The Club [Paperback]

Jane Heller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1996

Judy can't tolerate the idea of spending her days playing tennis and gossiping with the girls at the posh country club. Then her friend, a feminist who has broken the club's iron-clad rule against admitting single women, is found dead on the golf course. When a detective asks Judy to secretly investigate, she finds herself changing from docile housewife to daring woman.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Heller entered Susan Isaacs's suburbia in her lively first novel, Cha Cha Cha. She's there again, taking well-aimed shots at affluent yuppiedom in this witty, well-plotted second effort. Judy Mills, Jewish princess and New York cookbook editor, is fired after her publishing house is acquired by another; at the same time, her aptly named WASP commodities-trader husband, Hunt Price, has become obsessed with golf and networking at The Oaks, an old-line Connecticut country club. While attempting to perk up her marriage and deal with her manipulative stepdaughter, Judy herself tries networking at The Oaks. There, she meets dynamic feminist Claire Cox, the club's first single woman member. When Claire is found dead in a sand trap, Judy is hired by the local police to help probe the club's membership. Game, acutely self-aware and likable, Judy offers sharp insights into country-club vanities, her relationship with a hunky detective and her battles with the severely jealous Hunt (who eventually joins in as her sidekick). Heller delivers perfect reading for the beach-or pool-side at the club.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758201494
• ISBN-13: 978-0758201492
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,117,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I hope those who've enjoyed my novels of romantic comedy will try my first nonfiction book, "Confessions of a She-Fan," about my passion for the NY Yankees. Yes, it's about baseball, but it's also about marriage (mine) and what it really means to be a fan. If you aren't into baseball, maybe you know someone who is and you'll tell them about it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Mystery and a Some Good Laughs, July 2, 2000

By 

Gwen Sigelmier - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Club (Paperback)

Jane Heller has created a funny and believable heroine in Judy Mills, cookbook editor who has just been fired by a young know-it-all. During Judy's search for a job, her husband suggests she network at his country club. Judy is recruited by the police to help solve a murder at the club, and the resulting investigation will keep you in stitches. The characters you meet will keep you chuckling through the entire book - from Nedra, the who is having a torrid affair with the tennis coach, to Brandon, the chef who can't cook and many more. This book is fun and entertaining and the whodunnit question will keep you guessing right up until the end.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars She's Got Country Club Types Cold, February 9, 2001

By 

carol irvin "carol irvin" (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Club (Paperback)

Heller's strength in this novel is satirizing the country club set. My parents have always belonged to a similar place and Heller has got that aspect of the story down cold. I laughed myself silly. She also puts in a love-romance part of the story and creates two possibilities, her protagonist's rediscovering her life with her country club-golf obsessed husband or taking up with the policeman who recruits her to investigate the club undercover because of the murder of a noted feminist who was a member. The romance aspects are ok but the reason for reading this novel is the LOL hilarity surrounding the cast of characters who belong to the club.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars first class satire, May 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Club (Paperback)

I just finished this book and loved it to the last page. Jane Heller is a first class satirist--the best satire is only a hair away from the real thing. I'm a New York editor (working, unlike Judy Mills) who's been downsized twice, I live in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and board the train every day probably minutes from where "The Club" is supposed to be. I'm a lousy tennis player and hate golf. So let me tell you, she has it right down to the details of every stereotype, from the men's and women's apparel, the attitude, the commuters, etc. Of course the characters, from WASPs to radical feminists are all exaggerated, but they're supposed to be. I was laughing through the whole thing, even though one of my favorite people got killed. But don't get me wrong--there are a lot of great people in this county, and I wouldn't be anywhere else in the continental U.S. I don't mind laughing at myself and my environment when it's well done.