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A short while later, Burke is holing up in the home of his girlfriend, Crystal Beth, when she decides to attend a gay rally in Central Park. It turns out to be a fatal mistake: A drive-by shooting occurs, and Crystal Beth becomes one of two victims who die in the onslaught. Tortured with grief and fueled by a need for revenge, Burke takes a keen interest in a serial killer who starts racking up victims immediately after the drive-by, and who seems to be targeting anyone who has spoken or acted on a hatred for gays. The killer, who gives himself the moniker Homo Erectus in the manifestos he provides to the newspapers, quickly becomes a societal hero, and "H. E." is often spoken of reverently.
When a secret gay/lesbian group financed by an unknown benefactor hires Burke to find the killer, they claim that their only interest is in seeing the man escape from town and disappear unharmed. The killer's actions have had a resoundingly positive effect on the incidences of gay bashing, and the group recognizes the value of keeping him "out there" somewhere, even if he isn't actively seeking revenge. But Burke is wary of one member of the group, a very attractive woman named Nadine who attaches herself to him and his quest with a tenacity that's both spooky and puzzling. Yet she proves invaluable when she uses her own connections to provide Burke with some key evidence crucial to identifying Homo Erectus, so he keeps her involved, albeit at a safe arm's length.
After finding himself some new "unofficial" living quarters and ordering a new set of identification, Burke focuses all his attention on trying to smoke out Homo Erectus, whose killings have steadily escalated. H. E.'s protests take a turn when he starts campaigning against pedophiles who try to disguise themselves as gays. Then he concisely demonstrates his abhorrence of this group by killing dozens in one fell swoop when he blows up a plane carrying a group of pedophiles on a secret junket to the Far East.
Rumors are running rampant that the killer is the notorious and highly feared professional assassin Wesley, except that Wesley is supposed to be dead. Still, there are those who believe a mojo like Wesley's may come back in supernatural form to settle a karmic debt. Burke — who knew Wesley better than anyone — dismisses these speculations out of hand, but the killer's techniques do eerily resemble Wesley's, and there are indications that the killer has intimate knowledge of Wesley's life.
With the help of a cybergeek who attracts the killer's attention over the Internet, Burke finally establishes contact. What he learns then twists all his beliefs around, revealing a truth far more complex and disturbing than any he imagined. When Burke finally comes face-to-face with the killer, it provokes a startling and stunning showdown of the highest magnitude.
With a background that includes stints as a lawyer, a field investigator for the U.S. Public Health Service, and a social casework supervisor in New York City, Vachss is no stranger to the real-world horrors of child abuse and other crimes, and he makes no secret about using his writing as a social platform for his causes. He has created the perfect antihero in Burke, providing a vicarious outlet for the dark and vengeful thoughts that lurk in all of us. Vachss's stories are gritty, dark, and often painful but also compelling enough to get and hold one's attention. Like its predecessors, Choice of Evil is the perfect mix: a lesson to heighten public awareness cleverly disguised in a riveting tale that offers high entertainment and a satisfying sense of justice.
—Beth Amos
Andrew Vachss: I am in better spirits than I have been.
Andrew Vachss: There aren't enough facts as far as I am concerned to do anything but express sound-bite-type opinions, but it is clear to me that there was an interaction between these two young people that metastasized over time in what had to have been observable in some way.
Andrew Vachss: The real question for me is whether Ghost can reappear, and it has been something I have been wrestling with for years now, and thank you.
Andrew Vachss: As far as I am concerned, pal, I have always been writing straight horror, emphasis on straight, as opposed to fantasy. This book is different only because it has "supernatural" elements, but I don't know any more horrible things than what I have been writing about for my whole career.
Andrew Vachss: You will be able to get a copy off of vachss.com as soon as Parade's own copyright runs out, which is very generously -- one week.
Andrew Vachss: Well, it was consistent with the character of the individual. It has a multilayered meaning complete with a sense of deliberate mockery, which is consistent with the character, but it was meant to be taken as homosexuals standing up, and if you have read the book, you will understand that this standing up was homicidal.
Andrew Vachss: Negotiation is not about justice. It is about power.
Andrew Vachss: I try and allow each book to be dictated by the issue that drives it, so just as a certain type of activity would be present in one book and not in another, the same could be said about supernatural. I am planning to return to comics. I do have a specific project, but I can't talk about it because the contracts are not signed.
Andrew Vachss: To a large extent it does.
Andrew Vachss: Remember -- if you understand the publishing process -- that I actually wrote this book before Matthew Shepard, and although this is not the appropriate forum because the explanation would take so long, let me just say that the problem is not with laws but with law enforcement.
Andrew Vachss: I get more satisfaction from my work. Writing is an extension of that work. So it is the flower, not the root.
Andrew Vachss: I don't know, my friend. It is one that I heard as a child told to me by people that were elderly who were themselves told it as children, and there are people who would swear it is no myth. I tried to explain the myth in this book.
Andrew Vachss: First of all, that is a bitch, and second of all, she is a pit bull bitch, very sensitive about her appearance. What you have is a puppy, and we don't mutilate our animals and thus didn't have her ears cropped. That's why you might have trouble guessing the breed. There are lots of pictures of her on my web site.
Andrew Vachss: Oh Vernon, I am going into the publishing business because I believe in putting my money where my mouth is and because there are wonderful authors not getting published. Like everything else in life, you can be an observer or a participant, and I decided to be a player. The book is called THE BEGGAR'S SHORE by a brilliant young writer, Zak Mucha. It will be out this fall.
Andrew Vachss: I am a Mopar fan myself and yes, the modifications (this is no damn Batmobile) are all real-world based. In fact, if you want to see the ultimate Mopar, check out the shark car in the Cross series.
Andrew Vachss: I have control to the extent that I can exclude certain elements, but as far as concern that the message will be lost, it is a roll of the dice, and the potential rewards justify the risks.
Andrew Vachss: Cross is allegedly very far along because they have a director on board and, at least according to them, expect to have this movie in production this year. As to FLOOD, I suggest you dial 1-900 who knows!
Andrew Vachss: Good question. I want them to understand that it is simply another form of evilly motivated oppression of human beings. It is indefensible bullying and says far more about the perpetrators than it does about the victims. It is an act of extreme cowardice that is based on the perception that there will be no reprisals. This book, among its other elements, attempts to put in perspective how things might change if there were reprisals.
Andrew Vachss: It was time to get out of town!
Andrew Vachss: Not constantly but certainly on occasion. In fairness, I have often been consulted by many law enforcement agents, and they have shown an absolute desire to solve the crime that was much bigger than their egos.
Andrew Vachss: My friend, you should be writing editorials. I don't believe you asked me a question. I believe you made a statement, and it was a damn good one.
Andrew Vachss: No, but I am glad to hear from you, Larry, and I hope you are still organizing.
Andrew Vachss: Hi, Rose Dawn! I miss you, too!
Andrew Vachss: It is too long a story to tell, but I can sum it up in three words: blind dumb luck.
Andrew Vachss: The point of the novel is that evil is a choice, not a biogenetic mutation. Not some bad DNA, not some defense attorney's psychobabble, but deliberate, voluntary conduct. You make a choice to be evil. Unlike traditional "horror" books, this is a real horror story.
Andrew Vachss: Actually, when you read the book thoroughly, he is representational far larger and deeper in scope than a mere serial killer. Unlike lots of people who write about serial killers, I have known some -- and, trust me, they are not real interesting.
Andrew Vachss: I was once an epidemiologist with the U.S. Public Health Service myself. I understand the importance of your work, and if you email the web site at www.vachss.com, someone will get back to you -- and thank you!
Andrew Vachss: If it weren't for long airplane rides, I wouldn't see any movies. I am really the last guy to answer this question intelligently.
Andrew Vachss: The first answer is that when you read the new book you will see that we are looking well past Thailand, and as to your second question, with all our efforts there is a difference between a direct action -- such as a rescue -- and an attempt to change a system, which is a many-decade investment, so that you measure different operations differently.
Andrew Vachss: I am looking forward to you reading it, too, and when you are done your question should be answered!
Andrew Vachss: There is no reason for me to get down. I can save more kids' lives in a year than an ER surgeon, and we collectively have made more job protective progress in the last 30 years than in the previous 30,000.
Andrew Vachss: Lead a life that gives you access to material that would hook and hold people's attention if you told them about it.
Andrew Vachss: Yes, my beloved orphan, SHELLA.
Andrew Vachss: If you will send us an email to the web site, we will give you the comprehensive answer your question deserves, and thank you for being willing to stand up.
Andrew Vachss: I don't use outlines, but I write the book completely in my head before I start typing.
Andrew Vachss: If I knew the answer I would gladly share it with you. I am sorry; I just don't.
Andrew Vachss: That is because it has never been published, pal. I am still deciding. There is an offer to publish it as a limited edition. I just haven't made up my mind yet.
Andrew Vachss: Kate, I just wrote this one. I don't have a schedule because writing isn't my primary career, but my typical rate appears to be every 12-15 months. I will have another collection of short stories out in September.
Andrew Vachss: The movie rights have certainly been bought. Almost a preemptive strike. Almost before the book was finished. And as for screenplays, the studio decides who the screenwriter gets to be.
Andrew Vachss: What you should do is post exactly what you have said here to the Zero message board, and you will get the only answer worth getting, and that is what people are actually willing to do.
Andrew Vachss: No. One day is the same as the next to me.
Andrew Vachss: I am looking forward to reading any new book by Joe Lansdale, Martha Grimes, Charles De Lint. I make time.
Andrew Vachss: People like you are a real treasure to me because without the mega advertising budgets, word of mouth is how we survive -- and speaking of survival, there will be another Burke novel if enough people buy this one, and publishing being what it is, if not, not.
Andrew Vachss: When Hollywood buys the rights to property such as mine, TV is one of their options, but I have no ability to read their minds and if I did, I would not be cheered up at the prospect.
Andrew Vachss: There isn't the time or the space to do it, but your observation is an astute one. As in Jonesboro I do think the key was the relationship between those two young men. I intend to elaborate on it in much greater depth when more facts have been collected and when I have room to do so.
Andrew Vachss: You will have to ask Judy. All I have to contribute to that is my hopes!
Andrew Vachss: The CD you are probably referring to is called SAFE HOUSE, available everywhere, but all I did was the compiling. One of my favorite blues artists of all time, Son Seals, will be recording two songs I wrote for his new CD, which should be out before the end of the year, and anyone who wants a sneak preview should show up at the Chicago book signing, where Son and I will be appearing together.
Andrew Vachss: Thank you for saying so.
Andrew Vachss: Yes. Evil is a choice. That is the title of the book, but it is also a choice to fight back, and for all of you engaged in that struggle, I am glad to be your comrade and give you my respect.
As has been said, "There is no other living American author with prose as razor-clean as Andrew Vachss.....Vachss is a Zen warrior with a pen." And he is also a warrior who explores the cruelest areas of life, whether it be pedophilia, ritual killing, sadism, or sexual deviance. He does this with no holds-barred; his words are startling, candid, often producing what some may call abhorrent but certainly frightening scenarios. Having said all of that CHOICE OF EVIL may well be his darkest Burke novel yet.
There is a tad of levity at the onset when Burke's dog, Pansy, is arrested in a police raid, and the rescue involves releasing a clutch of yapping canines. But then the terror begins when Burke is hired to find and protect a vigilante calling himself Homo Erectus who has declared war on gay bashers.
Just as the prose is razor sharp so is the narration by Phil Gigante, a veteran of some 70 audio books (including Burke stories). He delivers a forceful voice performance, made even more frightening by a clear, at times almost emotionless reading. While some less proficient readers might be tempted to give drama full throttle in some of the nightmare producing scenes, Gigante knows that in this case less is more.
- Gail Cooke
Activist Crystal Beth felt strongly that she had to be at the gay rally in Central park though she was bisexual and her boyfriend private detective Burke objected. However, a drive-by shooter kills Crystal in what appears to be an attempt to destroy the rally. The police suspect Burke because of whom he is, but no evidence surfaces.
Meanwhile, a serial killing vigilante, Home Erectus, begins a campaign to eradicate gay bashers and pediophiles. Law enforcement officials, much of the media and public want this self-appointed executioner stopped. Admirers of Homo Erectus hire Burke to safely bring him to them so they can keep their hero away from the cops. Though just starting his search, Burke is back in his element, the streets.
CHOICE OF EVIL shows that Andrew Vachss remains one of the darkest writers of urban mysteries that exists. Burke retains his over the edge mentality that makes readers either love or loathe him. The current well written but grimy story line has the usual suspects, but clearly centers on Burke, who is a living time bomb who gives meaning to hell in Manhattan.
Harriet Klausner
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Posted January 11, 2009
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Posted August 16, 2010
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Overview
When his girlfriend, Crystal Beth, is gunned down at a gay rights rally in Central Park, Burke, the underground man-for-hire and expert hunter of predators, vows vengeance. But someone beats him to the task: a shadowy killer who calls himself Homo Erectus and who seems determined to wipe gay bashers from the face of the earth. As the killer's body count rises, most citizens are horrified, but a few see him as a hero, and they hire Burke to track him down...and help him escape.In Choice of Evil, Burke is forced to confront his most harrowing mystery: the mind of an obsessive serial killer. And soon the emotionally void ...