This book is very well crafted and by about a third of the way through, I felt I knew so much about the lead, I could bare no more. The content was a bit jarring, and I felt all too truthful for some poor families. I recommend the book if you can tolerate reading and following the inner workings of a vile man. I just needed something lighter. Would recommend.

"A Good Father" is very well-written and hard to put down, with solid characters and imagery. There isn't much of a plot - there doesn't need to be. It is a disturbing and truly sad read. Avoid if you're looking for a "feel good" book: My mind is still churned up over this one.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

After a promising start and a killer opening line, this book sadly failed to live up to my expectations. As a fan of psychological thrillers, this seemed right up my street but it just never seemed to get going.
The characters were unlikeable and although a disturbed past was alluded to with the main character, Des, readers were never fully given reason to connect or empathise with him, thus making his actions and behaviour seem spiteful, petty and vindictive and lacking motivation other than being a repulsive, unkind man.
The ending was inevitable but somewhat anticlimactic and I found myself reaching the ending of the book feeling pretty disappointed.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Books UK for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The opening line in the book,. “By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family”. This got me excited to read this book and I just couldn't wait to get started. But as the story progressed I just couldn't connect with it and excitement I had just vanished.

The story is that of Des and his love for his wife Jenny and their kids, Maeve, Mikey and Joey. Narrated across two timelines, it follows how Des and Jenny met and how their relationship is at the present.

The plot has all the makings of a great thriller by covering the topics of obsession and jealousy, but where it falls flat is at the narration. It is one dimensional with only Des's perspective. It would have been more interesting for me if Jenny's perspective would have also been included.

Thank You to NetGalley and Penguin Books (UK) for this ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book centres around Des. It is set in two timelines - the first when he meets Jenny (his now wife) and the current summer where his mental health has taken a serious downturn.
It starts with an intriguing first sentence: “By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family.”

We get to see how the relationship between Des and Jenny grew, and how Des’ mental health has gone south. We see the whole thing through Des’ eyes which is slightly off putting. We read all of Des’ thoughts and feelings, and it’s in a monologue kind of way, and I felt that it really dragged a lot. It seemed to slide every now and then and I found myself rushing to finish it.
I believe that the story would have benefited from a second perspective - his wife Jenny’s views would have been most welcome, as I like to see the perspectives of characters involved as more often than not the other character would see things completely different.
After a great opening line at the beginning of the book I feel slightly let down by the build up, I feel this book could have been amazing if we saw from Jenny’s side as well as Des rambling on.

I was gripped at the start the first page got my attention I could not wait to dive in and find out more. The story is told from Des’s point of view going back in time and then back to present day, I would have liked to see some of the story through Jenny to see what she was feeling and thinking. I was a little disappointed as I was expecting more from the way the story started an ok read.

A monologue from a 'good' father, swishing back and forth from past to present. The tension is palpable and the atmosphere oppressive. I loved the fact that the narrator give his version of the events and as we do not have any other version it is up to us as reader to make our own mind. A great book on psychological domestic violence seen from a point of view rarely presented, at least so well.

The man in this book was exhausting, and by default, the rest of the book ended up being exhausting as well. A self-obsessed egomaniac with absolutely no redeeming qualities, there was a difficulty with reading someone so utterly unlikable and having them be your sole narrator, as it simply took away from the story to a point that I lost it. While he kept up appearances whilst holding absolutely vile thoughts in his head, I didn't see his act as completely successful- he more seemed to be one of those characters you get so sick of that it becomes completely exhausting to follow the narrative.

It didn't help that the characters were all rather one dimensional and vapid (perhaps this was a product of the fact that it was from his perspective?) but I just couldn't connect with the story and characters. The narrative of knowing they were eventually going to die was just something that resulted in me feeling like there was no sense liking them, and the slow gaslighting, while a little interesting, was not quite effective enough. This book really dragged out in the end, with imagined micro-aggressions and slights, and I just didn't find it particularly thrilling at all.

I am really sad that this book didn't live up to expectations for me. From the first line I was really excited, gripped and ready to get stuck in. However, I found that I skimmed through a lot of the pages. I don't feel a lot happened in the book until the very end. I was really disappointed as I thought it would be a great read.

A family drama that shows the destructive nature of jealousy. I was hooked from the very first sentence and the real world disappeared. Great read highly recommend

This is the story of Des and his family, I found straight away that I wasn't a big fan of Des he seemed to have a control over his wife that I didn't like. I haven't read a book like this before, it is like we really get into Des's head. I felt the story was dark and shows a family living not knowing what is really going on. The story gives a good understanding of a person who is a psychopath and domestic violence is also featured. It was an interesting read but I just felt as though I didn't connect with the characters.

The Good Father is a dark family drama. Told from the viewpoint of Des, the Good Father of the title, the story switches between two timelines. It is a slow, meandering read with an unlikable and at times horrific main character. The issues of coercive control, narcissism and marital rape are sketched rather than explored which would have made the novel thought provoking and ultimately memorable.

<I><blockquote>By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family.</blockquote></I>

It is with these chilling words that The Good Father starts. Naturally, I’m hooked the moment the meaning registers in my brain. What’s going to happen that’ll push our narrator to this extreme?

Our MC is Des, and he narrates his tale, switching between the present day (2017/2018) and the 90’s. It’s clear from how his life centres around his three kids that he’s indeed, as the the title proclaims him, A Good Father. And yet, right off the bat, I do not like him.

While his present day narration is filled with typical parental concerns (coaching his sons’ football team, encouraging his daughter’s hobbies) and his constant whinging about how his artist wife Jenny is pulling away from him, his 90’s narration is filled with his obsessive love for his future wife, and how he aims to be erudite for the sake of being classy.

The adoration and his enthusiasm to make Jenny love him in the 90s is a stark contrast to how his obsession turns into vitriolic and malicious love in the present day narration — he can’t stand the fact that she doesn’t love him as he does her.

What stays constant though, is how in both the timelines, he is a narcissist of the first order. He is truly obsessed with himself, and he’s obsessed with ensuring Jenny loves him too. He’s obsessed with being a good father not particularly because he cares for his children, but because he can call himself a caring father. He’s obsessed with being respected and “involved in the art world”. His artsy-ness is pretentious, and it’s clear that he secretly resents his wife for her artistic talent, while also being proud of her.

Des loves talking about himself and seems to not understand why Jenny doesn’t love him — while Jenny isn’t a great mom, it’s clear that Des is manipulative, controlling and egoistic (and egotistical), and maybe that’s why Jenny grows to dislike him deeply. He’s deeply insecure, and doesn’t trust her one bit.

The only redeeming quality that Des has is that he takes care of his three kids, and treats them well. The same can’t be said of his behaviour towards his wife — at one point, he ruins her painting just before a gallery showcase out of spite. (As I’ll learn later on, he does this more than once.)

He also believes sex is his marital right, and doesn’t really care about marital rape. He also enjoys abusing his wife both physically and mentally, and takes pride in “avoiding her face”.

By the time I reach the 60% mark, I’m tired of reading the same disturbing but narcissistic narration. The book is slow, and Des’ inability to get on with a tale and his tendency to repeatedly stress on the same things that bother him are getting on my nerves at this point. It’s been a struggle for me to get here.

But my Kindle says I have only 2hrs 6 mins left in the story, so I persevere.

The book picks up its pace soon after — Jenny stands up for herself. While Jenny isn’t a great mother (she’s very negligent), she isn’t as despicable as Des is. Des feels threatened by Jenny standing up against his violence; he doesn’t want to lose his kids. This makes for an interesting change in the narration. And at this point, I’m glad that I’ve stuck on with the story.

<I><blockquote> To this day I find it hard to reconcile the two disparate parts of my father, the solid strong man who could hurt my mother and the gentler more passive man who could only marvel at the love exhibited between any two animals, no matter how insignificant they were.

I still do not understand how a man that could possess such empathy for all creatures no matter how small could simultaneously reveal himself as being a coward capable of hurting his wife, my mother.</blockquote></I>

When I read the aforementioned quote, I am astounded by the hypocrisy. And yet, he justifies his abuse of Jenny as disciplining, when it’s his insecurity and paranoia bringing out his true colours.

As I progress towards the end, the disgust I feel towards Des keeps increasing. By the time I’m at 82%, my disgust is overwhelming. It’s a pit of churning acid. The words I have for his character are an equal mix of <I>nafrat</I> (Hindi) and <I>Bībhatsa</I> (Sanskrit).

These feelings I have crescendo as the book reaches its climax. Des does the despicable, all out of pettiness, jealousy, and revenge.

I just feel horrified.

...

This book is a 288 page character sketch of the deplorable human being that Des is. If this is what the author, Talbot, set out to do, she has indeed done a marvellous job. It’s been a while since I found a narrator this odious.

Despite provoking such a strong reaction from me, this book is a 3 star read for me for three simple reasons: the slow pacing, the unnecessary prose (though I suppose the prosaic descriptions were a facet of Des’ pretentiousness), and the anticlimactic ending.

Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure I’ll be ruminating about the book for a while, wondering why Jenny stayed on with such an abusive and manipulative person; whether Des never realised what a terrible hypocrite he is; and whether Des ends up in jail or a mental institution.

TW: Domestic abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, marital rape, bulimia, self-harm, murder, filicide, fat-shaming


*I was invited to read the book by the publisher, via NetGalley.*

This is the kind of book that just grabs you, drags you around what you ever thought was possible, leaves you wanting more with every sentence and keeps you up all night

I really enjoy books from 2 different times so you get the now and the past. I feel it gives a book more clarity as to what it actually happening.

An excellently written book and was read in 1 sitting. Cancel all plans for the day or don’t expect to sleep at night

This wasn’t a book for me. I loathed the main character from the start and then I couldn’t find any good in him however I tried. I did want to know the ending but I found I skipped through places. I enjoyed the way it was written but it needed more likeable people in it. Not for me.
Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Des and Jenny, married and as it seems, living in a little family cocoon. When Jenny wants to spread her wings, Des controlling nature and twisted mind starts to show the ugly face. All in the name of love.

Shivers down the spine.

Unfolding across two timelines, this novel tells the story of how Des and Jenny met, as well as their relationship today.

Jealousy and obsessive love are the central themes; Des becomes increasingly unlikable as story develops but this made me want to read on.

An enjoyable, well-written book to while away a few hours.

Omg. Quite a chilling dark tale was this. Des And wife Jenny and their kids.

Told in two timelines, it encompasses how Des and Jenny met and their relationship today.

My first book by this author, I found shivers moving down my back at Des's voice. There was something disturbing about it.

The story overall was of obsession and jealousy and the actions taken along with its repercussions.

A dark read, at least for me.

A dark, well written book. It chills you to the bone. Amazing. A real page turner. Keeps you gripped.

Des and Jenny and their children live a relatively happy life but Des is far from what he seems. Told from two timelines of then and now we focus on why they fell in love and the state they are in now.
Oh I wanted to enjoy it, like many others the opening line grabs you and either sucks you in or drops you flat and unfortunately for me it was the latter. Des, overall, is a horrible character and I didn’t like his ‘voice’ by the end.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.