One of the Good Guys is a clever, unsettling and very timely novel that raises important questions about women’s safety, male behaviour and the grey areas between care and control. Initially centred on Cole – a seemingly decent man rebuilding his life after divorce – the book slowly challenges our assumptions about what it really means to be “one of the good ones.” Through shifting perspectives from Cole, his ex-wife Mel and his neighbour Lennie, Araminta Hall expertly manipulates the reader’s understanding of events, forcing us to question truth, intent and reliability. The disappearance of two young women on a charity walk becomes the catalyst that exposes cracks in Cole’s carefully presented narrative and brings issues of gaslighting, online justice and misogyny sharply into focus. No character emerges blameless, and the novel deliberately leaves the reader uncertain about where sympathy should lie. Hall highlights how non-physical abuse can be just as damaging as violence, and how easily good intentions can slide into something more troubling. Provocative, uncomfortable and discussion-worthy, this is a complex novel that lingers long after the final page — and is very much worth reading.