One of Us (novel)

One of Us is a novel by Michael Marshall Smith first published in 1998.

It was the third novel Smith had published, and is similar in style to his earlier works, Only Forward and Spares, written as it is in sardonic first person prose, and set in a near future version of west coast America where things have become twisted to a sick degree. This time the plot centres on Hap Thomson, a small time ne'er-do-well, ex barman who has found a lucrative line as a REMtemp taking care of people's unwanted dreams and memories. However when he finds himself burdened with a memory of a murder he is forced to find the real culprit and face up to his own past mistakes.

One unusual element of the book is that all electrical appliances have been fitted with a voice and AI similar to those used in his first novel Only Forward.

Mark Strong

Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963) is a British film and television actor. He is known for his role in the television series Our Friends in the North and films such as Syriana (2005), RocknRolla (2008), Body of Lies (2008), The Young Victoria (2009), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Robin Hood (2010), Kick-Ass (2010), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Green Lantern (2011), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), John Carter (2012), Mindscape (2013), The Imitation Game (2014), and Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014).

Early life

Strong was born in London, the son of an Austrian mother and an Italian father. His father left the family soon after his birth, and Strong was brought up by his mother, who worked as an au pair. Strong said in an interview: "The home I grew up in... was a flat in Myddelton Square in London's Islington, a beautiful Georgian square with a huge church in the middle. We moved around a lot when I was a kid. I remember flats in Walthamstow, Clapton, Stoke Newington, and Edmonton, as well." His English name is not a stage name; when he was a child, his mother changed his name by deed poll to help him fit in with his peers. He was baptised a Catholic. Strong speaks fluent German and some Italian.