What's new in mystery books

By Todd Kimberley and Ruth Myles
Originally published February 1, 2009, by the Calgary Herald

If an egg were this hardboiled, it would obliterate plate glass.

So, clearly, devotees of Vachss' ramrod crime writing style aren't the type to burst into tears when they find out this is the final Burke novel. Still, we'll miss that twisted avenging angel, with his off-the-board paranoia, his conspiracy theories, his cesspool of a world view and his killer's heart. This final act, as he hunts down the kidnapped toddler of a Saudi prince, isn't quite as electrifying and clear-headed as the usual Burke fare, perhaps, with plenty of flashback and loose ends being knotted.

But there is soul under the rot and the filth, the enduring Burke notion that family, children and dogs are worth the battle against the soulless reprobates.

Kind of gets you right here, doesn't it? -- T. K.

© Copyright 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc.