It can be hard to review thrillers or crime fiction without venturing into spoiler territory. Much of the dramatic tension revolves around certain reveals, and previous knowledge of them can ruin an otherwise great book. So I’ll tread carefully with this week’s two cracking additions to the genre.
First up The Good Father, from the award-winning Scottish-by-way-of-New-Zealand author Liam McIlvanney. By his own admission, McIlvanney takes his time in his writing, and this is only his fifth novel in 17 years. But it’s true that good things come to those who wait, as The Good Father is a thoughtful, perceptive and emotionally gripping psychological thriller.
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In a small town on the scenic west coast of Scotland, successful couple Gordon and Sarah Rutherford have the perfect life – until one day their seven-year-old son Rory doesn’t return from playing outside with their dog. A missing child might be a familiar set up for a domestic thriller narrative, but in McIlvanney’s hands it becomes much more than the standard story.
As often happens in real life, there is no immediate resolution to Rory’s disappearance. The boy doesn’t return and no body is found, so Gordon and Sarah are left in a horrendous limbo, struggling to cope with the lack of closure, struggling to relate to each other and juggling feelings of guilt, grief and anger as they slowly unravel.
This is a precise and intimate examination of a relationship evolving, and the way that love and secrets intertwine to sometimes strengthen relationships, other times pull them apart.
