Justice, Rage, Retribution & Vachss

Amazon.com: Unlike some authors who have successful series, you have also written a fair number of standalone crime novels. Is there a difference in how you write a novel outside of a series versus one for a series?

Vachss: There is a significant difference, and not just technically. In a series, you always have a backstory, and you jump back and forth in time. The main trick is to keep those who have been with you from the beginning entertained, while providing enough information for those who are joining from a random book and meeting the characters for the first time. Two Trains Are Running is an even bolder experiment. As you noted, I’ve written novels outside of a series before, but this book is unlike anything I’ve written because all the other books outside the Burke series are written in the first person. Not only is the narrative told in the third person, but rather than an omniscient narrator doing all the work for the reader, the reader is “observing” the events themselves—and you have to learn to watch and listen without being privy to inner thoughts or memories. The story unfolds in real time, in the past and the future, from the characters’ different perspectives, so the story is constantly evolving… so all the action on the book’s 450-plus pages takes place over the course of two weeks. It’s like working on a huge canvas with a fine brush.

Amazon.com: Your Burke books often seem to express your own feelings about the justice system, particularly regarding child protection. Was there a specific message you were trying to convey in Two Trains Are Running?

Vachss: There are many messages in Two Trains, all of which I hope readers will understand by the time they finish the book. But the main message is the book itself. The title is no accident—it really is two books under one cover. The first is a fast-flowing river; the second is an undercurrent. And the real message in the book is this: If you sail down the river without knowing the pitfalls, you’ll never be able to steer the boat.

Amazon.com: Why did you set the story in the late 1950s? Is that important to the plot?

Vachss: Yes, timing is crucial. Late 1959 was, in my view, the turning point after which all of American social policy took a certain path, and we are living with the consequences of that today. My goal was to take the actual historical facts and mix them with facts that should be acknowledged— merely “knowing” isn’t enough for events like the lynching of Emmett Till and the Tuskegee Experiment, to name just two of many mentioned—and add my own explanation/analysis of the motivations of the parties. Now, if only I could make readers consider whether my version of how Al Capone contracted syphilis is logical and sound. And that’s the goal. Not to write some historical conspiracy theory, but to motivate people to take a second look at the facts. Carefully.

Amazon.com: Royal Bomo is a fascinating character. Is he the bad guy in Two Trains Running? Or is he a good guy?

Vachss: The cover of Two Trains is stark, black and white, quite deliberately, as all the characters are drawn in shades of gray. What kind of Royal Bomo do you see? The man who forged an empire from the lies of a poisoned childhood? A protector, a leader, a visionary? A man who taught others brotherhood and friendship and the dangers of fanaticism? A man who saved an entire city from ruin? Or a cold-blooded killer? A deputy god? A master manipulator? How do you see his relationship with his sister? A poignant love story or a study in vice? If I’ve done my job well, how you see Royal Bomo will depend on your perspective, not the book.

Amazon.com: There are many themes in Two Trains Running—Black militants fighting for equality, youth gangs vying for territory, the FBI pursuing its own agenda, a newspaper reporter seeking the truth, the Bomo gang trying to hold on to their city—are their causes noble? Do any of them really have noble motives?

Vachss: Is protecting your family noble? Sure, in theory. The question—the question this book asks throughout—is how can you be noble if you resort to violence, extortion, blackmail, even mass murder? The struggle for freedom from oppression, in my view, is noble in itself. But noble causes attract a wide range of participants, and many are far from noble. Look at Jimmy Procter. In many ways, he is a true journalist, a true believer seeking the Way, his only god being Truth. Yet what he does to serve his god is anything but noble. Search by product…There is the happy end. Always. Look at Carl. You couldn’t imagine a man more dedicated to his cause, willing to sacrifice everything for it. But the cause itself is unspeakably vile. And the FBI is playing their game, controlling the weapons supply to both the New Blacks and the street gangs… or are they controlled by even more shadowy forces? Throughout the book, there are those who doggedly pursue what they passionately believe in… but the nobility of the deed doesn’t always equate to the nobility of the cause.

Amazon.com: Near the end of the book, Walker Dett tells his story to Tassie and explains that he’s trying to slow down a “dark train.” Without givingaway too much, for those who haven’t read the book yet, will he succeed?

Vachss: Walker Dett can’t think in terms of success or failure. He wants redemption, and he’s focused only on that goal. Until he meets Tassie…

Amazon.com: Are you working on another book now? Is it a Burke novel or a standalone novel? Do you have a working title you can share?

Vachss: I’m always working on a book, whether in my head or on paper. Because this one took so long to finish, I’ve been working on other projects at the same time… especially during the breaks I took while writing the manuscript, trying to find the most accurate way to present a lot of facts without losing the strength of the storyline… and I can say with certainty that the new book will be in the Burke series. The working title is “The Mask Market.”