Daddy Dearest - Paul Southern

Daddy Dearest is a psychological thriller with a difference and one where you never find out the protagonists name.

Daddy is divorced and a weekend father to his five-year-old daughter. At first he seems like any other regular guy but that couldn't be further from the truth because Daddy is a headcase!

When his daughter goes missing from the lift in his apartment building it leads to every resident being scrutinised. Surely a young girl can't just disappear into thin air during a short journey in a lift? Someone must have seen something?

As we follow the search for the young child, through the TV appeal with his ex-wife and watch as residents are hauled in for questioning, it becomes apparent that our protagonist is a tormented soul.

Written in the first person throughout, it's like you're swimming through the narrator's head, hearing his thoughts and emotions, some of which are unfathomable. This is a man who is struggling in his life on so many different levels and the reader is privy to every battle.

Paul Southern has written a mesmerising novel that will grab you right from its outset. I found myself swinging between loving and loathing the narrator but I was soon empathising with him as everything he does is because he loves his daughter and he just wants what's best for her. I did find it took me a few chapters to get used to the authors writing style and for a while I couldn't understand the random tangents the main character would veer off on but things soon started to fit into place and the ramblings made perfect sense. I was stunned, when about a third of the way through the novel everything I thought I knew was thrown completely out of the window and a whole new scenario came into play. Very clever Mr Southern, I sure as hell didn't see that one coming!

If you're looking for a thriller that thinks outside the box then this is the book for you. It will make you question your own thought process and I recommend that you give it a try.

With kind thanks to author Paul Southern for the review copy.