NEW FICTION
The Good Father by Noah Hawley is published in hardback by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £12.99. Available March 29.

Workaholic American film and TV producer Noah Hawley has produced three novels as well as worked on shows such as Bones and My Generation, and written the screenplay for the 2006 film Lies and Alibis.

His fourth novel, The Good Father, follows a despairing father's attempts to uncover why his son was arrested for allegedly assassinating a presidential candidate.

Being a doctor, he analyses the case like he is treating a patient, looking for similarities with other notorious murders and, most importantly, questions his role as a father, digging into his past to find whether his actions have had a detrimental effect on his son.

The story is also partly told through the son's eyes as he traverses the vast American landscape before the life-changing event.

A solid, gripping story that is as clever as it is bold, stripping down the paternal relationship to uncover the complex people beneath.

8/10

(Review by Ben Major)