Synopses & Reviews
Eddie starts stealing cars long before he's old enough to get a license, driven by a force so compelling that he never questions, just obeys. After a series of false starts, interrupted by stays in juvenile institutions and a state prison term, Eddie's skills and loyalty attract the attention of J.C., a near-legendary hijacker. When he gets out, Eddie becomes the driver for J.C.'s ultra-professional crew. J.C., the master planner, is finally ready to pull off that one huge job every con dreams of ... the Retirement Score. But some roads have twists even a professional getaway man couldn't foresee ...
Andrew Vachss, a writer widely acclaimed for breathing new life and death into the crime genre, here presents a classic noir tale, relentlessly displaying and dissecting not guilt, but innocence.
Review
"Vachss abates the edge he saves for his Burke series in this retro noir....As slick and enjoyable as a vintage Jim Thompson paperback or a Saturday afternoon at the bijou." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Though it's a present-day noir like the Burke books, [The Getaway Man is] lighter in tone and steers clear of their dark subject matter....This novel has all the [genre] standards....But Vachss gives it a nice twist by telling the tale from the point of view of the dim guy instead of the sharpster with all the angles....[A] pleasant detour for both Vachss followers and fans of the genre." Keir Graff, Booklist
Review
"Sometimes the writer is just the guy who drives the car, the unobtrusive wheelman who keeps his mouth shut and his eyes on the road and takes the characters where they need to go. That's the way it feels in The Getaway Man...Andrew Vachss' mesmerizing character study....Writing in a style so sleekly engineered that it purrs when you pop the hood, Vachss gives such a smooth ride that it's easy to forget someone is driving this thing." Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Though Vachss' character doesn't have a whole lot of depth, he is an interesting construction....Getaway Man ends with the genre's requisite twist, which doesn't seem obvious or painfully constructed. It's a quick read that doesn't ask too much of the reader. Only that you enjoy the ride." M. William Helfrich, The Portland Mercury
Review
"Through 14 novels featuring the dark, immovable force called Burke, Andrew Vachss developed a hard-boiled style that collapses whole lives into a single paragraph....As terse and as dark as 12-bar blues, [The Getaway Man] is prime Vachss." James R. Petersen, Playboy
Review
"I loved The Getaway Man. Andrew Vachss has been a personal favorite since Flood and the start of his long, impressive career. I've read every novel he's written and am absolutely spellbound yet again as he flexes his considerable powers in this fascinating reinvention of the classic Gold Medal original paperbacks that many writers, including myself, went to for story-telling lessons in the 1960s. This lean, fast, sharp, compelling tale of a professional getaway driver is the real deal. An instant classic." David Morrell, author of First Blood
Synopsis
Eddie starts stealing cars long before he's old enough to get a license, driven by a force so compelling that he never questions, just obeys. After a series of false starts, interrupted by stays in juvenile institutions and a state prison term, Eddie's skills and loyalty attract the attention of J.C., a near-legendary hijacker. When he gets out, Eddie becomes the driver for J.C.'s ultra-professional crew. J.C., the master planner, is finally ready to pull off that one huge job every con dreams of ... the Retirement Score. But some roads have twists even a professional getaway man couldn't foresee ...
Andrew Vachss, a writer widely acclaimed for breathing new life and death into the crime genre, here presents a classic noir tale, relentlessly displaying and dissecting not guilt, but innocence.
About the Author
Andrew Vachss has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social caseworker, a labor organizer, and has directed a maximum-security prison for youthful offenders. 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 wide variety of other material including song lyrics, poetry, graphic novels, and a "childrens book for adults." His books have been translated into twenty different languages and his work has appeared in Parade, Antaeus, Esquire, The New York Times, and numerous other forums. He lives and works in New York City and the Pacific Northwest.