Hard Candy

by Andrew Vachss

Book Overview

Now a paid assassin, Burke is on a collision course with a man named Train, who runs a safehouse for kids. But when Burke learns that his suspicions about Train are right (the safehouse keeps kids in harm's way), he becomes his own gun-for-hire.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394577914
• ISBN13: 9780394577913
• Release Date: June 1989
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 241 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Gritty Noir Novel With A Message

"Hard Candy" is Andrew Vachss' fourth Burke novel, a sequel of sorts to "Blue Belle," book three. Tackle "Blue Belle" first, if you're interested, for a richer, more comprehensive read. Burke, is in a deep funk after losing his woman. Before Belle died, she asked Burke to pay her debts. He does what she would have wanted. But he is still cold, empty, locked in an inner jail he can't walk out of. "Once I could always find something on the sweet side of the edge I lived on. It was gone. Even in prison, there were some things you could laugh at. That was then." Vachss continues to reveal more of Burke's character, his grim inner world and his past in "Hard Candy." He is one of the most complex protagonists I have encountered in popular fiction - edgy, dark, an outcast, as hard-boiled as they come, a scam artist who is a standup guy, a righteous man, and above all, a survivor. Burke, the man, and the strange folks who people his world and call him" friend," are what make me a faithful fan and keep me hooked on the series. Word is out on the street that Burke, a sting artist, is now a gun for hire. There is heavy fallout from the rumor. The police hassle him and old friends, the kind he never wanted to see again, come out of the woodwork looking for him. First, Candy, an old flame from his reform school days, gives him a call - after all these years. "Little Candy. A whore in her heart, even then. Just what I needed to cheer me up." Candy is still a working girl - we should all be so successful - with mega-upscale digs and a fortune invested in her face and body - silicon implants, face lift, collagen injections, electrolysis, colored contact lenses, a wig in every color, a department store's worth of clothes, make-up, furs - more Neiman Marcus than Macy's. Can she be funding herself? What's her scam? Her teenage daughter, Elvira, dropped out of school and is with a so-called cult in Brooklyn. Candy wants Burke to bring her girl home. He agrees to check things out. In Brooklyn he meets the charismatic, soft-spoken Train, who maintains a safe-house for kids. Elvira is a member of his tribe. But is Train the real deal? Are the teens safer with him than on the streets? Burke has his own suspicions. His involvement with Train reunites him with another acquaintance from his adolescence - Wesley, a killing machine, a robot with a resume of death to show for his life. Burke always wanted to be just like him, totally cold, emotional as ice. Wes warns Burke off his turf - he stepped over the line once, without knowing it, when he killed Mortay in "Blue Belle." Now Burke's life is on the line if he messes with Wesley's work again. Just to make things interesting, the Mafia is also on his case. And Strega, the witch he wanted to forget, contacts him with a request. The usual suspects are all present, including: Max the Silent, a Mongolian warrior who calls Burke brother; Pansy is a warrior of another species - she's a Neapolitan mastiff and Burke's ro

Hard Candy Is Hard-Boiled!

This is the fourth in the Burke series. I have been reading the series in order and so far, this is my favorite, along with "Strega." I do recommend reading the series in order, and I particularly suggest you don't start with "Hard Candy" as prior understanding of the characters is essential.As a great fan of noir, I am devouring the Burke series. These books are so grim, so gritty. But in "Hard Candy" Burke is depressed and withdrawn from the events of the last book, so there is a whole new level of despair. As if Burke weren't already a hard case!If you like Ellroy, if you enjoy minimalist prose that hits hard, if you like a hard-boiled noir that's ultra-bleak and smoky, Andrew Vachss is for you. And while you'll enjoy all of the first four books of the Burke series, you'll derive a special dark pleasure from sucking on "Hard Candy."

Vachss at his darkest

The most compelling character in the Burke "detective" series, the assassain Wesley, is the star of "Hard Candy," one of the best books in the Burke series. Wesley is a killing machine, and no one can stop him, not even the mob. When the mob takes Wesley on, he plays cat and mouse with them...and litters the streets with bodies. The book also features Candy, a woman from Burke's childhood and through her Vachss provides more insight into his title charachter's psyche. Because it relys so heavily on the reader's knowledge of the background of the charachters, this is not the Burke novel to start with. But it is quite a satisfying read for the initiated.

A walk on the dark side that leaves you haunted/horrified

If the world is fast going to hell in a hand basket then the Burke novels gives you a microscopic view of the scummy bottom of that basket. An old flame hires Burke to do a job that will "save" her daughter. Be forewarned, this is not escapist reading but a searing look into a fiery hell of a world that God has abandoned. Required reading for those who like their Roman Noirs black as night and as bitter as unsweetened chocolate.

One of the best in the series . . .

Andrew Vachss has done it again. Picking up where "Blue Bell" left off, Burke is now a depressed recluse due to loss of his love. To make matters worse, an old flame named Candy reappears in his life. Candy had broken his heart and she now wants him to reclaim her daughter. Also reappearing in Burke's life is the psychotic assassin Wesley and the red-haired witch Strega. The book begins strong and then seems to become undone. However, Vachss masterfully pulls the strings together for an explosive (literally) ending to a satisfying piece of literature.