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  • Published: 15 March 2014
  • ISBN: 9780307950888
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $32.99

Aftershock

A Thriller



The first in a new series from acclaimed hardboiled crime author Andrew Vachss, his first new series since the Burke series, in which a husband and wife discover the dark underbelly of their idyllic Pacific Northwest town.

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES

Dell, an ex-Legionnaire was working as a mercenary when he first saw Dolly, a nurse with Médecins Sans Frontières. When they later married, Dell abandoned his work, and Dolly shed her identity. But not her calling—she became a teacher, confidant, and defender of dozens of teenagers in their Coastal Oregon village. When the star softball pitcher guns down a popular boy on the last day of school, Dolly knows this is no "school shooting". She goes all-in to protect "Mighty Mary" McCoy, even to the extent of unleashing her lethal husband.

As Dolly uses her contacts to gain access to medical secrets, Dell returns to his no-boundaries past. Using guile, extortion, shadow networks--and, finally, an act of terrorism—he uncovers the secret MaryLou was willing to sacrifice her own life to protect . . . a soul-killing rite of passage demanded of the town’s most vulnerable girls, with her baby sister next on that list.

  • Published: 15 March 2014
  • ISBN: 9780307950888
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $32.99

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Praise for Aftershock

“Andrew Vachss impresses again with his new, dark and compelling thriller.” —Largehearted Boy
 
“Razor-edged and compulsively readable, the pages fly by.” —Library Journal
 
The closing courtroom scenes serve as a powerful reminder that the practice of law is at heart a blood sport. . . . Vachss’s followers will devour it and will keep watch for Dell and Dolly’s return.” —Kirkus Reviews

“As in all his works, Vachss explores the horrific intersection of victims and victimizers, evil and avengers. The setting has moved from urban to small town, but the eternal conflict is as it ever was. As always, Vachss is disquieting but engrossing.” —Booklist
 
“Prolific author Vachss introduces Dell, a graduate of the French Foreign Legion, in this compelling first in a new thriller series. . . . Readers will stick with the story, and the series, because the steadfast, relentless Dell . . . commands attention.” —Publishers Weekly


From the Hardcover edition.