It’s One of Us is a suspenseful, emotional, and twisting roller coaster murder mystery wrapped within the sensitive – and potentially triggering – topic of infertility. JT Ellison has smashed a home run with her latest thriller, expertly blending her usual brilliant storytelling and tremendous pacing with her own personal experience to craft one hell of a memorable novel.
The body of a missing woman is found in a Nashville area lake, with DNA evidence pointing to the son of Park Bender. However, his wife Olivia has been unable to get pregnant, suffering through multiple rounds of IVF and subsequent miscarriages. This starts a cascade of secrets coming to light, starting with Park’s confession that he donated to a sperm bank years ago. As the murder investigation continues, Park’s past is put under the microscope and each revelation is more shocking than the last. Olivia is furious, heartbroken and trying to come to terms with the likely end of their marriage. But Park isn’t the only one with a dark past…
It’s One of Us is a complex tapestry featuring intriguing and cagey characters within a multi-layered story, yet it’s simple to follow and seamlessly comes together to deliver quite a powerful punch. Every character is hiding something, every relationship is complicated, and every action is steeped in self-serving motivations. And each chapter completed increases the drama, introduces a new twist and sends the reader deeper down the rabbit hole. Making it near impossible to stop reading, detesting the idea of delaying the satisfaction of learning the full truth. Which, by the way, isn’t fully revealed until the very last page.
It's impossible to overstate how much I enjoyed this book. I’ve been a fan of JT Ellison’s prior work, but It’s One of Us reaches a whole new level. There’s a level of subject matter authority and emotional authenticity in this story that is hard to achieve but brings so much depth and quality to the characters and story. Which is likely a result of the personal nature of the infertility storyline (which is addressed in the author’s note at the end). To that, I say thank you to JT Ellison for pulling from her painful experiences to deliver such a captivating and stirring story.
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