Shockwave

April 21, 2014
In Vachss’s engrossing sequel to 2013’s Aftershock, a battered corpse with a shattered skull washes up on the beach of the Oregon town where Adelbert “Dell” Jackson and his wife, Dolly, have settled, determined to live peacefully under aliases. The only clues to the dead man’s identity are in the Nazi tattoos covering his body. The police arrest Homer, a schizophrenic homeless man, for murder after he produces the victim’s watch. Mack, a social worker colleague of Dolly’s who believes Homer is innocent and won’t survive confinement, asks Dolly for help. Dolly turns to Dell, who’s forced to return to the violent life he forsook when he joined the French Foreign Legion. Along with Mack, Dell explores a dark world inhabited by the homeless, hate groups, and tattoo artists. Intelligently drawn characters and assured prose help make this crime novel a winner. Agent: Lou Bank, Ten Angry Pitbulls.