Is he really the perfect husband and the perfect father or is it all just one big perfect lie? Robin is ecstatic to be a stay at home dad and watch Riley hit each milestone as she grows. Esther must go back to work since her career is more stable and brings in a higher income. She finds it hard leaving Riley and Robin each day as she feels she is missing out on so much time with them. One day, while at work, Esther receives a text from Robin. "Sorry." She immediately grabs her belongings and races home to find an empty house and their car missing. She tries phone call after phone call and keeps getting Robin's voice-mail. Where are they and what is he sorry for? Why is her daughter's shoes missing from where they always are and why did he take the car?
I enjoyed this story very much! I kept wanting to pick it back up and read more to see what would happen next. I enjoyed the two timelines and didn't feel overwhelmed by it as the majority of the story is told from the past, leading up to the present. I did predict part of the ending but was pleasantly surprised by many twists and turns throughout the story. I can't wait to read more work by Charlotte Duckworth!
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Thank you #netgalley and #quercusbooks for the advances copy of this book.

Sorry. That's all the text says. Esther stares at her phone, wondering why her husband Robin would send her such a thing. What does it even mean?
Running home in a panic, Esther finds the house empty of Robin and their two year old daughter Riley. Frantically searching the house for clues, she hears a knock on the front door. The police have arrived.

This story is told from the perspectives of Esther and Robin, both in the past and present, culminating in the ending. A story full of manipulations, lies, secrets and mistrust, who's story is to be believed?

I disliked all of the character's in this book for different reason. The "perfect father" Robin was nothing but a manipulative piece of crap with no redeeming features who treated all of the women in his life terribly.
Esther was hard to like or feel sorry for, she was really dull, a closed book and she justified all of the shitty things Robin did. It took her far too long to wake up to the kind of person Robin is.
This book had some good twists and a satisfying ending but it was really hard to finish! I really wanted to like this book more as I've read another book by this author and thouraghly enjoyed it.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

I really enjoyed this book, it was suspenseful, thrilling, easy to read, I had a full blown image in my mind of the characters and settings. Would definitely recommend!

Robin is a perfect husband. When after difficult pregnancy Esther decides to pursue her career, Robin is very supportive. He gladly becomes stay at home dad and gives his full attention to their little daughter Riley. When Ester comes back from work the dinner is always ready, the girl is bathed and tucked safely in bed, there is a glass of wine waiting for her. She couldn't wish for more perfect family. Only that one day this her loving husband an daughter disappear.

I had this book sitting on my Kindle for ages. Yesterday I finally decided to catch up on my @netgalley reads and picked up “The Perfect Father” by Charlotte Duckworth.
OMG! I could't make a better choice. Few hours later and couple of litters of calming, lemon balm tea I'm here with the review.

This book brought out so many emotions in me it's unreal. I was trying so hard to hold me shit together but at some point I just broke out in tears. After the tears came very strong anger. If I could enter inside the book I would have been in serious troubles. I guess such an emotional response was caused by the fact that the characters were created so well.
It's definitely a very gripping read. I was unable to put it down even though my growling, empty stomach nearly caused the walls to shake.

I enjoyed how the events were slowly unveiling more and more dark secrets. When I thought it can't get any better Charlotte ends the book with such an unexpected turn. I have to admit I'm very satisfied with the ending. It's like a cherry on a cake.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this masterpiece.

This psychological thriller really focused in on family dysfunction, and how quickly the hidden parts of our personalities can cause chaos and destruction! I loved the fact that you can't really tell who is mentally unstable, but as you read you get to see more and more of the hidden demons... right up to the very end!

Oh my freak!! This was the book that kept calling my name all through the day until I finished it.

I read four chapters of it in the afternoon, and I was in a trance. I wanted to read the book at one go. But work and life forced their way into my reading time, and I had to let go of my kindle. But fear not!! The shadowy tendrils of the intriguing plotline beckoned me all through. Full credit to author Charlotte Duckworth.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum – a condition which led to difficult pregnancy. Post that Esther was happy when her husband decided to be a stay at home dad to look after Riley. Everything seemed wonderful. Rob was the perfect father. Until she received a message with just a word. Sorry.

My second book by this author, I loved if far more. Filled with suspense and intrigue, the book kept giving spikes to my heart rate. The twists started early on, and the author knew how to keep inciting my curiosity. I was shocked at how addicted I was to this book.

The day was filled with stress due to adult life and this book – yes, this very book – provided me the best escape route. Just when I knew what was happening in the story, the author pulled the rug from under my feet. Everything I knew went for a toss, and there was a new interpretation to all the lines I had read in the chapters bygone.

I read the book with my breath hitched in my throat, wanting to know how it would all end. And let me tell you one last thing…

Omg this was so freaking awesome.

I loved everything in the book.

This book kept my interest and held me through the whole book! Definitely a psychological thriller with a twist! Charlotte Duckworth does a great job keeping the reading on the edge of their seat!

I loved 'The Rival' and was excited to dive into another thriller by this author. Her writing style is fast and pacey, and usually keeps me hooked throughout.

The twist here was brilliant, and certainly not one I'd clocked from earlier on in the book. My main issue though, is that I felt the story wasn't quite offering me anything new in the genre. The family setup and how they're not quite as perfect as they seemed just felt a little bit too done, so it took me a while to settle into the story.

Once again though, the writing was strong and after about 40% I'd found my rhythm and started to enjoy the story much more. I'll certainly continue to read books from this author, but would perhaps like to see a different type of setting or something a little more unique to the initial setup in her work.

Robin, married to Esther, is the perfect father. He has put his career on hold while Esther returns to work and he stays at home to look after their baby daughter, Riley. When Esther arrives back one day to discover Robin and Riley missing, her world is upended and she questions how well she knew her husband.

The story unfolds via alternating chapters between Robin and Esther and in two timelines, the present and three years ago. A delightfully absorbing story, I just had to figure out what was going on. Lies, deceits, and unforgivable behaviours are revealed and although the characters were well-drawn, they were difficult to like but for me, it made the story all the richer. Full of palpable tension and intrigue my desire to know how things closed out was so great that I finished The Perfect Father in a couple of sittings and I definitely fell victim to 'just one more page' syndrome! Charlotte Duckworth continues to wow me with her impressive writing style and I really need to read The Rival.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel, at my request, from Quercus via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Sadly this one just wasn't for me and I'm pretty sure I'll be one of the only ones who didnt 'get it'.

I just could not get into it at all, it didn't grab me, it didn't get my attention, it left my wandering way too often that I lost interest quite early on. I ploughed on but in all honesty I should have just given up... life's too short to read books that don't interest you!

One of my main problems is that I HAVE to feel a connection with at least one character and in this book I just didn't like either of the main characters, they felt too unbelievable and I detested their selfishness. Yes I know that that's what I was meant to feel but they just made me feel angry and agitated.

If anything the ending left me even more disappointed, it was just plain flat and boring.

Thanks to netgalley and Quercus Books for the ARC.

Although this wasn't a horrible book, by any means, the concepts weren't anything new and seemed repetitive with other similar style books. I really didn't like any of the characters and had a hard time connecting with anyone.

Another very good, twisty contemporary read from this author (although if I’m really honest I preferred Unfollow Me)
A little bit far-fetched at times but forgivable as it’s par for the course with this genre really and I was happy to go with it. I think Charlotte is a very talented author and will be interested to see what she comes up with next!

Thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This started out as a really quick read for me. I flew through the pages and couldn’t get enough. At around 50%, the story started to drag on and on. I had enough of the back and forth between Esther and Robin. It felt like the conversations and side stories were fillers.

Like I said, the book started out dramatic, fast paced, and left you wondering “what happened?” Why did Robin text Esther saying “sorry”? There was some character development, from Esther which was good to see. None of the characters were horribly unlikeable either. Fast forward to the end, and it did all start to come together.

One thing I did enjoy was that all of the questions have been answered and wrapped up nicely. However, there was no surprise twisty ending. I was kind of expecting one.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad read. For me, some of the dialogue could have been cut out and even some of the side stories that weren’t at all relevant could have been left out. This book is not something I would highly recommend.

Thanks to Querus, Charlotte Duckworth and Netgalley for this advance review copy.

After previously reading (and loving) Unfollow Me by the same author, I was really looking forward to reading The Perfect Father and seeing what Charlotte Duckworth had in store for us next!

The Perfect Father tells the story of couple Robin and Esther. After a difficult pregnancy with Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) Robin offers to become a stay at home Dad so that Esther can return to the job and career that she loves.

One day Esther receives a text message from Robin with just one word - Sorry. She rushes home to find her husband and their little girl Riley are missing.

Told in two perspectives (both Robin and Esther) and switching between the past and present, a back story is built up that helps us learn everything that led up to present events. It soon becomes clear that Esther and Robin's relationship isn't the perfect life we were initially led to believe.

As the story progresses, the gradual emergence of the truth are presented, with some pretty major and unexpected plot twists - one of which was so casually presented that I had to read back to clarify that I had understood it correctly!

The characters are written well - its clear that we aren't meant to like Robin, and the way he speaks and thinks in a dismissive, jealous and somewhat unpleasant way really works well. That said, I found I didn't really like Esther that much either, I found some of her decisions unrealistic and as such found it hard to warm to her.

Overall The Perfect Father was a good book and I enjoyed it, however it didn't quite live up to its predecessor in that I found the ending a little lacklustre and was left hoping for one final twist that didn't quite materialise.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A dysfunctional, messy domestic tale that that had a intriguing story, but unfortunately, this is my least favourite read from this author so far. I wasn't bored at all as the whole story premise was believeable, and I read on as I was interested to know what had happened to Robin and Riley, but it was a little bit of a slow burn. Nothing massively exciting happened, and the characters weren't very likeable at all. I didn't guess the ending so that's something, but I definitely preferred Charlotte's previous books.

THE PERFECT HUSBAND . . .
After a difficult pregnancy, Esther is grateful that her husband Robin offers to put his career on hold so that she can return to the job she loves.
But Esther finds leaving her daughter Riley behind more challenging than she'd thought. And soon the new imbalance in her relationship with Robin brings old tensions to the surface.
OR A PERFECT LIE?
Then one day Esther arrives home from work to find Robin and Riley are missing. As the police investigate their disappearance, it becomes clear that nothing about this modern-day family is what it seems..
I found this book a very slow burn. I found Robin to be shallow, immature and most unlikeable. There were a few twists and turns and I didn't guess what happened which is always good. I will definitely try another book by this author.
Thank you so much Netgalley, Quercus Books and Charlotte Duckworth for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy of The Perfect Father

I finished this book in two sittings, it was so hard to put down! A unique take on a common relationship. The author's writing style was so great, I look forward to reading more of her books!

"Sorry"

That is the text message that Esther receives from her husband Robin. Having no idea what he is talking about or referring to she flies home to find the front door ajar and Robin and their little girl Riley missing.

Then the police come knocking informing Esther that Robin has been in a car accident and is in the hospital on life support. No sign of Riley. What happened to their little girl?

Having read many mixed reviews from friends I was hesitant to pick this one up but having loved Ms. Duckworth's previous endeavors I decided to bite the bullet and I'm glad that I did. I definitely found this more enjoyable than many of my friends. The biggest complaint they had was in regards to not liking either main character, Esther or Robin. I didn't like them either but I found them strangely compelling and I couldn't stop turning the pages. Others found the ending to be lackluster but I found it really satisfying and I turned the final page with a smile on my face. I love how books are so subjective and what might not work on page for one can be wholly satisfying to another. The world would be a bore if we all felt the same all the time. Well done, Ms. Duckworth, I will be eagerly anticipating your next book. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for my digital copy.

Interesting, Unique and a book I will be collecting for my forever shelf I have found this one hard to put down and have been completely captivated.
I adore the writing style, plot and characters. A great book!

I absolutely loved this book! The first I’ve read by this author, and I’m very pleased because now I can go and read the rest!
I was gripped right from the beginning and found this thriller full of suspense but, also emotional in parts. This was a very clever, compelling read and I wholeheartedly recommend it!