This was a real struggle to read and I kept on reading in the hope that it would get better but it just kind of flatlined for me the whole way through. I know that not everyone will think the same way as me but I just never really became invested in the story or in any of the characters.

Des is a family man. His wife (Jenny) and his three children (Maeve, Mikey and Joey) are his life. He has a full time job (which he puts up with) and is the main bread winner while his wife works on her art.

The story is told from two different timelines. The present day (when Des life appears to unravel before his very eyes) and the year he met Jenny. We get an insight into his character and don’t always like what we see (this is definitely the case as the story progresses).

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

DNF

I was sent the book through netgalley (my first one) and within the first sentence it escalated quickly. However, after that it was far too detailed, down to the description of vomit every time he was sick (which happened quite a few times!) I had to stop reading by 27% as I felt like it was just going on and on with not much happening.

A very dark and disturbing read. It is the story of Jenny and Des, told by Des in two time-frames, A seemingly happy family, Des is disintegrating and controlling. Told as a narration, we hear only Des’ thoughts and motivations, which becomes a little wearying. Too dark for me, this is a book I could not say I particularly enjoyed.

This book opened with a bang “before the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family.” I was enthralled. And then it went downhill. This is the story of Des and Jenny, all told from Des’s POV in two timelines 1995/96 when they first got together and 2017 when it was all broken.

I can see what the author was trying to do and she did paint a vivid picture of a man riddled with obsession, jealousy and doubts about his own manliness I guess. But along the way we are privy to every little thought Des has and they were either banal in their ordinariness or quite disturbing and by halfway I felt I was drowning in minutiae, his obsession with cooking pasta and detail, detail, detail. He tried to hide his more disturbing thoughts from Jenny - if she had had an inkling she would have run a mile. Or would she? She seemed strangely detached. Des was just horrible and came across as a ‘little man’, always needing to puff himself up but I didn’t really like Jenny either she seemed ‘not present’ a lot. But, for me, the amount of minutiae spoiled it and I was skimming a lot of the detail just to finish. What the book did well was illustrate that a man doesn’t have to be violent, (Des had only slapped Jenny once) to snap and end up killing his family. Not a cheery thought when the news is full of such stories, some of them quite horrific. But I knew that already and didn’t need to wade through all the boring detail to get to that realisation. I did not enjoy this book.

The opening line in the book sets the pulse immediately racing. “By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family”.
I was drawn in already and excited to read it. It didn’t however turn out to be what I thought or indeed hoped it to be.

It’s the story of Des, Jenny and their three children. The whole book is told through the eyes and mind of Des. A nasty character(opening line is a clue), he’s abusive and controlling, jealous, self obsessed, a control freak...I could go on.

The format at first was intriguing. Every word in the book are the thoughts of Des. Even when there are (short) conversations they are just relayed by Des, so we have no inverted commas to display a conversation. It was a little jarring at first but I got used to it.
Told both in the present day and in flashback when the couple first met, it becomes clear that this is not really a thriller at all, more a character study. It’s page after page of thoughts from Des. It becomes tiring and uninteresting after a while. His mind rambles off to the most inane things and we have to read it all.

While I didn’t hate the book, I did find that the whole thing left me a little cold. It held my interest for about half of it but the incessant nature of the chosen format just wore me down and left me bored for large chunks. I think a better edit could have easily knocked 100 pages off this book and they wouldn’t have been missed.
On the plus side, there were parts where I was intrigued. There were even chapters where the format actually just had a lovely hypnotic flow. They are in the minority unfortunately but show the author has plenty of talent and potential.

It’s a debut novel and something different for sure. There is lots to admire and the author shows a lot of promise but I feel the format, along with a not very strict editor let this one run away with itself and just became a one trick pony that grated the nerves in the end, rather than tingled them.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Books and Catherine Talbot for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic , highly recommend if you like dark , gripping , psychological thrillers . What a wonderful husband except for when he’s not ! I guarantee this will have you hooked .

This is a difficult book to review and give stars to. 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.” The story is that of Des and his love to his wife Jenny. He really loves Jenny but he loves an idealized Jenny even more.

Over this said summer Des mental health goes south. The book is told in two timelines. One in the present during this summer and one in the past when Des and Jenny met. We see how their relationship grew. We only see the story through Des’ eyes and it would have been be incredible interesting to hear Jenny’s side of the story as well. She stays an enigma. Des is mean, egocentric and controlling. His behavior is sometimes erratic but he has some of his worse impulses still under control. The reaction of his family to his behavior is not always matching his actions. He tells us that he yells at his children but they don’t seem to mind it. So it would have been very interesting to see Des through the eyes of someone else.

The story is told in a kind of monologue from Des. He tells us everything what pops into his mind. That makes following his string of thoughts very dragging. He is a very troubled man and very insecure. For me I would have enjoyed this book more if there would have been a second narrator. The story is sad and tragic up to its heartbreaking ending. But Des and Jenny stayed a mystery to me. A second narrator would have brought some more understanding to the mental state of Des and to the story.

This had a great opening sentence, but the rest of the book was a let down. This is the story of Des & Jenny, and covers the present & how their relationship started. It's told from Des' perspective. I found this to be dry and Des was unlikable - a jealous, possessive & abusive man. There's lots of great reviews for this book, but I did not enjoy it at all.

This is a debut by Catherine Talbot. A story about Des and Jenny's relatiobnhip. From how they first met in 1995 and where they are now in 2017. It's an uncomfortable read at times as it focuses on domestic abuse. Tbe narrative is told by Des and how he sees things.

Des is an insurance man and Jenny is an artist which at first Des finds exciting but as the years go on he begins to resent. We see Jenny being worn down by Des and losing confidence in most things that she does including being a mother to their three children.

It's a story about love, obsessive behaviour and control. For me alarm bells were ringing back in 1995 and I question why Jenny even went there. I would really have liked some narrative from Jenny so we can find some insight into how she saw things. I think that would have benefited greatly here. Many times I wanted to shout at her to see Des for what he is. It's a scary, compelling book that kept me reading.

It's an accomplished debut and though 'enjoyable' may not be exactly the right word it's certainly uncomfortably readable.

Recommended. Many thanks for my advanced copy.

A very interesting read, one that sent my head spinning.

A first sentence that hooks you in - "By the end of next summer, before my kids go back to school, I will kill my family".

The story of Des, a man who considers himself a good man, a good husband and a good father.

Very different narrative as we spend the entire book effectively in Des's head, as he reveals his thoughts. No conversations with others - except to relay what was said in them after they've happened - and it felt like I had ADHD as Des's thought's flipped so quickly from happiness to anger to happy again and so on through a range of varying emotions.for the entirety of the book.

Whilst I have no idea if this is really what it's like in the head of a psychopath, it certainly felt real.

The story flips between two time lines - Des meeting his wife to be Jane back in the late 1990's; and the 2016/2017 timeline. My only criticism is that I was forever asking myself how Jane could still be with this man for 20 years.

"By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family"...... What a sentence to start a story and grab your attention!

A deeply unsettling, distressing, disturbing and twisted tale this was.

Written from the POV of Des, over two timelines.. when he first met his wife and the present.

A story of jealousy and control and just how destructive it can be.

I must admit at times I struggled and my mind wandered off but once it clicked back into place it just flowed seamlessly albeit at a slow pace.

A truly unique view at the goings on behind the doors of an abusive, controlling relationship.

I personally would have liked to have read more about Des's past and also the other characters perspectives on things, I think it would have sat better in my mind ... I hate not having the answers to unasked questions.

Overall a great read.

3*

Thanks to netgalley and Penguin Books UK for the ARC.

This is a dark chilling novel written from the point of view of Des, trying to justify what he did. The story line tells of love, obsession and a dying marriage. Very unsettling.
My thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic read. I was sucked in from the beginning of the book. It was a thrilling read. It was well written and a joy to read. This is one you don’t want to miss when it’s released

Des is a loving husband and father to three young children...Des obviously has issues...Des tells you at the start of the book what he has done, and the story there in, tells us all about the run up to the events that happening that fateful evening.

This book had me hooked from the start, and the character of Des was written so amazingly well, that I was convinced it must have been written by a man, and then I discovered it wasn't. Catherine Talbot really got under the skin of Des, things that he smelt, felt and heard were all described in his twisted way.

I had so much empathy for his long suffering wife, and found myself asking "why?" so many times.

I thought the book was going to go in several different directions and we were going to hear the story from other characters but no, it was just Des trying, I felt, to justify why he did what he did.

There are many moments when you will hold your head in your hands, and for me, there was one particular moment, very near the end when I gasped at the reality of what he had done.

A truly vile, evil character, but written so well

A Good Father is one of those books that has an opening so brilliant, you aren't sure where it can go from there. It really grabs you, shocks you even, and leaves you with no choice but to keep turning the pages.
The downside of this, of course, is where do you go from such a high? In a lot of cases, the answer is down. Thankfully, that isn't the case here - although, for me, there were a couple of slow moments. This is because everything is told from Des' point of view, a view I felt I needed a bit of a break from at times.
However, the other side of my 'reading brain' knows that that was probably the point - the unrelenting nature of Des' dark thoughts. If there was no escape for him, why should there be any escape for me? And they really were dark, darker than I've read in a lot of books of this genre. Did I enjoy reading it? Yes, but it wasn't always easy - there were bits that made me uncomfortable and bits that left me wanting to jump into the book and shake Des.
It's why, in the end, I'm recommending this book. It might not be for everyone BUT it goes to places other psychological thrillers or suspense novels don't go. And it kept me turning the pages late into the night to see how it ended.

Deeply disturbing

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 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

As the story is told from a single point of view it rapidly became tedious. Des isn't simply narrating the story, he's telling us every random thought that comes to mind, whether it has anything to do with current situations or not. The disjointed thought process may well be used to indicate Desmond's disturbed frame of mind, but it's mind-numbingly dull to see his thoughts wander aimlessly about through so much of the book. It would have made it feel more like a novel than a peek into a disturbed man's mind

I truly would have liked the opportunity to see jenny’s point of view regarding the things Desmond said and did. Not having her side of the story made their entire relationship feel one-dimensional to me. If I could have seen things through her eyes, perhaps that wouldn't have been the case.

3 stars, only just

I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for an advance copy in return for a fair and honest review

This was a challenging read for me I nearly gave up several times but I persevered and unfortunately it didn't get any better for me.

I just found it hard to engage in the characters and found the story repetitive and flat and I always waiting for it to get going.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Penguin Books for providing me with the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a brilliantly manipulated and well-constructed story, strung out between the years in which the protagonist first met his lover till the present when they are married and with kids. There are many dilemmas that come in and out among their livelihood which obstructs their relationship and Des' being.

Looks can be deceptive and this portrays that wonderfully through the thoughts of a man who from the outside may just look like a strict father, but as you read on, it takes a completely different turn. It illustrates Des, the MC and displays his actions and thoughts, but through his perspective makes all his beliefs and past and previous actions look to be completely justified in his mind.

The use of the unreliable narrator played very well in this book. It was interesting to be able to read the thoughts of Des and how his mind works. How he justified all he did in his mind, and how it all played out until the end.

There were some definite twists that shocked me and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future!

Ok I was not a huge fan of this book if I’m honest although the ending was brutal and shocking and did make me give it a slightly higher rating. The story is very honest about love, obsession and marriage and is quite a sad look at the day to day life of a marriage that is slowly dying. This isn’t a bad book by any measure just isn’t really one for me.

Many thanks to Penguin and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book. A disturbing but interesting read about Des a family man who is controlling his wife and children. I enjoyed the hook but would have liked to hear the book narrated from both Des and his wife Jenny's perspective. I will read other books from this author.