A Bomb Built in Hell: Wesley's Story

(Paperback)

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Before Burke, before Cross, Andrew Vachss created Wesley- a ruthless assassin who would stop at nothing to take out his targets. A Bomb Built in Hell is Wesley's story, in print for the very first time. Before Burke, Andrew Vachss created Wesley, the ultimate ice-man. A Bomb Built in Hell is Wesley's story. While doing time for manslaughter, Wesley meets prison boss Carmine Trentoni, an Old School gangster who no longer believes in the blood-oath hetookyears ago. Carmine's triple life sentence hasn't cut him off from all his outside sources-he has waited with the patience of stone for someone capable of absorbing his knowledge . . . and carrying out his sworn vengeance. Wesley emerges from prison as the perfect hit man- calculating, deadly, and ice-cold. He follows Carmine's instructions-locate"the last of us," one"Mr. Petraglia,"thenassassinate a Chinatown gang boss and a Mafia chief-bothhad overstepped theirbounds. But then Wesley findshis ownmission- As he begins to see the root of all he has learned to hate, he and a youth just out of reform school, known only as The Kid, begin to take out political targets. In a final burst of understanding, Wesley decides to leave The Kid behind. But not before he writes his own suicide note . . . in dynamite.

Reviews

Vachss doesnt sugarcoat things in this brutal, detailed piece of work, but thats what makes it fascinating. Vachss fans will love this example of the authors early writing, which predates his Burke books by several years. Rejected by publishers decades ago due to its high level of violence, the years have not diminished its impact.
Mystery Scene

History has caught up to Wesleys bleak odyssey, repeatedly rejected for publication decades ago but now unnervingly prescient.
Kirkus Reviews

A Bomb Built in Hell presages motifs Vachss employed in the Burke novels, but even crime fans unfamiliar with Burke can relish it. Wesley is utterly remorseless, and the story is told in the coldest and sparest of prose.
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Author Bio

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.