INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A claustrophobic spine-tingler.” –People “Not only do Ware’s novels wink at [Agatha] Christie in a saucy way, but Ware herself is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime.” –The Washington Post The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark, Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on … Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark, Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.
Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers…each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide.
When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech start-up, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other: PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes. But as soon as one shareholder upends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hadn’t made it back from the slopes when the avalanche hit.
As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further…one by one.
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A gritty, intense, fast-paced, riveting, artful melding of stunning psychological thrills and nail-biting suspense. An edgy mystery full of dark secrets, shocking plot twists and pulse-pounding, palpable tension. A MUST for fans of not only Ruth Ware, but also for those who thrive on superbly-written, unputdownable thrillers!
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
Starts out slow but ends in an interesting way. Not as good as her other books.
Ruth Ware weaves another heart pounding story. Told from the point of view of Erin the chalet hostess and Liz a chalet guest.
Not only does this story give you a peek at how far people will go to make their dreams come true but also how far you can go to protect yourself.
I loved One by One. This book is a great thriller and captured my attention right form the beginning. There are enough twits to keep you guessing for a awhile. This book is exciting and intense. I enjoyed the ending. A great read!
Would I recommend? Yes, in fact I’ve already started talking about it with my friends
Would I read more by this author? Yes
Wow now this is like the Ruth Ware I love even though I’ve only read 3 of her books which are In A Dark Dark Woods ( which I loved ) ,The Death of Mrs. Westaway ( another one I loved) and sadly I picked up The Turn of the Key (which I didn’t like at all that one didn’t seem like her books it wasn’t dark and twist like her other two was), so when I saw this one NetGalley I knew I wanted to read it and had to request it, because of three things: 1: the author, 2 the title , and three both the title and the synopsis that gives me vibes of a Agatha Christie’s book And Then Then Was None, in some ways its like that but in others ways its different.The one part that reminds me of Then There IS None,is how a group of people come together in a place that is in a creepy setting , what more can be creepy then an rustic mountain chalet in winter where there is one way out if you need help, the other way it remind me of it is how it seemed everyone had secrets and not good ones at that, and one by one those secrets came out and things start to go bad, and I mean bad. Which brings up the question who can you trust, will they get out, who’s doing this and why and how is help if any can make it in time to save them, and why is happening. With that said if you like And Then there was None then you have to check this one.
Ruth Ware is a master at taking Agatha Christie plots and updating them with fresh twists and characters. If you like closed door mysteries where no one can be trusted then this is the book for you.
Not her best, but I’ll keep my membership to the Ruth Ware fan club!
It’s not as good as her other books not even close. I love all her other books.
Not her best book. Very predictable and slow moving.
This book is like a classic who done it, mixed with a bit of horror. I loved it. It was so different from her other books.I would definitely recommend it!
A group of co-workers from the App Snoop, aptly named, have rented a ski chalet in the Alps.
There are 8 of them , then there were 7 , then there were 6 …………
The group and the host and cook (Erin and Danny) are snowed in, the power goes out, there is an avalanche .
You can feel the chill in the air as the murders continue. Its a closed room mystery. Love those.
You might figure out who but not the why .
A great read from Ruth Ware.
One by One by Ruth Ware is a locked room mystery with this locked room being a Swiss chalet after an avalanche. Two of the folks are employees of the chalet while the others are guests, all on a company retreat, all but one employees; the final one being an ex-employee and shareholder. Suddenly one of the company gets lost skiing. Someone spotted her on a dangerous run and then, the nerd of the tech group gets a GPS signal, indicating that she has fallen over the side of a drop off. Several more murders occur as well as well-meaning errors and accidental injuries.
I didn’t find this story compelling. I found it to be full of whining and paranoia, although in this situation I guess paranoia is called for. The characters are well-written and interesting, but could be deeper. Despite the fact that it starts off with them kind of running together, Ware quickly sorts them out and gives the reader plenty of ways to identify them as they story progresses. Because of the nature of the story, there is much more introspection and conversation that action. All in all, I didn’t love it. It was not one of Ware’s best.
I was invited to read a free ARC of One by One by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #onebyone
3.5 Stars! Intense, pacey, and suspenseful!
One by One is a menacing, locked-door thriller that sweeps you away to a secluded chalet in the French Alps and into the lives of nine people employed or formerly employed by the social media company, Swoop, and two chalet employees as they grapple to survive an avalanche that leaves them stranded without power or cell service and a killer amongst them who seems determined to wreak revenge at any cost.
The prose is precise and clear. The characters are multilayered, self-absorbed, and secretive. The setting is a character in itself with its claustrophobic environment and isolation. And the plot told from dual perspectives unfolds and unravels quickly into an ominous tale full of jealousy, hatred, deception, greed, manipulation, desperation, obsession, violence, and murder.
Overall, One by One is a taut, atmospheric, action-packed whodunit that could have had a few more twists and a little less predictability but was nevertheless intriguing from start to finish.
A group of eight British employees from the company, Snoop, are taking a working vacation at the ski resort of St. Antoine. Snoop allows subscribers to listen to music exactly at the same time celebrities are. The start-up nearly went broke some time ago until an employee, Liz, chipped in some inheritance money. Now the company is worth millions. The discussion during this get-together is whether to keep the company private or go public. Some are for and some are against.
Erin is the host and keeps the chalet clean and the guests supplied with their needs. Danny is the chef.
The day after their arrival, most of them decide to go skiing. Some are good skiers and others not so much. Liz is not at all confident and Erin steps in to help her. By the end of that day, one woman has not returned. And when a sudden avalanche hits knocking out power and internet, they know from her last GPS location that she had skied into a dangerous area. But when another employee ends up dead with his computer smashed, everyone knows there is a murderer amongst them. But who and why?
This book had me chewing my nails just like Liz. The tension builds and builds putting the reader on edge wondering what’s going to happen next. It’s cringe-worthy, nerve wracking, and very scary. Erin is an awesome character and I loved Danny. Wish I had him cooking in my kitchen. I have read two of Ruth Ware’s other novels and was rather disappointed, but this one is a keeper. Do read it and I dare you to say it doesn’t scare you.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Two narrators and a large cast of characters made for much to keep track of in Ruth Ware’s latest murder mystery, One by One. The main characters are shareholders in a hipster application company called Snoop. Their goofy job titles make them seem like caricatures of high-tech nerdy geeks.
The character introduction is done as a guest portfolio presented to two staff members, Erin and Danny, of the exclusive ski chalet. I didn’t care for the odd work titles or vibe of the company, but it turned out to be key to the storyline. The plot is a little slow at the start during the story set up, but there is ample intrigue as readers already know that not everyone will be coming down off that mountain.
Told in dual perspective by Erin, the chalet hostess and Liz, the wildcard shareholder, the intrigue and tension increase as guests are eliminated one by one. This novel is being widely compared to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. There are definitely similarities. As in Ms. Ware’s prior novel, The Turn of the Key, there is a reliance on technology that is a cornerstone of the story. Whether you find it similar or not or dislike the use of technology to impact plot tension, One by One is a good mystery.
This book grabs you from the first paragraph on the first page. Right away Ware’s gift for description is on display – it may still be summer when you read this, but her description of the chalet’s guests arriving will make you try to remember where you put that throw you used last winter to keep warm.
Ware’s world-building is on full display here from the frozen beauty of the French Alps to the luxury trappings of the chalet. Her characters are well drawn, and as the narrators begin to tell their stories and reveal their secrets the reader gets drawn deeper into the story until she realizes that it’s the wee hours of the morning and she’s been reading for a few hours. The reader may suspect she knows who the killer is, but not really.
Ware doesn’t rush her story. She takes her time building the tension until the reader is turning pages as quickly as she can. The ending, too, isn’t rushed nor is the aftermath of an avalanche.
All in all if you like your tension building slowly over a goodly part of the book, this is the book for you. If you like books that have you murmuring, “I did not see that coming,” put this book at the top of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Gallery Press and Edelweiss for an eARC.
If you want to keep cool in the hot summer heat, then make sure to pick up One by One by Ruth Ware- this book will most definitely bring on the chills! In Ruth’s latest novel, she carefully navigates a “locked room” style mystery novel as the characters are all trapped on in a chalet in the Alps after an avalanche. Ware carefully and methodically builds the tension as one by one, these characters are killed off by an unknown person who isn’t revealed until the shocking end. I know some readers who read early copies of this novel figured out “who-dun-it” fairly early on, but I was so consumed with the detailed writing and the way everything panes out that it slipped right past me. I’d say that’s a winner and Ware succeeded big time!
This is a snappy thriller that’s quick to get into and easy to navigate as the chapters are short and the plot is intense. I found no problem with reading this book in one sitting and that’s not only due to the fantastic writing (I honestly loved this book; the setting, the plot, etc.) but the quick paced scenes that play out like a movie.
I encourage readers who have enjoyed the authors previous novels to give this one a try despite the varying reviews by other readers. I don’t think this book will be a favorite of everyone’s (not all books are!), but it’s sure to be a hit among others. I personally recommend it!
3.5 Stars
Now we are ten…now we are nine…now we are eight…a kind of gruesome countdown edging closer to zero, one by one…
Ruth Ware’s newest murder mystery is set in the French Alps where stockholders of tech company SNOOP are on a work/ski retreat to hash out selling or not selling their shares. Finding themselves trapped due to an avalanche, these once friends and colleagues begin turning on each other one by one…
While predictable (I guessed the killer from the beginning), Ruth Ware’s One by One was an enjoyable read, and would recommend to fans of this author as well as this genre.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **
I am a fan of Ms. Ware’s writing and I was highly anticipating this novel. What I have truly realized with this book is that Ms. Ware always has “something” that will turn a novel around and make you second guess where you think the plot is going,
Most of the book points to a killer that is trying to make a profit through the outcome of the company, but is that really what is motivating this killer? Think about this you will thank me!
Truthfully the beginning of this book drove me crazy! This was a buddy read and my friends can tell you I wasn’t happy about the GIANT cast of characters that we have to keep track of. I really had to take notes on each. I think this is the weakest part of the book.
The co-workers and stockholders are together to enjoy some time off, but also to address the issue of whether they should allow a buy out of the company. There has been a decline in subscribers to the app and money is running out. Eva and Topher are the two major stockholders but there is an ex-employee, Liz, who has a 2% share. We aren’t sure whose vote she will follow, Eva or Topher, because they divided into two camps right off the bat.
The explanation of what the company SNOOP really was and did was a little hard to follow. Each chapter began stating who the character was, their Snoop ID, what they were Listening To, the #of snoopers and the # of Snoopscribers. WHAT YOU SAY!!! It took a while for that info to sink in.
I can tell you this, don’t worry too much about the explanation of the company, it isn’t really important which surprised me. I thought there would be SNOOP interaction but the WI FI at the chalet is down because of incoming storms. Dang, that would have been interesting.
At the chalet we meet Erin, the “do it all” coordinator for this event and Danny, an incredibly talented chef. These two are the most interesting members of the cast of characters for me. They were also probably the most well developed.
After the first morning of skiing there is a person missing. This immediately begins to get the book going as to what happened. Was it an accident, are there witnesses as to where they last saw this person?
We really only get to know and ultimately understand the narrators, Erin and Liz. Their characters are more described, in their personal and professional lives. I enjoyed both narrators equally.
The last third of the novel is the strongest and this is what turned this from a 3* to a 4* book for me! We have an avalanche, a storm continuing and more people turn up dead. Some people decide they have to go for help, still others are missing and someone has to stay at the chalet in case help finally comes. This part of the book was the most fun and felt like a quick ride with a satisfying if somewhat unbelievable ending.
A strong point of this book is the location and the descriptions of the chalet, the mountains, the coziness of the fire. I’m not a skier but can still relate to the beautiful setting.
I do admit that this was somewhat disappointing read for me. The premise of the novel, people stuck together in a house, mansion, chalet, cottage, whatever, has been done too many times. By the title and the blurb it’s pretty obvious that people will be dying ‘One by One”.
I did enjoy the book and will look forward to Ms. Ware’s next novel.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
This book is set to publish on September 8, 2020
One of my favorite reads from Ruth Ware, I found One by One to be just the cat-and-mouse needed. The twist happens early and I love that I was taken along for the ride as a reader. For me, One by One took a bit of a departure from what I believe to be typical Ruth Ware style, but I like that. It keeps us readers on our toes so that the expectation is always different. I was thankful to receive a copy for an honest review. Read my full review here: https://bit.ly/RAPTReviewOne.