One by One

by Ruth Ware

Snow is falling in the exclusive alpine ski resort of Saint Antoine, as the shareholders and directors of Snoop, the hottest new music app, gather for a make or break corporate retreat to decide the future of the company. At stake is a billion-dollar dot com buyout that could make them all millionaires, or leave some of them out in the cold.

The clock is ticking on the offer, and with the group irrevocably split, tensions are running high. When an avalanche cuts the chalet off from help, and one board member goes missing in the snow, the group is forced to ask - would someone resort to murder, to get what they want?

• Publish Date: 12 November 2020 (first published 8 September 2020)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Vintage Publishing
• Edition: Waterstones Signed Special Edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• Special: Signed Sprayed Edges

Reviews

[Berls]

Wow! Ruth Ware has a perfect score for me - all her books (that I've read) are 4 stars or higher. This is my first 5 star read of 2021 and MAY be taking the place of The Woman In Cabin 10 as my favorite Ruth Ware. It is yet another Ruth Ware read where I figured it out mere moments before the reveal. And then I look back and realize it was starring at me, screaming the answer from the get-go. So incredibly clever!

It's the little details that you almost overlook that always matter. I want to talk about the brilliance of some of the little details, but to do so might alert you to them and ruin it for you. So I'll leave it at that. The characters are marvelously full and developed.

The setting played such an important part. Ruth Ware has done a fantastic job of using the deadly beauty of this remote mountain-side ski chalet as yet another character for the story. Either she's an experienced skier or did a great deal of research to bring that element to life. The thrill and the terror both shine through.

I cannot stress enough the incredible narration of Imogen Church either. I always make a point of listening to Ruth Ware because Imogen Church does an amazing job of bringing the story to life.

[Leigha]

A startup company goes on a holiday working retreat with deadly outcomes in this rather boring murder mystery.

I found my first Ruth Ware novel to be rather boring and predictable. The set-up is nifty – what happens when coworkers with secrets to protect end up stranded alone in a ski chalet during their work retreat? Not much, apparently. The killer was rather obvious, the deaths themselves lackluster, and the conclusion underwhelming. Why is the overlooked mousey girl at the company the killer? So cliched it hurts.  Erin and Danny, the two staff members of the chalet trapped with the tech company members, were by far the most interesting. It would have been pretty fun if they were the two narrators rather than Liz and Erin. Liz didn’t bring much to the table, and Erin was a little too Mary Sue to make it suspenseful. I’m still interested in trying another Ruth Ware novel!

tl;dr An underwhelming story with a lackluster mystery and boring characters.

[zooloo1983]

So I frigging loved this book! Although, not sure I want to go skiing again after reading this and I do enjoy a spot of skiing, might just stay away from this resort. I loved the concept of Snoop too, a social media app to track people’s music taste and listen to what they are listening to at the moment, it is quite intimate and intrusive at the same time but it brought background to the team to where everything begins.

As is the way when skiing, at times you are truly isolated when on the mountain if you have an empty run, but those avalanche warnings aren’t something to be messed with. That warning brings the start of something quite dark and devious. I had my suspicions from the start, but I wasn’t 100% confident in my reckoning. It reminded me of Agatha Christies And then there were none (my second favourite Christie book) where people are picked off One by One. But like always, is it the obvious person who is committing these heinous acts or is there someone else to blame?

I flew threw this book, the chapters are short and succinct. When we are with Liz, a shareholder of Snoop we see what it is like to be on the inside. When we are with Erin, the Chalet host, we see the outsiders point of view and both offering interesting takes on the events as they unfold.

I loved that the story is only told from two characters point of view. It made for riveting reading and adds a layer of mystery because you really didn’t know what was going on outside that small bubble. We are only told things when the character themselves learn of the events. Who is safe? Who should we be worried about? When the avalanche causes problems and the chalet is basically on its own kind of lockdown then the fun really begins. A web of deceit has been woven but do the reasons justify the crime.

Gah, so much I want to say, I just thoroughly enjoyed it, the cold and stark yet beautiful setting of the mountains. The unsuspecting flies in the middle of a spiders web. For me, it worked, I know it hasn’t for some people, but for me it did. I was racing through the book, eager to know how it would all end. To see if it would end, or would it just be a vicious loop. I felt the cold, I have experienced that cold but to be shut off from the world. To be truly alone, on a mountain that truly terrifies me.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Just to set the vibe of the story for you, this brought to mind Agatha Christy’s And Then There Were None, which I read as a teen.

The setting is a rustic mountain chalet surrounded by ski slopes and majestic views. The story involves a group of Snoop employees. Snoop is an online music app. The only other people are the two employees of the chalet.

It seems Snoop is being offered a buyout and the workers/owners are there to enjoy some skiing and discuss the options. It seems they are pretty divided, with one left undecided. When a storm threatens, they take the morning off to ski. But before they can get off the mountain safely, one of them goes missing. The others return to the chalet and soon find themselves trapped by the storm without power and cut off from the outside world.

This is when the suspense and mystery begins as, one by one, members of Snoop party end up dead. Who is the killer?

I found the suspense delightful, from locked roomed murders to unsettling discoveries. Ware treats us to the alternating POVs of two women, Erin, a chalet employee with secrets and Liz, an awkward Snoop employee.

While not my favorite of Ware novel, I will say twists, revelations and solid story-telling had me listening into the wee hours as this fast-paced thriller took hold. I think the narration helped to enhance the story and added depth to characters.

Imogen Church is absolutely delightful as the narrator. I love her interpretations of Ware’s characters. The buildup of suspense in her tones and the unique voices she gives to each character. She is a favorite narrator here at Caffeinated. She truly enhances the telling and brings Ruth Ware’s books to life. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[cornerfolds]

Review to come!

[Eve1972]

Enjoyed this one. However, I think it was fairly obvious who was the culprit right from the start. Srill, it was an enjoyable read!

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of One by One in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Picture Ruth Ware with a heavy influence from Agatha Christie, and you'll have an idea of what is in store for you in One by One. The latest Ruth Ware novel is a divergence from her previous books, but not in a bad way.

An isolated and high-end ski resort might just sound like heaven. To a small tech company, it certainly did. That is until a storm trapped them up there. With no way out, and no way to get help, they suddenly found their numbers dropping.

Fans of Agatha Christie really will see her influence here. Not just in the title (though there is that), but in the writing and plot as well. Throw in the concept of isolation, and suddenly this plot is hitting harder than normal (courtesy of the pandemic and social distancing).

One by One was such an absorbing read. It wasn't quite what I expected, being very different from Ruth Ware's other works. Still, I expected the Agatha Christie twists (kind of hard not to, with that title!). Even with all of that in mind, I was still pleasantly surprised by what I found here.

There are multiple angles of this book worth discussing, as well. There's the whole Snoop thing – the tech company that gets stranded. It was kind of a fun idea, and I love that the influence from their app is shown at the beginning of every chapter. It's a nice touch.

Then there are the characters themselves, of which there are several to get to know. Only two of them offer main perspectives for this tale though, resulting in us knowing them better than the rest. Still, it's hard not to pick favorites. I know I did.

Liz and Erin are about as different as possible. Erin is one of two employees running the chalet, and she has a secret past. Plus she's calm, confident, and knows how to handle emergencies. Liz, on the other hand, is an ex-employee of Snoop, yet is somehow still along for this ride. She's as nervous as a rabbit in a fox den, and it takes time to understand why.

Together these two characters provided a world of insight, both to what was happening and to the characters surrounding them. I personally loved how different they were, and how well their chapters played off against one another.

One of the things I really did love about Ware's writing here is how carefully she doled out hints of the past. We're never given these large chunks of information, instead, we're left to sort of piece it together as we go. It was the perfect balance to keep interest going.

I'll confess that I did sort of predict the ending, which I'm okay with, even while being a bit disappointed. I was hoping that it would turn out differently. You guys know how much I love a surprise! But it did make sense, in the end, and that is just as important to me.

One by One was an overall enjoyable read – one that I was thrilled to have gotten my hands on early. I'm not sure I would have pegged it as a Ruth Ware novel, had you handed it to me without an author on it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It's been quite the experience, watching Ruth Ware grow as a writer, and it's something I intend to continue with for as long as she keeps writing books.

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Amber]

I have been loving Ruth Ware's books this past year. I have read everything she has written to date (you might be interested in my video in which I read her backlist and decide what my favourite is), so when I saw One by One up on Netgalley I had to grab it.

One by One is about a group of co-workers who go on a corporate retreat in the French Alps. There's an avalanche which leaves them stranded, then people start going missing or dying... one by one.

Ruth Ware is absolutely one of my favourite thriller writers right now! I'm not sure how anyone else can compare. She is so good at crafting suspense in her books and keeping me on the edge of my seat.

The setting in One by One was particularly standout and incredibly well done. Ruth WAre spent enough time describing the remoteness of the location (and any escape routes) and the icy cold that when the avalanche happens you feel the same isolation as the characters. The creepy atmosphere was so prominent throughout the book.

One by One is told from two POVs. Erin, who is one of the hosts at the chalet, and Liz, who is an ex-employee of the company. I really enjoyed Erin's point of view, as she was a very sympathetic and kind character with a mysterious past. I thought Ruth Ware was smart to use a character outside of the main affected group to tell some of the story, as Erin was able to discover things along with the reader. She didn't have any prior knowledge of these people which was important as she had no idea baout the company drama and the connections.

Also, having Erin be a host was a good idea as these rich people treated her as part of the furniture, meaning she was able to listen into conversations as though she wasn't there.

Liz was... an interesting choice. I had no idea what to think of her for most of the book. She's very awkward and has trouble picking up on social cues. The company employees spend a lot of the book ignoring her. To be honest, I didn't enjoy her point of view as much as I enjoyed Erin's, but I can see why it was necessary as Erin ad a limited perspective and Liz was one of the group. Kind of.

I got strong Agatha Christie vibes from One by One. It was quite clearly inspired by And Then There Were None. Ruth Ware managed to pull it off without it being a complete rip off. I also got some Gillian Flynn vibes from it.

I really enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery as there were so many possibilities. It was a lot of fun to read.

I think the main appeal of this book will be the dark atmosphere and the setting. That will be what makes it stand out from a lot of other thrillers out there.

I'm giving One by One by Ruth Ware four stars, as it is very well written and engaging, but not an all time favourite. At least not quite.