In her new novel, “One of the Good Guys,” Araminta Hall forces us to examine what makes a “good guy.” In fact, when we finish the novel, we are still wondering what determines whether a man is a good guy or not. We are presented with Cole, a man whose first person narration leads us to believe that he’s really a misunderstood guy. He’s not the typical alpha-male; in fact, he just wants to love and support the woman he adores.

We learn about his marriage to Mel, who has her own very successful public relations company. Her earning power greatly exceeds his, so he’s happy to work at an entry-level job while taking care of their house, cleaning, and doing the cooking. Cole desperately wants a baby, and because they both are nearing their forties, after a year of trying to have a baby, he suggests they do IVF.

Mel agrees, but as each implantation fails, she grows increasingly reluctant to continue with the heartrending, physically exhausting process. We see — even through Cole’s eyes — that Mel doesn’t want to do it, and we sense in his narrative that something is off. He complains about Mel working and drinking coffee, and we realize that his expectations are unreasonable.

The book is divided into sections, each one in a different format. It really works well and makes the narrative especially fascinating as we see the story from different viewpoints. The second section is from Mel’s point of view, also in first person narrative. This narration takes us through Mel and Cole’s relationship from the start, seven years before the action of the novel begins. In fact, each chapter is labeled with the time elapsed, “seven years earlier,” “six years earlier,” until we end up at nine months before Cole’s narrative begins.

Through Mel’s narration we get a different sense of their marriage. And it’s confusing because Mel herself is torn in her feelings for Cole. She loves him and has been married to him for seven years. Cole is supportive and loving, and he tells her over and over how wonderful she is. But at the same time he is telling her how much he admires her, he chides her for not resting and for working too hard. Yet Mel must work—it’s her company—and they must pay for the extremely expensive IVF treatments. There is also the fact that she loves her job and the company she created. So when Cole talks about moving to the countryside where it would be healthier for the baby and they could afford to have her not work, she isn’t thrilled. Finally, Mel has enough and leaves Cole. It’s interesting that Mel leaves (escapes?), sneaks out really, when Cole is out of the house.

The third section consists of social media posts alternating with a first person narrative from Lennie, an artist who rents a cottage on the same piece of rural coastline where Cole moved after his separation from Mel. He has gotten a job as a ranger, and he lives in the house that comes with the job. It’s along a rough stretch of coastline where the cliffs are dangerous. He sees a woman who lives in a cottage quite close to the edge of the cliff, and Cole is entranced by her. We first learn about her from Cole’s narrative, but now we hear from Lennie, and we learn about her past and what led her to rent that isolated cottage on the coast.

There are many, many questions that we are left with after finishing the novel. Hall forces us to consider the story from many aspects, from different angles, and from opposite viewpoints. Who are the bad guys here? She makes us confront, head on, the arguments that rage on social media between feminist women and the men who sneer at what they call “hormonal females,” women who shouldn’t have “real” jobs that are important. We consider whether the fear that assaults women walking alone late at night or in a deserted parking garage is valid (of course it is), or imaginary, as some men claim.

Fear, control, and determining the truth of situations is what we think about throughout this gripping story as we learn about each of these three characters, Cole, Mel, and Lennie, and learn about their fears and their truths. What we learn is that one person’s truth is not necessarily that of another person. Because of the questions regarding good and evil, this would be an excellent choice for a book club—especially one with both men and women participants. Hall’s mastery of a diverse type of narration is really stunning and makes this a compulsive read that we can’t put down.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.