Customer Reviews

Death Row

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a great book! This book had me laughing out loud. If you never have had the pleasure of reading a Jon Katz book you are in for a treat!! He is one of my favorites!!! Pick this one up- you won't be disappointed!

Wow, what a timely book! The protoganist is struggling to take care of his kids, plus he's worried about aging parents, plus he has to save a dear friend.Sad and moving. Like the NYTimes says in this week's book review, Katz really "turns up the emotional screw" with this one.

In what appears to be the last in the "Suburban Detective" series, DEATH ROW once again brings the sometimes pompous, sometimes foolhardy Kit DeLeeuw into suburban mayhem. This time one of the series' recurring characters is bumped off, prompting a devastated Kit to look into a nursing home for the elite. Katz' narrative is a little more preachy than usual and the pacing is not as tight as in his previous entries. Kit has become somewhat of a staunch do gooder, always right, and sometimes doing things that rational thinking would not deem probable. It's nice to see his supporting characters, such as Luis, Will, Evelyn and James get more use, but overall, this is a disappointing entry in the otherwise engaging series. Wouldn't mind seeing more from Kit in the future, though.

When Kit Deleeuw's friend Benchley has a stroke and is checked into a nursing home, all is not as it seems. If T is for Trespass gave you second thoughts about home health care, Death Row will make you think twice about nursing homes. There are people out to make money from older people on their last legs, particularly if they have large life insurance policies and other assets.

There are some unlikely people helping Kit, like the computer hacker, Willie, who works out of a room commonly referred to as "the cave" (someone who would fit right in with Lisbeth Salancer). Then there is the older woman, Evelyn, working as his office assistant who is pressed into duty as an undercover operative. We also have Plain James, a transvestite pushcart operator in the strip mall where Kit has his office - an individual that can dress either way and assume various roles. There is also Luis, the Cuban owner of the Lightning Burger in the mall - who has a not completely explained past and some unusual abilities and connections.

All of this adds up to some relatively fast action drawing in local, state, and federal law enforcement

This is my first Jon Katz book. I believe he has a gift for the written word but the plot in this book is oh, too slow to be called a "thriller". At least I only invested 228 pages and fifty cents at the local library sale. I am not certain I would have finished the book if it were more than 228 pages. Maybe ??? I will try another one of his books.

This is a thrilling and moving mystery but a terrific look at the harried lives of many mystery readers too, caught between taking care of parents and kids. Great, great read

I was actually quite bored with this novel, slow motion, loosely knitted and thought-to-be small-time-&-no-big deal plot and scenario, except the writing was quite fluently processed. Failed to find any attraction in this so-called suburban detective mystery that seemed to be written by a blabbing nanny.