“Because he’s the same as so many of the men I meet every day. All the ones who govern us.”

“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.”

“We always look to the mother, when they must have enough of their own shit to deal with, and I can’t understand how we go on expecting individual women to erode thousands of years of bullshit.”

One of the Good Guys is literature’s answer to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. I’m all too familiar with what it means to be a woman in this world, but it is so refreshing to see the injustice portrayed so openly and honestly in modern media. Yes, we’ve all joked about poking our car keys through clenched fists, but I am savoring the fed-up bitterness over the way women are treated in our society still, and how women are taking this narrative and bluntly displaying it to the world. We’re fed up with being coy, with gently beating around the bush. This book helped stoke that fire that I never want to lose, because that’s the only way we change things, isn’t it? Brilliantly, cleverly and deeply-layered, One of the Good Guys is one of my favorite thrillers this year so far.

Thank you to NetGalley, Araminta Hall and Dreamscape Select for gifting me with an ALC of One of the Good Guys . In exchange I offer my honest review.

A few years back I was privileged to receive an ARC for Our Kind of Cruelty by a debut author Araminta Hall. I was so impressed that I vowed to read more from this author, so when I saw she had a new book available, I immediately requested a review copy. I was not disappointed. The audio production is outstanding- everything from the multicast narration to the highly effective technical sound effects made this read beyond addictive. I can’t imagine a better way to approach this novel other than audio.

It’s a very relevant hot button topic, although I do not want to say too much without spoiling the plot. I believe the message is imperative, however right now in 2024, it’s sadly still being ignored.

I appreciate the message this book was trying to convey, but most of the characters were unlikable and unhinged. The first part with Cole I could tell right away there was something either very wrong or he was nothing but a liar. What happened to the women activists seemed a little too over the top for my taste. As an audiobook this book is brilliant. I highly recommend readers to listen to this audiobook! It made the experience of reading this novel so rich.

I was not a fan of this book.

It just kept repeating itself over and over and did not keep my interest! I found it dragged and just took to long to get to the point of the story.

Thanks NetGalley fornletting me read and review

Cole is a good guy who is fresh out of a seven year marriage and starting over in the remote seaside location he always desired to live in. His ex, Mel, was a workaholic and basically given up on the baby they had been trying for for years. Luckily for Cole he is not at the seaside alone. An artist named Lennie lives in the nearby coastguard cottage. The two quickly form a friendship, but when two women who are activists against gendered violence towards women go missing off the very cliffs Cole lives on, things from his past come to light, and maybe Cole isn't the good guy he portrays himself to be.

The first quarter or so of the story was a bit hard to get through, but once I made it into the middle chunk of the novel, I couldn't read it fast enough. Though it's not a total mystery or thriller with a big whodunnit, it provides a ton of though provoking discussions that would be perfect for any book club.

The audio performance is fantastic. There are three narrators taking the place of the three main characters and the presentation of the podcasts, message boards, and news reports included in the story are brilliantly arranged.

I had mixed feelings about this book throughout most of it. I didn't really understand the point of it until the very end, and I eneded up actually liking it.

I really liked the sound effects that were included in this audiobook. But I felt like this book was too preachy, it kept repeating itself over and over again with its message. I was not too fond of the book's first part, but it was the point. If I wasn't listening too the story, I would of DNFed it.

5/5 Stars! Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Select, Gillian Flynn Books for the audiobook of One of the Good Guys by Arminta Hall, narrated by Elliot Fitzpatrick, Olivia Vinall, Helen Keeley.

HOLY CRAP...what did I just finish listening to?! This story is written and narrated VERY WELL. I also enjoy the little background sound of the "keyboard typing" and "notification alerts" in the audiobook to clarify what was going on at that point of the book. This is my first book by Arminta Hall and I am IMPRESSED and a fan of her now! The POV narrated for Cole, Lena, and Mel was done well and I want to give props again to the narrators - they were perfect for their roles. I had no idea what to expect when I first started listening to this book, I picked it based on the cover and the title - boy am I glad I got the chance to listen to the story.

The unexpected twisted plots got me hooked and I feel that this research in this book - it shows it. The way that this story was told was also refreshing to me because of the different POVs and the social media's involvement in the situation was on point (which is terrifying when you think about how true it is). The ending was...speechless for me and will make the reader confront the reality of being a woman. It is such an eye-opener on women violence and how society reacts to (certain) situations.

Again, I am speechless with this book. The ending was not what I would've expected for this book and I am officially a fan of Araminta Hall. The only feedback I have is to mention trigger warnings of abuse and violence.

Wow, wow, wow!!! This was so smart! I loved the general themes. This is the first time I’ve ever read a book and wanted to immediately reread it when I was finished.

Wow. This book does a great job of making its' reader feel unsettled and unsure. But by the end of this book I just don't know how I feel about it all.

There are many POVs in this book but the overarching story follows Cole a man who desperately tries to be a strong perfect husband for his wife but ultimately falls short. When he finds himself looking for a fresh start he starts to feel his world fall apart. He quickly is taken by a woman. named Lennie who also recently moved. While Lennie and Cole are still getting to know each other they find themselves in the middle of a disappearance case of two young female activists.

This book is an interesting thriller but I will say it took me a while to get invested in the story. Although I felt unsettled and could tell something was off I didn't know what exactly I should be reading into. The chapters from Cole's perspective are clearly told from the point of view of an unreliable narrator and the more you read the clearer that becomes. I think the first half has to be there to set the scene and story up for the second half but I will say I started to enjoy it toward the end. I just feel like I wanted to love this story that this book was trying to tell and I think what it was trying to tell it is an important story. That being said it felt like it opened up criticism for the other side of the argument as well which makes me feel like we are missing the point.

Overall, I recommend this to anyone looking for a Women's rights psychological thriller. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story.

One of the Good Guys is about that guy who acts like he is so perfect and understanding of women despite doing horrible things. He tricks you into thinking he is a good guy and you don't find out the truth until it is too late.

I have never read any books by Araminta Hall but I enjoyed her unique take on the basic thriller. I also found out the book was published through a Gillian Flynn Publishing house. Gillian Flynn took the thriller world by storm when she wrote her three novels. So I thought it was pretty telling if she is associated to One of the Good Guys!

I really enjoyed how the story was told with the different POVs. The three perspectives are the male, the women, and the media. The audiobook includes background noises such as texting, phone notifications, and even birds! For me, this helps break up the usual audiobook feeling and adds more layers to the storytelling. The media aspect involves tweets, news articles, chat messages, and news reporters. While I thought this was fun, I was enjoying the story unfolding between Cole, Lenny and Mel's points of view. I would've enjoyed it more if the media didn't take off the last third of the book as much. But for others it may make the reading more fun and easy!

I highly recommend checking out One of the Good Guys if you love thrillers and strong, feminist views. Thank you to NetGalley, Araminta Hall, Dreamscape Select, and Gillian Flynn Books for the opportunity to read. I have written this review voluntarily.

I listened to this one on audio and the quality was great! The narrators did a fantastic performance. Unfortunately, the story itself didn't quite do it for me which is such a bummer because I had such high hopes. This was one of the buzzier books I had been looking forward to, and I mean, that cover and title!

We start off from Cole's perspective. He's one of the good guys! He's recently separated from his wife and he can't quite wrap his head around how this happened considering he treated her wonderfully. Always put her needs first and made sure she was happy even though she always put work first. After separating he moved out to the countryside where he meets his new neighbor. When two women go missing, he leans on Lennie, or as he likes to call her, Leonora, and the two become close. Or so he thinks. There's something weird going on and not just because of the missing girls. Is Cole really as wonderful as he believes himself to be?

Switch over to Mel's POV as we take a walk through her relationship with Cole from start to current day and things look extremely different. There's a darkness to Cole when it comes to his sexual desires and a lot of lies uncovered.

Then we change over to Lennie's point of view and we learn her true motives for everything. She's been scheming and is a liar herself.

My favorite part of the book was definitely Mel's POV. That whole section had me on the edge of my seat and I wanted to know more. But overall, the story fell flat especially during the last POV. It was a twist that had me rolling my eyes and to a degree I thought was totally unfair. I'm all for women empowerment, but this was taking it a little too far in my opinion.

Thank you Dreamscape Select, Gillian Flynn Books and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really good and unique thriller, focusing on violence against women and how the patriarchy perpetuates the violence. It was deliciously feministic and Cole was the perfect example of the "not all men" men.

As far as audiobook, I loved this production. There were twitter threads, reddit threads, news footage, and the voice actors made it all feel so real.

I do think the ending will be VERY controversial but as far as the story, I loved it.

Brilliant and thought provoking book. A very different type of thriller that will be loved by many. Wonderfully narrated by different artists with insights into social media. Slow at first but picked up pace soon. At first when, I only listened to Cole's narrative, I really thought of him as one of the good guys, kind, gentle and heart broken. Soon, I realized how fast a perception could change from another point of view. Listening to Mel's narrative,I loathed him. Emotional manipulation by partners can have as devastating effects as domestic violence. This book leaves you with lots of questions. Highly recommended. Thanks to @Netgalley and the publisher for the audio copy.

I enjoyed this although it is so uncomfortable being inside Cole's head.
He's such a creep and gives me icky shivers. This is how I assume incels think.

The audio books is fab. Multiple voices actors and sound effects. The production is pretty good.

The first thriller of the year did not disappoint! A big thanks to @netgalley for providing me with the audiobook!

This book was amazing! The narrators were good, and the sound effects weren’t overwhelming.

I didn’t know anything about this book before listening to it. I read the synopsis and liked the cover, so I decided to give it a try. (I fully judged this one by its cover!)

The narrative unfolds through the perspectives of three characters: Cole, Mel, and Lennie. This clever storytelling technique prevents complete alignment with any single character, keeping you on your toes. Just when you think you’ve figured it all out, the shift in perspective challenges your assumptions. Each character is psychologically complex, morally gray, and flawed, creating a pervasive sense of wrongness from the very beginning.

“One of the Good Guys” forces the reader to confront the reality of being a woman. It navigates violence against woman. While the feminist element towards the end feels somewhat forced, I can’t help but resonate with the struggles women endure, especially in a world where a sense of security can be easily taken away.

It always makes me sad to give a one star rating. I want to read and promote authors but this book was a big miss for me.

I was expecting to get a domestic thriller that would keep me on the edge of my seat and eagerly turning pages.

What I got was confusing to say the least. Is this a book pushing a feminist agenda? Is this a book promoting believe all women and hate all men? I really am not sure what the hoped for outcome was intended to be but I feel it missed.

The first third of the book we follow Cole and we get his perspective. He is going through a divorce with his wife Mel after not being able to have children and undergoing IVF. He is an unreliable narrator as he gets migraines and we are not totally sure what that is about but here I was thinking is where the thriller part of the book would happen. Is he odd? For sure. Does he do some awful things, yes, if any of this book is to be believed.
Then we get another view from Mel's perspective and she seems like an awful human as well. I honestly did not like her or feel for her at all. I feel I should have had some kind of positive feeling toward her if I am to believe how awful Cole is, but she just came off even worse.
We also get a perspective told from Lennie, a neighbor of Cole's that he is starting a relationship with. She is also deceitful and setting Cole up. Hard to feel for the plight of women when they are all behaving badly.
Throughout these points of view there is a mystery if you will of two young girls that are walking along the coast to raise awareness of women and the dangers they face every day. These women have an encounter with Cole where they also set him up to look malicious but was he? I am not sure. Then there is a twist and it doesn't really work for me. But it did sadden me a lot.
We also get the nauseating take on social media and how awful people are when they are sitting behind a keyboard voicing not only their opinions but making rather vulgar and unkind to say the least comments. I get enough of that and try to avoid it at all costs so to then have to read about it was irritating.

Trigger warnings should be noted for rape, violence, killing of animals, language, and more.

This book is highlighting conversations that are being had and that are important but it did not do justice to either side of the conversation and if anything just added to the already hostile environment. Some points made were good, some were not.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an e -arc of this book in exchange for a review.

Cole Simmons is devastated he is getting a divorce and thanks to his soon to be ex-wife has found a new job as a Ranger for the Southern coastline in the UK. He is saddened and confused as to why his wife Mel called it quits right before the third attempt at getting pregnant not long after moving to his new village he realizes the country really agrees with him and with his morning swims and new job as a kind of ranger for the coastline he is really feeling much better about his health. It isn’t long after moving there he meets another newcomer whose name is Lenny and she to escaped London and it seems Lenny is more than keen to make friends with Cole despite him telling her he isn’t ready to date she tells him she just wants to be friends while all this is going on 2 23-year-old women named Molly and Phoebe or hiking the southern coastline to raise money in awareness for women because they feel women have been treated unfairly used in abuse for far too long. And it seems their plight just gets more and more popular with every footstep. We also get to hear from Mel, Cole‘s ex and where he is baffled and hurt she is angry and over it. In the country however he and Lenny seem to be getting closer and although at first he was reluctant to start a relationship the more he is around Lenny the more he enjoys being around her and wants to be there. When he is working he gets many calls to the cliffs edge 50 feet above the sea to stop people from sitting and standing on the cliff and while Phoebe and Molly are passing through their village, Cole gets an urgent call telling him two girls are sitting on that very cliff. When he arrives he politely tells them they should move because it is dangerous to sit there in even points to the Coast dar house and tells the girls that house used to have a bad garden but it fell into the sea to make his point. The girls have no patients for him in while videotaping Cole they accuse him of raising his voice disrespecting them wanting to hit them until he just finally walks away. That night is New Year’s Eve and he is spending it with Lenny when she turns on the girls ‘ latest video and they say the next day they are going to post the latest video of the man who try to assault them at their new stop. Cole is already prone to anxiety and suffers from migraines so he excuses his self soon after midnight to just go home. The migraines causes him to lose time so the next day he wakes up disheveled not knowing exactly how he made it home the night before.
When Lenny calls and tells him she needs his immediate assistance because she is at the tent of Molly and Phoebe and something is wrong. Even though he doesn’t feel much better than the night before he goes and although nervous he agrees it looks suspicious and they should call the police. This is where I am going to stop because I do not want to get any key plot points away because OMG up until this point the book was good but this is when it got great! This book has lots of messages some are from those who are overzealous and their opinions and some are from those who are clueless and don’t realize they may think they’re an alley but really they’re part of the problem but in the end who is right and who is wrong? I loved the authors ability to explain it from everyone’s point of you because despite the readers opinion if you don’t agree with what’s happening wait because someone is coming that you will agree with I really loved this book and wish I could say more but don’t want to give any of the good stuff away this was a great book with a great ending it was just all-around great the narrators did an awesome job and I thought all three were really good and they had the same vibe throughout the book that meshed well together. If you were looking for an awesome mystery thriller do yourself a favor and read/listen to One Of The Good Guys by Aramenta Hall. It’s both topical and very interesting and OMG the twist are phenomenal! I want to thank McMillan audio and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gillian Flynn Books, and Dreamscape Select for gifting me a digital and audio ARC of this wonderful book and even better audiobook by Araminta Hall and perfectly narrated by Elliot Fitzpatrick;, Olivia Vinall, and Helen Keeley - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Cole leaves London and his failed marriage behind, and finds quiet refuge in a remote coastal town. His neighbor, Lennie, an artist, has rented the cottage next door for much of the same reasons. The two meet and form a friendship. But they soon find themselves in the middle of an investigation when two young women activists against male violence disappear from the area.

This is such a thought-provoking read on many levels - women's rights, misogyny, social media, I can go on and on. Told from the POV of Cole, his estranged wife, Mel, and Lennie, we also get mixed social media posts interjected, which are so relevant to the themes. This is also a difficult book to review without giving anything away - and the subtle twists and turns are part of the reading experience so no spoilers from me. I will say that the audiobook was just fantastic - at first I did a double take when there were sounds of keyboard typing, emails sent, etc., but the narration and effects really made this book come alive. This would be a great book club selection as there is much to dissect.

SPOILER REVIEW

I am deeply frustrated with this one. It is truly a shame that such an important topic was handled so recklessly. I want to note that many of the points made did resonate with me. I appreciate most of the intention within this novel, barring the twist, but I think just about everything was poorly executed.

Let me begin with Cole, the first character we are introduced to. Roughly 40% of the book comes from his perspective before the story shifts toward the female narrators. I am not sure what the author’s intention was, but I suspect she wanted to communicate the subtle ways in which misogyny surfaces. However, there wasn’t anything subtle about the delivery. It seemed blatantly obvious that Cole was not genuinely a good guy. His internal processing, observations on women, and comments toward Lennie were all completely cringeworthy. He struck me as a ticking time bomb. Plus, there were overt hints that Cole was an unreliable narrator and an awful husband. Ultimately, this meant that nothing Mel revealed in her perspective came as a surprise, and I feel like we, as readers, are supposed to be shocked by her admissions. I’m baffled by what the author was aiming for. If it was intended to be obvious, then she succeeded, but I’m not sure what the point in starting out with his perspective would be then. It eliminated the element of surprise.

The story eventually morphs into a more straightforward telling to ensure we get the message; a message I understood early on. Podcast clips, social media posts, etc. are often inserted in between Mel and Lennie’s perspectives to make the point clear. I found this comment made by Mel particularly humorous since the bulk of the novel felt like a shout: “I guess I’ve learned over the years that if you just shout about something, people stop listening. You have to find inventive ways of getting your point across.”

I gather the author was hinting at the bomb she would soon drop, but that “inventive way of getting a point across” was what truly made me despise One of the Good Guys. In short, the twist was terrible.

We live in a society where women are continually accused of lying about the violence inflicted upon them. They’re called irrational for having concerns regarding men’s behavior toward them. HOW IN THE WORLD DID ANYONE THINK THIS TWIST WAS A GOOD IDEA??? Really, I am angry about it. It does not help our cause. It’s not something that would make people reconsider their stance. It only makes us look bad. It harms our credibility. It tilts the conversation the wrong way. What’s worse, the dialogue that followed in the novel seemed to suggest that we are not for women or women’s rights if we criticize the twist. I don’t know how we succeed in getting our voices heard. I really don’t. But I’m certain that tricking people into believing we’ve been harmed is not the way to do it.

Listen. A great deal of the misogynistic crap illustrated in the book was familiar to me. I’ve known it firsthand. Plus, I am a domestic violence survivor. I truly do want books that demonstrate the problems women face. I think this one failed miserably in positively aiding the issues. There is an interview with Cole near the end of the story that does aptly illustrate how some men are easily painted into victims even when they are the ones who have victimized others, but the route taken to prove this point is problematic, which cancels out what could have made a proper impact.

As an aside, I want to add that you should be aware that there is a detailed description of Cole killing a rabbit for stew. This possibly exists in the narrative to show us how at ease Cole was with the gruesome act, but it seemed unnecessary to me.

I hope this remains my most hated book of the year because I am not sure that I can bear to read something more awful than this one.

I am immensely grateful to Gillian Flynn Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.