From a writer's standpoint having a child would create a set of problems that would slow the story down. Your character couldn't just drop everything and rush out the door, or pull a gun and shoot somebody with a child in room. You'd have to create daycare or someone readily available to babysit. Then there's changing diapers, feeding, naps, bedtimes and as the child got older you'd have to work around school, recitals, and Little League.
As a reader, you're not going to like a character who puts his or her family responsibilites second to a case they're working. I am surprised that Burke keeps marrying off Dave R. as his wives keep getting knocked off while he's investigating crimes. I would have thought losing your wife violently once would be enough for any person bear, but then to kill the second and have him marry a third wife? That's stepping beyond the bounds of reality for me. But that's just my opinion.
Also for me, the PI is the modern version of a cowboy - that guy or gal who's always riding off into the sunset alone. I think of them more as our perception of a hero than of a father. Fathers are steady, they have a job that puts food on the table and keeps a roof over their family's head. Okay, I'll admit it, I'm a child of the fifties, when women would have married the steady guy and secretly longed to be the femme fatale who loved the loner.
Sandra
Mario wrote;
"I don't know why these PIs don't have children."
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