Ready Positions

The Steve Kaufman trilogy concludes with a grandfather in his mid-seventies. He's a reluctant widower trying to cope with a world he finds difficult to navigate and understand. He has a daughter who went through a difficult divorce with a son who desperately needs a father figure. Then there's his son, who, as he succeeds in life, seems to become more distant. Add to this a man who sees the possibility of dating again while overcoming loneliness and regret, some of it self-inflicted, all spinning through a story that doesn't stop to slow down.

Add to this the shocking murder of a prominent neighbor and the meeting of Steve's Wednesday night guys' group who try to figure out who the killer is in their own inept way.

Ready Positions asks where our obligation to family begins and ends from the position of a generation trying to hold on to its own values and beliefs, which don't always fit with those of the one coming after it. It is heart-rendering, funny and ultimately very realistic. Readers will be nodding their heads, relating to this charming book's familiar themes.