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Loved this!
Really enjoyed this one—such a good read. The writing flowed so well and the characters totally drew me in. I didn’t want to put it down! One of those books that stays with you after you’ve finished. Highly recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed this political satire told through the voices of a varied cast. Elizabeth Day is incredibly witty and her humour shone through the novel’s funny aspects. More serious themes were handled with respect and care. The characters in this novel felt extremely real and well rounded.

A well paced, well written political satire.

The characters were believable and the multiple narratives added depth to the story. Even the more unlikeable characters made for entertaining reading and there was plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.

Thanks to 4th Estate | Fourth Estate and NetGalley for the ARC.

Really enjoyed this current affairs novel/political satire.. It could well refer to members of any political party who think they are above the law and can get away with any behaviour they seem fit.

Loved the characters and found it a great study of people and politics. Great read

One of Us is a pacey, political thriller about the ease at which the social elite can obtain power thanks to ‘the old boys’ network’ and their access to money and associated privileges. It is also an entertaining social satire with a range of characters that are vividly and humorously brought to life. A very enjoyable read!

A truly British novel, set among the establishment. Martin and Ben were friends for years until they were torn apart in the wake of a scandal. Following different characters, all well drawn and complex, this novel really explores the meaning of politics, power and loyalty. Beautifully written.

Absolutely brilliant thriller with an immersive narrative and a slew of authentic characters.

The themes of privilege, toxic masculinity and friendship was handled deftly and succinctly.

Such an emotionally charged storyline with the perfect set of twists to keep the reader engrossed until the last page.

Highly recommended

I initially didn't know what to make of the tone of this book but I soon settled into it. It's a thoroughly engrossing, close to the bone look at power and privilege. The multiple narratives draw the reader in and it keeps the story moving. The characters are fantastically well done. You can see how they can all seem like one type of person but on closer inspection they are all individuals with both shared and selfish interests. It's written so cleverly, with many layers. For me, the female characters - Serena and Cosima - stand out as greater thinkers than the men. But even the most unlikeable characters keep us invested in their story. It's gripping in its truth, in a look-through-your-hands, what-is-he-doing-now kind of way. Very apt for the times we're in.

I’d only recently finished The Party, and I was not disappointed by more of the same, but different. I love books with multiple POVs, thrillers with a deeper commentary (privilege and power dynamics but to name 2) and I raced through this, being shocked by multiple twists and turns.

I loved The Party and One of Us is even better. The people at the heart of this story may be considered part of the elite and privileged. Rather like the Cazalets, they aren’t quite nobility but they are a cut above the hoi polloi and turning the microscope on them proves fascinating. Elizabeth Day has a sharp eye for every detail; names, actions, characters and motivations. This is a complex tale of public and private faces, power and privilege.
Martin and Ben, from the Party, meet again. Ben has climbed the political greasy pole with PM his next stop. But behind the veneer and facade, there are gaping cracks. Martin is still struggling with who he is and Ben’s family are a volatile mix.
This is really a story for our times; it feels a realistic reflection what goes on behind closed doors and taps in to all the hidden insecurities and secrets. It’s a real page turner, with moments of humour, a lot of insight and tension. Plenty of food for thought and so well written. Elizabeth Day is definitely one of my favourite contemporary authors and I can’t wait for more.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I absolutely loved this book. Characters are great and really invested in them. I didn’t realise this book is a follow on to the party but I didn’t feel it took anything away from the book, great story line.
Can’t wait to buy for friends and family.

Chaotic energy mixed with money, politics, social politics/dynamics and exploration into the different perspectives of the mess that currently is the world. A book that brings up a lot of important topics.

What it feels like:
- Messy rich political drama with multiple unlikeable characters, complex dynamics against a very contemporary (think pop culture references) relevant back drop.

What to expect:
- Multiple POV of the same timeline
- Unlikeable characters
- Political/family drama
- Generational representation of different current affairs
- Fast paced and easy to read writing

What hit hard:
- Writing- I found the writing super compelling, it was very addictive and hard to put down. I found the constant switch up of point of view add to the chaotic energy that kept me quite hooked.
- Themes-There were some really powerful points made throughout the story… the ones that stood out for me were the role money and status plays in having a voice and the exploration of perception of mental health and breaking out of the norm of where you’ve come from. I thought having the different characters for this worked really well too as the generational shift in perspective was powerful and very reflective of things in the news at the moment.
- Flawed Characters A book that doesn’t shy away from character flaws and the fall out of those flaws/decisions. I particularly liked the bits of Fliss’ story that we got and thought some of the writing in those bits was truly excellent. I found the theme to sort of be that the characters are all products of their own experiences and that led to their actions and the fall out from them and thought this was done well.

What didn’t quite work for me (so might not work for you either):
- Pop Culture- While I thought the political landscape was current and despite my initial reservations about reading a book so in the now (more of a me issue and what I’m used to), I got used to the political side of things being very current and came around to it. The bit I did find a little jarring were all of the pop culture references. The ones that have stuck in my head are the mention of a specific TikTok sound and the Beckham documentary, as a reader I just don’t love that and I think it will age the book quite quickly. It somehow pulls me out of the story without really adding anything.
- The ending- The end part of the book (the last 15% or so) felt a little rushed for me personally, if anything I would have liked at least one more chapter from Serena, Cosima and Richard. It all just seemed to come to quite a sudden conclusion despite having built up so much and I didn’t love that. I think the draw in to the book for me was the dynamics so when they felt a little rushed in conclusion (despite the plot having a conclusion) I was left a bit disappointed.
- Too busy- I will say while I think all of the things raised through this story were important there was almost too much going on at times, not so much with the characters as I liked the chaotic vibes but just with some of the issues raised it just felt a little tick box for me at certain points to sort of cram them all in and it prevented them being explored in the way they could have been if they weren’t sort of fleeting statements but formed more part of the plot or even instead of a discussion with a few points raised and not mentioned again just picking a couple to make the focus for me would have worked a little bit better. Richards initially storyline and the discussion at around the 82% park were the examples of this for me where I just sort of wish they’d either been more fleshed out or left out.

You’ll like this if you:
- Messy complex relationships
- Books that discuss current affairs and call out oppression and discrimination in all its forms.
- A compelling fast paced book that leaves you feeling intrigued

A follow up to The Party a book I could not put down.Elizabeth Day never fails One Of Us is another page turner. a compulsive read.# NetGalley #oneofus

I can see from other reviews that I'm in the minority - but I didn't really enjoy this one. I found all the POVs to be unbearable (I appreciate they're meant to be unlikable, but it's hard to read an entire novel when you're not rooting for any one). They also sounded remarkably similar. I felt that in particular the teenage girl didn't sound very believable. The plot is good, but it took so long to get to the explosive moment that I began to skip pages in order to just find out what happens at the end.

Although this wasn't entirely my 'thing' it was very readable - a sort of homage to Brideshead, sprinkled with 'close cousins' of recent politicians...
I had a few slight gripes - there are just one or two too many main characters and the narrative switches abruptly between one of the principal characters in the first person and the various other characters in the third person, making it rather disjointed in places but, nevertheless the story is compelling.
The setting is very contemporary with eco-terrorism a recurring theme but this doesn't interfere with the overall story and most readers will probably find someone there to identify with. The book ends rather abruptly leaving me to wonder whether this is the first of a planned series

I loved this book. Political intrigue, scandal and deception.
School boy dynamics played out on a national scale. Highly entertaining, great characters. I will be reading more from Elizabeth Day that is for sure.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the copy to review.

One of us is an oddly enjoyable read, it’s full of despicable characters who are funny yet so vile at the same time. It’s a sequel to Elizabeth Day’s The Party but is easily read as a standalone.

I finished the book feeling slightly repulsed by everyone, it’s doesn’t help that it’s very reflective of current British politics so you feel you can relate current events to the sliminess of a lot of characters. I would say that if you don’t like modern contemporary stories then this wouldn’t be for you, there are obvious similarities to current life and covid is mentioned. Sadly this feels to me like the book will feel stale in a few years which is a shame as it’s an interesting story.

Overall an enjoyable read that I will be recommending to friends. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this ARC!

“One of Us” is a rare thing - a novel that deals sensitively with very timely issues (sexual abuse, political corruption, environmental concerns and even the menopause and women’s midlife struggles) whilst still being incredibly funny. Elizabeth Day has an uncanny knack of being able to pinpoint exactly what is funny about a particular type of person without being cruel or over the top, and she deploys that knack brilliantly here.

This is a sequel to her earlier book The Party, and its main protagonists Martin Gilmour and Ben Fitzmaurice feature again, but with a supporting cast of other viewpoints: Serena, Ben’s wife who is taking stock in midlife of the automatic beliefs she has always held; Cosima, Serena and Ben’s daughter, who despises everything her father stands for; Fliss, Ben’s wayward sister, and Richard Take, a disgraced MP who at the start of the book has been ousted for watching porn on his work laptop in his parliamentary office.

The different voices and viewpoints intersect as the book goes on, and by the end I was racing to find out how it would end (satisfyingly, I’m pleased to confirm).

I’d have liked a bit more padding on the bones of the issues Martin explored in therapy - that seemed glossed over to me- but that’s a minor complaint. This is a great book and I hope the story will carry on.

Day's writing, for me, conjurs up so many of those great writers who lay bare inherited wealth, power, the old school tie, throwing money at the problem and the teflon-coated arrogance of acting within their own set of rules.

I am thinking particularly of The Forsyte Saga and the Cazalet Chronicles but there is a rich seam of literary history here. I thought Day raised the bar for a more contemporary perspective (plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose).

She creates well rounded (although hateful) characters who sometimes lean into cliche but I felt that was just the point. They were all unlikeable in their own way, carved from the British class system. Reading this reminds me that we could still have that "come the revolution" moment!

I imagine the author must have taken some time to get over inhabiting the heads of her characters. She works the narrative cleverly by deftly switching voice to construct her house of cards for the reader. I was completely riveted, page turning to find out who, when, how the house would tumble.

With thanks to #NetGalley and @4thestatebooks or @wmcollinsbooks

I found this an involving read about friendship and betrayal. You find yourself on the side of Martin fighting against Ben who inhabits a world of privilege.