The Father's Club — Jon Katz

Kit Deleeuw solves a murder involving one of his own - a father and Rochambeau neighbor. The cultural phenomenon under scrutiny here is the plight of men in the nineties, caught in a world full of pressure, difficult choices, and the struggle to build and maintain friendships. But for the men of The Father's Club, it is also a world fraught with betrayal, greed, and massive fraud. Kit Deleeuw is himself feeling embattled in his dual role of suburban detective and family man when into the midst of this slough of despond walks Linda Lewis, who wants Kit to investigate her ex-husband, Dale. Normally a dutiful father, Dale has fallen behind in his child support payments, and he hasn't called the kids or responded to Linda's messages. When the deadbeat dad turns up dead in his office, Kit decides to join the men's club Dale belonged to, hoping for a clue to his demise. In the end, Kit finds himself not only involved with mobsters, federal investigators, and the victim's infidelity, but also a lot wiser about the need men have to talk to one another, about his relationship with his son, and about his own place in the child-crazed town of Rochambeau.