From the first sentence the book is disturbing and very dark. The story is told on two time lines, 1995 and 2017, by Des. Des is married to Jenny and they have three children Joey, Mickey and Maeve. It explores his relationships and how his impulsive and negative behaviour effect the family. It is well written but needs more character development especially with Jenny to give the reader a better connection and empathy for the story. I found it hard to read due to the domestic abuse, not for me I’m afraid.

I tried a few times to read this one but it just didn't connect with me sadly. I am going to try and give this another go at a later date though!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC copy of A Good Father.

Des is the perfect husband and a good father. He loves his wife, Jenny, unconditionally and tolerates a job he doesn't like to support her as an artist and his three wonderful children. Managing the kids hobbies, house work and chores along with his job, Des doesn't feel he is receiving the same level as support from Jenny. When this perfect life is threatened just how far will Des go to hold on to it?

This is a disturbing tale of domestic noir, jealousy and abuse told from the perspective of the husband which made a refreshing change. Told in two parts - the past where Des and Jenny met and the magic happened to the present where Des is trying his best to keep it all together until the dramatic end.

Although I enjoyed the story I felt parts of it were dragged out and it lagged a bit in places hence the three stars. I did guess how it would turn out but it didn't spoil the build up.

If you like reading books that are consistently dark and will leave you feeling awful, this one's for you.

If you like reading about domestic abuse and have asked yourself, "I wonder what it's like inside the mind of a sociopath intent on building and subsequently destroying his own family?" then you might like this.

I did not.

The story reads like the diary of a profoundly sick and disturbed man; a sociopath cloaked under the guise of a 'family man'. The writing is good and the story draws you in so I went ahead and read it from start to finish. Am I glad I did so? Absolutely not.

If you are a parent especially, give this one a miss. It's dark, it's awful, and I hope I forget about it as soon as possible.

I am sorry to be leaving such a bad review but I feel genuinely upset having just finished this. It’s not that I expected a happy ending. I simply expected an ending that would balance off all the darkness in this story. I expected something of value. And, instead, there was nothing - nothing interesting, nothing thought-provoking, nothing to make the experience of reading this worthwhile.

I really struggled with A Good Father. Des is a damaged man who destroys the lives of his wife and family. His wife Jenny succumbs to this treatment and there is no light to temper this dark dark book.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Ireland for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* I must say that, unfortunately, this book was not to be my taste at all. I ploughed through it so that I could write the review, but otherwise I think I would have set it aside. 'A Good Father' tells the story of Des, who lives in Dublin with his wife Jenny and their three children. The book does not contain any properly punctuated dialogue, which I know is a legitimate style choice but I have always found it off putting. However, what really turned me off the book was how detestable the main character, Des was. The book begins with the line “By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family." Des does not develop any redeeming features throughout the story and thus it was impossible for me to connect with the character in any way. The book may be other people's cup of teas, however, so don't necessarily be put off by me review.

Thank you to NetGalley an Penguin House for providing the eARC
Release date: 25-Feb-2021

An enthralling read told wholly from Desmond’s POV even including the dialogue. This writing style was brilliantly executed by Talbot. As the plot unwound this style of writing became frustrating as I needed an insight into his wife - Jenny - which personally for me has left a few questions unanswered.

It is an unsettling read told to us over two time frames; 1995 when Des and Jenny meet and their developing relationship and 2017 where they are now a family unit with three children. Throughout the telling of the story there is an insight into Des’ mental reasoning as he continually inwardly fights his impulsive negative tendencies to something seeming as acceptable behaviour on the exterior.

From the opening line of the book we know how the book will end, ‘By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family.’ Although I was aware of this the ending of the book broke my heart and I was left reeling in shock. It is a story of how jealousy and control when left unchecked can wreck havoc upon innocent lives.

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

That is how this book started, and I had a really good feeling that I would love this book and wouldn't be able to put it down.
Unfortunately for me, that really wasn't the case.
Although the storyline was actually a really good one - albeit a little uncomfortable to read with all the red flags from so early on in their relationship, it never really built up. I persevered ,expecting it to pick up and get good, but I spent a lot of normal reading time, doing everything else so I didnt have to pick the book up .
Was really looking forward this, but sadly it just wasn't for me.

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Cindy Gosnell rated a book really liked it

about 22 hours ago

A Good Father

by Catherine Talbot (Goodreads Author)

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Debut books are where fanbases are made and this debut does not disappoint.
The opening paragraph certainly grabbed my attention!

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

The story is told by Des the father of the family and is set over two time frames and the books moves between the two gracefully. The writer draws you in making it impossible to put down.
Des is married to Jenny an aspiring artist, although having attended art college Des doesn't have the requisite talent to pursue a career as an artist and comes across as resentful and jealous of Jenny whilst maintaining the facade of being the supportive husband. Its hard to have empathy for Des complaining about having to cook clean and generally go about day to day life, it is equally hard to have empathy for Jenny as she comes across as self absorbed. Throughout the story it quickly becomes clear that Des is controlling wanting Jenny all to himself. In fact due to it being written from Des'point of view it appears to be about what he wants and what lengths he will.go to get it. It would have been nice to hear from Jenny which perhaps would have explained her relationship with Jerome further. The ending is that of a sad and deluded man that is heart wrenching.
All in all an excellent read and I look forward to reading more from Catherine Talbot. Thank you Netgalley for sending me this. 😊

This book is entirely about Des, what he feels, what he does, what he thinks, a monologue really. No quotation marks in the whole book as conversations are recorded as Des saw them. It’s the story of his obsessions, especially with Jenny whom he marries and is told in two timelines. I was compelled to continue reading, just to see if this man had any redeeming features or was really as horrible as I thought. He’d get the prize for being the creepiest character I’ve come across in quite a while! All the mentions of exactly what went down the toilet was just disgusting and repetitive, as was the endless cooking of various kinds of pasta. Not a book to read if you happen to be eating!

This book started with a great hook to keep me reading however I didn't feel that the rest matched the beginning and was left quote disappointed by the end.

Fabulous book couldn't put it down, it's set at a high pace and I couldn't wait to see what happened. I have to say best book I have read in a long time, will definitely be a best seller and even a movie. The thing that surprised me is that it was written by a woman, flabbergasted, such insight. Really cant recommend this enough you'll love it.

On starting this book , I felt the first page kind of gives away the ending but you don’t quite want to believe it will end in that way.
This book had me gripped and wanting to know what happens next !. Going between feeling sorry for the main character and then angry throughout the story. The jumping back and forward didn’t annoy me as it usually does in books, as I felt this was necessary to understand the main characters relationship. Some moments you really wanted to say “No!!!!” In this book..,, thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read this - loved it! Would definitely read more books from this author.

#agoodfather #catherinetalbot #netgalley #twitter #goodreads

I am afraid that I was bored witless with this book. I have to say that I managed 49% but really it was an uphill struggle to get that far. It struck me as meaningless meandering thoughts, put together in some sort of story, but what sort I have no more idea now, than I had when I first started it. There was no narrative to speak of and it was just like someone rambling along in a conversation without any real direction.
Sorry not for me.

A Good Father - Catherine Talbot

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to Penguin Books and Netgalley.

With a strong opening line, I expected great things from this book - “By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family.”

The entire story is told by Des, over two timelines: one set in 1995/1996 which is when Des met Jenny; the second in 2017 when things begin to unravel.

Whilst reading this you get to feel Des’ emotions; the rage, the jealousy, the need for control, the obsessiveness. I think that it would have been nice to read some of the story from Jenny’s perspective, to see how Des’ ’moods’ affected her.

I found this book difficult to read in places and could have easily given up and read something else.

Rating: 3/5
This is a debut novel for Talbot and I am looking forward to see what else she writes, as she clearly has potential.

I didn't really enjoy this book but found I couldn't put it down, a very difficult subject, but I was very intrigued as to how it would finish, the author dealt with the subject very well, but after finishing left Me quite uncomfortable to be part of it

I could not stop reading this book, but if I’m honest it was disappointing. I have reviewed it 3/5 as I didn’t give up with it - but it was very hard to connect with any of the characters, and the ending was just... poor. Such a shame, as held out such hope and promise, but was just repetitive and rarely gripping.

I found this book very hard to get into and I could not gel with the character especially as it was from one point of view. Sadly I could not finish this book and very unlike me I had to give up.

Des is afraid.
Afraid of the world encroaching on his home.
Afraid of past mistakes catching up on him.
So afraid of losing control over his family that he is contemplating the unthinkable.
"By the end of next summer, before the kids go back to school, I will kill my family". What an opening line, I was delighted to receive this ARC copy and from the synopsis thought I would enjoy it. Regrettably, that was the best line in the story, and I grew quickly bored, I ended up scanning through most of the pages, which was enough to get the gist of the plot.
It is a very one-dimensional story based only on Des's perspective; It would have been more interesting if another point of view had been included.
Sadly, this book was not for me.
I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin Books (UK) and author Catherine Talbot for a pre-publication copy to review.

Des is in his 40s and is married to the love of his life, Jenny. They have three lovely kids together, and Des makes it a point to be deeply involved and in charge of the well-being of his family. He runs the household, does the chores, volunteers at his son's football team, works in a steady yet soul-sucking job and also does almost all the parenting. His wife uses all her time to focus on her art which brings in very little money. Things begin to spiral out of control for Des when he realizes that an external threat could make him lose everyone he loves.

My top three thoughts on 'A Good Father':
1. Right off the bat, I'll say that this isn't an easy to read book. It's mainly because the novel is told from only one perspective - a very skewed and disturbing one. The story is about obsession, jealousy, control, abuse, manipulation and power. It's also hard to like any of the characters. There's not enough told about them, and they continue to make decisions that add to the toxicity in their relationship.
2. There are two timelines in the book. One from 1995 - when Jenny and Des start their relationship, and the other timeline is 2017, which looks at them as parents living dull, lackluster lives. Despite these shifts in time, the story is told without any confusion. The way Des narrates the story, it's almost like seeing snapshots of his memories. So you catch glimpses of why things started going sour between the couple. Talbot has captured bitterness and resentment very well in her writing, and you get to see how Des unravels and goes out of control.
3. Talbot's choice to focus on only Des's perspective robbed us off trying to understand Jes - Her thoughts, rationale and choices. Why did she continue to stay with him? How did she feel after certain aggressive encounters? What were her true feelings about her family as she seemed mostly aloof and disconnected (according to Des)?