Very dark, very clever premise with a sinister and overbearing tone that I sometimes struggled with, some arts were written in a way I didn't fully follow what was happening or said so it felt sluggish to get through in parts. Not quite for me

I actually really liked this book. I loved the way it was written and the way the author told the story. The plot was easy to follow and I couldn't have guessed the ending. I also liked how other characters fitted nicely in to the story.

It is very refreshing to read a book in this genre from a male perspective. It deals very much with the preface of representation and reality in that what you see on the outside is not what is actually going on on the inside.
An easy book to read with a surprising and unexpected ending which leaves you wondering at the end.

Thomas Martin thinks he's a good man. Good husband, good father, good employee, good provider, good family-man. He provides reasons for all of these things by telling his story and, on the face of things comes across as very credible. His self-description has him winning man of the year hands down. But as his layers start to peel back, as more of THE truth rather than HIS truth becomes evident, we start to see a vary different picture as he starts to unravel...
This is an extremely character driven novel with a stellar cast of eclectic characters. From Thomas's ailing, aged mother, to his really rather weird sisters, to his wife and child. And then we factor in his long deceased sister and the impact her death had on all concerned. Told from his perspective, we start to build up a picture of the real Thomas. There's things that start to conflict. It's hard to explain without spoiling things but, by the end of the book, when reflected on in hindsight, certain things pop out which make the ending of the novel fit perfectly with what has gone before.
To say that I connected with Thomas from the off would be a bit weird, especially given what happens. But I kind of connected with his version of himself and that gave what happened a bit more impact as the mask came down and his brutal truth was revealed. It's like a wall was being built throughout Thomas's life and then, suddenly, it all came crashing down. It's hard to explain much more for fear of spoilers so I'll just say that, if you love tense, character driven, slightly confusing along the way, psychological dramas, you might do well giving this a crack. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I was looking forward to reading this book but, unfortunately, I was rather disappointed. Although the writing was very good I just didn't care for the characters and disliked the parts about the opera which I'm not a fan of.

He was 'A Good Man' until things went wrong at work!  He came from a dysfunctional family but he had a good life with his wife and daughter.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reading of this book.    It was a good read but not a page turner for me.   I found it a bit complicated and skipped the references to opera.  Saying that I did finish the book, which was well written, but it wasn’t for me.

I’m afraid I struggled with A Good Man.  It’s a bold idea and Ani Katz certainly writes well, but I got very bogged down in a slow, oppressive narrative.

The book is narrated in the first person by Thomas, a man with an apparently idyllic family life with his wife and daughter and a successful career.  We can tell that something dreadful is looming, but it takes a very long time indeed for anything approaching an event to occur.  Thomas’s narration is plainly unreliable – and very well done, to be fair – and through his eyes and interpretation we get a lot of history of his marriage and of his rather creepily dysfunctional mother and sisters as he becomes increasingly disturbed by things in his life.  The trouble is that for me it just went on and on being oppressive and foreboding with little to really draw me in and, frankly, I found it a real struggle after a while.  As a result, I’m not sure I really learned much about what Katz is really trying to tell us.

I applaud the book’s ambition, I think Ani Katz is a good writer and others have plainly derived far more from A Good Man than I did, but personally I couldn’t really get on with it.

(My thanks to Random House for an ARC via NetGalley.)

This book was just too much “dark” for me at the moment. It is Intriguing and quite interesting in style. I felt there may have been times when the prose was trying to be too clever and I had to reread sections to decipher what was being communicated. Perhaps it’s because during a busy time in my life I just need a simple read (which is not always the case with my reading) and so this review is all about the context. If you want something to ponder, this is the book for you. If you want a lazy, light-hearted read, avoid. One final thing- I did thing the end was clear from fairly early on and rather abrupt.

A complex, intricately woven storyline that explores what it means to be ‘a good man’ and how it can be that one can slip into an abyss of wrongness prompted by tragedy.

Thomas is a good man. He has a beautiful wife and daughter and is respected.He has a good job and is loved by all his family, looking after his mother and grown up sisters.
Then the unspeakable happens.
Thomas is not sure how to put it right. He wants to, He needs to because in the end he is A Good Man.

I enjoyed reading parts of this book although it was pretty shocking and depressing in places. I don't often read novels set in the USA so was glad that I was given the opportunity to read this ahead of publication. The characters and scenes did seem a bit dated and sometimes the minutia of details became tedious but nevertheless an interesting book.

Meet Thomas. Husband to his beloved wife Miriam, and doting father to his daughter Ava, his “girls”. He is a good man. He provides for his wife and daughter. He protects them. But he has done a bad thing, a horrific thing. And before he’ll tell you what he’s done, he wants to tell you his story. The story of his parents and rather dysfunctional family, how his father and sister died very close together, and how there’s always more going on behind closed doors.  How he provides for his family, and feels the burden of failure but cannot admit to that weakness. And then there’s that horrific act. ‘A Good Man’ is written in a rather unique style; all prose and full of intellectual references showcasing Thomas’ intelligence and lifestyle. Thomas as protagonist is likeable, but his honesty and trustworthiness are called into question frequently throughout the book. His story draws you in; and when you learn of the horrific act - it’s all the more shocking and unsettling.

Hmm, not really sure about this book, the pros and cons seemed to be even, there was some brilliant writing and character engagement but it really went on in parts that were not very relevant to the story, a bit like Stephen King (sorry to all the Stephen King fans out there, but he does waffle on). Whilst I grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book ,it was a struggle and I am not sure I would consider myself a fan, sorry.

I feel like there's a trend in books nowadays to make characters utterly unlikeable. The problem I have with that is you never have anyone to empathise with whilst reading which eventually leads to boredom which is what happened to me here.

I won't lie - I did struggle with this one.

A very dark tale but sadly I felt little for any of the character who I mainly felt were just plain odd! This lack of connection meant that I rarely cared about what was happening. However, there is no doubt that this book is well written and with a well woven story but unfortunately this one fell short for me but I have no doubt that others would enjoy it.

Another strange one for me to rate!

I'm torn between the negatives & positives. 

Negatives..... 
The repetition of the mundane bored me senseless, the constant references to opera..BORING!

The characters just dont connect, the main character is bloody horrible. Yes I know that's what the author wants BUT there isnt one likeable character in the book.

The narrative is just to normal and ordinary, it just plods along and the little hints that are dropped throughout  ould so easily be missed because it just never gives any 'oomph'.

The ending.... because of the slow pace the ending just happens very suddenly without any warning, wheres the tension???

Positives.....

In all honesty the only real positive I can give is the description of the characters and the surroundings. I dont think I've read a book in a long time that brings them so clearly to mind as this novel did!


Hmmmmm.. nope.. just not one I'd recommend. 

1.5*

Thanks to netgalley and Random House Uk for the ARC.

This is very well written, with some of the best character description I've come across in a long time. The author has a great economy of style, able to use just a few words to paint a vivid picture. The book is told from the point of view of Thomas, who is determined to be a good man - a good husband, a good father, a good brother and a good son, as well as a good employee. He considers it his duty to take care of all the women in his life, often calling them 'my girls'. But as the story progresses, we see that Thomas's hold on his life is not as firm as he would like to believe, and the book becomes about control, power and ownership. Something that really struck me was that, as Thomas's situation and state of mind unravel, he stops calling the women in his life by their names in his narrative - they become 'my wife', 'my daughter'. A subtle but effective change, constantly reframing them not as people in their own right, but possessions. The book picks up speed and rattles towards a devastating conclusion, making it a very pacey read.

Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of A good Man.
This is a very dark and chilling story that becomes increasingly sinister as the plot unfurls. The characters are well delineated and believable, if mostly a little odd to say the least. Even so, it was only the daughter I felt any significant sympathy for at the end.

Although the book had a modern setting it seemed more 1950's to me, but I can't really explain why. I, personally, could have done without all the operatic references as they meant nothing to me and so I just skipped over them.

Overall it was an engaging read.

I like a book to either grab me from the start - simmer along nicely -or have the tension  build up as you go .
I'm afraid this book did none of those things . It's not often I post a bad review but I just could not get into this at all . 
I didn't like the characters and after reading over half - I still wasn't sure what it was trying to say.

Sorry -just not for me 

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.