This book is filled with gossip and scandal, and, for me, drew a parallel with the antics of the previous UK government. It was a funny, sharp and perceptive take on the UK class system, dominant in politics, the differences between generations, and the obsession with wokeism and cancel culture.

There were several narrators all giving a unique insight into the story, often ahead of the other characters learning the truth. I skipped through it on a hot summer’s day and really enjoyed it. I’d previously only read Magpie by Elizabeth Day, and would now read more of her books.

Thanks to Elizabeth Day, Fourth Estate and NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

One of Us by Elizabeth Day is a novel that features power, and betrayal and buried scandals. I decided to read this book after enjoying the ‘Magpie’ by the same author. I can fully understand why lots of other readers enjoyed this book but I personally struggled to get into it.

This is a novel of long held grudges, privilege and the damaging consequences of long held secrets. One of Us features two men, Martin and Ben. who were once inseparable, their decades-long friendship imploded at Ben’s 40th birthday party under mysterious and deeply personal circumstances. Now, seven years later, Martin receives a surprising invitation from Ben, who is now a politician on the rise and a likely future Prime Minister, to come back into the life of the Fitzmaurice family. This is far from forgiveness, Martin is playing by his own rules and the return is far more sinister than it appears.

A character driven drama featuring the Fitzmaurice family, revealing differences and desperation beneath the privilege. Ben’s wife Serena, suffocating behind her curated perfection, their daughter Cosima, an environmental crusader who opposes her inherited values and Fliss, the wild card sister whose mysterious death casts a long shadow over everyone. A story where everyone has a secret and something to lose.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and 4th Estate for supplying this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I wasnt sure if I was going to like this one as it was a sequel but I didnt even notice that and I raced through it which is the sign of a good book I think. Really gripping and interesting 4 stars from me.

Elizabeth Day's One of Us is a story of power, politics and privilege. It's also one of secrets that eventually come out. I hadn't read The Party but it reads as a stand alone. Found parts of it funny but also quite sad in places

In 'One of Us' by Elizabeth Day, Martin Gilmore wants vengeance. As a child, he found a friend and supporter in Ben Fitzmaurice, but when friendship turned to idolatry things changed and Martin ended up ill-used and cast aside. Now, years later, Martin finds himself being brought back into the group, and being used to further his friends political ambitions. However, aided and abetted by some surprising allies, information shared with him gives him the opportunity for revenge he has long been searching for.

Told from many different perspectives, this satire on the political elite is a fun read if a little bit full of caricatures (at least I hope so). Nonetheless, it is an entertaining story with wry observations and a good pace. I haven't read any of Elizabeth Day's novels before, so I'm unsure if this is her characteristic style. However, having read this, I will try others.

I loved The Party and this is a worthy follow-up but it could also work as a standalone.

Witty, clever, cutting where necessary this is a tour de force with wonderfully depicted characters as Day skewers the upper class in a tale of privilege, greed, thwarted ambition and greed.

An utter delight from start to finish.

Highly recommended.

I’m afraid to say that I didn’t finish this book - I realised I’d got through 20% of it and just didn’t care what happened to any of the characters. I know that it’s basically a story of unlikeable characters, and the power struggle between friends and family, especially in this instance to do with privilege and politics.
Having read many of this authors “self help” books, I was disappointed that I couldn’t finish it. Maybe I should have stick it out longer, but this one just wasn’t for me I’m afraid.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this copy though.

One of Us is a brilliant, very well written family / political drama. The characters really come alive and aspects of them are rather relateable even though they are members of the upper echelons and I'm someone with working class roots. There are so many topical issues raised too. Elizabeth Days is a fantastic writer and this is possibly her best work.

I absolutely loved this. I've adored everything I have read by Elizabeth Day but this is exceptional. This is a glorious skewering of the upper classes and those in power. An insightful state of the nation book about the people who use their position for their own gains and damn those who get in their way. Deliciously astute.

Ooh, now this is very good indeed. I inhaled Elizabeth’s latest novel, based on family ties, bonds, secrets and doing what is perceived as the right thing (clue: it probably isn’t the right thing). Ben and Martin had been friends for decades until a falling out at a 40th ensured the two didn’t exist in each other’s lives. That is until Martin receives an invitation. Why is his presence suddenly of worth? While Ben seems to be enjoying the career and life for which he was destined – good looking wife, plenty of kids, nice home – things aren’t quite what they seem. And there’s plenty who want to put their own interests first, including Ben. The novel gallops along neatly, with plenty to satisfy a reader – Elizabeth really is excellent at plotting. But she’s also skilled at examining the ties that bind people together, and characteristics which may not be likeable but are necessary in this world.

I didn't realise this was a sequel to a previous book, The Party published in 2017. So to get the background I read that first. I'll be honest, I didn't enjoy it and was very reluctant to then pick this one up. Just goes to show, you can't judge one book by its predecessor because I absolutely bloody loved this one. I read it in a week, which for me is a quick read. Though I hate to use a cliché, I genuinely couldn't put this book down, it had me completely enthralled.

Do you need to read The Party first? Probably not, but if you do you will have a much deeper insight into what went before, the relationship between Martin and Ben, especially when they were younger and though I didn't particularly enjoy that book, I think it made this one even more enjoyable - to know in detail, the relationship they had before realisation dawned for Martin.

So here we are, seven years on and things have moved on, certainly for Martin, now divorced and living alone, he's surprised but intrigued when he receives an invitation from Ben's wife Serena to the funeral of Ben's sister Felicity Fitzmaurice (Fliss).

Once the funeral is over, that's about it for Martin, we don't see him again until towards the end of the book. Perhaps that's what made this book better for me? I didn't like him and certainly didn't miss his character, even by the end of this book, there was just something about him that prevented me from warming to him.

This book concentrates on some of the other characters far more than in the previous book. This was the thing that really hooked me in, we spend time with each character, learning how deeply affected they've been by Ben's ambition at the expense of ordinary family life. We hear from Fliss before she died, we get into the mind of Serena and how she feels now, both as Ben's wife and also the relationship she has with her children. Cosima, Ben and Serena's daughter, we follow her story as she gets involved with an environmental activist group. Each one, almost a story in its own right, as they all touch on topical subjects. And lastly Richard Take the MP, as we watch him fall from grace, only to be reinvented and popularised after he appears in a reality TV show. Where have we seen that in real life?

The book is very reflective of what we've recently seen in politics and the higher echelons of power. Acutely observed, as the reader you can easily draw comparisons with some of the events played out in the media. For me it was the depth of characterisation and plot development that I enjoyed very much. A fabulous book that I certainly won't forget in a hurry. One of those books that you reach the end and think.......now that was good!

Well this was a bunch of people who like marmite you could love or you could hate. A book full of 'surely they haven't', or maybe the have and definitely please tell me they didn't. Good read, nice twists and turns.

A twisty, elite, family drama story that you could finish in one sitting ...

★★★

Martin and Ben used to be friends. The past was the past until Martin receives an invite to Ben's sister's funeral. Martin can't resist the chance to exact his revenge on Ben and the entire Fitzmaurice clan.

Where privilege meets drama ... you don't want to miss this family drama.

My initial reaction to One of Us was actually slightly negative. I’m writing this review after a few books as a buffer and I’m not quite sure why I gave it 2 stars at first. Full disclosure, I bumped it up to 3. 

This novel isn’t a happy-go-lucky story. It’s not about romance. I bet you won’t even like most of the characters.  It’s a story about class. Social norms. The elite. What can you get away with and what must you pay for? 

After sitting with it for a while, I found that I did like the overly complex characters. I thought they were all deeply flawed (in an attractive way). All with their own anger and morals and feelings and reasons for doing things (whether I agreed with them or not).

There were a lot of layers to this story that I found attractive. Even though the author got a bit into the weeds how it's unfair 'they' are rich and I'm not I still had plenty to be entertained about.

I didn’t know when I picked up this book, but it is a sequel. I don’t think I was missing out on anything from the first book because it was a sequel. I think this could be a perfectly fine standalone book. Which kudos to the author for that.

I enjoyed the way the author wrote. An overall well done and well structured novel.

I’d walk away from this book saying I would recommend it to my reader friends. Although I’d warn you that my first reaction was two stars, so take that as what you will.

Amazon Link - One of Us By: Elizabeth Day

Stats: 352 pages - Expected publication September 25, 2025
**Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A clever plot with twists and turns, this was a book I couldn't put down, despite being set in the world of politics. Bound to be another bestseller.

Although I had read The Party, I didn't remember much of the detail but it's really not needed to enjoy this so don't let that put you off if you're in the same boat or didn't read it. I read a lot of Elizabeth Day's writing and I felt like this had such a different voice than I'm used to from her, I really enjoyed it. I like multiple character narratives and it's done very well here and the ending is amazing - I hope we might revisit this world again one day. Recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

One of Us was an unexpected treat for me. I was immediately drawn in by the characters and their stories, and the plot really delivers a punch too.

We follow 5 POVs in this novel; Martin, Serena, Cosima, Richard, and Fliss, all of whom are navigating what is means to be related to, or in the orbit of Ben Fitzmaurice. Ben, a politician hailing from a wealthy influential family, has affected and shaped each of our characters in very different ways.

His sister Fliss suddenly dies, and at the funeral gathering we get to see glimpses of everyone’s life and experiences around Ben.

This novel was funny, heartbreaking, very on the nose with our current climate, and offered some brilliant insights into greed, capitalism, wealth, and status.

Elizabeth Day has been on my radar since her novel Magpie, and she delivered again with One of Us.

Thanks to 4th Estate and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

One of Us is a brilliantly executed follow-up that not only meets expectations but, in many ways, exceeds them. Elizabeth Day delivers sharp plotting, complex characters, and a layered story that is both intelligent and highly entertaining.

The pace is gripping from the start, with twists that feel genuinely surprising but completely earned. Each character is well developed and compelling, with enough nuance to keep you thinking long after the final page. Day has a real gift for capturing the subtle tensions of privilege, secrecy, and social power.

What really stands out is the combination of depth and readability. It is smart and thought-provoking without ever feeling heavy, and the whole thing fizzes with energy. There are moments of real insight alongside sharp humour and plenty of drama.

Oh how I loved this book😀! The characters, each one an individual but their coming together making for a wonderful parody of a certain government, Martin, the closeted gay, a art history lecturer at the university of South Anglia, Ben Fitzmaurice, an aspiring politician at Cambridge with Martin, who has a personal grudge against him. Ben’s sister dies and Martin is invited to the funeral. Then we have Serena, Ben’s once beautiful but now unhappy wife. She needs to restore Ben’s interest in her! Cue Andrew Jarvis, a rather smug character in Ben’s pocket or may be the other way round! He too was at Cambridge. He and Martin detest each other. Lastly Richard Take, a frustrated back bencher who is in disgrace! Readers will immediately know who the author is referring to! Definitely a tale of the higher they climb the harder they fall! Greatly entertaining!

I will start off by saying that it wasn't until I had actually read the book that I realised it was a sequel! You definitely don't need to read the first one beforehand but I think I'm going to give it a go now I've finished this one.
Unhelpfully in terms of reviewing this, I'm not sure how to describe it without actually just telling you the plot. It really wasn't as expected from the brief. It sort of starts as commentary on some rather rich unpleasant people (think that film about the weird chap drinking bath water) and ends up somewhere else entirely!
Cleverly written though and genuinely a good story!

I enjoyed this book and the story it told and the twists it took you on , I have read all the authors books many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book