I found this an interesting story as it explores the issues from both the female and male point of view. Women and girls have achieved a platform to raise their concerns over men’s behaviour but at times it seems that they have gained too much power and that men now have no defence. It is assumed that they are the bad guys.
The book discusses the obvious need for women to have the platform but does look at the male point of view.
I recognise the role that social media plays today but i find that the story loses continuity when told. In printed clips from social media .
There is an interesting twist approaching the end of book which is surprising and ties the occasionally confusing threads of the story together.
Recommended

@currentlyreading__
Book 85 of 2023

Thank you to the publisher, the author and @NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

'One of the Good Guys' by @aramintahall was NOT what I was expecting! I have read some of the author's previous books a number of years ago (pre my reading log so will have to try to guess which ones I still need to read), but this one blew me away. It is so sharply written and the fact that when half way through, I stopped to question if I'd understood it correctly truly was a welcome surprise. This is published on 4th January and is sure to get you out of your post-festive slump so get it on your pre-order list.

At the start we are are introduced with Cole, a true "good guy", embarking on a new chapter in his life after the breakdown of his marriage to Mel. Cole had been a great husband, supportive, loving and desperate to be a father. But things don't work out and Cole moves to the coast. Needing companionship, he finds friendship with reclusive artist Lennie. She is there as a sounding board for Cole and it is not long before he feels like he's found his soulmate.

On the rugged coastline, there is a drama as two young women mysteriously disappear on their sponsored walk for gendered violence and this takes place after a run-in with Cole who appears to be the last person to speak with them. Is he truly "one of the good guys" and can we trust him?

We have a most fantastic twist when the narrative perspective changes and we hear from Mel. We also have social media inserts, WhatsApp conversations and lots of opinions from lots of people. I love an unreliable narrator and this was such a clever book that I've been thinking about it all week after finishing it. A most definite recommendation from me.


#bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #book #booknerd #bookstagrammer #kindle #instabook #reader #bookobsessed #bookstagramuk #readersofig #bookreview #aramintahall #oneofthegoodguys

Cole is one of the “good guys” and we meet him as his marriage has ended and he has moved to pastures new.

He has a new job and a new home near the coast. Hopefully here he can start to heal after a difficult couple of years. Enter Lennie, a somewhat unknown artist, who is living in a costal cottage for a while, on a self imposed exile.

I would talk about this book all day but I think the real joy of it, lies in not knowing what’s next.

This is an incredible novel, atmospheric and it is a sad book because so many of us know what’s coming.

The second part shows the authors skill in mixing format, we read online conversations that have taken place and hear the opinions of the world.

Sad, brilliant and one to take note of.

Mel is a coercive, workaholic, wife; Cole is an ideal husband. Cole is a coercive, sexually deviant, husband; Mel is an ideal wife. Is either statement true? Perhaps neither is true? After seven years of marriage Mel and Cole are now divorcing because she runs her own PR company, earns most of the money, and doesn’t want to continue with IVF, while he is desperate for a child and feels suffocated in London, and subservient in his job (he is a minor cog in her company). For the first third of the story, we only hear from Cole and form an opinion on their marriage based on his bias. He’s now working as an environment ranger, looking after a chunk of the South coastline. His isolated cottage only has one neighbour, Lennie (Leonora), an artist renting for the summer, and he is slowly forming a relationship with her. Meanwhile two young women are embarked on a coastal walk for a charity concerned with women’s safety on the streets. After an altercation with Cole (they ignored warning signs and sat on the crumbling cliff edge) they go missing and Cole and Lennie are drawn into the police investigation. Mel’s arrival forms the middle section of the book and we now get the opposite perspective on their marriage and impending divorce. So, is Cole the good guy here or is he the exact opposite? Have the girls been abducted? Are the alive or dead?
The book is constructed in four parts; Cole’s POV, Mel’s POV, Lennie’s POV, and the views of assorted social groups in the form of segments from Instagram, Tick-Tock, etc. The story is classed as a mystery/psychological thriller, and there is certainly a mystery as noted at the end of the previous paragraph. Given the clashing and dysfunctional personalities of Cole and Mel (and Lennie) we could argue for the psychological label, but with less conviction. The best labels are Didactic and Polemic. All of the female characters in the book are single-mindedly set on enforcing the view that all Women are perpetually at risk from all Men, and that they are continually aware of this and are constantly afraid when moving around in the outside world. This doesn’t accord with my experience, but I’m a man so, to slightly misquote Mandy Rice Davis, “I would say that, wouldn’t I”. As for the mystery element, the plot tries to make it a proper puzzle, but it is clear from early on what is going to happen, and it relies on, frankly, irrational behaviour by the main female characters. Cole's behaviour is also odd, but it does accord with the character as described. The writing is quite strong, and carrying this message makes it an uncomfortable read, challenging but not entertaining. Wearing my crime/mystery/thriller hat I struggled to give this two stars.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I loved this book, starting from Cole's POV we soon realise there is something not right with our hero. Lots of twists and turns and some interesting plot devices make this a stand out page-turner and I will be recommending this and seeking out Araminta Hall's other books.

The first 50% or so of this One of the Good Guys was great and incredibly gripping. The character of Cole was unsettling yet interesting at first and from his account of events, I couldn't wait to see how they would be told from Mel's point of view. While Cole and Mel were well written, realistic and made for compulsive ready, sadly, once we got to Lennie's account of events, I stopped caring.

I think it had a lot of potential and promise for where it could go but started to fall flat in the second half and particularly with the big twist, which felt somewhat heavy handed.

I found the mixed media format was quite difficult to follow in parts with newspaper clippings interviews, tweets, podcasts and reddit posts written between the first person accounts. There were no heading or chapters so it was hard to know who was talking and what the timeline was in those parts - but I'm not sure if this will be easier to get into in a physical edition rather than eBook.

I enjoyed the premise and felt it was an interesting take on a very difficult subject but the twist was unsatisfying and left me wanting more or thinking 'is that it?'.

The very last scene almost made up for it and really throws the reader into the immersive experience of the art performance which is why I have rated it 3 stars but without that, I think it would be a 2.

This was not for me. Although I did not mind the writing style, I found the narrative not interesting for me. Somehow, I saw it coming.... perhaps I am too old and that was a disadvantage. The characters rilled me.

I was a bit mixed aboit this book. book. I very much enjoyed the beautiful setting and the moral behind the story. However, I wasn't too keen on the characters.

This was a strange book and I’m still not sure what to make of it . It started well then there was a twist to the story and I thought it would get a lot more interesting . However I got a bit bored in the middle but stayed with it and was surprised at the outcome of the missing girls. Not sure if this book was for me but it was something a bit different.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for the ARC. This book had so much potential, but it was way too ambitious. The author took on too much and didn't follow through with everything she was trying to do. I'm not sure if she was trying to make this be a pro-female/feminist thriller but it was so awkward & cringe that it was hard to read. The conclusion was so out there, non-sensical and far fetched that I almost threw my book across the room. It was just, for lack of a better word... dumb. 2/5 stars & that is rounding up.

This book is a wild ride. It’s thrilling, infuriating, sad and a bit depressing, but I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy good thriller/mystery. It’s also perfect for unreliable narrator fans.

The first part of the book details soon-to-be divorcee Cole’s transition to a quiet life on the coast, his relationship with his artist neighbour and perspectives from his ex-wife. The second part is a collection of podcast recording transcripts, blog posts, social media posts and news reports. For this reason, If you enjoyed Lisa Jewell’s “None of This is True”, I think you’ll like this one too, as well as making it perfect for an audio version.

As someone who’s met many “Coles” in their life, some of the content in this book felt very close to home. The author represents themes of emotional abuse and controlling behaviour really accurately.

With thanks to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for the proof copy in exchange for an honest review.

We meet Cole when he’s moved to live in an isolated cottage on the coast, after his wife has left him and as he starts to form a relationship with local artist Lennie. When two young women who are doing a coastline protest walls go missing they both become involved in the police investigation and ensuing media scrutiny. But Cole and Lennie are both hiding secrets.
The publisher have called this a “scorching feminist thriller” and it is certainly all of that wrapped up in a crime mystery. There was an unsettling feeling in the first part, and then as the reveals are made you begin to see that appearances are well and truly deceiving. The books makes you ask a lot of questions about how women are not just treated but also perceived and the use of social media texts and podcast transcripts makes it seem so very current and at times very prescient.
This is a very clever, at times creepy, and a completely engrossing read. A thriller to keep you guessing but with added social commentary asking a lot of very relevant questions. Id certainly recommend this especially if you’re looking for a book club title to get people talking. Thank you to MacMillan and Netgalley for letting me read this.

Cole is the kind of the guy your mom likes. The kind of guy that makes your friends say, "Wow, you're so lucky." One of the good ones. Or is he?

I think this would be a great book club book. There are so many questions raised by this story that you could get through a whole case of wine discussing, debating, and ranting over them, even if you didn't particularly enjoy the story. Unfortunately, I didn't really click with it myself but I see the value in it, and I look forward to seeing what other people thought.

I received this arc for free on netgalley in exchange for a review.

Wow wow wow. What a read!! I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book but it was not this. It’s a mix between first person accounts and media. There are no chapters, just parts, which always make it a little harder for me to get into but I always do in the end.
This has been cleverly written and I think this style of book is the future for crime novels!

The first part was told from Cole’s point of view. I very nearly gave up reading as I couldn’t connect with him, but once I got to part/ chapter 2 and hear Mel’s version of events I was hooked! the first 2 parts were setting the scene between Cole and Mel’s marriage and the effects of trying for a baby had on their relationship.

Part/chapter 3&4 flittered between Lenny B’s story and different media accounts. This is now where the mystery starts. What has happened to Holly and Phoebe who were on a 365 mile walk in protest against violence against women. Was Cole the last person to speak to them? And just who is Lenny B and what are her motives?

I genuinely wasn’t sure what had happened. I had a slight inkling but dismissed it almost straight away. I liked how the media was used to set the scene and turn this into a true crime story.

I will say a trigger warning is needed in particular against rape and cohesive control but it has been done sympathetically and this book will help raise more awareness.

Thank you to NetGalley, PanMacMillan and Araminta Hall for this arc. I absolutely loved it!

I thought about saying that One of the Good Guys is not as it first appears, but, thinking about it, I'm not sure that's true. As a woman who has dealt with her fair share of male bullshit, online and off, I actually think in many (miserable, tiring) ways this book was exactly what I expected. Though I don't mean that as a criticism.

I read through some reviews that said this book was over the top and unbelievable, which I'm glad is true for others. Unfortunately, there was very little in this book I found it difficult to believe. I won't spend my review rehashing the plot and giving stuff away, but let's just say this is a book for any woman who's had to listen to a man say "I support women's rights, but..."

The story didn't grip me straight away, but it didn't take long. There is a sense of wrongness about the first part of this book, a feeling that all is not right and something is coming, which kept me interested until the reveals started happening. After this point there was a lot of powerful social commentary, unveiled through the use of social media posts and podcast transcripts. I usually enjoy use of mixed media in my thrillers and it worked to keep the pacing up here.

To be clear, I don't think this is an especially strong mystery. One of the Good Guys is full of thought-provoking discussions but it is not really about pulling out a surprising answer to the whodunnit.

It's a book about the way women are treated in the modern world-- as victims, as bitches, as incubators --and it's about women finally saying yeah, you're not going to like me for this but it's time I stopped caring because:

[..] there is so much to fear as a woman, but what people think of you shouldn’t be one of them.


There was definitely a point in this book where I thought "god, I don't like any of these women" but then I smiled to myself because I think that was kinda the point.

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller. The book begins with a Facebook post about two girls doing a charity walk to raise awareness of violence towards women. We then meet Cole who has moved to the coast after splitting up with his wife Mel. They have struggled with IVR and agreeing upon wanting a baby and when Mel changes her mind and leaves him, he decides to try and get a fresh break. He meets Lennie an artist, also living nearby and starts to spend time with her - but when the two girls from the walk - Molly and Phoebe go missing, we start to wonder if Cole had anything to do with it. As soon as the narrator of the books changes and we start to hear from Mel and Lennie's point of view - all definitely isn't as it seems!

I really liked the different writing styles through out the book part story, some WhatsApp group conversations, podcasts and newspaper articles to get lots of opinions and different mixed points of view on the serious topics discussed

The book makes us ask some serious questions around whether violence has been normalised against women and if things are potentially being over exaggerated. Also is it ever true that two wrongs can really make a right? I will be recommending this book to others.

An exciting and unexpected thriller with great social commentary on gender politics and dynamics. The main characters felt so real, like I've met them all before, and the snippets of articles and online comments throughout the novel could unfortunately have been pulled directly from the internet.
The delicate balance of gender in this book was expertly crafted, at first I felt like it was a but cliché with a generic male character who didn't understand why he might be the problem (which is exactly the point of the first third of the novel) however as the plot unraveled I became more engrossed by the experiences of the women and the important narrative of our society. Definitely an important conversation starter and one I'd definitely recommend, unfortunately I think those that would stick with it and read to the end are not those that would benefit the most!

A genuinely different, fresh and gripping psychological thriller. Definitely one of the Good Books of 2023

I enjoyed this one on the whole - I did feel it was a little bit on the cliche side of woke and quite unbelievable but I found the writing and storytelling compelling

The narrative of this book is obviously underlining the huge societal issue of violence against women, and its important that people continue to speak out and make their voices heard. The author chose an interesting plot device and the "twist" at the end was an interesting one, with the use of social media posts a good way of discussing the ethics.
However, by the end of the book I did feel I had been subjected to a bit of a repetitive rant about violence against women, and sadly those people most likely to read the book will already be aware of the issues without them being spelled out.
Thank you to netgalley and Pan macmillan for an advance copy of this book.
2.5 rounded up to 3