Andrew Vachss

Andrew Henry Vachss (born October 19, 1942) is an American crime fiction author, child protection consultant, and attorney exclusively representing children and youths.

Related Topics:
October 19 - 1942 - American - Crime fiction - Author - Attorney - Child - Youth

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Prior to becoming a lawyer, Andrew Vachss was a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social services caseworker, a labor organizer, and had directed a maximum-security prison for youthful offenders. As an attorney, he now represents children and youths in cases of abuse and neglect, delinquency, custody, and related litigation. He is the author of numerous novels, including the Burke series, as well as two collections of short stories, essays, poetry, song lyrics, and graphic novels. His books have been translated into twenty languages, and his work has appeared in Parade, Antaeus, Playboy, Esquire, and the New York Times, among other publications. A native New Yorker, he now divides his time between the city of his birth and the Pacific Northwest.

Related Topics:
Sexually transmitted disease - Abuse - Delinquency - Custody - Novel - Short stories - Essay - Poetry - Lyric - Graphic novel

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Many Vachss novels feature the shadowy private investigator Burke, a true New Yorker, full of energy and contradictions. About his character, Vachss says: "If you look at Burke closely, you'll see the prototypical abused child: hypervigilant, distrustful. He's so committed to his family of choice?not his DNA, biological family, which tortured him, or the state which raised him?but the family that he chose, that homicide is a natural consequence of injuring any of that family. He's not a hit man. But he shares the same religion I do, which is revenge."

Related Topics:
Private investigator - Biological family - Revenge

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His wife, Alice Vachss, is a former prosecutor and the author of the nonfiction book Sex Crimes: Ten Years on the Front Lines Prosecuting Rapists and Confronting Their Collaborators.

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