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  <title><![CDATA[Shella]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]></description>
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        <name><![CDATA[Andrew Vachss]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
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    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
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  <read_at>Sat Nov 13 00:00:00 -0800 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Dec 23 07:24:37 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 23 07:26:48 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Vachss writing is spare and brutally to the point, the man doesn't waste a word. The world he writes about is bleak, devastating and brutal. In Shella he delves into the world of a young boy abandoned, living with fear and the constant threat of abuse, who grew up to be a cold-hearted, brutal killer...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81848330">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81848330]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Raegan]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
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  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <read_at>Thu Feb 02 00:00:00 -0800 1995</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Apr 27 08:23:52 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Apr 27 08:26:01 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Andrew Vachss is a superb writer. His prose is  spare and lean  and this novel is even more stark and minimalist than his Burke novels. This one features a hitman named &quot;ghost&quot; and  charts similar territory as the Burke series.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21090394]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21090394]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>4341725</id>
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    <id>244519</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tommy]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
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  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Aug 09 19:23:34 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Aug 09 19:37:39 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[By far my favorite book by Andrew Vachss.  I'm almost sorry I started with this novel, because after it, the &quot;Burke&quot; novels (basically everything else Vachss has written) just can't match it's power (though they are good, if a bit repetitive.)<br/><br/>Vachss is a really interesting guy,...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4341725">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4341725]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>39048176</id>
    <user>
    <id>171197</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ben]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Los Angeles, CA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0679424164</isbn>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
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  <average_rating>3.50</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.<br/><br/><br/><em>From the Trade Paperback edition.</em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Dec 01 13:34:03 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 01 13:38:02 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[We finally fell asleep. When I opened my eyes, it was after one o'clock. Misty was sleeping on her belly next to me, my belt wrapped around her wrists, looped over the bedpost. I touched a spot on her neck and she came around.<br/><br/>&quot;What's all this?&quot; I asked her, pulling on the belt....<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39048176">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39048176]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39048176]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>69811149</id>
    <user>
    <id>2687953</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Meredith Singleton]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Indianapolis, IN]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
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  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
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    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 02 09:55:26 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 02 09:58:13 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book was horrible.  When I first started reading it, it was just kind of off.  I guess I was used to how the author wrote the Burke series.  I labored through this book.  I read it in its entirety because of Vachss being the author.  But I wouldn't suggest anyone else picking this book up.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69811149]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69811149]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>56909885</id>
    <user>
    <id>2343162</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Brobdignanian]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Crystal River, FL]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
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  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
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    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu May 21 18:46:26 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu May 21 18:51:57 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was the first book by this author to catch my eye.  Each sentence was just as suspenseful as the last. I was heartbroken every time I had to put it down, but finished it in one night nonetheless.  Andrew Vachss has been my favorite author since the moment I read the dedication page.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56909885]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56909885]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Dufour]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Arlington, VA]]></location>
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    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
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  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="crime" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 31 07:27:15 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Feb 04 11:06:21 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was Vachss' first one-off from the Burke series in which he tells the story of Ghost, a dyed-in-the-wool killer who can do nothing else and yet feels no enmity towards any of his marks. He meets a girl, Shella, who changes his life, but his inability to emote (caused again by the harsh terror o...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14149354">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14149354]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14149354]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>72834398</id>
    <user>
    <id>1652316</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Michael]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Okatie, SC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1652316-michael]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1224982337p3/1652316.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">603778</id>
  <isbn>0679756817</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780679756811</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">15</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119m/603778.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119s/603778.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/603778.Shella</link>
  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Sep 28 18:37:12 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Sep 28 18:37:31 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Weird sex; stone killer; pure garbage; kinda fun.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72834398]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72834398]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>75280518</id>
    <user>
    <id>2862898</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Shelley]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Cecilia, LA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2862898-shelley]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1256173975p3/2862898.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">603778</id>
  <isbn>0679756817</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780679756811</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">15</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119m/603778.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119s/603778.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/603778.Shella</link>
  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 21 13:27:58 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Oct 21 13:28:39 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Strange but good.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75280518]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75280518]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>17084122</id>
    <user>
    <id>78503</id>
    <name><![CDATA[chris]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Bellingham, WA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/78503-chris-gusta]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1180907854p3/78503.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">1875378</id>
  <isbn>0679424164</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780679424161</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">3</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372244m/1875378.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372244s/1875378.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1875378.Shella</link>
  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.<br/><br/><br/><em>From the Trade Paperback edition.</em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Mar 05 10:10:28 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Mar 05 10:20:59 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A well written account of a psychopath with a purpose.  I like the descriptions of the violence in this book, the way they're talked about with wonderful detail, dispassionately.  There's a particular scene with someone being whipped with a car antenna, that I think was fantastic.  The &quot;story&quot;...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17084122">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17084122]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17084122]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>26480140</id>
    <user>
    <id>807221</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kathleen]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/807221-kathleen]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1202177579p3/807221.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">603778</id>
  <isbn>0679756817</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780679756811</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">15</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119m/603778.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119s/603778.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/603778.Shella</link>
  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jun 27 00:00:00 -0700 1993</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jul 06 18:21:19 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jul 06 18:23:43 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Vachss writes about ugly stuff, and this is a story from the point of view of a serial killer who became that way because of the abuse he suffered as a child.  In some ways, it wasn't as ugly as some of his other books, but in other ways, the characters were not as interesting to me.  At least Burke...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26480140">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26480140]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26480140]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>16349269</id>
    <user>
    <id>724291</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Rick]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Bedford, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/724291-rick]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1198957124p3/724291.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">603778</id>
  <isbn>0679756817</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780679756811</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">15</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119m/603778.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119s/603778.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/603778.Shella</link>
  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Feb 25 15:52:52 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Feb 25 15:55:22 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[ I've read a few of Vachss novels and I think this is the best one that I've read. It's a stand alone book, so you don't need to know any back story of the characters.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16349269]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16349269]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>33468353</id>
    <user>
    <id>1520404</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Azariphale]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Orillia, Canada]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1520404-azariphale]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221180025p3/1520404.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">603778</id>
  <isbn>0679756817</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780679756811</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">15</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119m/603778.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119s/603778.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/603778.Shella</link>
  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="favourites" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Sep 21 17:03:54 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Sep 21 17:04:53 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[There is something very fluid abnout the way Vachss Writes Characters, how they think, act, feel. I find myself polishing off any of this novels in no time at all.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33468353]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33468353]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>26168229</id>
    <user>
    <id>1207138</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Keith]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Richmond, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1207138-keith]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1234066847p3/1207138.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">1875378</id>
  <isbn>0679424164</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780679424161</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">3</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372244m/1875378.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372244s/1875378.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1875378.Shella</link>
  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.<br/><br/><br/><em>From the Trade Paperback edition.</em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="crime" />
        <shelf name="general-fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 02 18:32:00 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jul 02 18:36:59 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I think this was my introduction to Andrew Vachss, private eye, lawyer and attourney specializing in child protective cases.  Good writer, disturbing material.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26168229]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26168229]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>23000856</id>
    <user>
    <id>353117</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lester]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/353117-lester]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">603778</id>
  <isbn>0679756817</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780679756811</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">15</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119m/603778.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194372119s/603778.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/603778.Shella</link>
  <average_rating>3.92</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>264</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
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    <body><![CDATA[Dark, sad, violent...beautiful, in its own terrible way.<br/><br/>This book hits me in a deeply personal place.<br/><br/>Recommended.  ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23000856]]></url>
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    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
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    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Jet-black noir. Chilling and moving at the same time.]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[Shella]]>
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    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[holy crazy eyepatch, batman!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21613961]]></url>
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    <![CDATA[From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For <strong>Shella</strong> is nothing less than a tour of evil's spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators.<br/><br/>He is called &quot;Ghost&quot; because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead. Once he traveled with a woman who was called &quot;Shella&quot; -- because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer's instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss's most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[The bleakest book I've ever read.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1178893]]></url>
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