Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - One of the Good Guys

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall

29 reviews

coffeekitaab's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book is a true contender for those interested in reading feminist literature which focuses on the complex relationship between genders and particularly how men treat/think about women.

Told from multiple POVs, we open the story with Cole Simmons, one of our "good guys". Following his failed marriage of seven years to Mel, Cole is shattered, unable to establish how things have become so terrible that he and his wife have become estranged, and defeated, Cole moves out of the family home in London to the countryside for a fresh start. There Cole meets Lenora, an indie artist, and they become fast friends. When two young activists go missing in the area whilst doing a charity walk to raise awareness of violence against women, Cole and Lenora find themselves at the centre of a police investigation. Suddenly, it seems there is more to the story than meets the eye...

After a slow start, trying to get my head in the right frame of mind, I found the first half particularly gripping. From Cole's perspective, there are so many aspects to his psyche where he justifies behaviour/actions which would make the hairs on your back stand on end and is a real eye-opener. You want to sympathise with his circumstances; he comes across a victim to his ill-treatment after all the genuine care and concern he has for Mel but there is a darker undertone. It almost felt the more we delved into his mind and the further into the book we got, the deeper the feeling of dread and it was a definite moment where you felt we were going to reach a crescendo.

And the crescendo came in the form of Mel's side of the story. Incredibly relatable and for many readers, I can imagine they will feel as if they're looking in the mirror, even if it is with a single aspect. The development/he said-she said aspect was very well written and was fast paced, I believe Mel's relationship with Cole is told from individual moments that happen in each year of the relationship, and it truly is a jaw-dropping realisation when it dawns on you just how messed up things really are.

Feminist literature is my go-to. The blurb is usually enough to rope me in, and this was the case with One Of The Good Guys. I laud the premise of the book and exploring the mind of a man who genuinely believes he is prioritising women's wellbeing with each thought/act and how this can be brought out in a thriller/mystery setting. Sadly for me, there was too much going on, the second half in particular, threw me off. I understand and appreciate the author's reasoning for taking the story in the direction it went but I didn't enjoy it unfortunately. I would highly recommend the audiobook as the latter third of the book is littered heavily with social media/podcast/news broadcasts of the case and the different narrators made that part enjoyable, which would not come across in a print version.

I know this one will sit like marmite with readers and regardless of my thoughts on the ending, I was still eager to know what happened throughout so if you are similarly curious, this is definitely one for you. Please do check trigger warnings before reading this as there are many sensitive topics discussed in great detail.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest unedited review!

Content Warnings

ris23's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

read_knit_nap's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

aliciagrasby's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

hdperez13's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

emma6544's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I rated this book so highly because it has been a long time since I have read a book which has tackled gender dynamics like Gone Girl.

Both Gone Girl and One of the Good Guys remind us of how the media love women to fulfil the role of a quiet, submissive woman. Amy Dunne from Gone Girl

uses this role to frame Nick and get the media on his side.

While, the female protagonists Lennie, Mel, Molly and Phoebe in One of the Good Guys go against this grain

they set out to get revenge by exposing Cole for who he really is as Molly and Phoebe pretend to be missing.

I also enjoyed how the author of One of the Good Guys includes media articles, twitter feeds, WhatsApp groups and other forms of media in between Lennies chapters. This brought home the reality of what women go through, especially prominent women on social media

for example, Mel received hate for wanting to destroy her and Cole’s embryos by pro life people.

.

Plus, unlike Gone Girls where the role of the media is only present from a 3rd person perspective, One of the Good Guys reminds readers of the power of social media to sway options and spread hatred.

If you love Gone Girl, I think you will enjoy this book or if you want a novel with female protagonists who force you to reflect on your own feelings and options about gendered violence.

Content Warnings

arireadsitall's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

great if you’re all about taking down “the man”. The man’s perspective aka part one draggssss and now that I’m thinking about it maybe that was intentional. I loved the addition of the mixed media and the different opinions and forms of trolling that came from it. All in all is solid read and one that definitely made me think!

Content Warnings