One of Us is the perfect social thriller, filled with secrets, ambition, and family legacies. When Fliss Fitzmaurice, the eccentric daughter of a powerful political dynasty, is found dead on a Bali beach, a slow burn starts, shaping how everyone begins to maneuver for power, redemption, or escape.

Ben, her brother, wants the tragedy hidden away, anxious to clear his path to the Prime Minister’s office. Martin, once his closest friend, seizes the opportunity of the grieving family gathering to reassert himself and exact revenge. Ben’s wife, Serena, begins to wonder what her life could be like without the weight of society's expectations, while their daughter Cosima embraces environmental activism, which pits her against everything her parents represent. Add to the mix Richard Take, a disgraced colleague with a hunger for comeback and you have a perfect ensemble drama.

This novel functions both as a satirical commentary on social dynamics and as well as a portrayal of how privilege can corrode relationships. Family power plays, hypocrisy among the elite, ambition wrapped in dysfunction,but there’s also surprising hope beneath the cutting wit. The commentary is sharp, and the pacing is superb

One of Us is the rare kind of book that entertains while holding a mirror up to politics, wealth, and the illusions of loyalty. It’s wicked, stylish, and bitingly smart.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for the ARC.

What an interesting book! I had never heard of this author but I am now officially a fan. The author did an excellent job creating multiple characters and interweaving them into a cohesive plot. Very well written; this book is an examination of British's richest class and how they manipulate each other in order to keep their status and privilege. Would recommend this readers who love a modern examination of how money and status corrupt.

This novel is deliciously smart, dark, and addictive. The tangled web around the powerful Fitzmaurice family, complete with political ambition, old grudges, and a suspicious death. Which makes for a wildly compelling read. Every character is flawed in the best, most fascinating way, and the story balances sharp social commentary with page-turning drama that feels a bit like Succession on holiday. It’s incisive, funny in a cutting way, and totally engrossing from start to finish.

Martin and Ben were once best friends, but they haven’t spoken since Ben’s infamous 40th birthday party ten years ago. Martin, who never quite fit into Ben’s privileged, conservative world, gets pulled back in when Ben’s wife Serena invites him to Ben’s sister Fliss’s funeral—mainly to stir up some chaos for her cheating husband. Martin goes, hoping for a little revenge of his own. Ben, now a Tory MP, has plenty to answer for.

Elizabeth Day does a great job capturing the world of the political elite—entitled, manipulative, but still frustratingly human. It’s part character study, part light thriller, with a sharp look at the dysfunction running through these families who thrive on power and appearances.

This is technically a sequel to The Party (which I haven’t read yet, but now definitely plan to). Thankfully, you don’t need to read that first—Day gives just enough backstory about the disastrous birthday that ended Martin and Ben’s friendship. The Guardian notes that One of Us is “much stronger, more distinctive novel, better read as a standalone work.”

One of Us is a juicy, darkly comic ensemble drama about privilege and power that follows the wealthy, well-connected Fitzmaurice family as the suspicious death of daughter Fliss in Bali sends shockwaves through their polished world and exposes just how fragile their carefully curated image really is. Elizabeth Day moves deftly between multiple perspectives—including energy minister Ben, his elegant but increasingly disillusioned wife Serena, their troubled daughter Cosima, and even the dead Fliss herself—to build a compulsive, character-driven mystery where old betrayals, buried scandals, and Westminster ambition collide. The upper-crust setting and political backdrop give the novel a sharp, satirical edge, and Day’s knack for psychological insight makes even the most unlikeable characters fascinating to watch.

This book broke me out of the worst reading slump, so I thank it for that. It's also excellent - the writing is A+, the characters are deliciously unlikeable (but I actually started to like some of them by the end, a testament to the author's ability to write a solid arc), and the pace is... not fast by any means, but steady. Perfect for the story that's told.

One note: it is not a thriller (particularly not in the Lucy Foley sense of the word), so adjust your expectations before reading.