Hooked

This superficial novel about superficial men offers little to sustain the reader beyond its premise: a group of aging frat-boy types who visit brothels together, deceiving their wives, as told from a collective point of view. The anonymous characters and setting preclude some of the most important elements of a novel%E2%80%94character, description, thoughtful reflection. The men visit brothels in their city, then in a city they visit together, then come home and go to more brothels until "you" (one of these men) decides he wants to confess to his wife. "You" and his wife don't show up to soccer practice one day and everyone is worried. "You" appears and says he's confessed everything, but only about himself. After "you," his wife, and children all go missing, the wife's sister shows up to investigate. Evidence of foul play is found and everyone is alarmed until a crime is discovered. However, the reader has little reason to care, since neither "you" nor any of the other characters are fully developed. This is a shame because "Franc" (a pseudonym) is clearly a deft writer, but his facile approach yields a generic story that does not deign to dirty its hands even to discuss sex. (Sept.)