Book Review: The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain

I received this book for free from Author for review consideration, opinions expressed are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links as indicated by an asterisk. Purchases from these links provides a small commission to me at no extra cost to you.

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain
Published by Mira
Publication Date: Apr. 24, 2012
Genres: Contemporary, Drama, Fiction
Setting: North America > USA > North Carolina
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Source: Author
Your Favorite Indie Bookstore* | Amazon Kindle* | Amazon Paperback*
Goodreads

Synopsis:

A beloved daughter. A devastating choice. And now there’s no going back.

Four years ago, nineteen-year-old Travis Brown made a choice: to raise his newborn daughter on his own. While most of his friends were out partying and meeting girls, Travis was at home, changing diapers and worrying about keeping food on the table. But he’s never regretted his decision. Bella is the light of his life. The reason behind every move he makes. And so far, she is fed. Cared for. Safe.

But when Travis loses his construction job and his home, the security he’s worked so hard to create for Bella begins to crumble…….

Then a miracle. A job in Raleigh has the power to turn their fortunes around. It has to. But when Travis arrives in Raleigh, there is no job, only an offer to participate in a onetime criminal act that promises quick money and no repercussions.

With nowhere else to turn, Travis must make another choice for his daughter’s sake.Even if it means he might lose her.

 

My Thoughts:

In The Good Father*, Diane Chamberlain poignantly describes the desperation of Travis Brown, a young, single father who is out of work and trying to support his sweet 4 year old daughter, Bella, after they lose everything in a fire. Travis is driven to extreme circumstances that force him to make some bad choices and get involved with some despicable people just to make enough money to feed his daughter and provide some basic necessities. He leaves Bella in the care of Erin, a mother who is grieving the death of her own 4-year old daughter. Their lives are intertwined unexpectedly and what develops helps them all in ways they don’t expect. As a parent, I can empathize with Travis’s predicament and Erin’s grief.

Will Travis be able to get himself out of this mess he got himself into? Will Travis and Bella be reunited or will she be taken away because her good father made a bad choice? Will Erin’s grief consume her and destroy her marriage? Will Bella ever know the mother whom she has never met? Again, Diane develops the characters in such a way that you fall deeply for them and care for them. So many great twists in this book that makes it an enjoyable and fast read. A book full of suspense and not your typical romance or chick-lit but just as easy and fun to read. Another one of my favorites from Diane Chamberlain, right along with The Midwife’s Confession and The Secret of CeeCee Wilkes.