Book info

• Title One of Us
• Author Elizabeth Day
• Year 2025
• Genre Contemporary

Martin and Ben were friends for decades — best friends, Martin would have said — before the terrible events at Ben’s 40th birthday party tore them apart. So when Martin receives a surprise invitation back into the inner sanctum of the dazzling Fitzmaurice family after seven years of silence, he can’t resist the chance to get his revenge. Ben has risen through the ranks of power, and is now touted as the next Prime Minister. But Martin can’t help but notice certain flies in the ointment… Ben’s wife, Serena, for instance, whose privileged existence is beginning to feel like a gilded cage. Or their daughter, Cosima, an environmental activist fighting against everything her parents once stood for. Or the disgraced MP Richard Take, determined to make his big comeback. And then there’s Fliss, the Fitzmaurice black sheep, whose untimely death sparks more suspicion than closure. Through their intertwined stories, we see a family – and a nation – unravelling under the weight of its secrets. With everyone watching, the stage is set for a reckoning. It's time for Martin and Ben to confront what love truly means when everything—family, power, and loyalty—is on the line.

Thoughts

Elizabeth Day is one of those writers who creates incredible characters and they are the reason you keep on reading. In this book you have a cast of people who feel like they’re outsiders, but gradually come together to make a change as best they can. I didn’t realise this was a sequel to a previous book which presumably covers the events described within, so you certainly don’t need to have read that to enjoy this one. It was really captivating and I wanted to know how it was all going to work out!

Rating: 4 / 5