The Father's Club

This entry in Katz's Suburban Detective series finds Kit DeLeeuw joining a club of men who get together to chat about what's going on in their lives. As in his previous suburban novels, Katz is keen on capturing the angst of these upper class citizens. Hired by a woman to find out why her ex-husband has ceased his child support payments and contact with his kids, Kit becomes embroiled with not only a passel of suspects in suburbia, but also the Russian mob. A subplot involving Kit's newly belligerent son, Ben, is overdone and I find myself becoming more and more frustrated with Ben's actions and Kit and Jane's reactions to the surly youth. Although I enjoy the Suburban Detective series, I wish Katz would not spend so much time agonizing over his familial problems and focus more on the cases he is asked to solve.

I always enjoy opening one of Jon Katz's books and spending time with detective Kit Deleeuw - husband, father and suburban crime stopper. Although his books are generally classified as "murder" or "crime" books (according to my local bookstore and library), I read them just as much for their close-up and often insightful take on modern life in the suburbs. Each book probes some new twist or development there and it is always fun to discover how Kit himself is trying to keep up with the ever-changing world of modern family and community life (not nearly as simple as it might sound). This time around, Kit finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation involving an ex-husband and former member of a group called The Father's Club. His ex-wife wants to know who would kill her husband - and why. So Kit infiltrates The Father's Club and tries to figure out the whys of the murder, while also dealing with the challenges of being a stay at home father, chauffeur and homemaker (his wife is back in school full-time). Author Jon Katz is honest enough to let the fraying edges of Kit's life show through, the occasional resentments, stresses and challenges of being a stay at home parent with another job as well. I'd have given this book 5 stars except for the fact that I've read better from this particular author. You won't be disappointed if you read this one but I'd also suggest you seek out more from him. Also, if you enjoy reading mysteries starring detectives who are also parents, try picking up Ayelet Waldman's books, The Big Nap and Nursery Crimes. Similar to Katz's books, written from a female perspective.