Army father quietly read novel (5)
I believe the answer is:
padre
'army father' is the definition.
'padre' can be an answer for 'father' (synonyms). I'm not sure about the 'army' bit.
'quietly read novel' is the wordplay.
'quietly' becomes 'p' (p for piano and quiet).
'novel' is an anagram indicator (letters in a new or novel order).
'read' anagrammed gives 'adre'.
'p'+'adre'='PADRE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for padre that I've seen before include "Army serviceman?" , "Chaplain to armed forces" , "Military chaplain" , "Sky pilot (military slang)" , "Man of god - drape (anag)" .)