Blog Tour Review, It’s One of Us

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IT’S ONE OF US
JT Ellison

400 pages
Bookouture
published February 21, 2023

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes & NobleBookshop | IndieBoundBooks-A-Million

About the Book:

From the New York Times bestselling author comes this twisting, emotionally layered thriller about a marriage torn apart when the police arrive at an infertile couple’s door and reveal the husband’s son is the prime suspect in a murder. The perfect blend of exhilarating suspense and issue-driven book club fiction.

Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all . . .

Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most demanding clients. But her own deepest desire can’t be fulfilled by marble counters or the perfect rug. She desperately wants to be a mother. Fertility treatments and IVF keep failing. And just when she feels she’s at her lowest point, the police deliver shocking news to Olivia and her husband, Park.

DNA results show that the prime suspect in a murder investigation is Park’s son. Olivia is relieved, knowing this is a mistake. Despite their desire, the Benders don’t have any children. Then comes the confession. Many years ago, Park donated sperm to a clinic. He has no idea how many times it was sold—or how many children he has sired.

As the murder investigation goes deeper, more terrible truths come to light. With every revelation, Olivia must face the unthinkable. The man she married has fathered a killer. But can she hold that against him when she keeps such dark secrets of her own?

This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together–or break each other apart . . .

My Review

I saw a pretalk by the author and she discussed fertility issues being at the center of the book and I wondered how that would work in a thriller, but it does.  I’m always a little torn on what to write in a thriller review so that I give you an idea about the book without spoiling it.  A lot of the book revolves around Olivia.  She is trying desperately to conceive and have a child for her husband.  I have not had any type of fertility issues and still the book is a little heartbreaking at times as this runs throughout the book.  It is intertwined into the story and really the basis for everything that happens.  And make sure and read the authors note at the end of the book, where she discusses her connection to the issue and how it affected the story.

I was hooked on Olivia and Park’s story from the beginning and was a little thrown that as soon as I was hooked, a whole slew of new characters were introduced, but I needn’t worry as the book took a step back and picked just a handful to focus on.  One of the things I liked was as the POV shifted from character to character, instead of using the character’s name as the heading, they were titled Mother, Father, Donor, Murderer.  It served as a reminder of what role they played.

There were twists and turns as per the author’s usual MO.  Even switching narratives from character to character, you weren’t privy to all the facts.  So not quite unreliable, but definitely not on the up and up.  The plot creeps along at times, but never felt slow as I was invested in the main characters.  I figured out a few of the twists, but I suspect that was intentional.  And I fell for a few red herrings.

I really enjoyed the complexity and layers of the plot mixing both the social issue and the thriller.  It really will appeal to a broad audience, but if I haven’t stressed it enough, if fertility issues are a trigger, this might be too much.

About the Author:

J.T. Ellison is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 novels, and the EMMY-award winning co-host of A WORD ON WORDS, Nashville’s premier literary show. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 26 countries. Ellison lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.

 

Social Links:

Author websiteFacebook | TwitterInstagram 

 

 

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