The Good Father

#38 Book Read in 2012
The Good Father by Noah Hawley


Why would a young man kill a Presidential candidate?  Why would he sneak a gun into where the candidate was speaking?  Why would he plead guilty and get the death penalty?


These are the questions that Dr. Paul Allen tries to answer.  The young man is his son, Daniel.  Paul cannot believe that the boy he raised would turn out to be a stone cold killer.  He needs answers as to why this happened.  He needs answers in order to be able to move on and put his life back together.  He needs answers or Daniel may not be the only one who dies.  


This book is an interesting read.  The author sprinkles information about real life killers throughout the book--Charles Manson, John Hinckley and Timothy McVeigh are just a few detailed.  Paul tries to figure out if his son is like them.  He really does not know if he wants that answer.


Good writing and an interesting premise keeps this book interesting.  Readers will not know whether they want Daniel to have been set up, to be guilty or to be dead.  I recommend this book.