The Catch follows Ellie Adler through her journey of grief after the loss of her father. In search of answers as a result of his death, Ellie learns more about not just her father and the rest of her family, but also herself.

Fair warning, I probably read this book at the wrong time. My father passed away in 2021, so that subject alone is one that is still tender and fresh for me – I don’t know that I would have had the same reaction to this book had I read it five years ago or five years in the future. I too shared Ellie’s longing to better understand the man she’d built up in her head as an infallible hero; I too wanted to scream and yell and demand answers from a person who isn’t there anymore. It’s a universal longing, I think, but one especially so of a daughter about a father.

I’ll admit that I didn’t care much for Ellie as a character. Her naivete was obnoxious from the onset, and I found myself rolling her eyes whenever she claimed to be in love with the older married man she was having sex with. But I don’t think you’re really supposed to like her from the beginning – as she grows through her journey to find answers, you can see the pieces start to come together in her mind. I do think I liked her more by the end of the book, but I think my interest was less in Ellie herself and the journey she went on. There’s something satisfying about how Fairbrother brings everything together, even though there are questions left unanswered and blanks for the reader to fill in.

If you’re into literary fiction, stories about families or grief, or watching characters grow, this is a good option. As a debut, it’s a solid showing – I’ll read anything Fairbrother decides to write next.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.