I’ve been a fan of Araminta’s from the start; she is one of the most daring and intriguing writers working today. Her writing is so addictive, her characters so sharply realized. One of the Good Guys is a resonant, razor-laced, and dangerously glittering novel.”
- Gillian Flynn, Gillian Flynn Books
Two young women vanish in a seaside town. At the cliff’s edge, nobody is who they seem.
ISBN
9781638931553
Language
English
Page count
288
Edition
Hardcover
Sale date
January 9, 2024
Dimensions
6 x 9
About the Book
Desperate to escape the ghosts of his failed marriage, Cole upends his life. He leaves London behind for a remote stretch of coast, relishing the respite from the noise, drama, and relentless careerism that curdled his relationship and mental health. Leonora has made the same move for similar reasons. She’s living a short walk from Cole’s seaside cottage, preparing for her latest art exhibition. Though Cole still can’t figure out what went wrong with his marriage, and Leonora is having trouble acclimating to the hostile landscape, the pair forges a connection on the eroding bluff they call home.
Then, two young women activists raising awareness about gendered violence disappear while passing through. Cole and Leonora find themselves in the middle of a police investigation and the resulting media firestorm when the world learns of what happened. And as the tension escalates alongside the search for the missing women, they quickly realize that they don’t know each other that well after all.
From the critically acclaimed author of Our Kind of Cruelty and Imperfect Women, comes an urgent psychological thriller about gender, power, and how both are captured in our contemporary media environment. Unexpected and twisty from its first page to its last, One of the Good Guys asks: If most men claim to be good, why are most women still afraid to walk home alone at night?
Reviews
A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Fiction Novel of 2024 and Best Psychological Thriller for January • A Book Riot Most Anticipated Book of Jan–Jun 2024 • A Tertulia Best New Crime and Thriller Book This Winter • A Paste Most Anticipated Mystery and Thriller Book of 2024
“Addictive and sharply realized . . . I became absolutely obsessed from the opening page.”
“Razor-sharp, spine-tinglingly convincing and unputdownable. I binged this in three sittings.”
“Girl with the Dragon Tattoo meets Gone Girl.”
“Will keep readers enthralled . . . In the vein of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, this is a psychological thriller that will have readers on the edge of their seats, pushing them to ponder difficult questions.”
“A fascinating read.”
“Thought-provoking . . . Fans of Megan Abbott will want to check this out.”
“A compulsive read that we can’t put down. . . . Fear, control and determining the truth of situations is what we think about throughout this gripping. . . . An excellent choice for a book club.”
“Riveting.”
“One of the Good Guys is a mind-bending tour de force. Araminta Hall has always been one of my favorite writers, but what she has done here is groundbreaking. This thriller is shocking, twisted, dark, and absolutely on point.”
“This twisty tale will keep you on your toes.”
“An absolutely thrilling tale, full of breathless cliffside terror and fresh feminist theory masked in tight, propulsive mystery. I devoured this book.”
“I love a good unreliable narrator story, and [One of the Good Guys] is among the best I’ve read in ages . . . Hall is fantastically good at upending expectations and pulling the wool over her readers’ eyes, so I can’t say much more without giving things away—but this exploration of female rage isn’t what you think it’s going to be.”
“One of the Good Guys is definitely one of the good ones.”
“One of the Good Guys goes nowhere that readers will expect. [Araminta Hall] supplies no easy answers for readers other than to the question of what novel would inspire a great discussion at their next book club.”
“A dark, original and thought-provoking read. This book will hook you from the first page and keep you thinking long after the last.”
“Neatly plotted.”
“The best book I’ve read in a long time. One of the Good Guys is a dark, whip-smart thriller that’s also laugh-out-loud funny. Hall answers #metoo and the masculinity crisis with nuance and insight. A must read.”
“An intriguing mix of psychological thriller and contemporary feminist fable.”
“Mind. Blown. The brilliant Araminta Hall has created an absolute tour de force of suspense. Provocative, surprising, and entirely original, this tale of power and gender will not only have you looking at the world a different way, but will have you looking at yourself a different way. Hall’s brilliance with exquisite foreboding, with multi-layered but mysterious characters, and with her deep understanding of readers’ expectations make this one of the most thought-provoking and imaginative books I have ever read. I never even came CLOSE to guessing the ending, and gasped with envy and massive respect when I finished reading. If you have a book club—wow—this one’s for you. Drop everything, call Hollywood, and do not miss One of the Good Guys.”
“Compelling, unsettling, and nuanced, this will be a fast favorite for fans of dark domestic thrillers.”
“Scorching, smart, and soaked in feminist rage, this is a suspense that stays with you long after the last page.”
“The best crime fiction has always been quick to reflect real life, and Araminta Hall’s groundbreaking novel addresses the anger of women . . . Revelatory.”
“One of the Good Guys is a riveting and kaleidoscopic look at women swept up in the current of toxic masculinity and the blowback when they pull themselves to safety. From art to media, Hall leaves no corner of the attack on women’s safety and sanity unexplored in her adept and sharp multifaceted novel. Powerful and inspired—empowering and inspirational.”
“Part thriller, part social commentary on what it is to be a woman, this is a thought-provoking read.”
“Araminta Hall’s latest, One of the Good Guys, is both a scintillating thriller and a scorching condemnation of how differently society treats men versus women, especially in the social media age. Cole and Lennie are flawed, complex characters who will stick with you long after you reach its shocking conclusion. Their relationship will make you reexamine your idea of fear, perception, and public opinion.”
“As much a psychological thriller as a novel packed with sharp commentary about society and gender.”
“I am not easily shocked, but One of the Good Guys went places even my twisted mind had never imagined. Araminta Hall is a master of suspense, and her latest novel is a timely, thrilling tale that offers no easy villains or heroes, but loads of surprises. Beautifully written, deliciously tense, and entirely surprising—I tore through it.”
“When two women go missing, a couple finds themselves at the heart of a police investigation and media frenzy in this psychological thriller about gender and power.”
“One of the Good Guys has everything I love in a novel: pitch-perfect storytelling and a twisty plot that plays out in a haunting, atmospheric setting. Araminta Hall has crafted an incisive feminist suspense novel about delusion, deception, and the poisonous nature of toxic masculinity. A daring, breathless read.”
“Araminta Hall slowly and carefully brings the reader into the story, which highlights that no one is perfect or fully ‘good’, touching on issues of security and control.”
“A bold and on point feminist thriller about gendered violence with Gone Girl twistiness and narrator unreliability.”
“A credible and confronting tale seething with insightful suspense.”
“It got me by the throat and wouldn’t let go. It’s creepy, thought-provoking, compelling, and so very relevant.”
“One of the Good Guys has it all: pitch-perfect writing, superb characterization, innovative narration, and deeply sophisticated storytelling. This book delves into the painful and messy complexities of misogyny, consent, and gendered power dynamics with an unflinching narrative scalpel. I have long been a fan of Araminta Hall’s writing, and her latest book absolutely spearheads the razor-sharp new trend in feminist thrillers.”
“A dark, dazzling shock to the system. One of the Good Guys is clever, composed, exciting and frightening.”
“One of the Good Guys doesn’t just tell a story. It makes you think, it makes you angry, and it makes you want to read it again. So clever and subtly drawn, and yet the impact it leaves is extraordinary. Shocking and timely—dark fiction at its very best.”
“One of the Good Guys is clever, crafty, and thought-provoking. I felt like I was reading about events that were actually taking place in real time. We live in febrile times and this novel perfectly captures this zeitgeist. I can’t express this enough when I say, trust no one. Brilliant, timely, and necessary. Really enjoyed it.”
“A story that will stay with you long after the last page. Terrifying because it all reads so painfully true and familiar if you are a woman nowadays.”
“Clever, disturbing, challenging, twisty and utterly compelling. A brilliant, thought-provoking novel for our times.”
“Wow, I loved this topical, clever and tricksy novel. A book for the #metoo generation that taps into all kinds of fears/hopes/difficulties that come with the movement. You’ll think one thing . . . and then another . . . and then another. With clever use of social media and newspaper pieces, the conclusion is a masterpiece. Highly recommend.”
“It’s so clever it blew my mind a bit. It’s about men and women and trust and art and violence and safety. And it’s just excellent.”
Araminta Hall
Araminta Hall is the author of Everything and Nothing, Our Kind of Cruelty, and Imperfect Women. She has an MA in creative writing and authorship from the University of Sussex and teaches creative writing in Brighton, where she lives with her husband and three children.
