Another Life by Andrew Vachss 

Long-time fans of Andrew Vachss’s Burke novels will be saddened to learn that, after 18 volumes and 23 years, this is scheduled to be the last appearance for the felonious hero and his family of choice. Vachss will continue writing, of course. He has a novel based on Geoff Darrow’s Shaolin Cowboy in the works and, since he’s probably the hardest working person on the planet, we can expect more.

Like all of Vachss’s work, this novel works as an action/mystery tale and as a conveyance for deeper truths. In both senses, Another Life picks up where the last novel, Terminal, left off. The Prof, Burke’s mentor, is in a coma after a project went off the rails. When a shady intelligence agent offers to get the Prof the best medical care available and provide clean identities for young members of Burke’s family, Burke has no choice but to take the deal. In exchange, he must find the kidnapped son of a Saudi diplomat, presumably in the hands of pedophiles. Nothing in the case is as it seems, of course. On the deeper level, we see the final harvest of all the work Burke’s family has done over all these years—the blossoming of another life, a better life, for the younger generation.

For readers unfamiliar with Burke, this is not the place to start. Trying to piece together the backstory in this final book would be confusing and, without that background, the novel would lose much of its power. Try starting with False Allegations or Vachss’s stand-alone novel, Two Trains Running. For Burke’s fans, Another Life is sure to be a winner. Burke is forced to reconsider some parts of his own past that he considered closed and the outcome for Burke’s family is satisfying and entirely in keeping with the logic of Burke’s world. Vachss has developed into one of the truly great stylists, with a distinctive, almost telegraphic voice that still manages to create rich characterizations and tightly woven plots. Reading one of his novels is always time well spent.

Reviewed by Zade

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