Our Marriage Counselor

Tiktin (A Perception of Murder) pits client against therapist in this racially charged but ultimately shallow novel. When Jamaican couple Thaddeus and Beverly Carmichael begin marriage counseling with Jonathan Meltzer at Jamaica Family Center in Queens, N.Y., there seems little hope for their financially strained relationship. It doesn’t take long for Jonathan and Beverly to fall for each other, something Thaddeus hopes to turn into a lawsuit if he’s able to gather enough evidence of an affair. But the Carmichaels are no strangers to infidelity, as Thaddeus is involved in an affair of his own. Soon Jonathan tells his girlfriend about the other relationship, drawing her into the situation. Explicitly sexual and relying on stereotypes that are at times offensive, Tiktin’s attempt at exploring race relations reads as tone-deaf and dated. From the opening paragraphs, in which the author switches abruptly between Thaddeus’s inner monologue (using dialect) and third person prose, the book moves without motive, logic, or depth. (Feb.)