Cole leaves London after his marriage falls apart and meets Leonora. When women start disappearing in their area, they find themselves in the middle of an investigation.

I liked the premise but I just struggled with Cole’s point of view. I understand her decision to do this especially based on the title but it really didn’t work for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a thought-provoking and timely book book that will stay with me for a long time. I look forward to discussing it with others once it is published. It will definitely inspire lively debate,

The story focuses on Cole, a man who moves to a quiet, isolated location to get over the erosion of his marriage. He feels hurt and underappreciated, confused by his ex's cruelty and insistence that he sign the divorce papers and another document (details revealed in the first half of the book). He meets Lennie, a woman living alone on the cliffside and they begin a relationship of sorts. A couple of young women, on a march to raise awareness for violence toward women, arrive in the area and go missing shortly thereafter. I don't want to give too much away so I will leave it at that.

I will be widely recommending this book.

The premise of this book was so intriguing, and it really lived up to that upon reading! It's so compellingly written, with such effective use of multiple povs. Hall manages to capture the many voices so believably, it feels like one of the most realistic things I've read in ages!

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
I was going to say this is a timely book, but the fact is that this is essentially a centuries old story and it’s never not timely - but that is also sort of the point of the story.
A masterful and very readable narrative which focuses on the fact that so many dangerous men truly and wholly believe themselves to be “the good guy”. I know some, I bet you know some too. They’re probably more dangerous than the ones who know they’re dangerous, and that’s what this book is about.
I enjoyed the way it was written, and I’m glad that - without spoilers - the one part I was unsure of as I felt that it was/would be used as a plot device to obscure the narrative from the reader but actually provide a form of absolution for the character wasn’t actually used in that way at all.

Suspenseful and rage inducing!

I’m exhausted in all the best ways after reading this. Seriously. I couldn’t put it down. This is the first book I’ve read by Araminta Hall and I can’t wait to devour everything she’s written up until now. What a voice!

The pace was on the faster side and Hall’s voice gripped me from the first page. I haven’t felt this addicted to a story in a long time. This is very much voice-driven—a he said, she said, story (which I love)—and each POV gets a chance to air frustrations. However, when a behavioral pattern emerges in one of them (Cole), it’s safe to say that actions speak louder than words. Hall did an amazing job setting up the scene of a heartbroken man who feels wronged by the world and the women in it, especially during an era of feminist uprising. Cole had so many irritating personality traits but the one I hated the most was his victim mentality, including breaking down crying when things didn’t go his way. The way he described Mel made her sound like a cold individual but I held out, expecting that she had her reasons. And I was right. At first, Lennie appeared as an unknowing potential victim, and I enjoyed reading about her background as an artist, and the trauma from her past that motivated her.

The structure of the story worked to set up suspense, painting Cole as an unreliable narrator. Once Mel’s POV was revealed it completely shifted the story, and I quickly sided with her after the shocking reveals regarding her struggles with fertility and Cole’s need for control, not caring how she felt or even listening. The characters were well-fleshed out, making it a very intriguing read. I enjoyed the evidence updates through social media commentary. It added a more interesting structure and quickened the pace, making it an easy read. The only criticism I have is that the resolution felt a little drawn out. But other than that, I highly recommend this book!

4.5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
For readers who enjoy voice-driven stories with unreliable narrators, and twisty plots.

This was painful to read because the author writes about the misogyny and gaslighting by men so well! Every character is unlikable and makes dumb decisions, so that was also hard to read, but geez, this author gets it

Powerful, if a little predictable.

If you're a fan of gender politics, domestic drama, and conspiracy ish stuff this is the book for you! Honestly, I want to read this with a feminist bookclub because I bet the discussion would be lively!

My thanks to Gillian Flynn Books/Zando for the ARC of "One Of The Good Guys" in exchange for an honest review.
I feel the same way as many of my fellow reviewers do after reading this book. Conflicted, perplexed, not quite sure of how to fashion a reasonable view.
This much I can say with no hesitation. For generating lively and possibly heated discussion among readers, there may be no better Book Club selection than "One Of The Good Guys".
While it's structured as a thriller (and does a more than effective job of it), the book has a lot more on its mind than just making you go "oh wow!" at its twists. This book ignites a fully armed guided missile aimed at a patriarchal culture that keeps women living in fear of violence.
We see the agenda through the points-of-view of its three major characters. Cole considers himself as an enlightened, liberal "good guy" in his experiences with women. Emotionally bruised from a bitter divorce from his wife Mel, he's taken a park ranger job amid a coastal landscape with a forbidding dangerous cliff. He kindles a potential relationship with Leonora, an artist who's taken residence in a cottage by that cliff. But in doing his job to keep people from tumbling off the cliff's edge, he ends up with an angry, unfortunate encounter with two young women. And they happen to be well known activist-vloggers taking a marathon hike to highlight violence against women.....and their recorded incident with Cole goes viral.
When Mel and Leonora take over with their own separate narratives, we then get an entirely different portrait of Cole than the one he described for himself. And it's unsettling and at times, downright disturbing, much of it coming from Cole's insistence that Mel endure the grueling IVF procedures to help them conceive a child. He may think of himself as 'one of the good guys' but his overall entitled clueless behavior speaks otherwise.
Then it's no wonder that when those two woman activists go missing after their encounter with Cole, he becomes a prime suspect.......and sets off a social media firestorm of podcasts and twitter comments.
But here's where book throws a live grenade into the proceedings with its whopper of a twist. Depending on your point of view, a reader can either feel a long overdue satisfaction or drop their jaws appalled at a twist that so pollutes the book's central issue, it leaves an ugly stain over the entire storyline. Or as one of the social media characters perfectly puts it, "I wouldn't want to have tea with any of them...." I'm not afraid to admit I lean a little toward the latter reaction, but I'd love to be a fly on the wall for those Book Club discussions ...(especially any attended by both men and women...)
One thing undeniable though.....however it strikes you, "One Of the Good Guys" is a compelling read from start to finish......and with its subject matter in constant current events, it's probably one of best conversation starters of the year....making it not to be missed.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
Oh my!! This book was amazing!! The different perspectives from male and female really had me thinking how situations can be so difference from various views. There’s so much to this story!! It still may be a thriller/mystery, but I was so surprised at how thought-provoking it was! I highly recommend!!

I really liked this book, it was different than anything else I've read which was a breath of fresh air. I will be recommending this to my friends, and auto buy this author!

This was a very interesting and timely novel. With each of the main characters, there are times when you can understand and relate to them, and then other times when they seem like the “bad guy.” It’s a little frustrating, but I imagine that’s the point. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of the Good Guys was an adventure within itself.

Hating men has become so easy though I am one.

Articulately plotted, empathetic, and dazzling.

We start with Cole's POV who is recently divorced and bitter and decides to move from London out to the middle of nowhere to start over in a more subdued setting. He comes across a nearby neighbor Leonora who also recently moved for similar reasons. As they forge a relationship/friendship we hear Coles sob story about his ex and how he can't figure what went wrong being how he is such a "nice guy". From there we start to get snippets from his ex's point of view. Is he really the nice guy he thinks he is?

This one bit off some big themes related to the "me too" movement and the whole men vs woman gender and equity and sexual violence etc. There's a lot to digest and discuss. This one kept me interested and I appreciate some of the themes she worked throughout but it was a bit heavy handed, a little choppy, and had me disliking all the characters in a negative way which prevented this from getting a 4 star but I would consider this one of the better domestic thrillers i've read recently.

When I saw Gillian Flynn endorsed this book and was published under her new imprint I knew it was going to be good.

Don’t go into this one expecting thrills, think more how Ashley Audrain psychologically explores motherhood, but instead Hall is exploring what it means to be a woman amongst men.

This story took some time for me, the structure is nuanced, we first get Cole’s perspective a man for all intensive purposes seams to be a good guy. We see his side of things first. From here we flip to Mel, Cole’s estranged wife, and then we conclude with various structures of media and performative style think pieces.

I think going into this book knowing less but expecting something original is key. Never has a book provoked so much thought, it even breaks down original thinking and comes at many angles of understanding, it’s a book that is meant to break the mold on our own preconceived notions regarding women and men and how we hold each to different standards.

One of the Good Guys is full of unlikeable characters and an ending that left me a bit salty but I say this in all honesty, this was absolutely the point Hall was making and it’s rather brilliant.

I have no doubts this will become a very buzzy book, maybe even a celebrity book club pick, I highly recommend it for group discussions the social commentary on women and violence alone will provoke stories and opinions that will linger long after.

This book is a hard one to review. I had to wait to review it and sort of digest it. The first 30% seems to be one type of book and then it changes and it's a total different book. I realize the author was trying to write about women's rights and how men are perceived as stronger and in charge in this world. The sections with the online comments were interesting if not a bit much but it really shows how people think differently. After thinking about this one, I still don't really know how I feel about it. It's definitely worth a read if you like a good twisty story!

This one was interesting - it didn't quite go where I expected it to, but in this case I don't think that's a bad thing.

I happily requested an ARC of One of the Good Guys after receiving a promotional email from Gillian Flynn Books. I was intrigued by both the description and publishing house. Overall, I was so impressed with Araminta Hall's writing. I loved the setting, loved the characters, and loved the plot. I truly could not put One of the Good Guys down and am waiting anxiously for Araminta's next book already!

Clever and thought provoking! Cole is going through a painful break up of his marriage to Mel and decides to move to a cabin by the sea and work as a ranger. He becomes friends with his neighbor Leonora, an artist. But when two young women, out walking to raise awareness of men’s violence against women, go missing after a night of camping in the area, Cole and Lennie find themselves in the middle of a social media storm. From the very beginning, in spite of Cole considering himself “one of the good guys”, there is a feeling of something quite wrong. I stayed invested because I needed to know if Cole was not what he presented or if Mel was the evil doer. And what is the deal with Leonora? This author found a clever way to unravel and reveal all the fears we, as women, face living in a world with men. Ultimately, this is a social commentary wrapped up in a thriller and it was brave and smart. Thank you Netgalley, Zando, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on January 9, 2024

Men believe most men are good so why are women still afraid to walk home alone at night?

Newly separated from his wife, Cole has left London for a fresh start as a wildlife ranger. There he meets Leonora who seems so much different from his wife. Cole pours out his feelings about his troubled marriage and mental health. Two young women activists disappear and Cole and Leonora are caught up in an investigation. How well do they really know each other?

There are multiple perspectives but not until we first get a good chunk of story from one. The first narrator is the definition of unreliable. When we switch narrators we get the other side of things we were already told. About halfway through the book pulls a switch on us in how the story is being told. It's hard to explain without giving spoilers but it fits perfectly with the theme of the book.

Speaking of themes, there is a lot to talk about with One Of The Good Guys. It brings up an important topic. Readers may feel differently about some things. I love the idea of people seeing the same situations and events differently based on what kind of person they are. Who is good though? All of that was very interesting to me.

One Of The Good Guys isn't a typical thriller. You'll probably be able to see what's going to happen. There is one outcome that may be a surprise. No matter what though it keeps you reading.

3.75 stars

One of the Good Guys is a battle cry,; women raising their voices, challenging the norm, changing the narrative and attacking misogyny and violence against women. A thought provoking and compelling read.

This was a very thought-provoking book, and wasn't what I expected. Billed as a thriller, I didn't really feel it was a 'whodunit' once I finished it. It was more of a statement on gender norms, violence towards women, and the confusion many feel in the modern world.

We start with Cole, who has recently moved to the south coast of England from London, after he split up with his wife, Mel. Cole gets a job as a wildlife ranger and meets artist Leanora and they develop a friendship. Cole is a self-confessed 'good guy' and we get his point of view on his failed marriage and his desire for children. But something feels a little off...

At the same time, two young women are walking along the south coast, raising awareness of violence towards women. They pitch their tent near Cole's house, and get into an argument with him when he tells them to be careful at the edge of the crumbling cliffs. The following day, their tent is empty, and they are nowhere to be found. Cole becomes a suspect in their disappearance.

We get a second POV from Mel, and at that point we see a very different Cole. Passive aggressive, controlling, struggling with relationships with women and suspected of the rape of a former girlfriend.

The structure of the book is very different at that point, as we get the story through press releases and social media posts, and interviews with Mel. We hear from Leonora and get her perspective.

All in all, this was a very different book than I initially thought it would be. It highlighted the way men and women see the world so differently, and exposed the fears that many women have.