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The Good Father

The Good Father
A Novel
by Noah Hawley
Hardcover: Mar 2012,
320 pages.
Paperback: Jan 2013,
320 pages.

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Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Debbie M. (grand junction, CO)
The Good Father
The Good Father was a fascinating book. You think you know your child, but do you? Dr Paul Allen was a good father, trying hard to raise good children. What would cause his oldest child to do the unthinkable, to assassinate a presidential candidate .
The book looks at how one family dealt with being in the spotlight. The denial and then the scrutinizing of every detail over and over again. We seldom think about the family of the accused. How they feel. What their lives must be like from that moment on. How they blame themselves. Hawley gives us great insight into a situation none of us ever want to find ourselves in.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by J W. (Davis, CA)
Could be great
This is a very good book. It could be great. The plot is compelling, the father character well developed and the story authentic. The only complaint is that there were too many medical analogies. After the fifth or sixth we got the point - he was a doctor and a good one. There may have been reasons for the author to keep using them, but it became boring.
This is a tragic situation that we all hope we never experience and this father felt his guilt intensely. He became obsessed with trying to find a reason for his son's crime...but all along he knew the truth. We all look for someone or something to blame when a horrible event takes place. Usually the answer is close to home.
This is a book worth reading.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Margaret M. (Chicago, IL)
The good father
The Good Father is an excellent read. The plot is great! It keeps your interest to the extent that it is hard to put down.

The characters are well drawn and believable.if you are a parent or not you can easily identify with the family.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Beth K. (New York, NY)
The Good Father
A book that pulled me in from the first page, The Good Father is a work that is both wholly mesmerizing and utterly disturbing.

The book shifts focus subtly, at times questioning the level of Daniel’s actual guilt, but always returning to the ultimate issue of how Dr. Allen can reconcile the man his son has become.

A good portion of the middle section of the book contains detailed accounts of the actions of several well-known killers. This material at times felt creepy, and I was somewhat put off by the frequent interruption to the feel and flow of the narrative that resulted from including this information. As the book moved past this section, though, I quickly got back into the story, and it ultimately did not detract from my reading experience.

A book that will stay with you after you read the last page, and a definitely a conversational gold mine for book clubs.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Erica M. (Chicago, IL)
The Good Father is a great read
This book was so well paced, well researched, and well written that I will read ANYTHING that Hawley ever writes again. There was absolutely no filler. The book was absolutely taut. Everything that was written was necessary to the plot development. It was so satisfying a read, that I was willing to overlook any flaws. What a treat this was.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Eloise F. (Poway, CA)
Fiction that feels like non-fiction
I would lose track of whether this was a true story or not, given the style, and the very believable story. It will satisfy many readers: lovers of mystery, or of legal drama, or those who simply enjoy a good story of human nature. Was he a good father? I'm not sure and the story doesn't try to tell us so. The imperfect cover art is a great hint of what is to come.
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