Shella

By: Andrew Vachss

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

From the author of the acclaimed Burke private-eye series comes an ambitious and chilling novel that shows us not only what evil is, but where it comes from. For Shella is nothing less than a tour of evil’s spawning ground, conducted by one of its natural predators. He is called “Ghost” because he is so nondescript as to be invisible and because he slays with such reflexive ease that he might be one of the dead.

Once he traveled with a woman who was called “Shella” - because those who had treated her as a horrendously ill-used child had tried to make her come out of her shell. Now Shella has vanished in a wilderness of strip clubs and peep shows, and Ghost is looking for her, guided by a killer’s instinct and the recognition that can only exist between two people who have been damaged past the point of no return. The result is Andrew Vachss’s most compelling work to date, the thriller reimagined as a bleak romance of the damned.

©1994 Andrew Vachss (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Vachss tells his story in an understated shorthand.... He seems bottomlessly knowledgeable... about the depth and variety of human twistedness.” ( The New York Times)

Poignant and compelling

This journey through the underworld ranks among my favorite novels. For all of Ghost's evil deeds, he doesn't come across as evil. He is innocent in the way of an animal following its instincts or a child holding onto the only tenderness it has known. A good tale, told in a lean and purposeful style.

Great performance

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Story is engaging, as Andrew Vachss's titles usually are. Phil Gigante delivers a rock solid performance.

Which character – as performed by Phil Gigante – was your favorite?

None stands out per se, it is Gigante's voice that is pleasant and gives a good performance of both male and female voices.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Revenge isn't about blood, it's about letting go.

Vachss best character

This is hands down my favorite Vachss book. It is a stand alone outside of his normal cast of characters. I read it years ago and was pleased to find it here. I wish he would write more with "Ghost".

Bring Back Burke

Narration was top notch as always. IHowever, I was very disappointed with Shella. I thought I try another of Vacchs' stories without Burke and will not do so again.

Failed James Ellroy homage?

Explores a similarly nasty milieu using spare language. The first-person protagonist is a complete dullard, however. No interior life, no wit, no worldview or moral code, nothing.