Thanks to Netgalley for the preview of this book. From the first page your attention is completely drawn to Des and his story. Its a thrilling tale of obsessive love jealousy and the crazy lengths people go to when they are infatuated with someone. I couldn't put it down!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for the Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review❤️

Thanks also to Catherine Talbot for writing this enthralling novel❤️

This follows a story about Jenny and Des which is told through the eyes of Des himself in two timelines which are 1995 and another which is in 2017!!
1995 is the year in where they meet and shows the developing of their relationship and how it grows and blossoms without arguments

They have three children Mickey, Joey and Maeve. Jenny's an artist and Des is an life insurance salesman- he hates this but it pays for food and the bills!!

In the second timeframe he teaches his boys football but is also worried that men at Jenny's work will take her off him...

This is a story of jealousy, obsessions , abusive and power of love.. and what love can make you do..

This is such a well written novel with some interesting twists and turns.. haves you on the end of your seat and want more so you can't resist but page turn!!

Definitely recommend
4 stars!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a strange book that I enjoyed but honestly can't say why I found it so compulsive. The main character is extremely unpleasant but I couldn't stop reading his narcissistic narrative. I can only surmise that the story was so well written that the characters seemed real enough for me to care what happened to them.

A Good Father is told from the perspective of Des. A father who lives with his wife Jenny and their 3 children. The book flicks between the past and the present day and Des is as the title of the book suggests, A Good Father, however he also struggles with control, jealousy and obsession

From a psychological element I thought Des was an interesting character, i never knew whether to hate him or to feel sorry for him. However, I found the overall story a bit slow and would have perhaps loved to have either delved more into Des' past or see things from Jenny's point of view.

Thank you Net-Galley for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This really wasn't my style of writing. Written completely from the point of view of the father/husband of the family, the book skirts around a lot of issues without actually addressing anything. It alludes to accusations without really defining what happened. Very little actual story for me. Not a fan of this one

A good father.... a good read that's dark, twisted and a vivid look at the frenzied and unpredictable mind of a man on the edge. A page turner from start to finish.

Woah this was dark. I "enjoyed" getting into the narrator's head as it was well written but the book itself is very twisted and dark. Not for the faint of heart but a well written journey.

A Good Father. 3.5⭐️ rounded up.
The book follows Des, he is married to Jenny and has three children. The book bounces timelines from past to present day and follows Des’s journey trying to be the best he can be early on so Jenny will move in with him and love him like he loves her to present day when they are married with kids. Des has a lot of problems the worst is his treatment of Jenny which comes with his over possessiveness and jealousy.
This was at times a hard book to read because of the sensitive subjects covered. The ending was brutal to say the least. I feel this book would have been better if we’d have been able to hear from Jenny and how she felt and why.
A different read that has opened my eyes a little.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Books UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting premise, but I felt this one fell a. Little short for me! I did enjoy the writing style, but it lacked the twists and wow moments I thought it was going to have.

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 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 master of his home, and he must maintain his authority over it - and everyone in it - at all costs.
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This book starts with a killer line: "Before the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family". Jepp, this line got us all - we are already invested and want to find out more.

A Good Father had a very interesting concept, We are following our narrator relatively blindly(except for the first line - but maybe he means 'kill' in the metaphorical sense????), believing every word he is saying. Only gradually do we realise that he is not the nice man he thinks it is.

I love books that have an unreliable narrator. Especially when it takes the reader quite some time to pick up on it. It adds a certain twist to it that is extremely enjoyable, because we want to believe and trust our narrators so so bad.

In this book however, it was not executed that well, in my opinion.

The whole book is written in a stream of consciousness type style, which lost me as the reader completely, as most of the things I am being told by the narrator are, quite frankly, a little boring, This writing/style seems clumsy at times, which made me think the book could have done with a little more editing.

This is a book that is very close to the bone.
It is very factually correct and like a diary of events which lead to that fateful night.
It's chilling and almost unreadable in parts.
I'm finding it difficult to find the words to review it as I'm left in complete turmoil.

A good read really enjoyed this one very twisty and kept me guessing looking forward to more from this author !!

A tricky one to review; very well written but at times hard to read too as result of the subject matter.

If the story had opened up a little and we had been given the chance to see events through Jenny's eyes it may have made Des a more sympathetic character but I suppose that would have been a different book entirely.

I'm not sure that I'd recommend this book although in a funny way I am glad I read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book.

This was not an enjoyable read. Des is deeply disturbed. He wants to kill his family. He is selfish and needy and self absorbed. It is an uncomfortable read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I’m sorry. I tried to like this, and thought the opening was fabulous. But I can’t pretend I enjoyed this uncomfortable read. I think I get what the author was trying to do. She was trying to show how Des’ delusions, obsessions and inadequacies developed over time as he struggled to be a good husband and father. But the narrative didn’t grip me, and I never felt as though I understood Des or his wife, Jenny. Des experienced tragedy as a child, and had an abusive father himself, which presumably shaped the monster he becomes, but we didn’t really learn how this moulded him, and why. A more experienced author may have used this to engender some pity and understanding, but Des just came across as one-dimensional and awful, with his bullying and deception and abuse and vomiting. We also never get to understand Jenny as we don’t hear anything from her perspective. As a result, she’s not a believable or rounded character.

This was a very weird book.
Well written, but I just couldn't get through very easily.
About a man, a father of 3 with a wife who is an artist, and he seems to have mental issues and jealousy issues.
I can understand that this could be a real life scenario, but I didn't enjoy the book at all, but that is nothing against the author, as it is well written.

3.5 Stars 

This book was unnerving. It served its purpose in making me extremely uncomfortable. This is a disturbing story following Des, a man consumed with jealousy. Des's POV is split into 2 timelines. The past, where he first meets his soon-to-be wife, Jenny. And the present, where we see his toxic jealousy begin to poison his marriage, and eventually his children's lives. 

This is a difficult book to rate. I liked to see the mental health rep in the book, except it was included in a way that just disturbed me. Seeing the way Des perceives things was shocking, and so this book definitely succeeds as a thriller. I do think the writing style was peculiar at times. There was some weird imagery going on, and I couldn't tell if that was due to the fact that we were reading in the point of view of a mentally unstable man, or if the author actually thought it was a good description. Even so, I often found the writing style made the book a little disjointed? I will say this is more of the editors fault than the author. I also thought some parts of Des's POV got a bit repetitive, to the point where I was getting bored and skipping a couple paragraphs. 

Overall, the plot was great and the book is a very good thriller, I just think some it was slightly boring at times. I wish it was a bit more fast-paced.

This novel had me hooked from the first page ...
" By the end of next summer -before the kids go back to school ,I will kill my family "
Wow -I couldn't wait . However for me that was as exciting as it got .
I knew that Des was a complete nutter -but most of the following story -which was told from his perspective alone -was just his thoughts on his life and family .
There was always the feeling that something evil was lurking on the next page -but it didn't quite get there. .

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC in return for an honest review

Self-important characters with an unoriginal storyline. This could have been so much more. Really disappointing. Would not recommend this author.

This is a rather difficult book to review, it is not your typical psychological thriller but it is very much to do with the inner thoughts and insecurity of an adult man. The beginning is quite heart-stopping and the end is stuff for nightmares but the rest is basically a stream of consciousness.
The story is told entirely from Des's point of view and divided into two separate timeline. One is in the 90s when he met his future wife Jenny, a painter, and the other is in 2016-7 when he lives with Jenny and their three kids, the twin Joey and Mickey and Maeve.
They seem to have the perfect family life and Des is really good with his kids, hence the title of the book , but he is also increasingly obsessed about losing Jenny. Sadly he is not that good a husband. There is a reason for this, in 1995 he took Jenny away from her boyfriend Jerome and not only he is still worried about Jerome somehow returning but he is also concerned that what he did to another man would eventually happen to him. But jealousy takes over him.
This is a very good debut and ideal for those who love the psychological aspect the most, you have to be interested in that side as most of the book is about Des's mind and not many things actually happen. Having said that you wish you could know Jenny's side of the story, the fact that this book is so one sided can be a strength or a weakness. It is quite interesting to see a woman writing about a man's feelings and thoughs so well.