I found this book annoying from Chapter 1 when I couldn't figure out who got divorced - a man and woman, two men, two women? Androgynous names in books (Mel) do not work. The main character is a whiny, over sensitive, man who over shares his emotions both in the narrative and in the conversations in book. And then there are the man-hating women activists and the totally predictable story line. If I could give it NO stars, I would.

I still don’t completely know how I feel about this book, 24 hours after finishing it. I was excited for another book by this author but this one seemed so different from her others.

There was not one character that I liked in this story, and the more the story went on, the more ai didn’t like them. I understand what the author was trying to do but it was excessive and very anti men at all. I did like the last part of the book with the mixed media and the different conversations going on. While I am a woman and I do feel the fears outlined in this story, I felt that it was too much down your throat writing. Very mixed emotions as I agreed with some but not all of the opinions expressed

Thanks to Zando Publishing for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published on January 9th.

If you have read any of Araminta Hall’s books you know they are never a simple “mystery”, there is always a message and usually a thought provoking one. This book is no different and I know I will
Be thinking about it for days and it would be an EXCELLENT book club book. It is hard to summarize without giving too much away but through various mediums and voices the author examines the misogyny and sexism in our society and how gender roles, power structures and pro opera ohh play a role in the fear women often feel in the world. As narrators and writing mediums vacillate so will your opinion and none of that is easy to swallow. A great thought provoking book.

This book had me completely hooked, so much so that I read it in two days.
Cole claims he is ‘one of the good guys’ but is he really? After a rough divorce and moving to the coast, he tries to start fresh. However, when two young girls go missing and he was the last person to see them, you are left to question if he really is who he says he is.
I thought the layout was extremely intriguing, the first half being told from Cole’s point of view, then his ex-wife Mel’s. Learning about how each partner viewed their time together left me questioning everything I thought I knew and who I believed. The character’s are all extremely well written and make the plot that much more exciting.
The book brings up some amazing feminist conversations and allows you to form your own opinions. I was on the edge of my seat throughout each twist and turn. A truly great read that I will be highly recommending!

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

I had so many problems with this book, which is a major shame since I adore Zando so much and everything I've read has been on point. There's a lot of issues I took with the writing and tone. It was difficult to be hooked by anything that was happening in the story. And I found myself zoning out often. It's a bit over the top and unrealistic for me to be fully immersed in the reading experience.
Thank you for the arc! I love the cover!

An uncomfortable but vital read that will keep popping up in your thoughts long after you've turned the last page, with a first section helmed by one of the most unreliable narrators I've ever encountered in my life. This one will have your book club absolutely aflame with discussion, I can guarantee. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read it ahead of publication!

This novel focuses on the emotionally fuelled discourse we have all been subjected to directly or indirectly at some point; the daily overlooked threat, unconsciously or consciously accepted misogyny that is a constant in all our lives to the point that many do not see it there. It is a necessary discomfort to keep discussing it until it is dealt with. “Comfort the disturbed and disturb the comforted”. I personally found the novel a bit too triggering for me so did not finish I am sad to say. But to those with stronger stomachs than I, I am sure this book is a necessary force.

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book. He was so icky and convinced he was nice! It really felt real. I liked finding out what his wife thought of all this. I felt like that worked really well. Poor Mel! I wish we knew a little more about her background though.

Where I thought it faltered was when the book switched to being 90% social media posts. I know tweets and social media posts are trendy in books right now (honestly, sometimes it seems a little dated since who uses Twitter since Musk tanked it) but I don’t think it works to suddenly have pages and pages of it in a book that until then had a normal narrative structure.

This book might work for older readers. It will certainly produce lots of dialog and debate about feminism and the power structure between men and women. It has some disturbing images of dead animals and some not very graphic sexual images that might make it inappropriate for class discussion

This is a hard book to review without giving spoilers. You think you are reading one book and find you are reading another. It got a bit overdone at points but raised lots of interesting questions about relationships between men and women, about who is considered a victim and why and does the means justify the ends. Worth the read.

"I guess women aren’t meant to be strategic or cunning. Which seems unfair considering that gangsters and cowboys and superheroes are not only allowed vendettas but applauded for them. Men are allowed to act, but women, it seems, should only react."


We meet Cole, early forties, going through a bitter separation, who has just moved to a remote part of rhe UK to start a new job and a new life. He feels hard done by, he has only done this best in life, has desperately tried to make his marriage work. He's always been one of the good guys...


This is a firecracker of a book. You will start reading it and believe that what you are reading is simply an engaging thriller but there is so much more to it than that. This is actually a political statement wrapped up in a thriller.

Hall really nails what it's like to be a woman in 2023 and the dichotomy between the treatment of males and females. This book will infuriate you. I had to put my Kindle down so many times in order to process what I had just read. The insights in this book are razor sharp, so many great quotes. I want this to blow-up when it's released, it deserves the praise as its so much more than a run of the mill thriller. Its a dissection on feminism and how even when women are right, they're also very wrong in the eyes of society.

It's also written in a very engaging way and switches between first person narration and news articles, reddit posts, etc...It's hard to review this book without giving too much away. I still have so many questions. Some of the plot did feel like it was reaching but it doesn't take away from how well constructed this book is.

One of my standout reads of the year.

<i>„Men like Cole believe they’re right because society has told them that they are their whole lives. And, as a result, they find it hard when things are denied them.“ <i>

This brilliant novel is a political statement and the horror in it is real. People out there live it everyday single day. I read it with a knot in my stomach and couldn’t put it down. The mixed media format makes this a very fast and hard punching read.

<i>„Of course. The bar is so low for men. All they have to do is a bit of bloody washing up, or ask how you’re feeling, and everyone thinks they’re the second fucking coming.“ <i>

In this book, there’s comments from people on the Internet writing twisted and sick responses to tweets and posts. I’m sad to say that it’s nothing I haven’t read in real life before.
The harassment, sexism and misogyny in here is not superfluous or redundant in any way because this literally happens to females around the world every single day.

<i>„And the sick things is we are grateful. We do let them get away with things.“ <i>

I personally don’t think that this is a one sided approach or pointing fingers. This is NOT giving the benefit of the doubt to people who plainly DO NOT deserve it. In fact, there’s plenty of self doubt from the victims/survivors in this story, which is hard to read tbh.

4.5 stars — read this!

It took me a little while to get into this book, as I was unsure where the plot was going. I naively thought it would be a tame domestic thriller centred around the remote village.
However, the pace quickly picked up and the twists kept coming.
This is a really good thriller, that is well written with some tough topics.
I really enjoyed this book, and can’t wait to read more from her in future.

What did I just read? I kind of hated it but I also read it in two days, so...

Disjointed and verging on pedantic, this study of modern gender issues misses the mark--not that it doesn't contribute some interesting commentary but it's just poorly written. I was hoping for better since I adore Zando.

Cole moves to the sleepy seaside to get a second chance at life after being left by his wife Mel. He’s dumbfounded at what has happened- he’s nurturing, open about his emotions, loyal, happy to do all the home making and even wants to be a stay at home dad. So why would Mel leave him?

Soon after arriving he meets Leonora. She’s the antithesis of Mel: gentle, thoughtful, works a relaxed job as an artist, and has strong mothering tendencies as she has a daughter in the 20’s. The two start spending time together and a romantic relationship begins. Is this Cole’s new beginning, the wife and life he’s dreamed of?

But the upward trajectory of Cole’s new life doesn’t last long, as two feminist activists go missing while visiting his town. The crux is that only hours before they filmed Cole getting into a fight with them over abiding to local safety laws. And he doesn’t have an alibi for the night they went missing. But he’s a good guy, so he’ll be fine right? He definitely would do anything to them, right?

———

I really enjoy the feminist messages this book is trying to highlight. That men aren’t held accountable for their actions unless they are easily defined as vile. That the definition of a “good guy” is just one who is a decent human being and wow what a rare thing to cherish. That women taking control are cold and calculating but men can do so, often maliciously, and aren’t ever questioned. I think these are important questions to raise and highlight for all women (particularly younger,) and tbh men, if they are open and accepting. However, this large theme overtakes the last half of the book so much that I would no longer classify it as a thriller. Suspense, yes. Definitely women’s fiction.

Additionally, The way the last half of the book is told is unconventional. You are given two additional POVs, flashbacks, and story told through the media (news reports, press releases, tweets, Reddit threats etc.) It’s an interesting concept that largely adds to the feminist theme by incorporating outside perspectives but this is largely what killed the thriller vibe.

Overall 3.5 rounded up ⭐️. It was certainly unputdownable, and I enjoyed reading it, but it was a bit unsatisfying as I felt it lacked thriller elements.

Thank you NetGalley, Zando, Gillian Flynn Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was an unputdownable read. I mistakenly thought I knew the direction Hall was taking the plot and was surprised, and a bit disappointed. While I appreciate the feminist themes and narrative overall, I would have enjoyed if hall had taken a more expected approach to the ending of the book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Zando for the copy of One Of The Good Guys. When I started the book I wasn't sure what it was about (reading on a Kindle you can’t read the synopsis). It turned out to not at all what I expected after reading the first part, which was from Cole’s POV. While I agreed with the premise of how unfair and how dangerous it is to be a woman in this society, the way it was expressed was really heavy-handed. I don’t think this book will win any new converts to a feminist point of view, but might really turn people off. There’s a way to make a point without using a sledgehammer! I liked how the last part of the book showed the different opinions on social media, but it went on too long. I liked the writing style, the story was well-meaning, and the characters were interesting. I wish there had been more subtlety and balance.

“A propulsive and twisty page-turner with razor-sharp sociopolitical insight, One of the Good Guys asks: if most men claim to be good, why are most women still afraid to walk home alone at night?”

We begin with the male MC’s POV, Cole, who comes off as a whiny, stick in the mud, stick up the ass man-baby, always crying and just plain pitiful.

Recently separated from his wife, Mel, and also newly relocated, Cole is now living in the countryside near the coast. While currently single, with the front of starting fresh, it seems as though he’s mourning the end of his relationship while being passive aggressive in the same regard, with some sort of victim mentality to boot. Yea, he was like the biggest tool in the shed.
The more I read his POV, the more I realized that something was seriously wrong with this dude. And then things start to get really strange.

Then we switch Mel’s POV, his ex, who basically goes through the timeline of their relationship, start to finish. The difference in Cole, from his POV to Mel’s, well… it’s quite stark. His sexual, solitary preference is on the dark side. I found him repugnant.

We change up again to Lennie’s POV; someone who comes into the picture in such an odd, stretchy kind of way that’s meant to seem organic, but was schematic, conniving and quite far-fetched.

There just so many moving parts in this book. Lots of man v/s woman, man-bashing, scheming/plotting, deceit, gas lighting and this whole thing about how women are basically never safe alone anywhere, ever, but specifically walking to and from places by themselves….that point was driven home over and over and over and over again, so much so, it became redundant. The “twist’ towards the end….well that just made these women look unhinged. And while I understand women’s safety is paramount, I just….Idk, to me this felt way over the top.

However, I did appreciate the exhibit “walk-through” at closing. Reading that felt very real and vivid and daunting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Zando Projects for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 1.9.2024.

This is the first book I've read by Araminta Hall, but while living in hope for a new book by Gillian Flynn, reading the books chosen for Gillian Flynn Books is fascinating.

Cole is 'one of the good guys' newly separated and trying to make a new start, with a new job and house is a rural South Coast location.

Mel is the ex-wife, removed from Cole's life following failed IVF treatment and a bitter split.

Leonora is Cole's only near neighbour, could friendship or romance blossom on the windswept cliff tops?

The story is mainly told from their three perspectives. An ex-wife, an ex-husband and a potential new woman, it might sound a fairly typical setup, but trust me, you won't see where this is going.

Dark, twisted and highly unpredictable. The character writing is exquisite an I was hooked. The plot goes off if very unexpected directions.

There's a fair bit of social media commentary, newspaper reports, media reportage on the unfolding events, and honestly, I far preferred the traditional character writing.

Overall it's an unusual character driven thriller / literary fiction with a strong sociopolitical consciousness.

I loved the character writing and the setup, didn't enjoy the social media / media reportage and would have liked more focus on thriller / twist elements.

So a mixed bag overall, but an interesting and rather powerful read overall.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zando, Gillian Flynn Books