[In the following brief review, Callendar calls Strega "unbelievable and slick, but fun."]

Want a tough New York crime novel? Try Strega by Andrew Vachss. It features Burke, a private investigator, a former convict, a man who gets things done and never mind the letter of the law. In Strega (meaning "witch" in Italian) Burke is hired by a woman to find a pornographic photo of a boy. He was forced into sex acts by a pornographic ring and is now all but a mental case. The woman—the Strega of the story—thinks if she tears up the photo in front of the boy, all will be well. His anxieties will go away.

In this book New York is a jungle, and Burke is a very big cat prowling at night. He has some friends to help him, notably a lethal Oriental instrument named Max, who is to Burke what Hawk is to Spenser in the Robert Parker series. When Burke and Max swing into action, they are fearful to behold. They make Mickey Spillane's exploits read like the minutes of a Harvard alumni meeting, class of 1920. Strega is unbelievable and slick, but fun.