The Good Father

Noah Hawley Press Reviews

'Brilliant and heartbreaking, THE GOOD FATHER is a thriller, a mystery and above all else a savagely contemporary, hugely important story ... it will haunt the reader for a long time.'
Tony Parsons

'It is rare that a novel so considered is also so gripping. Intense and utterly humane, THE GOOD FATHER is a book, the moment you finish it, you just know you will want to read again. A tremendous achievement.'
Simon Lelic

'Riveting, moving, unique. This novel deserves to become a classic.'
Sophie Hannah

'I read THE GOOD FATHER into the small hours. It is that rare gem: a genuine literary thriller, as deep as it is wide. A beautiful, moving and important novel.'
Erin Kelly, author of The Poison Tree

'An unblinking look at the ills of modern America, and a conclusion: love might address them in a way that wealth cannot.'
Justin Webb, presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4

'An examination of conspiracy theories and political assassinations.'
Mark Billingham

'Discovering a way to be the good father in this context requires great imagination, and Hawley has written a convincing novel about the disturbing endurance of parental responsibility.'
The Times Literary Supplement

'Noah Hawley's flawless writing and staggeringly impressive narrative authority make THE GOOD FATHER so harrowingly plausible ... a memorable, moving and unputdownable masterpiece.'
Sunday Express

'To what extent can a father's actions mess up his child's life? How responsible is a parent when their child does something really wrong? These are the questions posed by the American author Noah Hawley's gripping new novel, THE GOOD FATHER, and perhaps it is because these questions feel particularly relevant now that the novel has struck such a chord.'
The Sunday Times Style magazine

'This debut ... explodes like a hand grenade with a force that drives the breath from your body. But, like every great story, it starts from a simple premise - what if your son assassinated a presidential candidate in the United States? Could you believe it? Would you blame yourself? ... This isn't only a forensic examination of modern fatherhood; it's also a brutal attack on U.S. gun culture, and a reflection on the country's appetite for assassination. Haunting, terrible and yet utterly real, it's superbly written with a marvellous feel for the American landscape and its soul. It's also a tantalising thriller.'
Daily Mail

'THE GOOD FATHER packs [a] considerable emotional punch. Not as a harrowing investigation of evil, a critique of gun violence in America or a guide to good parenting, but as an account of a father finally accepting his child, for better or worse, until death do them part. Male readers: get your hankies at the ready.'
Independent on Sunday

'This is something different: edgy and confrontational in its treatment of the devastating effects of America's gun culture but shot through with real emotional heft and featuring characters it is impossible not to care about ... powerful, involving and full of provocative invective.'
Daily Express

'Timely and unsettling ... [a] curious but beguiling mixture of fact and fiction'
Telegraph

'Gripping ... echoes Don DeLillo'
The Sunday Times

'An agonizing but irresistible look into the souls of a killer and a man who always thought he was a good, or good enough, father.'
Wall Street Journal

'Tackles the theme of parental soul-searching in the face of a child's arrest for a criminal ... a powerful narrative that builds relentlessly to a stunning emotional climax.'
Chicago Tribune