REVIEW: A Good Man by Ani Katz

A portrait of a man in crisis, though he doesn't know it yet

A GOOD MAN

by Ani Katz Published 16th January by William Heinemann

Psychological thrillers have ruled as perhaps the most popular genre of fiction for years now, hooking readers with pacy writing, questionable characters and shocking twists. It's a formula that's been highly effective, but in the past few there's been a new twist on psychological fiction that's appeared as a breath of fresh air - issued-led literary thrillers which combine many of the same psychological examinations, unreliable characters and twists with a deeper analysis of some of the biggest issues facing the modern world.

Books like Lullaby by Leila Slimani have already seen great success in this area, and this year sees a whole raft of titles publishing, including My Dark Vanessa by Elizabeth Kate Russell and Keeper by Jessica Moor, which promise to continue growing this vibrant sub-section of the genre.

Despite the rise of this genre, A Good Man, the debut novel from US author Ani Katz, stands out as the first literary thriller I've spotted which tackled an increasingly prominent issue in society - toxic masculinity and the impacts this can have on someone's psyche, and the lives of those around them.

With literary thrillers, I find it quite quick to establish whether or not it's a writing style and perspective that I'm going to enjoy, and A Good Man immediately had me hooked with an opening laced with intrigue and more than a hint of impending malice. I knew immediately that I needed to read on to find out what had happened to the main character, Thomas.

Thomas is 'a good man' - he works hard and has a successful career, he's got a beautiful wife and a daughter that he adores, and he's determined to leave behind the scars of his tumultuous childhood. But as the pieces of his life start to slowly fall apart, we start to question whether we can trust Thomas' perspective at all.

A Good Man is incredible well-written, managing to incorporate some fantastic descriptions alongside an increasingly pacy plot that weaves through an impressive amount of issues without ever feeling gratuitous. The thread of toxic masculinity is the core of the novel, but there's a great analysis of how Thomas' perspective can colour his opinions on many other issues throughout his life and the life of his family, and it's deftly handled indeed. Many of the issues covered are important plot developments, so I won't list them here, but it's a sign of an impressive debut when so many complex elements can be juggled so effectively.

The supporting cast of characters are colourful, particularly Thomas' sisters and mother, but the novel is so insular to Thomas' perspective and thoughts that even those closest in his life still feel like peripheral characters to his story, which seems to fit Thomas' stance very well. It's as if these characters are less people with their own thoughts and motives, but events that happen to Thomas. He sees them as characters in the play of his life, not people leading their own performances, and it's a very powerful way of presenting a cast of characters that I appreciated greatly.

Overall, I'm not sure I've ever read anything that I'd compare to this. It's brutal, insular and probing in all of the best ways, and offers a brilliant psychological perspective on an issue that's only now coming to the fore in fiction, which culminates in a powerhouse finale. It's a portrait of a man in crisis, though he doesn't know it for most of the novel, and it's a very fine debut indeed.

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I received an advanced review copy from William Heinemann in exchanged for an honest, unbiased review. Many thanks to William Heinemann for providing me with the copy.