Urban Renewal: A Cross Novel

by Andrew Vachss

Overview

Chicago—the reigning #1 city in homicides—has no shortage of deadly gangs. And all those gangs know well that the Cross crew occupies a cinderblock bunker called Red 71 . . . the last place you want to go, unless you're willing to risk it being the last place you go. The crew is notorious for its deadly efficiency and its disinterest in anything but money. So why has it turned from seller to buyer, grabbing up houses on a decaying block where only a few holdouts remain? Both the cops and the underworld are watching closely . . . but are they the only ones?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804168816
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/28/2014
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Andrew Vachss’s many books include the Burke novels and two previous collections of short stories. His books have been translated into twenty languages, and his work has appeared in Parade, Antaeus, Esquire, Playboy, and The New York Times, among other publications. He died in 2021.

Editorial Reviews

11/11/2013
The enigmatic Cross and his crew of misfits, who occupy a fortified position in a ruined Chicago, kill for money, or to make a point, though they do neither indiscriminately, as shown in Vachss’s hard-hitting sequel to 2012’s Blackjack. Cross’s colorful cohorts include Princess, known for his flamboyant dress and for his bashing of gay-bashers; squeaky-voiced Rhino, who weighs 500-plus pounds; pudgy sharpshooter Buddha; temperamental Tiger; and Ace, the assassin. A plan proposed by Buddha’s wife involves the group in buying up five houses in an unclaimed gang area and turning them over for a profit. Killing a few gangbangers serves to draw a boundary for the project. An assassination is refused, another accepted; a pimp’s girl is protected, and the pimp eliminated. This raucous ride also provides background on how Cross, Rhino, and Ace came together in a vile juvenile institution. Agent: Lou Bank, Ten Angry Pitbulls. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Vachss is unlike any other crime writer. . . . Readers who want to visit a new twist on the dark side will be mesmerized.”
     —Booklist
 
“[A] raucous ride. . . . The enigmatic Cross and his crew of misfits, who occupy a fortified position in a ruined Chicago, kill for money, or to make a point, though they do neither indiscriminately, as shown in Vachss’s hard-hitting sequel to 2012’s Blackjack.”
     —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher