Robin is driving when he sends his wife, Esther a text message saying "Sorry". He has their two year old daughter, Riley in the car with him. Ester is determined to find them.

There's small clues that let the reader know that everything is not as it seems. I did not like Robin or Esther for several reasons. The story is told from Robin and Esther's perspectives over a dual timelines. It also covers PTSD. I never saw the ending coming but it was satisfactory.

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

From the first page, I found The Perfect Father almost impossible to put down. It’s one of those books that grips you and you find yourself compelled to keep turning the page to see how the plot unfolds. Tense and gripping, I can highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus Books and the author for the chance to review.

This was my second book by Charlotte Duckworth and I will definitely be looking for more. It wasn’t the thriller I was expecting but a really good domestic suspense. Lots of twists and turns and an ending I didn’t expect. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

I went into this thinking it was a thriller, but in truth I would call it a domestic suspense novel. It’s the story of a married couple and everything that happens after the female character becomes pregnant. I was foolishly waiting for a big twist at the end which never happened, so was left a trifle disappointed. But despite that, I found the writing to be very compelling and fluid, making me fly through the pages. All in all it was an interesting albeit rather sad story.

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

The story centres around a married couple called Robin and Esther. Robin is a failing comedian, while Esther has a successful career. Together they have a two year old daughter Riley. We read the story in two different times - past and present, which tells us how their marriage has been struggling. As the story goes on we see secrets revealed, some which literally made my jaw drop.
The characters were great, and really relatable. The story also has some focus on taboo issues, such as mental health and PTSD, which was refreshing to see these topics explored.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and was not expecting the story to pan out as it did. I would highly recommend this book.

I read Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth in the summer and really enjoyed it so I couldn’t wait to pick up her forthcoming third novel, The Perfect Father. And, wowee, I was obsessed with it! Totally twisty, dramatic and addictive, it absolutely lived up to my expectations. I think I liked it even more than Unfollow Me!

After a difficult pregnancy Esther is pleased when her husband, failing comedian Robin, offers to take care of most of the childcare while she works. He’s amazing with daughter, Riley, caring and attentive towards her, certainly from the outside their lives appear pretty perfect.

But she is horrified when she arrives home from work one day to find that Robin and Riley have disappeared and we discover that this marriage is full of secrets and lies. Perhaps Robin isn’t the perfect father after all.

This book is rammed full of OMG moments, some of which almost totally floored me. I am in awe of Duckworth’s ability to make you think you have the measure of what’s going on and then swiftly turn everything on its head.

Short snappy chapters make the narrative feel pretty pacy while, as always with me, the fact that there’s a missing child makes me have to read on to the end as quickly as possible to find out if they’re safe!

If you like domestic thrillers and don’t mind some slightly implausible plot points I’d highly recommend giving Charlotte Duckworth’s novels a go. I genuinely find them hard to put down!

This one is published by Quercus and is out to buy now in e-book format and in paperback in February. With thanks to the publisher for gifting me the digital version for review.

Esther’s husband Robin is the perfect father to their two-year-old daughter, Riley.

After she was born, Robin took a break from work as a standup comic to look after her, while Esther went back to the career she loved. It was a sensible arrangement. Robin’s career had tanked and Esther had been promoted to PR Director, so it was the right thing to do. But gradually Esther becomes aware of Robin’s passive aggression, how he deliberately seemed to cast Esther in a bad light in front of their very impressionable daughter.

To make matters worse, Esther can’t trust Robin because he has once cheated on her with a small-time actress called Kim.

It is an unconventional arrangement, but it has worked for them so far. And now it is off.

Esther gets a text from Robin, a single word, Sorry. She rushes home, frantic, only to find that Riley has been taken away by Robin. She is still wondering where they might have gone when the doorbell rings and the police come in to tell her that Robin has met with an accident, and that he is in hospital.

When police question Esther as to why Robin might have taken Riley away and sought to disappear, she has no answer. Not for them anyway. But there are many secrets she is not prepared to tell them.

Not about the truth of what happened to her during her pregnancy, nor the truth about Kim.

What is that secret? And will Esther ever find Riley again?



Beginning in the Now, the story goes back to Three Years Earlier and is written in the first-person present tense points of view of both Robin and Esther in both timelines. There are no chapters but accounts of the two mail characters. Slowly we come to know of somebody called Sarah that Robin is obsessed with.

At first, it’s all good. She loves him. He loves her. Then the chinks become clear to us. There’s a woman he can’t stop thinking of, and she has her secrets too.



About Vivienne, Esther says, Sometimes our friendship feels like an elastic band that’s worn too thin and might snap any minute. At another point, Vivienne admits to Esther that they haven’t been that close, and some time later, Esther calls Vivienne her best friend.



Robin’s stay-at-home status is unconventional, but it might also be something sinister masquerading as a new age man.





What would have made the book better was a few more glimpses into the reality of their marriage. The big reveal didn’t appear so convincing to me.



The women in this book were all strong. Even when they erred, they couldn’t be faulted for their intentions. Vivienne stood out for the quiet strength she imparted to Esther.



The author successfully manages to highlight a condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum, which Esther suffers from during her pregnancy. It is a condition where pregnant women suffer extreme morning sickness and cannot retain any food or water, retching to the point of exhaustion. The book also raises awareness about diabetes which claims thousands of lives each year.

Rating: 3 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: The Perfect Father
AVAILABLE TODAY!!!!- December 1, 2020
Author: Charlotte Duckworth
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

Sipping Synopsis: “Sorry”- this is the cryptic text that Esther received from Robin, her loving and devoted husband. A husband who seemed to have run off with their 2-year-old daughter, Riley.

“Sorry” is NOT how I felt for any of THE most unlikable characters. I wanted to feel sorry for Esther, but I think she just did not make smart moves. Robin was sketchy from the start. And then the friends were almost like frenemies.

“Sorry” is how I felt at the ending. Without spoiling anything, I was so drawn in for most of the story, like 85% then I felt a little letdown because of the ending.

Final sipping thoughts: Although the ending was not exactly how I would have wanted it to go, I still enjoyed reading The Perfect Father. Most of the time, I was on the edge of my seat. The twist and reveals were not earthshattering but pretty juicy, some foreseeable and others jaw dropping. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Hyperemesis gravidarum which is a rare sickness that plague pregnant women. I would recommend this book because I know that a lot of people would love the ending-I like just a little more darkness in my thrillers, lol.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @QuercusBooks for an advanced copy of @ThePerfectFather
#ThePerfectFather #QuercusBooks #CharlotteDuckworth #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #AmazonReads #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #bookreviewer

For me this book was quite disappointing. I found the main characters unlikeable as they are selfish and completely egotistical. But the main problem for me with this book was the structure of it, it jumped back and forth timelines and narrators with no indication. This left me feeling like I didn't have a clue what was happening half the time!

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.

Charlotte Duckworth is basically the queen of thrillers, her last book Unfollow Me was amazing and I was nervous to read Perfect Father as I had built it up in my head but it was amazing!

This book went places and explored plot lines I never expected. Multiple times I put down my kindle in order absorb what I had just read.

The author touches on some subjects that are not often spoken of such as hyperemesis gravidarum which our Esther suffers from. I think Duckworth did a good job of showing the impact such an illness can have on a person.

I really liked all the characters in this book (except Robin & his father). I didn't think I would like Kim but in the end she did turn out to be one of my favourites.

The character and plot development was brilliant and happened so seamlessly as the book progressed.

I also love how little secrets were alluded to and developed as the plot progressed.

This book also was told from two perspectives which I love. We hear from both Esther and Robin. It was so interesting to see how Robin and Esther interpreted and reacted to the same situation completely differently.

Another 5 star read from me.

Thank you to the author Charlotte Duckworth, the publisher Quercus Books and NetGalley for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book I have read from Charlotte Duckworth. I didn't care for her other book, Unfollow Me and thought I would give her a second chance. I must say I enjoyed this one. I will definitely give her another try in the future.

The perfect father by Charlotte Duckworth.
This was a really good read. Wasnt what I expected. I liked Ester. Wasn't sure about Kim and I didn't like Robin. 4*.

Thank you to Net Galley and Charlotte Duckworth for the advanced copy of The Perfect Father in return for my honest review. The Perfect Father is available on December 1, 2020!

Esther and Robin, a happy couple, finally make the decision to try for a baby! Esther quickly gets pregnant and although Robin is excited to become a father, he finds himself struggling with the news and ends up cheating on Esther. Esther finds out and agrees to take Robin back, but the trust has been broken and their relationship struggles to get back to what it was. Esther has a very terrible pregnancy but they are graced with a beautiful baby girl, Riley. When Riley is about two years old, Robin (a stay at home father) sends Esther a text “I’m sorry.” Esther races home to find the house empty. Robin took Riley, but where and why?

This book was excellent! There are a few different narrators and it bounces back and forth between past and present. At first you feel sorry for a certain character, but as the story unfolds that switches and the characters you loathed become the characters that you root for. There were so many twists in this book that I did not see coming. Definitely do yourself a favor and get this book!

The author wrote a compelling and easy to get invested in suspenseful read. Esther's career is progressing, while Robin is a struggling comic. When the two finally have the child that they have been wanting, it is decided that Robin would be the one to put his career on pause to stay home with Riley. When Riley and Robin disappear, Esther is confronted with the fear of not knowing who she married. Ms. Duckworth's writing had me reading this in one sitting, as I had to know how the story would end.

The Perfect Father is narrated from the dual POV of Robin and his wife Esther. It follows a dual timeline that switches between the present and the past. This was the first book that I have read by Charlotte Duckworth and I ha e to say that I was a bit disappointed.

I didn’t like the main characters at all and I found that I couldn’t relate to them in anyway. I found Robin to be disgusting, unlikeable and a narcissist. Esther is annoying, gullible and a pushover. I didn’t like how she blamed herself for things that weren’t her fault. I didn’t even feel any sympathy for her really.

The best part of the book is definitely the twists, turns and the ending. I never saw any of it coming and I enjoyed it. I would be interested in reading another book by this author especially since I’ve heard good things about her other book.

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

Esther is married to Robin, the perfect father. He has put his career on hold while Esther returns to work and he stays home with their baby. When Esther returns home one day to discover Robin and their daughter missing, her world is turned upside down and she questions how well she knew her husband.

Told with alternating points of view and alternating timelines. Both Esther and Robin tell their story, and neither character was all that likable. Unlikable characters can work in a book, but it wasn’t working for me in this one. The plot was intriguing; however, it had some predictable moments.

This is the second book by Charlotte Duckworth that I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed her novel Unfollow Me, so I was excited to read her latest book. While I enjoyed Unfollow Me more, The Perfect Father is still an enjoyable domestic thriller.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dysfunctional relationship
Fast paced with twist i wasnt expecting.
Enjoyable read and will definetly be reading more from this author.

Loved this book! Beautifully flawed characters draw you into a twisty tale of love, loss, trust, deception and perfect happy families. Things and people are not all ways what they seem.

I’d like to thank Quercus Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Perfect Father’ written by Charlotte Duckworth in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Esther is at work when she receives a text message from her husband Robin saying the one word ‘Sorry’ and rushes home to find Robin and two-year-old Riley missing. When the police arrive they give her the bad news that there’s been an accident and although Riley’s been found safe and well, Robin’s in hospital badly injured and on a ventilator. Esther can’t tell the police the truth about Robin as she can’t risk them discovering he’s not the perfect husband and father everybody believes him to be.

‘The Perfect Father’ is a breath-taking thriller that’s exceptionally well-written, has plenty of suspense, drama and excitement, and is compulsive reading. The tension keeps increasing with each twist and turn and becomes increasingly chilling until the final pages which kept me glued to my seat. Once started I couldn’t put this book down and read it straight through in less than a day. I can wholeheartedly recommend this thriller and although I haven’t read any others by this author I fully intend doing so in the near future.

Sorry.

No, it's not a quote from the book. It’s me wishing this book had snatched my attention but regrettably, I had a hard time liking this one.

My main problem with The Perfect Father is that I disliked both main characters. They were selfish, egotistical, and to a point not quite believable.

The novel begins with a successful businesswoman, Esther, receiving a cryptic message from her husband, Robin. Ester immediately knows something is wrong. She hurries home to talk to her husband, to see her 2-year-old baby, Riley, and to reassure herself that there is nothing wrong.

Robin is a stay at home dad. After Riley was born, Esther returned to work as the sole breadwinner which is nothing new, since Robin has not had a stable job since Esther met him.

When Esther arrives home, there is no sign of Robin or Riley. Her husband has taken her. Why and for what purpose? Esther doesn't know. She's desperate but she has no clue where to start looking.

Then, the police come knocking.


Through past and present passages, and with Esther and Robin voicing their parts, we learn about all the lies, deceits, and unforgivable behaviors.

I didn’t like Robin from the very beginning. I thought he was despicable. In my opinion, there was not a trace of antihero or a drop of redeemability in him.

Cliffhanger: No

2/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Quercus Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.