Confessors' Club, The

I had no idea there were other novels in this series until I became curious while reading this one and went to check it out. I'm delighted to find there are at least four others for me to explore. I can only hope I like them as much as I liked getting to know Dek (Vlodek) Elstrom in this story which kept me guessing whether the missing mega-rich men were victims or criminals. With at least four previous books in the series there is plenty of backstory concerning Dek's ex-wife Amanda as well as his ex-father-in-law Wendell Phelps but the author made it fit together with the current story so I had no problem slotting all the characters into place. Dek is probably best considered a resourceful snooper instead of any kind of paragon of investigative skills. He seems to chance upon things that didn't necessarily make sense to me but he fit the pieces together and solved the puzzle. My main problem was that I believed what the author was implying. Good job on that technique, Mr. Fredrickson.

As one of Dek's associates puts it, the "heavy cream" is being skimmed off the top of Chicago society and dying at a pretty startling pace. Once you do the math the chance of these deaths being simply coincidence becomes impossible to believe. Once Dek figures out that there is a time-table involved with the deaths he has to race to prevent the next death which looks as if it has the potential to be Amanda's father.

I like the person who is Dek Elstrom, he's my kind of slightly off-beat personality who still manages to come across as almost completely normal. I like his clothing "uniform" which seems to be a sort of thumb of the nose to people who automatically expect something different from him. I loved his descriptions of the greasy spoons he frequents even down to revealing the secret of how to spot one. (It all has to do with how easily you can see through the front window. If you want more, read the book.) He makes mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes are too obvious for him to have made them and that's the author's fault. Most times they are pretty much the same mistakes any living, breathing human would be prone to make and that humanizes him enough for me to let him back on my good side. And this character has the same kind of slightly-off sense of humor I recognize in myself. Pouring water down on the heads of people annoying him by pounding on his door is the action of an immature mind which left him feeling childishly satisfied. Yep, I've often wanted to do something like that.

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley.

This was a fun novel to read. At times it did get a bit suspenseful, but Dek’s personality and humor are a constant fixture in the story. The characters were interesting, and while I have not yet read the first four novels in the series, I was able to jump right into their lives. 

Sometimes Dek’s character reflected a bit of an old Humphrey Bogart-type detective from the early 1940’s. A little sarcastic and definitely sure of himself, Dek is the private investigator who is going to keep digging until he figures out what is going on. Even though Wendell has taken Dek off the case, he is not backing down. 

This story had a lot of twists and turns. I’m not sure if there are enough clues laid out for the armchair detective to really guess the ending, but it’s a fun ride along the way.

First Sentence:  The gold Rolex Day-Date on his wrist had cost eleven thousand dollars.
      Dek’s ex-wife, Amanda, is the daughter of one of the most wealthy and powerful men, who control the city of Chicago.  And they are dying; being murdered very quietly.  Amanda, who wants Dek to investigate, is someone he cannot refuse. Her father is less than agreeable.  It quickly becomes clear he’s knows more than he’s saying.  Can Dek keep him alive, or is he behind the murders?
      It’s nice to see an author’s writing mature, and Fredrickson’s definitely has since his first book.  In Dek, he has created a very interesting character with sardonic humor balanced by introspection and hope, as wonderfully exemplified by an ash tree.
      The focus on sartorial details is always an interesting way of establishing social and economic class.  Fredrickson employs that device in the conventional way, but also turns it on it's head with Dex' best friend.  The same is done with food. One can appreciate the way in which Dex evaluates fast food restaurants.  Some authors offer mouth-watering description of superb meals.  Frederickson provides guilt-pleasure descriptions of artery-closing food... “His masterpiece was four over-easy eggs piled atop two English muffins, slathered with sausage, melted cheddar and mushroom gravy the thickness of porridge.”  It's some of these nuances that make Fredrickson such an enjoyable author to read.

Dex is an interesting character whose career, relationships and life has seen highs and lows, yet he maintained his ethical core.  The pacing of the story is nicely done with good flow.  This is certainly not a book one puts down with thoughts of coming back to; rather, it is a good, compelling read.  You want to know what is going to happen next.        Two minor criticisms; The prologue was completely unnecessary and would have been better left only within the context of the story and, my personnel irritant, there was an unfortunate, and completely unnecessary, semi-portent.

“The Confessor’s Club,” is a very good book with nice tension, suspense and plot twists.  

THE CONFESSOR’S CLUB (PI-Dek Elstrom-Illinois-Contemp) - VG Fredrickson, Jack – 5th in series Severn House / First World Publication – July 2015

**I received an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review**
Amanda called her ex-husband Dek. Dek was to meet with her father. He hired Dek to find out about the deaths of some of his friends. Dek found, through his friend Leo, that there were 16 people that were the movers and shakers of Chicago. Dek got fired by Amanda's dad, but actually got drawn deeper into the question of what was really going down in Chicago. Especially upon learning about the Confessors' Club.
Dek was down on his luck. Amanda was the daughter of a very wealthy man. Once they parted, there was a newspaper article that almost destroyed Dek. He got rid of the trimmings of his old life with Amanda and started to rebuild. He was resourceful. He didn't just give up. He wasn't a bad person. I liked his character.  I liked the book a lot. Sometimes it was a bit slow but interesting enough to keep me going with all the twists and turns. It was a great story, great plot, and great characters. I highly recommend it.