From a writer whose novels have been acclaimed for their unflinching exploration of evil comes a brilliant collection of short stories—some never before published—that distill dread back down to its essence—and inject it straight into the reader’s back brain. Andrew Vachss might have scissored his characters from today’s headlines: a stalker prowling around an anonymous high-rise; a serial killer whose transgressions reflect a childhood of hideous abuse; an inner-city gunman who is willing to take out a blockful of victims in order to win a moment of acceptance.
Tautly written and endowed with murderous ironic spin, Born Bad plunges us into the hell that lies just outside our bedroom windows.
“We are taken not simply into the mean streets but into a subterranean nightmare world, a place as compelling and morally challenging as any to be found in the best crime fiction today.”
—Washington Post Book World
“[Vachss is] able to wring edginess from his portrayal of a society hovering beneath the radar.”
—Village Voice
“Vachss seems bottomlessly knowledgeable about the depth and variety of human twistedness.”
—The New York Times
| A Flash of White Alibi Anytime I Want Born Bad Cain Cough Crime Partner Bandit Cripple Mad Dog Statute of Limitations Crossfire Value Received Hard Case Kidnap Date Rape Dead Game Dialogue Drive-by Dumping Ground Exit Family resemblanc Hostage |
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It’s a Hard World Joyride Lynch Law Man to Man Plan B Replay Replay: A Play in Three Acts Bridge Placebo Rules of the Road Step on a Crack Stone Magic The Promise The Unwritten Law Treatment Bum’s Rush Tunnel of Love Bad Babies Into the Light Warlord Warrior White Alligator Witch Hunt Working Roots |
