In the past I've enjoyed other books by this author and this, her latest book did not disappoint at all. "The Good Father", as the title suggests does involve a young father, Travis, who has found himself in dire straits and with difficult choices to make. He has sole charge for his four year old daughter, Bella, for reasons that become clear in the book, and their relationship and the threats to it are what form the foundation of this novel which takes North Carolina as its setting.

The author has written this in what is a tried and tested formula for her with each chapter being from different characters' viewpoints, though the father-child relationship is the main focus of the book we also have other issues being faced; Erin is the stranger from the coffee shop who has recently lost her own 4 year old girl and is struggling to come to terms with her bereavement, and Bella's estranged mother Robin is also gradually revealed through all the twists and turns that the book takes to a satisfying end as the different strands of the story are drawn together in masterly manner.

I devoured this book and read it start to finish quite quickly, so much was I drawn into the story, wanting to know what would happen next and if things would end the way I thought. It was well written and there was only one part where I felt that I had to suspend disbelief - I'm not sure if caller id displays the name of someone whose number you haven't got stored in your phone in the US. Generally though, despite the fact that the main character is faced with a dilemma not faced by your average father and that his life takes a turn for the worst amazingly quickly, the father-daughter dynamic and the fast paced plot worked well. In the main this was extremely well written, interesting and compelling with realistic dialogue, in particular the four year old in the book was very convincing.

Highly recommended - though perhaps it is time for Chamberlain's books to lose the "fans of jodi picoult will love this" by-line - "fans of Diane Chamberlain will love this" would perhaps be more accurate. This book is just a plain old good read.




Book is due for release on April 24th 21012 and is currently available for £6.20 in paperback form (£6.39 on kindle) on Amazon, on pre-order, I read a proof copy as part of the Amazon Vine programme.