From Publishers Weekly
Hard, dark, and raw, this collection of 40 short stories and a play provides ample material for Vachss fans. Unfortunately, the quality varies greatly, ranging from the author's earliest, sometimes sophomoric writings to his more current, professionally crafted stories. None of it is light reading. His writing is always on fast forward, curt, terse but it is sometimes blinded by compassion for the victim--most often children who have been sexually, physically or mentally abused ("Watched the little girl testify in court, her tiny hand clutching the magic stone. The defense attorney hammered away at her, like a sweating, fat pig, boring for truffles. But she stuck it out--he couldn't change the truth. I was proud of her."). This passion, understandable though it is, sometimes overwhelms his craft. Revenge is the justice of choice because, in Vachss's world, the legal system is inept, unfair and unworkable. Vachss has a flair for unique twists in the final story lines that will leave readers twisting in their seats as well. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Two short plays and 42 stories from Vachss, who's known for his eight novels (see below) featuring PIs who hunt down child abusers and sex offenders. Most of these could be sketches for his longer works, and a terse introduction bravely dismisses the question of whether or not this volume is literature--rather, he explains, it's simply a necessary extension of his real job (Vachss is a lawyer who represents abused children). Aside from a few standard mini- thrillers with well-timed twists (e.g., ``It's A Hard World,'' about a man on the run from hired killers), the book proves that Vachss has exactly one subject--avenging crimes against helpless victims (boys, girls, and animals). But he's got it covered. Although he experiments with different points of view (rapist, rape victim, prosecutor, mercenary killer), his characters tend toward a single personality profile: careful, quiet, and methodical. Reading these quickies in succession doesn't offer the sustained eeriness of his novels; in most stories, his vigilantes serve justice swiftly, then coolly disappear into the night, after getting off on their well-executed vengeance the way the rapists get off on hurting their prey. Many of the stories have the Vachss staples of buzz-cut sentences and pedagogy on criminal psychology, but the title story may be the most interesting--because it raises the question potentially nagging at Vachss's readers. In the story, a killer writes in a catch-me- if-you-can letter to a criminal psychologist named Doc: ``Serial killer chic has invaded human consciousness. Perhaps you should be studying that phenomenon instead of wasting your time trying to analyze me.'' The relentlessness of this collection treads a thin line, because Vachss definitely has within him a perverse- chic sensibility. Read as a whole, the collection is drab and numbingly systematic--but it's full of exquisitely rendered atmosphere and detail about a world we'd hate to inhabit. Still, what can you do with a thick pile of short stories that even the author claims aren't writerly? -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
"Vachss seems bottomlessly knowledgeable about the depth and variety of human twistedness." —The New York Times

"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." —The Washington Post Book World

"[Vachss is] able to wring edginess from his portrayal of a society hovering beneath the radar." —The Village Voice


Review
"Vachss seems bottomlessly knowledgeable about the depth and variety of human twistedness." ?The New York Times

"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." ?The Washington Post Book World

"[Vachss is] able to wring edginess from his portrayal of a society hovering beneath the radar." ?The Village Voice


Book Description
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.


From the Inside Flap
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.


From the Back Cover
"Vachss seems bottomlessly knowledgeable about the depth and variety of human twistedness." —The New York Times

"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." —The Washington Post Book World

"[Vachss is] able to wring edginess from his portrayal of a society hovering beneath the radar." —The Village Voice


About the Author
Andrew Vachss, an attorney in private practice specializing in juvenile justice and child abuse, is the country’s best recognized and most widely sought after spokesperson on crimes against children. He is also a bestselling novelist and short story writer, whose works include Flood (1985), the novel which first introduced Vachss’ series character Burke, Strega (1987), Choice of Evil (1999), and Dead and Gone (2000). His short stories have appeared in Esquire, Playboy, and The Observer, and he is a contributor to ABA Journal, Journal of Psychohistory, New England Law Review, The New York Times, and Parade.

Vachss has worked as a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a caseworker in New York, and a professional organizer. He was the director of an urban migrants re-entry center in Chicago and another for ex-cons in Boston. After managing a maximum-security prison for violent juvenile offenders, he published his first book, a textbook, about the experience. He was also deeply involved in the relief effort in Biafra, now Nigeria.

For ten years, Vachss’ law practice combined criminal defense with child protection, until, with the success of his novels, it segued exclusively into the latter, which is his passion. Vachss calls the child protective movement “a war,” and considers his writing as powerful a weapon as his litigation.

ANNOTATION

A collection of dark tales from author Andrew Vachss

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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.

Author Biography: Andrew Vachss has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social caseworker, and a labor organizer, and has directed a maximum-security prison for youthful offenders. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youth exclusively. He is the author of numerous novels, two collections of short stories, three graphic series, and Another Chance to Get It Right: A Children's Book for Adults. His work has appeared in Parade, Esquire, Antaeus, The New York Times, and many other forums. Born and raised in New York City, he now lives in the Pacific Northwest.

SYNOPSIS

From a writer whose novels have been acclaimed for their unflinching exploration of evil comes a brilliant collection of short stories￯﾿ﾽsome never before published￯﾿ﾽthat distill dread back down to its essence￯﾿ﾽand inject it straight into the reader's back brain.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly