The Good Father by Noah Hawley

This novel is about an American man who refuses to accept that the police have got it right when they arrest his nomadic son for the assassination of a presidential candidate.  It is an interesting take on gun culture in America but is not as thought provoking or chilling as We Need To Talk About Kevin.  The main character, Paul, is a doctor who struggles to reconcile what he knows about his son with the gathering evidence of his crime.  I found Paul very difficult to like or engage with and this for me made this book a lot less poignant than it would otherwise have been.  Paul's son Daniel is better drawn but the narrative flips too often between father and son to maintain the reader's connection with either.  The writing is sometimes excellent and never offensive but surprisingly bland for a novel with this sort of plot.   Personally, despite the interesting concept I did not enjoy this book, mainly because of the lack of connection with the characters.