Lead Review (The Good Father)
- Book: The Good Father
- Location: Fairlie, North Ayrshire
- Author: Liam McIlvanney
Sarah and Gordon are well settled in the little village of Fairlie. Rory, their young son is out on the beach by their house one day and disappears.
“Rory’s disappearance bled into everything. Like an oil slick, spreading out and tainting almost everyone we knew”
The author really captures the frantic sense of loss, the recriminations between the couple – Gordon clearly failed in watching Rory on the beach. The fall out of the ensuing days is so well captured – possible sightings, lack of news, the local community, social media and strategies for the family to hold it together. Becky, Sarah’s sister, is on hand to offer support and meals dished up by the locals arrive by the dozen.
The police then start to wind down their investigations and so it is down to Gordon and Sarah to keep a focus on their son’s case. On Facebook Gordon happens to notice that a lad went missing in Troon, so he heads over that way to meet with his father, and together it seems possible they could forge a strategy; could there be a link? But what he has to say, his hypotheses fill Gordon with dread. A sighting in Aberdeen confirmed by the police sees him head up north. And a chance encounter with a neighbour – the local busybody – gives him a new lead which takes them across to Ireland. On the day of the disappearance, a woman in a green coat is seen and time is spent searching for her identity. But as the days become weeks, there is still no sign of Rory. it really is ‘the hope’ that kills.
It all comes down to a blue dumbbell and a fisherman’s knife (which apparently is designed with a cork handle, so if it is dropped in water, it will float-love learning new things through fiction!).
The author is a natural writer and storyteller, with plenty of switchbacks along the way and a good sense of pace, This is a very engaging read, set against a tangible and colourful Scottish setting.
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