One of Us, Elizabeth Day
One of Us, Elizabeth Day
List: $24.00 | Sale: $16.80
Club: $12.00

One of Us

Author: Elizabeth Day

Narrator: Bella Maclean, Emilia Fox, Genevieve Gaunt, Oliver Chris, Richard Armitage

Unabridged: 12 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 02/24/2026


Synopsis

“An entertaining family saga of privilege and comeuppance . . . Revelations detonate with lethal accuracy.”
—Wall Street Journal

“Funny, sharp, sophisticated, this is Elizabeth Day’s writing at its finest.”
—Dolly Alderton, New York Times bestselling author of Good Material

“The thinking person’s thriller. A Trojan horse of a book—part Highsmith, part Waugh—that hides within its superbly gripping plot a gimlet-eyed interrogation of class, privilege and power.”
—Lucy Foley

When Fliss, the eccentric grown daughter of the powerful Fitzmaurice clan, is found dead on beach in Bali, what seems like a tragic accident stirs more suspicion than closure for those who’ve traded favors with—and within—her family for decades. 

There is Ben, Fliss’s brother, eager to minimize his sister’s passing, since it’s suddenly clear he’s next in line to be Prime Minister. And Martin—Ben’s erstwhile best friend—who is just happy that Fliss’s memorial gives him the chance to re-enter the Fitzmaurice orbit, seeking revenge and acceptance. He can’t help but notice that Ben’s wife, Serena, seems to have discovered in middle age that her privileged existence is more like a gilded cage. Or that Ben and Serena’s daughter Cosima has become an environmental activist fighting against everything her parents seem to stand for—a pivot her late aunt would’ve applauded. Where does Richard Take—Ben's disgraced colleague, determined to make his big comeback, fit in? And circling them all is Andrew Jarvis and his money: Has he been their loyal hero, or the one who has thrown his weight around just to keep them all in check? 

Delivering incisive commentary on the hypocrisies of the elite, this juicy ensemble drama about old friends and dazzling wealth perfectly captures the uneasy balance between personal ambition and collective responsibility. One of Us is a page-turner with teeth, a mash-up of The Wedding People and Succession—darkly comic and cutting, as well as unexpectedly hopeful.

About The Author

Elizabeth Day is the author of The Party and other books, as well as one of the most influential podcasters at work today. Her show, How to Fail, has become a go-to hitmaker, launching authors such as Meg Mason and Glennon Doyle onto the bestseller list in the UK. She divides her time between London and Los Angeles.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ceecee on June 13, 2025

Art lecturer Martin Gilmour is forced to attend therapy sessions for his inadvertent use of a word deemed unacceptable by one of his students. He’s not happy about it and makes that abundantly clear, in fact, he’s a bubbling cauldron of fury, resentment, jealousy – you name it. Some of Martin’s many......more

Goodreads review by Linzie (suspenseisthrillingme) on March 02, 2026

A nuanced tale of class, identity, friendship, and privilege, One of Us also delivered quite the takedown of the British elite. Scathing and critical yet with a dark comedic edge, it not only took a hard look at the aristocracy, but the political system as well. It was the way it was done, though, t......more

Goodreads review by Kath on January 06, 2026

This is the sequel to 'The Party ' which I read a couple of years ago. In that book, the protagonist Martin Gilmour, had to reassess his relationship with his 'best friend' at university, Ben Fitzmaurice, and learn the consequences of trying to fit into a class structure he clearly did not belong to......more

Goodreads review by Adrian on July 16, 2025

This is my first read of Elizabeth Day and I have to say I enjoyed the experience overall. One Of Us is the story of a family of privilege in modern day England and their dysfunction as they bury secrets and use the class system to its full to try and attain absolute power, a power in its search alo......more

Goodreads review by Emily on July 15, 2025

While I can absolutely appreciate why so many have rated One of Us so highly, I personally found it quite dull. Day is a fantastic, witty writer but reading about a bunch of unlikeable (with the exception of Fliss and Cosmina), privileged characters who always seem to come out on top regardless of w......more


Quotes

“Day brings a deeply satisfying satirical voice to the descriptions of her characters . . . Her depiction of the casual entitlement of Britain’s ruling class, and of the micro-snobberies that animate the stratified social structure, is deliciously spot-on.”
The New York Times Book Review

“[A] shrewd novel of political ambition and personal retribution . . . an entertaining family saga of privilege and comeuppance, it is also a consummate novel of suspense in which revelations detonate with lethal accuracy.”
Wall Street Journal

“Sharp, funny . . . Day skewers privilege with biting wit.”
The Washington Post

“A story fit for The White Lotus . . . Through drama, mystery, and scenes of staggering wealth, Day develops a thrilling ride for her readers.”
Alta Journal

“Elizabeth’s wit and her keen sense of observations about life's moral complexities will absolutely delight.”
—Zibby Owens, Katie Couric Media

“Brilliantly plotted and acutely observed, One of Us is a smart political thriller wrapped inside a family drama that skewers privilege while treating its characters with insight and compassion.”
—Crime Fiction Review

“Funny, sharp, sophisticated, this is Elizabeth Day’s writing at its finest.”
—Dolly Alderton, New York Times bestselling author of Good Material

One of Us is intelligent, darkly humorous, and brilliantly written. It is a story for our time.”
—Stanley Tucci

“The thinking person’s thriller. A Trojan horse of a book—part Highsmith, part Waugh—that hides within its superbly gripping plot a gimlet-eyed interrogation of class, privilege and power.”
—Lucy Foley

“A tantalizing portrait of privilege and power.”
The Sunday Times

“This timely story about the abuse of power is one of those books you just want to inhale in one go.”
Good Housekeeping

“As always, Day is sharply observant, clever and highly readable.”
—The Gloss

“Speaks truth to power in such an entertaining, gripping way.”
—Marian Keyes, bestselling author of My Favorite Mistake

“Gorgeously written, utterly compelling, and full of characters you will love and hate—and also love to hate.”
Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton

“Clever and superbly-crafted … It'll keep you turning the page until the very last sentence, I loved it and read it in one sitting.”
—Kate Mosse, author of Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries

“A razor-sharp take on class, identity, friendship and the political establishment with a side order of compassion and some unforgettable characters. Just glorious.”
—Jennie Godfrey, bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things

“One of the foremost writers of our time. A political thriller, anti-establishment revenge novel. Unputdownable and really cracking.”
—Fi Glover

“Sensational”
—Grazia

“[A] scorching drama of class, family, and politics . . . the result is a satisfying tale of revenge and redemption and the messy means to achieve them.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Day fills out her rich cast of characters with a disgraced politico, a sadistic hedge-fund manager, and an undercover police officer. Moving briskly from one point of view to another, she neatly alternates a mockingly satiric tone aimed at pretensions in class, politics, and media with a genuinely sympathetic one for characters caught in the narcissistic machinations of the privileged.”
—Booklist