One

  • Speculative; Dystopian; Crime

  • July 2023

    • World English Language: Orenda Books

A powerful, prescient speculative thriller: a woman’s job of enforcing climate-emergency Britain’s one-child policy is compromised when she discovers a personal link to an illegal sibling on the Ministry hit-list, leading to a shocking discovery that changes everything…
 
One law. One child. Seven million crimes…

A cataclysmic climate emergency has spawned a one-child policy in the UK, ruthlessly enforced by a totalitarian regime. Compulsory abortion of ‘excess’ pregnancies and mandatory contraceptive implants are now the norm, and families must adhere to strict consumption quotas as the world descends into chaos.

Kai is a 25-year-old ‘baby reaper’, working for the Ministry of Population and Family Planning. If any of her assigned families attempt to exceed their child quota, she ensures they pay the price.

Until, one morning, she discovers that an illegal sibling on her Ministry hit-list is hers. To protect her parents from severe penalties, she must secretly investigate before anyone else finds out.

Kai’s hunt for her forbidden sister unearths much more than a dark family secret. As she stumbles across a series of heinous crimes perpetrated by the people she trusted most, she makes a catastrophic discovery that could bring down the government … and tear her family apart.

  • SCIFI NOW BOOK OF THE MONTH

Selected Praise

A tightly paced plot set in an all-too imaginable future … a page-turning, thought-provoking read
— Jo Callaghan, author of In The Blink of an Eye
With echoes of V for Vendetta, One serves as a stark warning, challenging societal norms and individual sacrifices in the face of adversity.
— SciFi Now Book of the Month
A terrifying vision of a global climate emergency, a jaw-dropping government conspiracy and some truly devastating twists … one hell of a speculative thriller
— Tom Hindle, author of A Fatal Crossing

Other books by Eve Smith