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Strega (Burke #2)

by Andrew Vachss (Goodreads Author)

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 · rating details · 1,270 ratings · 45 reviews

Andrew Vachss's implacable private eye has a new client, Strega. She wants Burke to find an obscene photograph—and that search will take him into the ocean that flows just beneath the city, an ocean whose currents are flesh and money, the anguish of children and the pleasure of twisted adults. It is a place that Burke can visit only at the risk of his sanity and his life....more

Paperback, 293 pages

Published February 1996 by Vintage (first published February 12th 1987)

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(showing 1-30 of 1,596)

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Feb 23, 2012 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1980-1989, crime, dark-and-gritty, mystery, ebooks, audiobook, hardboiled, noir, detectives

Underneath the violent but familiar veneer of murders, beatings and robberies that cake the surface of life on the nightly news there lies a far darker, far more depraved world of evil. A world of:

-snuff films,
-child pornography,
-sadistic sexual fetishes...

and vomit-inducing combinations of all three of the above.

This sick, rancid underbelly is where Burke (no first name) spends his time waging a “no holds barred,” one man war against those who prey on children. Burke is a bad guy. He’s an ex-...more

50 likes · like · see review

Feb 22, 2012 Kemper rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, crime-mystery, bad-guys-rule, burke

I’ve read a few of the Burke novels by Andrew Vachss so I knew there was a good chance that this book was probably as depressing as watching a puppy die from cancer. So I decided to brighten it up by scoring some black market anti-depressants off the internet. Here are my observations after taking a double handful of pills along with a couple of shots of Wild Turkey and then reading:

- Why did I think this would be depressing? Burke’s New York is a magical city filled with kind, helpful people an...more

29 likes · like · see review

Jan 19, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-and-mystery, 2011

A woman calling herself Strega hires Burke to find an obscene photograph of her friend's five year old son. As Burke's quest takes him through a web of Nazis, pimps, and kiddie porn dealers, Strega gets her hooks deeper into him. Can Burke find the photo and escape Strega's grasp?

As I said in my review for Flood, Burke's adventures are so dark it took a man with an eyepatch to write them. Vachss takes Burke on another journey through hell and back.

The thing about Burke is that even though you kn...more

26 likes · like · see review

Apr 06, 2013 Cathy DuPont rated it 4 of 5 stars

Disturbingly Great Book

Put on old ratty ass dirty clothes and then begin reading the second in the Burke series. You’ll be glad you’re in old clothes because this story will definitely make you feel like you’ve been pulled through the gutter or walked around the subway tracks looking for aluminum cans.

New York City Subway Tracks

But to me, that is one sign of a fantastic writer even if it makes you feel dirty and the subject matter is gut wrenchingly disturbing. But here is a line from the boo...more

11 likes · like · see review

Feb 04, 2013 Annabelle rated it 2 of 5 stars

Even though this noire crime novel starts off in an entertaining and arresting way, it becomes something as a bore at the end. Former inmate Bruke, is a sometimes private eye, but still living the life of little scams, unregistered cars, guns, and untraceable phones, and living in a hovel no one can find. He has taken the wrap and done time for 3 of his buddies, when the stealing of heroin from the mob, went wrong and they try to sell it back only to be caught by cops. There are many bizarre cha...more

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Jun 22, 2012 Larry Bassett rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, mystery

I am not sure if you can say “the normal cast of characters” when it is only the second book in a series! Max the Silent, Mole, Michelle, Mama Wong, Prophet, Pansy, the trust-fund hippies, even Flood in retrospect. Not a normal person in the bunch!

This is a book of fiction with some doses of reality: sexual perversion involving children. You meet victims and perpetrators. Vachss styles himself as a crusader against child sexual abuse and his books allegedly have a goal of combating that social i...more

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Nov 08, 2010 Ramzi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Good but not as strong as the first installment (though it does finish well). This story follows Burke and his crew searching for an indecent picture of a little boy. Strega, the woman they've hired to find it, casts a "spell" on Burke making him question his sanity and his loyalty to Flood on more than one occasion. We meet a love interest for Max the Silent and in turn, a permanent character, Immaculata, is added to the family. In addition to Mac, Michelle adopts street kid Terry after Burke p...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Feliks rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: detective-mystery, thrillers, my-library

I much prefer Burke #2 to his introduction in 'Flood'. 'Flood' is not as robust as 'Strega' but they're both worthwhile because by the time you get to 'Blue Belle'; Vachss is taking no prisoners. That's where he really hits his stride. Still--of these two earlier outings-- 'Strega' is definitely more memorable.

'Flood' --as a character--is just somewhat of a crudely-drawn concoction; there's some things which don't quite gel; her martial arts background; her vengeance and its execution strains c...more

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Apr 27, 2008 Raegan Butcher rated it 4 of 5 stars

Burke is up to his usual tricks in the 2nd of the series of hard hitting urban noirs.

1 like · like · see review

Mar 10, 2012 Ron rated it 5 of 5 stars

I started the Burke journey with this book...Flood followed and then...hooked. Mr Vachss is a very dedicated man (Protect.org) and his writings may unsettle the squeamish, but they are always relevant. I like that word. I like the short terse writing style and the hard hitting punches Mr Vachss throws in every book. Bought this book back in the 80's (I believe) and it still adorns my shelves along with the rest of the offerings in this series. Start with Flood, get acquainted, and you won't look...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: bada-detective

The second in the series of Burke.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the first one. And it's not real enjoyment, more fascination.

Strega was a hard book, with hard things going on, but somehow Mr Vachss decided to add some fluff into the book and I'm not really sure how I took that. Mr Vachss has made it clear the evils out there, and to the point, shoved it in our faces in Flood. So why now is he trying to show us a softer side? Give us a breather from all the maggots? I don't get it, nor...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Brian rated it 2 of 5 stars

* The second Burke novel.

* I have the Down Here omnibus, which includes the second, third, and fourth Burke novels. In his Introduction, Vachss says about Burke, "I wanted to show people what Hell really looked like...and I didn't think an angel would be the best guide." And he's right, I think. Yet Burke is much like Eastwood's character, The Man With No Name. And what is he but an avenging angel? And what's Burke's only religion? Revenge. So, yeah, Vachss was right; he just didn't think it thr...more * The second Burke novel.

* I have the Down Here omnibus, which includes the second, third, and fourth Burke novels. In his Introduction, Vachss says about Burke, "I wanted to show people what Hell really looked like...and I didn't think an angel would be the best guide." And he's right, I think. Yet Burke is much like Eastwood's character, The Man With No Name. And what is he but an avenging angel? And what's Burke's only religion? Revenge. So, yeah, Vachss was right; he just didn't think it through. He didn't need an angel, he needed a human being.

* At some point, you gotta ask yourself if you like the guy you're reading about. I waited until the end. I don't suppose it's a prerequisite that you like him, but it helps. I decided I didn't. I can't say he's self-centered--he's got friends to whom he's loyal. But he's certainly the center of his universe. You could say that about a lot of people, of course, but there's a difference with many of them, and it has to do with the size of that universe. I just started I, the Jury. One chapter in and I can already see the difference. Mike Hammer's friend has been murdered and he's going to kill the bastard that did it. He's got another friend, though, a cop. He knows the cop has a job to do and he's fine with that. But this is personal. So he'll work with the cop, but he won't wait for him; he gets there first, well, he's gonna do what he's got to do. At another point, Hammer tells us one reason he's so worked up about this: the friend saved his life, losing an arm in the process, from "a bastard of a Jap" who, during the war, was about to run him through with a bayonet. Hammer's universe is big enough to accommodate nations and what they stand for; big enough to accommodate other good people who work within the system. Not Burke's. Burke's is a small place inhabited by a handful of good people; all the rest are corrupt, or they're freaks or "citizens" (i.e., everyday people) who, if they aren't evil themselves, are little more than the enablers of the ones who are. It's a tiny, claustrophobic world where only Burke matters, Burke and his Chosen Few.

* Burke's the kind of hero that can make you root for the bad guys. It's funny. He's got this dog, see. It's a big monster, a Neapolitan Mastiff. It's just like him: you screw with her (or with Burke or anybody Burke likes), you're dead. At one point he's got the dog with him while he's meeting some toughs, including one huge bruiser. I found myself hoping for a Raiders moment. The dog's such a flashy weapon, she's like that ninja. I kinda wanted the bruiser to whip out a gun and blow the dog away. And I love dogs.

* To be honest, you can't really root for the bad guys. Burke goes after pedophiles. Sure, Vachss has plenty of skins on the wall and he knows what he's talking about. But pedophiles are easy meat: everybody hates them. Vachss makes it a point to mention in his Introduction that the Burke stories aren't like those of other tough-guy heroes. Unlike those guys, Burke changes with each book. Maybe he does. But do the villains? I don't know, but I'm afraid they're likely to be as one-dimensional at the end as they are here.

* I could go on and on. Maybe that's a good thing, right? The book makes me think. Just not about pedophiles so much. Where can you go with people who are inherently evil? Vachss knows this, of course. That's why he tries to show us the survivors, the victims. There's a great deal more to work with in that milieu. Then he goes and throws all that out the window by turning Burke into an idiot, a guy who, because he's an idiot, can take advantage of one of those survivors without culpability. We see the signs, but Burke, who supposedly knows a lot more about it than we do, has to have it spelled out for him. Hell, the way he tells it, he's a victim. You know, just like those pedophiles who claim it was the kids themselves who came onto them.

* I have a suspicion. I think Burke wouldn't like Strega. Vachss is on a mission; he admits it. He wants people to know the sort of scum that walk our streets; he wants people to help do something about them. But I think Burke would see through all that bs, that he'd realize that readers are probably drawn to these books because they offer a kind of titillation not readily available elsewhere. He wouldn't understand that and he wouldn't approve.(less)

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Jun 08, 2008 Tim Niland rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008-reads

New York city private detective and con man Burke nearly meets his match in a femme fatale who calls herself Stega, the Italian word for witch. An old jail house acquaintance of Burke's tracks him down and introduces him to this woman, who asks him to find and incriminating photograph. Burke's answer is priceless:

"I don't like the way you smell, lady. You stink of trouble, and I've got enough of my own."

But against his better judgment, he takes on the case, aided by his crew of motley accomplice...more

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Mar 22, 2011 Dave Ward rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mysteries

Strega (Burke #2) by Andrew Vachss (Alfred A. Knopf 1987)(mystery - fiction)is the second book in the Burke series. In this novel, a witchy woman hires Burke to find a child pornographer and recover a photograph. This was nowhere near as well done as the first Burke book, Flood. My rating: 3.5/10, finished 3/22/11.

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Feb 03, 2013 Karl rated it 5 of 5 stars

With an Italian witch haunting his trail, Burke has to figure out what needs to be done before she owns his soul. As in all his stories, Burke is on the trail of someone who abuses children. And that is only going to end one way - they are going down. One of the best book series that I have ever read.

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May 18, 2013 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: re-read, read-in-2013, read-on-kindle

Some novel series fade with time, causing the reader to wonder what we saw in them the first time. But the Burke series is as fun the second time around. A part of it is the comic-book/graphic-novel sleekness: these characters know their roles and they never stray from them. Another aspect is the strength of conviction. Whatever it is, I romped through this second novel in the series and look forward to more.

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Jun 24, 2012 thomas rated it 5 of 5 stars

Read this a billion years ago. Vachss' specializes is writing about how the weakest of the weak get preyed upon and then how his protagonist, Burke, metes out comeuppance. Very gritty story, not for the faint of heart. But well written and you will be rooting for Burke right to the end.

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May 10, 2012 James Kidd rated it 5 of 5 stars

You could say that I consumed this novel. It's not the first time I have read Burke number 2. Or the 3rd or 4th for that matter. I suspect it may not be the last. Burke has to find a way to deal with Strega and find a solution to help an abused little boy. And he does so in the only way he knows how. And some. Vachss is not writing an all out thriller. He is telling a moral tale and a story. Holding up a million watt light to the underbelly and saying 'see this? See this shit? This is happening....more

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Nov 22, 2011 Benoit Lelievre rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not worth your time, no matter if you're a Vachss fan or not (in my humble opinion). It's a decent story, but it could have been told in a hundred and twenty pages. More than half of this novel is useless banter on the concept of "family of choice". This is loosing math right there.

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Jul 21, 2011 Candace rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-on-tape

Here I go into the second book. I'm liking it already. Nice to have most of the same characters back. New narrator on Audible. I don't like him as well as the first guy.

I ended up liking the narrator by the end. This was a pretty good story. It's about sexual abuse of children. And evil clowns. Burk is a great character. I'll read the rest of the series.

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Dec 29, 2012 Stacey rated it 3 of 5 stars

I always assumed Vachss was genre in the vein of Patterson and Grafton and the like, but a student recommended this as more noir than straight-up mystery and she was right. Solid language and characters and so gritty that I actually felt disturbed at times (child pornography/abuse figures heavily in the plot). Felt pretty authentic to me, too. Thumbs up.

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Mar 24, 2011 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-murder-pi

He's still writing well, very precise and unemotional, but from my Christian perspective I'm uneasy during descriptions of the sexual acts in which his character engages. Considering the milieux in which his main character operates, the author does not overplay this particular hand, and I am grateful for his restraint.

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Nov 17, 2010 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Burke and his friends make up a different type of detective "agency" than one would find in most books. His motivation, techiniques, type of cases, and background are uniquely his own.

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Mar 23, 2010 Joseph rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hard-boiled

My favorite Burke book, though I'm not sure why. The Burke formula is pretty standardized, though this is an early one, but this one sticks with me more than the others.

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Aug 04, 2009 Tia Jones rated it 2 of 5 stars

My boss gave me two of his books to read and they're just not what I enjoy. I read them so that she and I could discuss them but I found myself thoroughly bored by both of them.

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Nov 23, 2012 Sandra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11551602

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May 18, 2013 Joe Noir rated it 3 of 5 stars

Italian witch. The second Burke novel. When the character was still interesting, and before the series regulars had become so familiar.

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Sep 24, 2010 D. Gigante rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book is superb. I enjoyed the "read" for it's tight nit construction and thrilling threading of dialog.

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Aug 13, 2012 Lyn Sirota rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great read and horrifying look into the underworld where children are so viciously exploited.

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May 21, 2009 Nikki Nielsen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not a bad suspense writer - slightly shallow plot/characters, but I liked Vachss' writing style.

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About Andrew Vachss

Andrew Vachss has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social-services caseworker, a labor organizer, and has directed a maximum-security prison for “aggressive-violent” youth. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youths exclusively. He is the author of numerous novels, including the Burke series, two collections of short stories, and a wide varie...more

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Strega (Burke #2)

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