God this was a chilling read, knowing what Des was going to do was awful and the way he wrote about it so matter of fact was worse 🙈 I really liked it though and thought it was a really good book, thrilling and chilling and very dark, just how I like them 😉

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Books UK for the electronic copy of this book.

A Good Father is the debut novel by Catherine Talbot - it is a rather chilling psychological thriller.

The narrative takes the reader into the mind of Des - his thoughts and feelings; how he wants to appear to others and knowing that he has to restrain his real thoughts. He's a failed artist and becomes besotted with Jenny, herself an artist and does everything he thinks he should do to win her over, whilst his true thoughts and feelings - expressed only to himself - are the complete opposite. He hates his job, thinks he could do better but never quite achieves it. All the things he told himself he loved about Jenny gradually become resentments especially when Jenny wants to maintain a friendship with her ex boyfriend Jerome. Envy, jealousy and hatred ensue, building gradually over their 8 year marriage. and culminating in murder. The deterioration in their marriage mirrors the deterioration of Des's mind - and a very, very disturbed mind it is.

There really is only one character to this novel - Des. Jenny just seems to float around in the background oblivious to her family and comes across as a weak, self-centered individual. All Des wants to be is a good father but his insane fear of losing his family drives him over the edge.

Not a comfortable read, but one does feel absolutely compelled to keep reading it. You know from the very beginning what the ending is going to be, but it was a fascinating read of the journey taken to get there.

A very depressing book defining everything apart from a perfect husband. I found Des to be a person who suffered from childhood as having insecurities and demanding control. As a father he does not seem to want his children around him and it is almost as if resents them. In defence his marriage is totally unconventional and the relationship between husband and wife is virtually non existent as well. I did not enjoy reading this and wanted to give up many times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC

This book was not what i was expecting, bestseller kind of vibe but i enjoyed it none the less

The ending of this book isn't what I expected. Despite the ominous first sentence I was hoping that Des, the protagonist and narrator, would not have to resort to carrying out his plan. If anything, the storyline is depressing as it seems to glorify violence against loved ones. There is not one bit of redemption in the characters portrayed.

The title itself belies the true character of the narrator. He claims to be a good husband and father but his actions speak otherwise. Could a more appropriate title be used instead?

It isn't a good read to be honest. The fact that I finished reading it even surprised me. I guess the main reason was that I wanted to find out if Des was serious in carrying his plan. As I said, I was hoping not. The ending was a letdown.

I was given an advanced reader copy by Netgalley and the publisher, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book is beyond disturbing and I feel unsettled having finished it. Beginning with the chilling: “By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family” I had to know what happened. Was this someone looking back on what they'd done, or predicting? Des feels he is a good father - he does the housework, the cooking and looks after the children, and protects his wife Jenny, an artist. After all, he knows what's right. The story is told in two timelines, when a young Des and Jenny meet in the 1990s, and then in 2017, the present day where they are married with three young children. Des is coach of his sons' football team and takes this very seriously - as he does with everything. he knows how things should be. If we were reading this from Jenny's perspective we'd see an abusive husband, both physically and mentally. To read it from Des's perspective is truly chilling. We see his mind justifying whatever he does. We also have glimpses of a violent younger life and see that Des has been troubled all his life. I found myself wishing his mother had taken this seriously and got him help. Or that Jenny had insisted when she saw that he was prone to jealousy and controlling rages. Very disturbing. #netgalley #agoodfather

A Good Father by Catherine Talbot is narrated from the perspective of self proclaimed good father Des. The story is told using a dual timeline which I found to be interesting because it contrasted the beginning of the relationship with how it is in the end. I like how the story is separated by into different headings such as Jenny, some place special and Slap. I found this to be helpful because it gave me a little insight into what the section was about.

I found the majority of the book to be the delusion ramblings of a jealous, narcissistic, gutless, wife bashing piece of crap. I liked Jenny and I was rooting for but I wish she was given the opportunity to have fought a lot harder.

I still can’t get over how even at the end of the book he still thought that he was a good person. In my opinion the ending was total crap but in actual fact it was pretty good (annoying but good).

I recieved an advanced copy for free, and this is my honest opinion.

I can honestly say that this book is like nothing I've ever read before.

Des is, in his own words, a good father. He also considers himself to be a good husband and an all round good man. However, life doesn't seem to be working out as he envisioned it, and he is thinking of doing the unthinkable. No-one seems to appreciate the sacrifices he makes to have the perfect family - so why can't they be just that?

Told in the first person, this is the story of Des's adult life now and from the time he met his wife. It is an absolutely honest, bare bones account of everything that happens and how it affects Des's thoughts and actions. This is a dark, sombre read and not one to be tackled if you're on a downer, trust me, but it's strangely compelling and I just had to find out what happened. Did I like Des? Not particularly - but his self-belief that he is always right in everything he says and does is gob-smacking. A riveting read and one which I'm not sure I can (yet) say that I loved, but rather one that I HAD to read, if that makes sense? If you begin this novel, be prepared to stick with it until the very end - I can't imagine not following through! An utterly compelling read, very different from others by this author and earning four stars from me.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

A Good Father is a twisted psychological thriller about a family man who is seemingly teetering on the edge of sanity. It begins with a rather ominous statement — “By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family.” Des likes people to believe that he is an unabashed family man who loves his wife, Jenny, and children unconditionally, but when you slowly peel away the carefully constructed layers making up his facade what lies beneath is an embittered, broken and abusive narcissist. Told in two timelines — 1995, the time the couple first encountered one another and 2017, when they have been together as a family for decades but with each passing month the family unit disintegrates more and more. Forty-something Des works as a life insurance salesmen but finds it deeply unfulfilling but it pay the bills and Jenny is a sculptor who is very involved in the local art scene but her art brings in little to no money, which Des finds himself beginning to resent. To the outside world Des seems like the perfect parent and dotes on his three kids — Joey, Mickey and Maeve. He volunteers at his sons' under-elevens football team and even carries out most of the household chores. But it isn't long before the cracks in the veneer begin to show and horrendous daily abuse becomes the norm.

Embarrassing and tormenting his wife and kids, as his mental health continues to take a nosedive, his ever-loving family bear the brunt of his new-found rage, paranoia, obsession, jealousy, abuse and unrelenting need to control those around him. Will Des end up killing those he's supposed to love unconditionally, and if so what exactly will make him snap? This is one of the darkest, most disturbing yet most realistic thrillers featuring domestic abuse that I've read in a long time and having suffered from a parent with manipulative, controlling and narcissistic behaviour I can honestly say this was so well researched that it brought back memories. There is no redemption in this story it's just horror upon horror and the twists come thick and fast. Neither Des nor Jenny were likeable main characters and Des is more aptly described as detestable. There were red flags present in their relationship from the very beginning that Jenny chose to ignore and this is the life she lived due to that bad decision. It's emotional and heartbreaking but you are compelled to read on despite being thoroughly uncomfortable at the increasingly unhinged behaviour. A captivating but brutal and powerful exploration of mental health, fractured family life and the legacy of abuse, A Good Father reaches an explosive, chilling and saddening conclusion.

With the book beginning with: “By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family” I was keen to find out if it actually happened.
Des is a nasty and controlling man. The book has chapters from the present day and also chapters from back in the 90s to show how his relationship with his wife, Jenny, began.
Because Des is so controlling I’d have liked some chapters from Jenny’s point of view to see how Des and his moods affected her.
As a character Des is really unpleasant, and whilst the book is pretty dark at times, I had to keep reading to see how it ended.
This is a slow burner but overall a good read.
Thanks to Penguin Books (UK) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I found the concept of this book unique and the first line had me gripped immediately. Unfortunately, I very quickly lost interest and found myself skim reading to try to reach a point where something interesting happened, but eventually I had to give up and sadly wasn't able to finish the book. It was narrated entirely from Des' point of view and focussed on mundane details a lot, which I found became boring and repetitive very quickly.

Overall, I found this book to be disappointing. The concept had potential but the execution really wasn't to my taste.

A Good Father by Catherine Talbot is dark and sinister. Told completely from Des’s point of view it completely ignores Jenny’s story? That was the missing bit for me and I feel that Catherine lost an opportunity to add a depth and some balance to the book. Nonetheless I couldn’t put this book down. Obsessive, compulsive and compelling! There’s so much background stuff that’s alluded to but not developed and it’s really difficult to gauge Jenny’s relationship or perspective as we are only given occasional glimpses of her words, her sometimes loving, sometimes disengaged, actions and the isolated references to her possible fear and flinching in anticipation, leading us to conclude that there’s much that Des hasn’t narrated (or perhaps even been aware of). This is the sort of story that, if watched as a Sunday night series, would be tantalising the viewer for the sequel. I’m not sure, on the one hand, if I could bear to read a follow on book if Catherine wrote one, yet I know I’d be hungry to get some more insight. Before you dive in, this is a dark and slightly hopeless read and is heartbreaking. Catherine writes very well. The characters are well developed with distinct personalities and she handles the coercive control narrative extremely well. Four solid stars

I had high hopes for this book. It started well. “By the end of the summer I will have killed my family’
The book is told from the point of view of Des. A married father of three. In a dead end job. Not happy with and bulimic. He isn’t a particularly likeable person and he tells the story from current day. Then flicking to the past to when he met his wife.
To be fair I put the book down as it was hard going. Just didn’t flow. I read another book. Then felt I’d be wasting my time if I picked it back up. So sorry I didn’t finish.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc

Des is a good husband, a good father - a good man. He encourages his wife's endeavours. He holds downa well-paid, if unfulfilling Job. He the manager of his sons' Under-11's football team. ahe reads bedtime stories to his chldren every night. But appearances can be deceptive.


Des is afraid. He's afraid of the world encroaching on his family. Afraid of past mistakes catching up on him. Afraid of loding control.

This story is narrated soley by Des and it's told over two timelines: 1995-6 when Des meets Jenny and in 2017 when things start to unravel. Des is a control freak. He likes to control his wife and children. and make their lives difficlt. There's times when this book is hard to read due to the sensitive issues and the brutal ending. I would have liked to have heard Jenny's side of the story espically the reeasonswhy ahe stayed with Des. The book has a great opening first line. Des is bad tempered, nasty, controllinh and abusive.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #PenguinBooksUK and the author #CatherineTalbot for my ARC #AGoodFather in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @netgalley for the copy of "A Good Father" in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinions. I always find a first person narrator to be a bit of a weird one and this was no exception. The novel follows the relationship of Des and his wife Jenny and Des is our narrator. Switching from the early days of their relationship to the present day and their relationship in crisis, this made for uncomfortable reading. The concept of Des as the good father, playing Frisbee with his three children, managing a local youth football team and reading bedtime stories is offset from the very first sentence with the warning that "Before the end of summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family." Catherine Talbot creates a memorable character in her portrayal of Des. He's no Patrick Bateman but he is unlikeable and shares the same delusion as Ellis's Bateman in "American Psycho". Des is bulimic (cue a fair few gross descriptions of vomiting and defecation) and has a very dark side - jealous of his wife's friendship with an ex-partner who's recently become widowed, emotionally and physically abusive to his wife and also vindictive as he destroys her art. I admired Talbot's characterisation and the story was one which held my attention despite the very disturbing subject matter.

“By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family” - You can't say you are not intrigued by a start like that!

Overall I enjoyed the book but from that opening line I thought that it would be more fast paced. The story is well written and developed and although I didn't really like the main character I did enjoy how he was described and how he developed and the way the other character perceived his love towards them.

Unsettling and confronting, A Good Father is not a comfortable read but it is certainly a powerful one. It's a difficult ask to create a compelling story around a character so inherently unlikable as Des but somehow, Catherine Talbot manages it. It's clear from the first page that Des and Jenny's story will end badly but the journey we take to get there is challenging, upsetting, but ultimately well worthwhile.
Not for the faint of heat, but highly recommended.

Oh dear. Not my cup of tea at all I’m afraid. This book promises so much with an intriguing blurb and a first line to grab your attention.
Unfortunately, the writing style was strange and very monotonous and the story was quite frankly boring. The characters were unlikeable so I didn’t really care what happened to them.
I quickly lost the will to carry on as nothing happened to keep me interested so I didn’t manage to finish this book.
A real shame as it had potential but I wouldn’t recommend this book.

Des is going to kill his family by the end of next summer! On the face of it he is the perfect husband and father, supporting his wife - Jenny with her art and the children by reading to them at night and taking the boys to play football which he also helps with. What people don't know is how easily his temper rises and how he has a very unhealthy relationship with food - bulimia. He also has an extremely jealous streak to the point where he ruins Jenny's art work when she's out and blames their daughter for doing it.

Would have liked to have seen more from Jenny's point of view though, how did Des's moods affect her and was this reflected in her art work? I didn't really warm to the characters though and only kept reading as I wanted to know what happened to Des in the end.

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

This was an interesting psychological thriller that starts by telling us that by the end of next Summer the main character will kill his family! A good hook to get you into the book, but unfortunately the book doesn’t always live up to the promise. I think mainly because neither of the main characters are very likeable, and leaves you almost not caring what happens.

All indications are that the lead character is a good man and a good father, including coaching his son’s football team. But appearances can be deceptive as this hides his jealous and angry nature.

This is far from a bad book and in fact the book has many high points , and the last chapter really packs a punch. However I just feel it didn’t fully engage me and at times had to force myself to read on. You can feel this car crash coming and you keep wanting to urge the characters to take other actions.

All round I would give this 3/5 stars. Don’t let my review put you off, if you enjoy this style of book it may be more to your liking. I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing a copy of this book to me for an open and honest review.