Andrew H Vachss

"Just before daybreak, a body washes up on a pristine beach. The dead man's skull has been bashed open, and his upper body is covered in neo-Nazi tattoos. An anonymous photographer e-mails an image of the scene to the local news, spurring the police to instantaneous response. Searching for suspects at one of the town's "homeless-by-choice" encampments, the cops pick up Homer, a "walking wounded" schizophrenic, who has been showing off a wristwatch...

When a colleague is charged with the murder of a serial rapist, Burke uncovers numerous questionable dealings at the district attorney's office and elects to reopen the original investigation into the rapist's case.

When a calculating predator threatens his loved ones, mercenary soldier Dell attempts to track down a killer who possesses an uncanny talent for disguise.

A bitter and cynical killer for hire, just out of jail after serving time for manslaughter, journeys back into a world of deviance, hatred, and ruthless amorality as he searches for Shella, a strip-dancer who had been the only one to touch his heart.

A collection of noir-style tales: A hit man stalks his mark at a race track. A sociopath crosses every moral boundary to become a published author. An ex-mercenary obsessively defends his perimeter against a dangerous interloper. Andrew Vachss collects twenty tight, powerful stories, all from the past decade. Together, they form "Mortal Lock," a searing portrait of the criminal underworld, with both its depravity and humanity on display.