‘In the inner circle, where can you hide a secret?‘
[ About One of Us ]
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.
[ My Review ]
One of Us by Elizabeth Day will publish September 25th with Fourth Estate and is described as a ‘compulsive story of betrayal, old bonds and buried scandals as one British establishment family comes face to face with the consequences of privilege and the true cost of power.‘ It is the follow up to Elizabeth Day’s 2017 ‘gripping literary thriller, The Party and, although One of Us can be read as a standalone, I did pick up a copy of The Party and read it first. Familiarising myself with the characters was something I felt would benefit my reading experience. (Details of The Party below)
The Party introduces us to Ben Fitzmaurice and Martin Gilmour at Ben’s lavish 40th birthday celebrations. Martin and Ben met in school but Martin was from a working class background attending on a scholarship, whereas Ben was from a wealthy family, and therefore a paying student. The novel chases their lives back and forth over the years to a point in time when the friendship is clearly struggling. Martin Gilmour is a strange fish and it soon becomes clear that their friendship has strings. As the pages turn, they reveal a bunch of narcissistic characters with some very disconcerting personalities.
Now, following years of no contact, Martin receives an out-of-the-blue invitation to the funeral of Fliss Fitzmaurice, Ben’s sister. Working as a college art history lecturer for the last while, Martin is currently undertaking mandatory counselling sessions for comments made in class that were deemed to have been ‘culturally insensitive‘. Martin Gilmour is not your average college lecturer. He is a rare kind of beast, with his demeanour and general personality often been construed as plain awkward and shy. Separated from his wife, Lucy, he lives alone and has a slightly obsessive side to his personality, or as he says himself – ‘I am all sides. A hall of mirrors in human form.’ He is brilliantly depicted as an extremely smart but very creepy individual who lacks sensitivity and a moral compass of any kind.
Ben Fitzmaurice is a man who seeks acceptance and power through any means possible. Part of the British establishment, on paper, Ben has it all. But rot has set in under the surface and it’s slowly permeating through the veneer he has spent years creating. His perfect wife, Serena, and his perfect children are not as they should be and Ben is feeling under pressure to live up to the high expectations placed on his head. He is surprised to bump into Martin at Fliss’s funeral but, always the politician, he plasters on the chummy welcome and Martin, once again, finds himself immersed in the Fitzmaurice dramas.
Vagueness abounds in this review and there is a very good reason for that. One of Us is a fascinating social study of modern society, highlighting the impact of decay and corruption that can take hold when no one is looking. Not one of these characters is appealing yet we are drawn to learning more about them in quite a compulsive fashion. What is really interesting in these books is that there is no one major drama, no central motive, it’s just a bunch of unpleasant individuals all looking out for themselves at all times. Politics and power take centre stage in this dramatic tale of greed and revenge. Very clever storytelling with a sharp wit combine, providing a brilliant, birds eye view of the complex lives and power moves of a bunch of ruthless and self-absorbed individuals. A brilliant satirical tale that has been very well-executed.
[Thank you to Fourth Estate & Netgalley for a copy of One of Us in exchange for my honest review ]
[ Bio ]
Elizabeth Day is the author of five novels and four works of non-fiction, including her Sunday Times bestselling novel Magpie, and hit memoir How to Fail. She is the creator and host of the chart-topping podcast How to Fail with Elizabeth Day.
[ About The Party ]
Martin Gilmour and Ben Fitzmaurice have been best friends for 25 years, since their days together at Burtonbury School.
They are an unlikely pair: the scholarship boy with the wrong accent and clothes, and the dazzlingly popular, wealthy young aristocrat. But Martin knows no one else can understand the bond they share – and no one else could have kept Ben’s secret for over two decades.
At Ben’s 40th birthday party, the cream of the British establishment gathers in a haze of champagne, drugs and glamour. Amid the politicians, the celebrities, the old money and the newly rich, Martin once again feels that pang of not quite belonging. His wife Lucy has her reservations, too. There is something unnerving in the air. But Ben wouldn’t do anything to damage their friendship. Would he?
