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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A greater writer, who has earned the right to preach!!!, 27 April 1998
By A Customer
I have enjoyed reading the noir of Andrew Vachss. His is a very hard boiled, no holds barred style, and will always, if nothing else leave his readers thinking. However, I'm rather surprised by the negative feed back Vachss has received for "False Allegations". The novel is certainly in keeping with Vachss' style and his character Burke. It is fast paced, and reads like his other works. Yet many seem to feel it is a bit preachy. To a certain extent it is preachy, But so what? Vachss having devoted his life to the helping of children, and abused children in particular, has earned the right to give a bit of a sermon if he so desires. His detractors should keep in mind that as a lawyer he didn't have to specialize in children' assistance, and defense. He could have specialized in other areas of law, become a real shark, and earned a fortune. But he didn't, and instead devoted his career to child welfare, and protection.And what they will learn is that unlike so many people in our day, Vachss doesn't simply talk the talk, he also walks the walk!!! Which is more than most people can say today. To not just believe in something, (Whatever it might be.) but living it on a daily basis. While I fully recognize that as noir prose, this novel isn't as hard boiled as his other Burke novels, nevertheless it is still a great read with a very legitimate message. It is for this reason that I gave it a ten. I have recently read "Safe House", the latest Burke novel, it was excellent, and I look forward to more in the Burke series. The series should be read in order starting with "Flood", and "False Allegations", the ninth in the Burke series should not be passed up.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
So-so...weakest entry of the Burke stories, 7 Nov 1997
By A Customer
The novel starts out promising: Burke uncovers a possible set-up when a ex-stripper asks Burke to burgularize the apt. of unknown man who subsidizes her. Then the paces slows down tremendously as Burke discovers this is only really a tie-in to a lawyer investigating a client's claim of sexual abuse. Very little happens (action-wise) after the first 1/3 of the book; returning characters like Max, Mama, the Prof, and Clarence out written out at this point, although the author gives some meaty details to the clinical study of how child abuse is diagnosed and treated. This novel is probably only useful of those who've read Vachss' other Burke novels, since it reintroduces such characters as Wolfe, the hard-edged bureau investigator. If you you're new to Vachss, try his other titles instead, ie. Flood, Sacrifice, Hard Candy, etc.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Bother Picking A Side..., 23 Sep 1997
By A Customer
The debate over "false allegations" is examined in Andrew Vachss' latest novel of the same name. Burke, the mercenary lead character, is forced into employment by a wealthy attorney (known only as Kite) who specializes in uncovering false claims of past child abuse. Burke's task: to decide whether or not Kite's current client was an abused child.
In Burke's search for the truth, Vachss wisely resists the temptation to merely pick a side, and instead describes the lengths and efforts used by Burke (including a visit to real-life Dr. Bruce Perry of CIVITAS at Baylor College) to arrive at his conclusion. Every angle and argument in the false allegations debate is given equal time; the jumble may be confusing, and it's meant to be; it IS a difficult thing to ferret out the truth. Never one for subtlety, Vachss' message here is quite clear: the "answer" to the false allegation question can only come from a careful, methodical examination of each individual case; there is no one answer for all of them. Vachss' fiction, as well as his other writings, has always focused on child abuse, and the uninitiated may be repelled by his graphic depictions of the violence directed at children. But he also makes a point of educating his audience on a horrible subject. What is truly repulsive about his stories is that, sadly, they are all too real.
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