that's pretty much it. The Getaway Man is a fast-paced page turner from Andrew Vachss. Not as bleak as his normal fare but it's still pretty good.

The narrator, Eddie, is slow but something of an idiot savant when it comes to cars and driving. He bounces from jail to jail and crime to crime, meeting women and learning lessons along the way. Then he meets up with J.C. and the book really takes off. The voice Vachss give Eddie is both believeable and sympathetic. You get the idea that Eddie's been lead around his whole life and isn't aware of it. When Vonda shows up, Eddie's probably the only one who doesn't know what her game is. It reads more like a Jim Thompson than an Andrew Vachss.

It's at this time you may notice the three star rating. For being less than 200 pages, the pace is a little slow for the first half. Sixty pages are spent on Eddie's background. It was necessary to the plot but it wasn't all that interesting. There's not a lot else to tell. It's a pretty slim book. Like I said in the previous paragraph, the ending was pretty predictable. Other than that, I have no complaints. Vachss proved he could write something besides one of his Burke novels in The Getaway Man.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Getaway Man by Andrew Vachss is one terrific crime fiction story. Its a barebones, tight-phrased masterpiece of the genre. It is one of those books you know is going to be good from the first page when Eddie (that's the narrator) talks about pulling up in front of the bank at two in the afternoon on a Thursday because Tim said its always slow in the bank at that time, especially on Thursdays. The next paragraph talks about how Virgil had a double-barreled sawed-off and how Tim had a pair of pistols and, geez, we are off to the races. Don't blink because every page in this book is handcrafted excellence.

The book is about a kid who grew up wanting to drive and I mean drive. He would get popped for joyriding and the cops wouldn't believe he was alone because he was too small to be driving. The story details how he spent his time in and out of juvie camp farms and adult prison and saw his true calling as a getaway driver, thus the title. He is, despite being a criminal, a true innocent who relies on his companions for the planning and knows no one is as good a getaway driver as he is.

The story is not complex plot-wise, but the writing certainly is. The sense of humor in the narrator's voice is incredible. He is a simple soul that perhaps doesn't even know he is being funny. Inside, some guys get tattoos, he says, so other guys will know where they've been, but he never wanted one and figured people can always tell, anyway.
Real good stuff , indeed.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

[Abraham Thunderwolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Getaway Man is a story about, Eddie, a simple man who loves to drive. While doing a stint in the big house Eddie meets J.C., a real pro at the stick up business, who takes him under his wing as his getaway driver. After a while the crew has one last big job, something that will set them up for life, but, "some roads have twists even a professional getaway man can't forsee..."

Okay, you know how people say that to never judge a book by it's cover? Yeah, well if I see a book with androgynous pointy eared people hanging around a clearing or something on it's cover there's a 95% chance I won't read it. As you can see the cover to this book is not a bunch of pouting elves, so you know I had to at least crack it open. Of course good covers don't make a good book, but The Getaway Man is badass. It's a real fast read, mainly because the story is told through Eddie's eyes and he's like the Forest Gump of wheelmen. It's facinating to me how a simply written story can be so engrossing; Vachss really, really knows what he's doing and it's a thing of wonder. There's crime, there's dames, there's cars, yeah yeah, but like rock and roll has shown time and time again, if it ain't broke don't fix it. The Getaway Man has one of the most devastating last pages I have ever read, the kind that really hits you like a punch to the gut. Good times.

[Daniel Polansky]

Your classic simpleton-defined-by-his-talent-gets-in-over-his-head story, but masterfully done. Really, really strong. I never read anything by Vachss before, but this is an exceptional entry into a pretty well worn genre. It's mean, its funny, it's propulsive, it resists the instinct to get sentimental in the last act, which for some reason most of these novels can't quite avoid. Worth your time, I'll pick up another by the author soon.

[Ed [Redacted] · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent, pulpy, noir little book about a getaway driver named Eddie. The book starts with Eddie as a youngster stealing cars and driving them around until the police catch up to him. He gets sent to various youth facilities and then finally to the pen after a heist goes pretty wrong. While at the pen he meets up with a charismatic criminal named J.C. and ends up working for him when he is finally released. Hijinks ensue.

The Getaway Man was a very fast read and was certainly a page turner. The protagonist was about the only character in the book with any development at all. Even so, he seemed almost a caricature. Eddie is very slow on the uptake. He is really good with cars and not very good with other people or really anything else. None of the other characters have much in the way of development.

The biggest problem I had with the book was the simplicity of the writing. I understand the book was written from the POV of a simpleton (Eddie) however I didn't find the prose to be engaging or to have much nuance.

On the other hand, The Getaway Man was a page turner and, again, a very fast read. I will read something else from Vachss in the future, probably in the near future. I didn't feel like I wasted my time reading this book, I had just hoped for more from an author I had heard much about.

*************Here there be spoilers****************************************************************



In the end, Eddie is very easily and obviously manipulated by the standard noir femme fatale in the standard noir fashion and comes to the standard noir end (probably, the book ends without stating explicitly what happens to Eddie). The end can be seen coming from about three quarters of the way through the book or so. It is so obvious, I have to believe Vachss intends it to be so. I can see where this type of approach might have some appeal but it just didn't work for me in this case.

[Sherryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been a five if it weren't for the extremely abrupt ending, which felt like a kick in the stomach, I couldn't believe the author had the gall to end it at that point. Aside from that, I like this better than his latest book The Weight. It flows a lot better, none of the draggy parts that is evident in his later works is seen here.

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

i only picked this one up because i'd finished watching the movie baby driver and liked it and supposedly this was a similar type of situation and this book was so GOOD it was a pretty fast read but it had a good sense of character voice and the whole time had me on the edge of my seat. i cannot believe it!!

[Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is marketed as a sort of throwback to the pulp paperback original crime novels of the 1950s/1960s. The cover design is reminiscent of such books and even features a blurb that explicitly compares it to such books. Its voice and style are reminiscent of such books, as the slightly dim getaway man of the title, Eddie, tells the story of his life of crime. Pulp staples such as the one big last score, multiple betrayals, and the femme fatale are major elements. Unlike the typical pulp crime book, though, this one is fairly loosely-plotted. Much of the first third to half of the book has little bearing on the main plot, once it gets started, documenting instead Eddie's youth and inevitable slide into habitual criminality. For me, this was the more interesting part of the book, as it is less conventional than what follows. In fact, and amusingly, Eddie becomes fascinated with movies about driving, enjoying watching them and critiquing how accurate they are. At the very point the novel begins to lose its bearings and fall into cliche, there is a scene in which Eddie talks about the inevitable moment in such movies when the film stops getting it right and being real. I'd like to think that's wry irony on Vachss's part as the novel, in its final third, morphs into a predictable reiteration of the old chestnut of the femme fatale taking in the sucker and getting him to do the dirty work before the final, inevitable double cross. It's done well enough, but it's just been done so many times. . . . Regardless, I found this a much more engaging read than the last several Vachsses I read, so I am glad I decided to give it a whirl.

[Elli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew Vachss has been one of my favorites for quite a while now. I don't know how I managed to miss Getaway Man. I particularly know the Burke series. People who have been in particular sexually abused since childhood and somehow form themselves into a family. And somehow there is a sort of an underground community of those who understand from experience when things come do come up and there is a need for help. Vachss himself has been an activist in his legal work in this area as well as in his writing. In at least one of his books, he's taken on international underage sexual slavery for profit. Getaway Man has another major theme, though, although the backgrounds of abuse are very much present in a couple of the characters. And he portrays attitudes of the characters involved so well! Getaway man has almost an obsession with driving cars. Starts young stealing them (for the drive, not possession), and graduates through the penal system into a very capable man in the field. And he finds capable people to work with. It's a noir book, reminiscent of the older hard-boiled type. It's well done and smooth, with lots of drawing power keeping the tension until the very end.

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story of an unnamed young man raised in the correctinal system who devotes his life to becoming a getaway driver. The thought and detail that Vachss devles into exploring the Driver's psyche is pretty amazing and really well done. As always with Vachss, we get a bunch of interesting characters, from the brother bankrobbers who take the Driver under their wing to the cleptomaniac trust fund baby who the Driver shacks up with for a short time. Cool story, cool characters and an ending I certainly didn't see coming, this is a really good read and should be of particular intersest to lovers of crime fiction and cars.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended by my brother, who got it from another brother, who got it from yet another brother. I can see why they liked it. This was a really quick read, and I was glued to the story. Really absorbing, with a terrific twist at the end. I would give it four stars, except that there are only two women in the book, and they're both awful, shallow characters whose only redeeming qualities are good looks. I love the sweet simplicity and quiet depth of the main character, though.

[Cathy DuPont · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW WOW and WOW

Andrew Vachss fan (or not) pick this up and begin reading.

All Eddie wants to be is a respected getaway man. It's easy to root for this anti-hero.

And the ending, well,

[Dwight Carmouche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vachss captures the mind and spirit of the pure criminal. Very well done. Got to read more ...

[John Curley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read. I have yet to read a Vachss book that wasn't good but this is one of his best. Great pace, characters and plot. I highly recommend it.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad for commercial-grade crime fiction.

[Bradley Valentine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vachss is one of the few really reliable crime writers I turn to for a good time. His stuff is pulpy goodness, but laces with reality lacking on other books. I dig it a lot. The problem here is his wonderful premise is hindered by a painfully obvious twist ending, which really should have been the start of another part of an over all revenger story. The lead character is a dope, guys. He is, uh, what we used to describe growing up in the 80s as semi-retarded (like, "My name is Tony and I'm semi-retarded - Unh!"). In this case, it means the lead character while deficient in most basic ways he is still a maestro behind the wheel.

Without spoiling much, lemme just say that I very much wanted to spend more time with this short novel. I wants the end to be a new beginning where the stale premise of a wronged noir criminal follows a trail of vengeance. Only HERE the hook is that the guy is rather dim and having to find ways to achieve his goal anyway.

Instead it feels like Vachss abruptly lost the thread, lost interest, and rounded the story off to its nearest conclusion and walked. Honestly it's a bit of a shame.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Getaway Man by Andrew Vachss (Vintage Crime 2003) (Fiction - Mystery) (3979).

I was excited to discover The Getaway Man by Andrew Vachss, for it was an Andrew Vachss tale that I had not yet read! The Getaway Man is a stand-alone novel, but fans of Vachss' writing will recognize a familiar Andrew Vachss story arc. Our protagonist Eddie was abandoned by his mother at birth and raised in state institutions, where his world view and self-image were warped and scarred beyond redemption. The only thing that Eddie knew for sure was that he wanted to become a car driver - not a race car driver, but the type of driver who can never be caught: the perfect “getaway man.”

The story follows Eddie as he chases his dream.

This is no spoiler, but here’s a promise to future readers of The Getaway Man: no matter your level of interest in this narrative, the final four words of the story will blow you away.

My rating: 7/10, finished 8/15/24 (3979).

[Brad Allis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, fun throwback to the pulp fiction of yesteryear. Vachss chooses a quick, breezy style that works well in this tale of Eddie, a young man obsessed with cars and driving. Our naive narrator just wants to drive and this both gets him in trouble and gives his life purpose. The book is from Eddie's viewpoint and his simple worldview is conveyed in the sparse prose. While the story is not bogged down with detailed descriptions and lengthy passages. This is a fast read, fitting for Eddie's fast lifestyle and fast getaways.

The story setting is unusual as it has a lot of modern trappings such as recent movies, but has a lot of the same trappings as 1950's crime dramas including shifty crews and a few femme fatales. There are some similarities to the movie Baby Driver, so if you liked it, like classic crime pulp, or just want a quick, fun read, the Getaway Man is a good one.

[Buddy Scalera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt like a decent short story that was stretched into a novella. I've read and enjoyed other books by this author in the past, but this isn't one of my favorites by him. I just felt like trying something that wasn't part of a series, and this seemed like a nice self-contained story.

The story is told in a first-person POV by a criminal who specializes in driving the getaway car. (There are some similarities to the film "Baby Driver.") It's an interesting exercise in character voice that would have been more effective with less filler.

It's not terrible because the book is breezy and interesting take on crime. Plus, Vachss is really good at writing about street-level crime and violence. It's not really a good place to start, if you want to try something by Andrew Vachss.

[Josh Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It's good to be known as a thief when you go Inside. Its even better to be known as a killer, but only a certain kind. Like if you killed someone in a fight, that would be good. Or if someone paid you to do it.”
.
Finished reading The Getaway Man by Andrew Vachss … loved it though there’s not much to say about it. This was pulp fiction from the first page to the last page. It was about as straight pulp as you can get. Huge twist ending that I did not see coming but I loved it all the same.

This book reminded me a great deal of Rumrunners by Eric Beetner so if you like that style, you’ll love this.

[Jim Phelps · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one so fast I had not yet posted that I started it. Vachss can be fun but I find many of his books kind of seem the same. This one is different it is exactly what it appears to be on the cover, a fun pulp fiction ride. He does a great job of recreating the style. About the only thing the cover may miss lead you is the era of the story. It takes place in I think 80s or early 90s. Still the gritty aspects of an old pulp books is there with a convincing 1st person voice. Great lead character that you will be rooting for. I enjoyed this book a fun quick read.

[Janice Workman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An audio book listened to while in the car. Held my interest, to a degree. Not sure I would have chosen it to listen to, but it was in the back of the CD by Vachess that I had just finished. Surprise ending.

[Dick Ulmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely an interesting book from the point of view of one of the criminals.

[Rubin Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Vachss has created a certified crime classic in the old school Noir tradition
with this story of the life of Eddie
from novice to pro getaway driver for a heist
A great read

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I would have preferred to see this rather than read this.

[mirian · Rating 2 out of 5]

olha achei bem bobinho e fora da minha bolha mas assim o final dkkkkkkk o Eddie nunca foi feliz cara kkkkk

[Josiah Sterling · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.25/5)

An engaging modern crime book about a getaway driver. I like how it was told, kind of reminded me of protagonists in modern lit books.

[Jordan West · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75; an entertaining companion novel to Sallis' Drive, with a protagonist who resembles Gosling's Driver by way of the faulknerian idiot manchild.

[Victor Catano · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great noir thriller with some classic Vachss touches.