False Allegations

by Andrew Vachss

Book Overview

Burke--ex-con, mercenary, sometime killer--makes his living preying on New York's most vicious predators and avenging their innocent victims. But in Andrew Vachss's mercilessly suspenseful new novel, Burke finds himself working the other side of the street, where guilt and innocence are as disposable as the sheets in a Times Square hotel--and as dirty.

Burke's new employer is Kite, a fanatical crusader who specializes in debunking false allegations...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679772936
• ISBN13: 9780679772934
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

One of Vachss' BEST!

If you're a Vachss fan, by ALL means. ..don't pass this one up. It's one of his best. Even if or, perhaps, especially if you are not familiar with his writing I HIGHLY recommend it!

My favorite of the Vachss Burke Books!

Andrew Vachss would have to be considered my favorite writer. He write some of the most hard, heavy, disturbing, graphic, and redemming material I have ever read. This book, was certainly no less. False Allegations is a story about Burke, a mercanary investigator dredging into whether a child abuse case was fabricated or real. He is hired by a man named Kite, who debunks false "Child Abuse" cases. One thing to note, is that Burke is fanatical in helping children. It is his one honorable and honest trait. Otherwise he is no less a con-man/hit man who presides over a "family" of criminals. Anyway, this was excellantly written, the plot was really good, the characters were fully explored. Excellant book! I would strongly recommend this book!

The best fiction is non-fiction

A lot of crime authors write fluff: Prose without a purpose. No one would ever accuse Vachss of that. His stories are all part of a message: We make our own monsters. As amazing as Vachss' Burke novels are, they are made that much more significant when the reader realizes that the stories aren't fiction, but fictionalized truth. Everything Vachss writes has happened, is happening. He's seen it up close. That point is brought home most clearly in False Allegations. False Allegations highlights the work-and the importance of the work-of the CIVITAS ChildTrauma Programs at Baylor College of Medicine. That organization is conducting neurobiological research to understand *exactly* how trauma effects the developing brain, and how to counteract that trauma. The information is imparted through the narrative, when Burke needs a final, authoritative word on whether or not a woman was the victim of childhood abuse. It's part of a larger narrative involving, as the title clearly states, "false allegations"-Vachss' writing will certainly infuriate anyone married to either side of the debate, and will enlighten anyone with enough sense to keep an open mind on the issue. False Allegations is the best kind of novel. It's totally enthralling and exciting, and, at the same time, educational. If everything in life served such dual purposes, we would have all the problems of society beat in half the time.

Don't Bother Picking A Side...

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

Vachss takes on the talk show circuit...

In the latest and possibly last of the Burke series, our anti-hero finds himself entangled in the world of "false memory syndrome." Is child abuse the witch hunt of the 90's, or is the "syndrome" just a tool of high-priced lawyers defending monsters? Burke does a lot of digging to find out. With hints of Don't! Buy! Thai! and the CIVITAS research group, this book comes closest to what Vachss does in real life, helping the abused prosecute the predators. Highest recommendation.