Today I’m pleased to be sharing my review of One Of Us, the third book in the Village Series. It’s written with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

‘Leave, or die.’

Jess Dyer has won safety for her sister-in-law Ruth and proved her worth as the leader of her refugee community.
Sarah Evans has stood up to her parents and discovered who she can trust.

But the villagers still aren’t welcome. When the local population expresses its anger, can Jess keep everyone safe? And can she hold it together as Steward when someone she loves dies?

And how will Sarah react when her new fiancee Martin receives death threats, telling him he must leave her, and their village?

‘One Of Us’ is a gripping thriller about belonging and acceptance. It’s the third book in the Village trilogy, and the sequel to Sea Of Lies.

Review:

Having enjoyed the previous two books in this trilogy, I was looking forward to seeing how it would conclude. I was particularly impressed by the character development in One Of Us as I felt that I got to know them and their relationships with each other much better in this instalment

As the title suggests, there is a clear “them” and “us” dynamic that bubbles under the surface for the whole novel. At times, it creates a sense of danger and I was frequently wondering if the characters would be OK. This encouraged me to keep reading to see what happened.

In One Of Us, McLean introduces a number of themes including PTSD, mental illness and grief. She approaches all of these with great sensitivity and realism, and I found parts of the novel incredibly poignant.

At the heart of One Of Us is the message of the importance of working together as a society. Whatever your views on the present political situation in UK, this theme is very relevant and overall, I found the novel very thought provoking.

One Of Us is available from Amazon.