Father's Day: A Mystery

by: Keith Gilman

Published by: A Thomas Dunne book for Minotaur Books

Reviewed by Alex McGilvery

Father’s Day is the debut novel by Keith Gilman. We are introduced to Louis Kline who used to be a cop in Philadelphia, but now is down on his luck trying to figure out where he fits. Sarah, the wife of an old friend from his days on the force. asks him to find her missing daughter. Kline and his friend had promised to look after each other’s kids, just before the other man hung himself in his back yard. Sarah’s new husband is less interested in finding the girl. As Kline looks for information he learns more than he wants to about the people around him–and about himself.

I really wanted to like this book. Gilman shows us what it is like to be a cop, and what it means when you no longer are allowed to wear that uniform. The gritty depiction of the poor parts of town ring far too true for comfort. Kline, as an old-school hard-boiled anti-hero is well developed and believable. The problem I have is that the book just tries too hard.

Several times in the first few pages I had to go back and re-read sections to separate the action from the layers and layers of description and emotional overlay. I hoped that as the story progressed that it would get better, but throughout the book I found myself struggling to follow who was doing what and why.

As much as I enjoy this genre, I can’t strongly recommend this book unless you have the patience sift for the occasional gold nugget.

Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer’s comments.

Author’s Web site: http://www.KeithGilman.com