One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall

If most men say they’re one of the good guys, then why are so many women afraid to walk alone at night?

Cole is the perfect husband: a romantic, supportive of his wife, Mel’s career, keen to be a hands-on dad, not a big drinker. A good guy.

So when Mel leaves him, he’s floored. She was lucky to be with a man like him.

Craving solitude, he accepts a job on the coast and quickly settles into his new life where he meets reclusive artist Lennie.

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Lennie has made the same move for similar reasons. She is living in a crumbling cottage on the edge of a nearby cliff. It’s an undeniably scary location, but sometimes you have to face your fears to get past them.

As their relationship develops, two young women go missing while on a walk protesting gendered violence, right by where Cole and Lennie live. Finding themselves at the heart of a police investigation and media frenzy, it soon becomes clear that they don’t know each other very well at all.

This is what happens when women have had enough . . .

My Review

In the first part of One Of The Good Guys we hear from Cole as the first person narrator. He believes himself to be ‘one of the good guys’, but certain things appear slightly off. His desire to ‘protect’ his wife Mel becomes overbearing and frankly insulting. He constantly wants to push forward with IVF (he’s desperate to have a child), even when she is physically and emotionally exhausted, he totally disregards her feelings, and then the ‘we’ are going to get pregnant (it’s not you going through this mate – I really wanted to punch him at this point).

And then there is his opinion about keeping Mel’s frozen embryos after their marriage breakdown. I found it deeply shocking that he believed he had a right to her body, but I’m even more shocked at how many people believed he had a right to stop her destroying them. This is one of the things American author Jodi Picoult does so well. A Spark of Light discusses abortion and she delivers both sides expertly, exploring this controversial subject, even when you think there is only one side. She presents an argument that makes you think and it’s a challenging read that questions your own views (and hidden prejudices).

Mel’s behaviour appears to become increasingly erratic, until she makes her ‘escape’ and Cole blames it all on her hormones. Of course he does.

We also have a scene where Cole encounters Molly and Phoebe, who are walking 365 miles around the coast to highlight violence against women. They are sitting on the edge of a cliff and Cole warns them that it’s very dangerous. It’s his job to do so, but he handles it badly. However, so do they and that’s a conflict in itself. When the girls go missing, he fails to inform the police about the meeting. Then they disappear and the fingers are pointing at Cole. I’m somewhat biased I know, because of the rabbit trap – you can’t be one of the ‘good guys’ as far as I’m concerned (country folk will think I’m pathetic I know) and be so cruel.

Reclusive artist Lennie lives in a small cottage close to the edge of the cliffs. She admits that many people don’t like her. I didn’t like her much either, but I definitely admired her. Cole befriends her and believes a relationship will blossom. Yeah right!

A lot of the second half revolves around social media posts and WhatsApp messages, many of which are toxic and less than sympathetic. There are the usual references to pictures of Molly and Phoebe in bikinis or clubbing, which bring out the ‘serves them right bitches’ brigade. Even women rush to criticise them. But nothing will prepare you for the final denouement. It was not at all what I was expecting.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

Araminta Hall is a journalist and teacher. She is the author of five previous novels, including her first novel, Everything & Nothing, which was published in 2011 and became a Richard & Judy read that year. She is the great niece of Dodie Smith and the great granddaughter of Lawrence Beesley, who survived the Titanic and wrote a bestselling account of the tragedy in the book, The Loss of the SS Titanic. She teaches creative writing at New Writing South in Brighton, where she lives with her
husband and three children.