What does the perfect father look like? Outward appearances are deceptive. Controlling, jealous and wants it all for himself. Doesn't grow and develop with the family, rooted in himself.

Very clever and very well written!! Fully enjoyed this one and was read in one sitting!! Cannot wait to read more from this author !!

great book

impossible to put down! read in just one sitting

talbot sucked me in from the start and i have loved this one

An unsettling family drama that illustrates the destructive nature of jealousy, selfishness and a crushing dominance on everything in a home and family. A Good Father is well crafted and draws the complexity of human relationships and how damaged personalities can wreak havoc on those around them.

The story is told through Des’ eyes over two timeframes – 1995 and 2017. Firstly how he met, wooed and developed his relationship with his future wife Jenny. Amongst other challenges, he had to win Jenny away from her then-boyfriend Jerome. There is an insight into his mental reasoning as Des is continually trying to resolve his impulsive and often negative tendencies, to something approaching acceptable behaviour, but how long can that last.

The second timeframe starts with Des being a good father, coaching his boys, Joey and Mickey in their football team, and how he plays the snatch and grab and tickle game with his daughter, Maeve. He’s not such a good husband though, as we hear how he hit his wife and twists it to provide a rational explanation. He loves his wife but he fears her relationships with other men in work or as friends will result in them stealing her away. Perhaps because he won Jenny in that manner, the possibility now resides as a festering dread that someone else will do that to him. As the story progresses we see the cracks widen with jealousy and obsession, and his control on the family starts exerting increasing harmful influence. From the opening line of the novel, we know there is a fatalistic ending.
“By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family.”
It's impossible to empathise with Des, although that's a plus point, however, I also found it difficult to empathise with Jenny, and maybe that's a more difficult position to accept. I believe the structure of the book should have been told either in the third person, or the first person with both Des and Jenny providing a voice, especially as Jenny is involved throughout the story and could provide the other perspective or a more accurate account of background and events. There is a moment when Des is recounting how Jenny’s father read to her as a child at Christmas, in an intonation that just wasn’t the same as her departed mother’s. How could he know? The ending of this book broke my heart and it was so well written that I need brain bleach to get rid of the images.

I think many readers will relish this story and I would recommend it. The ending redeems it quite significantly but for me, a 4 star read. I would like to thank Penguin Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Disturbing and compelling, gripped from the first word to the last. Unique take and view on the thought process of a controlling and abusive character and how the darkest thoughts may be hidden from those closest to them.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. what a great read for a debut novel, liked all the characters and the storyline and would recommend

V different and interesting take on family homicide
The dear u feel with every page as his need to controll gains momentum and his possiveness and jelousy boils away .
The female character is interesting how she has pattern right from start and attracted to the ones who see her as something to own ,
Heart breaking at points and I was so invested in her paintings and her work as her only way to express herself and maybe find solace.
The husband destroys her slowly and then daily and u can feel sense the ripples as we draw closer to the inevitable end .
Four stars due to the angle and seeing how a mind may work that has this sense of ownership on everyone around him

Des is a good husband and father, or so he believes.
He reads bedtime stories to his children, he supports his wife’s artistic nature, he copes with the daily grind of an unfulfilling (but well paid) job and he coaches his sons football team. To an outsider he seems like the perfect husband and father, but appearances can be deceptive. Des is scared, he can’t face the thought of losing control, of the world ripping his family apart, of his past mistakes coming back to haunt them all. So he takes action.

I did find this to be quite an enjoyable read, although the main character did leave quite a lot to be desired. The plot was ok and the ending was predictable but I enjoyed the writing style.

Firstly many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the advance copy of this book.

We are introduced to Des and the book is a narrative from his perspective. I found this to be quiet repetitive and I would love to have had a different perspective, maybe an alternate chapter from Jenny's point of view. I also found the first line of this book extremely disturbing and was not looking forward to reading this book having read that. However I did finish it. Maybe this book was just not for me?

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. This book had me on the edge of my seat at times, the reason been Des annoyed me. He is not a very nice person. This is a very well written thought out story. 5 stars for brilliance. I look forward to reading more from this author.

This is a story about Des who is struggling to be a good Father but he is controlling ,obsessive and jealous .Told through Des I found the story very slow going and it is very hard to like Des,I would have liked to have heard from Jenny though she was no more likeable.This is a good family drama with the inevitable ending .Many thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

Thanks to Penguin Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘A Good Father’ is an accomplished domestic thriller from Catherine Talbot. It tells the story of Des, husband of Jenny, and self-professed family man. But Des is an abuser, and plans to kill his family.... From this point I am at a loss with how to proceed with this review. To say I enjoyed this book would be disingenuous. Yet it evoked feelings in me that I had not experienced before upon reading a mere work of fiction. There is a palpable sense of gloom and melancholy surrounding the domestic drama of Des and his family that was difficult to shake off in the waking hour. This says much about Talbot’s evocative prose and her ability to stimulate the imagination of her reader. There is an undefinable something about this family, with its claustrophobic, set apart from the world feel. The perspective and justifications of the abuser, Des, is unequivocally authentic and It undoubtedly imbues a sense of voyeurism in the reluctant reader. No one wants to share the world-view of a violent domestic abuser, but Talbot, with her nimble, crisp prose forces us to do just that. Uncomfortable reading, but wonderfully composed and executed by Catherine Talbot.

It took me a little while to decide my rating for this book. Initially, I was going to go with two stars as I absolutely hated the main character, Des. However, I feel this is a credit to Catherine Talbot's writing which is why I eventually chose to go for three stars.

The novel had me gripped from the first sentence however, as it progressed, the narrative became very repetitive and rather flat. Des is a very unreliable narrator and I feel the story would have benefited hugely from hearing his wifes perspective also.

Overall a decent domestic thriller, well written but slow paced with a lacklustre ending.

Thanks to the Penguin books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Firstly I would like to thank @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for the opportunity to read this book prior to its publishing date on 23.04.2020.
This book is mainly about Des and his attempt to be a great father, supporter and husband whilst also struggling with control and obsession.
The books starts with a bang but is mostly quite slow paced and follows Des account of what happened before and after he got married and had kids with his wife.
It is hard to like Des as a character or even believe his account of the facts. I would have like to have read some parts of other characters perspectives into the events.
Although I could not like the main character I found it very interesting to see how the author described his personality and how it changes as the story develops. It’s also interesting to follow his thought process and how everything culminated in the end.
It is also interesting to see how love can have different perspectives (and sometimes not the best!) and how the character interprets the love for his family.
I would have liked to know a little bit more about Des past and as previously mentioned, maybe the perspective of other characters would make the book even more interesting,
It is overall a good psychological/domestic thriller, really well written and developed although slow paced until the dramatic ending but I would still recommend it to friends who enjoy more slow paced and family drama. I look forward to further books by Catherine Talbot.

Des is married to Jenny and they have three children. Des works in Life Assurance while Jenny is an artist. They are a deeply dysfunctional family in spite of Des' assertions that he is a good father. Yes, he feeds his chlldren, yes he looks after them but he is also controlling and prone to outbursts of rage. When we meet Des at the beginning of the book he tells us he is going to kill his family. The narration then goes between past and present telling us of how Des met Jenny and they fell in love and how this love turned to obsessive jealousy on his part and indifference on hers leading to the act of murder.

Des is not a likeable character and it is hard to have any sympathy towards him. Which is fair enough given he murders his wife and children. Jenny I never really got a handle on and it would have been good to hear her voice as we see her only through the perverted lens of her husband and he of course is not the most reliable of narrators (a good father? I don't think so).

I don't know how to rate this book because in truth I didn't like it at all - the subject matter was too dreadful but also too real - and I wouldn't recommend it. However the writing did get under my skin and so must have been effective in some way so I've gone for 3 rather than my gut instinct of 2. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Des wants nothing more than to be a good man, a good husband, and a good father. He loves his wife, and is devoted to his children. But sometimes love turns into obsession, and soon Des is consumed by the irrational fear that his wife will leave him. What follows is a terrifying descent into a world of jealously, manipulation, and control, all in the name of trying to be a good father.

I don't really know what to think of this one if I'm honest. It had great potential, and one of the best opening lines I've ever read in a book. But after that, it seemed to flounder a bit. There was a lot of repetition, which can be effective but in this instance just felt a bit like an attempt to up the word count. The narrative is very slow and there isn't really a lot of development - the overall plot could be summed up in just a few short sentences, with a lot of filler in-between.

I was absolutely fascinated into the insight this book provided into the male perspective on an abusive marriage, as this is an often overlooked side of things. It was so heartbreaking to see how his genuine love for his wife led Des to descend into a state of almost madness, and I thought it was a very fair and balanced reflection on how an ordinary man can turn himself into a monster through fear and the need for control.

I feel like maybe it could have been improved by including sections from Des' wife Jenny. Alternating between the two perspectives would have made for a much more involving and emotional read, and could've avoided some of the repetition that occurred in the novel in its present state.

Overall, it's ok. Definitely not the worst thing I've ever read. But unfortunately it's just not quite as good as the synopsis sets it up to be - the tension fades in and out and while it is a very interesting take on a complex problem, the book itself just doesn't deliver due to too much repetition and a lack of engaging narrative.

I was expecting a bit more than .... this. So annoying when a book has a great synopsis but fails to deliver.

A Good Father just didn’t do it for me. Too slow and the characters felt flat.

I don't know what to say about this book. Narration of the story is really slow and characters were boring.
Des id is a good husband and a good father but he's afraid ofthe world encroaching on his family.Afraid of past mistakes catching up on him..
As i said earlier that characters are full and their moto is not clear in the book that which Characters are doing what?
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for a digital copy.

#AGoodFather #NetGalley
An ok read.
Des is a good husband, a good father - a good man.

He encourages his wife's artistic endeavours. He holds down a well-paid, if unfulfilling, job. He is manager of his sons' Under-11s football team. He reads bedtime stories to his children every night.But appearances can be deceptive, and behind closed doors secrets threaten to ruin everything.Des is afraid. He is afraid of the world encroaching on his family.
Afraid of past mistakes catching up on him.
Afraid of losing control.
Although i didn't feel connected with any of the characters and especially the main character of this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for giving me an advance copy of this book.

Well that first sentence got my attention and just like magic the real world disappeared as I plunged head first into this book.

“By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family.”

The story is told from Des’s point of view in two timelines, we go back to 1995 where Des meets his wife to be, Jenny and the present day 2016 where they are married and have 3 children.

We see how they first met, optimistic with their new love. How Des wanted to support Jenny so she could focus on her art, by working as an insurance salesman, a job he has no passion or ambition for. How they marry and have 3 children, but real life is hard and cracks soon appear in their marriage.

Des is a good father who enjoys spending quality time with his children, from the outside they look like a very happy family but Des is unravelling as he becomes obsessed with losing Jenny and becomes controlling. At the start of their relationship you see signs that Des has a temper but that his love for Jenny is real although claustrophobic.

This story kept me engrossed all afternoon, housework was on hold as I couldn’t bare to be parted from the book. The tension slowly built to an explosive ending. Reading this was like watching a runaway train you cannot take you’re eyes off it, even though you know what will happen!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.