If most men claim to be good, why are most women still afraid to walk home alone at night?

"One of the Good Guys" by Araminta Hall offers a captivating setting—a remote stretch of coast with a seaside cottage—that immediately drew me in. However, while the book has its strengths, it also has its flaws.

First off, I must mention that the book contains heavy themes of gendered violence and psychological abuse, with graphic scenes that may be triggering for some readers (IVF, SA, gore, etc). While I appreciated the glimpse into an abusive relationship and the focus on mental and psychological abuse, there were elements of the book overall that felt blatantly unbelievable and stretched the bounds of plausibility.

The ending, while creative, felt a bit lackluster and predictable to me; I also feel like it made the book overall lack credibility? I couldn't help but feel that it was heading in that direction from early on in the story. I also feel uneasy about stories about abusive relationships where there is retaliation (think The Last Mrs. Parrish)...gives me the ick. That being said, Hall's use of mixed media in the latter half of the book was a unique and interesting touch, adding depth to the narrative. I particularly enjoyed the idea of Leonora's exhibition as described towards the end of the book—it sounds utterly terrifying in the best possible way.

As a thriller, "One of the Good Guys" falls a little short. While there are moments of tension and intrigue, such as Molly and Phoebe's disappearance, and other plot pieces, they often felt overly constructed and dramatic without delivering the thrill factor I was hoping for. This is a mixed bag of thrills and twists. While it has its moments, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. This was my first book by Araminta Hall, and while I'm not writing her off entirely, I won't be rushing to pick up her next release.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley & Gillian Flynn Publishing for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published on January 9th.

If you've ever heard the common phrase "I'm all for feminism but...." or some iteration thereof, this book is for you. Cole puts on the facade of "one of the good ones", but what truly lurking underneath. The book is a bit slow at first as the author sets the stage, but soon reveals start unfolding and things get downright messy for our main characters. Araminta did a fantastic job creating a stunning duo of main characters, and using them to paint a thought provoking picture of current social issues. I did feel the countless social media and news posts included took me out of the story, and my the time the final reveals rolled around, I'd already figured everything out. Still, overall an enjoyable read about one of many social issues facing society today.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gillian Flynn Books for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

One Of The Good Guys by Araminta Hall is the type of book that is hard to pigeon hole as a thriller because it is also a case study on society. It is told in three chapters/sections/parts each evoking a different level of awareness, making me extremely uncomfortable and was executed perfectly.

"One" creates a false sense of security, and was honestly a little boring (but it’s supposed to be)! It is building the privileged word that some members of society have, while others live in fear of. It is vanilla ice cream eaten with a jagged spoon.

"Two" flips the script completely, hitting out of left field with the gritty action ramping up! It sheds a new light, a new frame and perspective on what was said to be true. It's fresh gravel rash on an already healing scab.

"Three" is a rapid-fire game of Pong, with thoughts, opinions and views ricocheting in accelerated succession. It is told in various media formats and depicts the judgemental wars that play out on social media; I'm talking speculations from all - the feminists, the devil's advocates, the armchair sleuths! (Also, this is where the audiobook truly shines!) "Three" is a car hitting black ice, spinning and veering, teetering dangerously close to the brink.

Although this is only the second Gillian Flynn Books, an imprint of Zando Projects, I have read, I am quickly understanding the mirroring between Flynn's own works and the ones she chooses to publish. They are that noir type of book I love and crave, with narratives making the reader question the good, the bad, the wrong and the right.

As a side note, how this book projects itself in both print and audio versions are equally beautiful art forms. Visually, fonts and graphics add to how the story unfolds; audibly the voice acting and acoustic cues all add to the unfolding drama.

Thank you NetGalley, Zando, Dreamscape Select, and Gillian Flynn Books for the complimentary copies to read and review.

I’ve enjoyed this authors previous books however this one was not my favorite. I found the women vs men plot to be over the top, and didn’t enjoy the “women must always be scared of men” dialogue. I will continue to read this author as her previous books were five star reads.

Regardless of where you stand on the June Cleaver "shut up and be a good little woman" and the "I am a radical woman, hear me roar" scale, there is a lot to unpack here and much to think about. This book cleverly brings the arguments for both sides into focus. Discussions need to be had and people need to be heard without being trivialized or shamed. I'm not sure that the methods employed in this story is the way to go, but it certainly put the issue in the forefront. I really thought this was quite a well done story telling.

Cole worries a lot. About everything. But in a good way, sort of. Some might call his worrying overbearing. All he wants is for his wife to get pregnant and have a healthy child, never mind his peculiar sexual needs. But this does not work out and he moves into the country to clear his mind.
Meanwhile an artist moves in to the cottage nearby. Two women are coming thru the area on a walk for women.
This is where things go wrong for everyone.
This is a twisty novel but not especially easy to read. I feel like the author got lost in the last few chapters and sort of just through it together.
It is is an interesting premise though.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley
For allowing me this ARC

Hi there! Are you talking about One of the Good Guys, the new novel by Armita Hall?

If not why aren't you?

This is one of the *best* novels I have read in ages. It completely taps into the whole "but I'm a nice guy" horror story from a woman that is posted on Reddit and Tik Tok every 3 seconds. (And then the comments? A lot of them reinforce exactly what this book is about)

A scorching, searing look at how difficult it can be for women to live in a world that's filled with these "nice guys." I absolutely love this and given that this is the first book coming out of Gillian Flynn's publishing imprint, wow! I can't wait to see what's next!

Love this author and loved this new book! Twisty and unexpected in a great psychological thriller! Highly Recommended!

Overall I enjoyed this novel! The main characters in this novel aren’t “perfect” and all push moral boundaries, making it a bit tough to relate and also led me to question their actions. However, the characters still draw you in! The topic of misogyny is addressed fearlessly and tactfully. Would recommend!

More than a thriller, this book is a conversation starter about the gender divide, wrapped in a tale that sticks with you long after the final word. Definitely a must-listen if you want a story that’s as real as it is riveting.

Cole is looking for a new start. Something uncomplicated after the fallout with his wife, Mel. He'd always imagined a quiet life in the country, living off the land as much as he can, would be just the change they needed from the stress of Mel's job and their busy life in the city. But Mel stayed and Cole is living the country life on his own.

When he meets Lennie, an artist renting a weather-beaten cottage nearby, he thinks he may have met a likeminded friend who could potentially become more. But then Lennie finds an abandoned tent thought to belong to two women trying to raise awareness of violence against women.

As it happens, Cole had a run in with the women in question. And they filmed the encounter. And while he's not responsible for whatever their fate has become, he's afraid the run in alone will point the finger in his direction.

Wow. I did not really know what I was in for with this one! And I will do my absolute best not to give anything away!

So the book begins from Cole's perspective. And the reader really does get a glimpse inside the mind of an ordinary guy. He's mourning the breakup with his wife, but still hopes they can reconcile. Other than that, he wakes early for a cold swim, he walks a lot, and he takes his job as a wildlife ranger seriously.

The book then switches to Mel's and Lennie's POVs, interspersed with Twitter convos, Instagram posts, news pieces, and other commentary along the way.

Thought provoking doesn't begin to describe this one. In fact, I found it turned my head into a whirlwind of thoughts!

While this is published by Macmillan in the UK, US audiences will see that it's one of Gillian Flynn's imprint's titles, which should tell you something!

If you're a fan of twisted reads that will really make you think—and then reevaluate what you thought, and then do that again—One of the Good Guys is the read for you! I thought it was fabulous and would love to be a fly on the wall as other people read it as well!

What makes a good guy? How do you know for sure that the guy you're with is really good?

I wanted to love this one but I guess it was a little on the nose for me.

Cole is a reasonably attractive "nice guy" who lives a solitary life in the English Countryside. It's pretty much a given that he is escaping something in his past. But when meets a woman who seems to be in a similar situation, he thinks that maybe there is a road forward.

But, in these types of books, things are rarely as they seem. After two female activists who are traveling around England go missing, it's clear that maybe Cole isn't a nice guy. And if not, what is he escaping from his past?

One of the Good Guys is a thought provoking social commentary on the boundaries of feminism. What really makes a man a "good guy." Are men mostly good until a situation presents itself that's too tempting to pass up? Who is manipulating the story?

Special thanks to Netgalley and Gillian Flynn Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is out now!

Of The Good Guys is the sixth novel by British journalist, editor and author, Araminta Hall. The audio version is narrated by Elliott Fitzpatrick, Olivia Vinall and Helen Keeley. At forty-three, Cole Simmonds has quit London for a job as a wildlife ranger and a cottage on the Sussex coast. After two months, he meets Lennie at the Christmas drinks do, learning she has been living in the coastguard cottage nearby since September.

He confesses he is still feeling fragile about the break-down of his seven-year marriage, some six months earlier, still confused about his wife Mel’s nastiness, still lamenting having to leave their lovely flat. “But it’s always that way, isn’t it? Men are expected to be the ones to leave. As if men don’t have an inner life or as much of an emotional connection to spaces and things as women do. Which means, when it comes down to the messy process of splitting up, it’s the women who get to be coddled and cared for, even if they’re the one who’s f**ked it up.”

After further encounters, he sees a potential relationship forming with Lennie, whom he prefers to call Leonora. It’s also around this time that two young women are doing a walk, #walk4women, along the south coast, wild camping as they try to raise money for a domestic violence charity, Safe Space UK. Cole’s interaction with them when they ignore signs and barriers is an awkward, angry one that they capture on their phones. And then the girls go missing, and there’s lots of conflicting opinion on social media about what they are doing, and their likely fate.

Cole has always tried to be kind and gentle with everyone; he is very charming; he truly believes he’s one of the good guys. It’s fairly soon apparent from the way he describes their marriage, though, and from Mel’s perspective on that same relationship, that his charm hides a manipulative tendency, a deep-seated toxic masculinity within him of which he seems completely unaware:

“It’s strange how men are asked to be sensitive and understanding now, but when we really are, when we say how we’re truly feeling, women don’t actually like it. I think, subconsciously, they want us to hold their hands and understand their emotional contradictions, but they also still want us to be strong, to bang our chests with our fists and protect them from shit… it was all so … confusing because I want nothing more than to support and empower women, but surely that doesn’t mean I should lie on the floor and let them walk all over me.”

While Cole moans: “I know, historically, it’s been hard to be a woman but, my god, it’s hard to be a man right now”, Mel’s friends observe: “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 … coming.” There aren’t really any likeable characters in this tale, but their opinions do bear serious consideration.

As well as three straight narratives (that are perhaps not entirely reliable), Hall uses email, text, tweets, press articles, transcripts of radio and TV interviews, WhatsApp chats, and blog posts to convey the mood and opinions of the online community and the general public. This is a story that examines the arguments on many sides of some very topical issues: gender and the dynamics of power, BDSM, consent, domestic violence, and ownership of embryos. Sound effects in the audio version add authenticity to this compelling and thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Gillian Flynn Books/Zando audio

Without giving anything away, I have mixed feelings about this book. I thought the concept was interesting, but morally it had me questioning things, which may have been one of the points of the book.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

This book would make a great book club read as it opens up to so many different discussion points. Pretty much all the characters are 'grey characters' which makes for great reading as you're constantly changing your mind about how you feel about them. Heavy topics but thought provoking and definitely worth reading.

I did the audiobook version of this, and felt the same about audio versus hardcopy. I enjoyed the narration. At times the main characters frustrated me and I could also see points from their perspective. The bigger concept of male perpetrated violence against women is throughout the entire book.

Thought provoking feminist rage read. It was interesting the way it was told. However, I think there were too many of the social media pieces that were included in the story in the third part of the book. Some of the points have also felt a bit too much in the face. However, it might have been the point to do that to be very blunt about it. I didn’t like any of the characters so it made it harder to feel sympathetic. But the points that were raised for women rights and so forth had a couple of new thoughts that I haven’t seen in other feministic stories. Since many of the points were raised in other novels about women rights, it wasn’t super unique to read about them in this book. Also, the sort of shocking reveal to me for the main story of disappearance of the two girls was predictable to me and I figured it out right when they went missing. However, the other side of that story was interesting. It would be a great one for a book club read as there is so so much to discuss in here. While reading it you can feel the bit of unsettled creepiness rising as well. I will be checking out other books by this author. Interesting read!