Thomas Martin, a devoted family man who has all the trappings of an enviable life, is driven to unspeakable acts, changing his life forever and causing him to question whether or not he really is a good man.
Ani Katz’s debut novel A Good Man caught my attention for what it offered - a suspenseful domestic thriller in a small package. I was intrigued to discover how Katz would pull this story off in so few pages - just over 200.
A Good Man tells the tale of a purportedly “good man” - Thomas Martin. Thomas has an esteemed job at a NYC advertising firm, and a beautiful family made up of his wife Miriam and daughter Ava. Thomas also has a dark past and an even darker future. A Good Man is his story. He will take you through the years, showing you how we ended up where we are now. You will see a “good man,” but as you delve further into this book, you will also begin to notice the cracks in the façade. Is he really as good as he presents himself to the world?
My first impression of A Good Man is that it gives off major Mad Men vibes. Many people wondered if Don Draper was a psychopath, and the same goes for Thomas Martin. Both characters are wildly successful advertising men with troubled pasts and big egos who don’t appreciate or take care of what they have. If you enjoyed the show, you will see much of Don in Thomas, but don’t expect these stories to follow a similar path because A Good Man definitely goes down the creepy route.
In fact, I liked this novel much better before it went all horrifying on me. I enjoyed the psychological character study Katz does on Thomas, but by the time this story takes a turn for the worse, I wasn’t buying Thomas’s devolution into madness. The reasons for his actions weren’t strong enough for me. I wanted the stakes to be higher. I needed to believe that this could really happen. Unfortunately, Katz did not sell that to me, so I was left feeling disappointed and confused at the end. Why did Katz write this book if she wasn’t going to push this story to the limit?
A Good Man is a leisurely paced analysis of one man’s life. A man that goes off the rails with the littlest of upsets. If you enjoy vague books that let you peer in to people’s lives, but keep you at a distance, then you may like A Good Man. However, if you are reading this book for the suspense thriller aspects, you may end up disappointed.
Availability: Book
Rating: *** Stars (I liked it)
Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
ARE YOU AND THIS BOOK A GOOD MATCH? DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS! A Good Man
GENRE: Psychological Suspense
THEME: Unreliable Narrator (Readers may not be able to trust the version of events narrated to them in these complex and sometimes disturbing stories.)
CHARACTER: Flawed
STORYLINE: Intricately Plotted
PACE: Intensifying
TONE: Creepy; Menacing; Violent
WRITING STYLE: Compelling
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