What readers think of The Good Father, plus links to write your own review.

Whenever I hear a story of senseless killing, my first thought is always for the victims. But the thought that follows close behind is a thought about the parents. Not just the parent of the victims but also the parent of the killer especially if it’s a young person. I always wonder how I would react. Would I go over every detail of my child’s life to figure out how that child had come to such a bad place? For this reason, this book really spoke to my heart. The father in this book does exactly that. I understood his need to obsessively read details of the lives of murders, from Sirhan Sirhan to John Hinckley. I understood his need, as a doctor, to methodically work through the puzzle of his child’s life. I understood the pain in wondering where a parent goes wrong in their child’s life; what specific incident leads a child to murder. It’s a powerful struggle that allows him to go on. Beautifully written; when it was over I cried and hugged my children. This book is a great read for anyone but a must for every parent.

This is a wonderful book. I could not wait to read it each day. The author did a great job with developing the characters and interspersing the story with actual events was brilliant. This should be a best seller and I look forward to reading other books by this author.

I love a book that I can't put down; and The Good Father definitely was one of those. The story follows the life of child of divorce through the eyes of his father. As a child of divorce myself, I could really relate to the issues the book raises about how a parent thinks they are there for the child, and they really are not. In addition, the Good Father weaves interesting historical profiles that add insights into the story of the child. Hawley definitely knows how to generate suspense that propels through this sad tale.

Dr. Paul Allen is successful with patients, and seems to have an ideal life, father of twins with a second wife, and a son from his first marriage, Daniel. Daniel has issues and even changed his name. Dr. Paul finds out that his son is accused of shooting a candidate for president on the news. How to be a father, do the right things, and be there for you family is intense and emotional. Very good psychological novel.

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.

This a very well-written, interesting and thought provoking book. None-the-less, it is a sad book affecting every character in the story. Paul's anxiety and effort to understand his son's actions to commit this horrible crime are mostly fruitless. The book explores a parent's responsibility to the child to fight for his freedom. Also, the responsibility of the parent to accept and let go. A very good read which I will probably read again and would highly recommend to all serious readers.

This was a good book that was hard to put down. I enjoyed the historical facts of past assassinations in this country. The story was intense. The end for me was a little bit of a let down, and there were some details of characters were gross that I did not think were necessary. Overall, it was a good book. I am glad I read it.

I began reading The Good Father with the expectation that it would have the same emotional impact of We Need To Talk About Kevin. The opening pages flew through my hands, but disappointment came quickly. The emotional response of a father who comes face to face with his son who has been accused of killing the next president of the U.S. and has been shot while being captured fell flat. The encounter was in my opinion, unemotional and totally unrealistic. At this point I felt that the book lost its credibility.

Though the writing was fluid, I found details regarding other young assassins interesting but unnecessary towards moving the story along. I also didn't think the author created a protagonist who was so troubled that he would go to the extreme of killing. Though the book was fast reading it is not one I would reccommend