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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Ruth Ware’s upcoming novel, One By One, is a suspenseful mystery set in a luxe ski lodge where feuding tech founders combine a skiiing holiday and a contentious board vote. This is a locked-door mystery, or really a snowed-in mystery, when an avalanche cuts off the residents of the chalet, along with the two staffers who keep the wealthy guests fed and the chalet cleaned.
Like in Lucy Foley’s The Hunting Party, most of the people snowed in are kind of unlikeably privileged. Their app, Snoop, has brought everyone wealth, but most of the team already started out with private school educations, family money, and good looks. Slight exceptions are Carl, the older, cranky lawyer, and quiet Liz, the former receptionist and office manager. There’s a heavy divide between the tech rich having their mandatory-fun group skiing trip, and the chalet staff who actually have to work.
The first death — it’s not exactly a spoiler to tell you that someone’s going to die under mysterious circumstances, is it? — seems like a tragic accident. But the second death couldn’t possibly be an accident, could it? And, since the ski lodge is cut off from everyone else by an avalanche, with no cell signal and no one in or out, that means someone staying in the house is a murderer. This locked-door, one-by-one theme seemed like a clear homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, without being too derivative. The tension stays high throughout the book, mixing survival from the elements and survival from a murderer in the group, who’s already killed someone to protect their secrets. There were a few moments when I was on Team Nobody, and kind of OK with some of the jerks meeting with mysterious accidents, but that only made all the millions of motives more believable, and meant everyone was a suspect.
What an awesome thriller! One by One is full of suspense and intrigue. What could possibly go wrong stuck in the mountains on a company retreat during an avalanche?! I think this is one of Ruth Ware’s best novels yet. Between missing persons and dead bodies, this French chalet in the Alps is full of mystery. I enjoyed the alternating points of view through this book, as I felt it made the plot feel even more dynamic and kept suspicion strong around all characters. This book kept me captivated until the very end and is highly recommended!
Three classic tropes in one suspenseful book. Ruth Ware’s latest thriller starts out as an homage to Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None,” with ten guests at a remote retreat dying or vanishing, one by one. Then it shifts briefly to a locked room mystery. Halfway through, the murderer is revealed, and there’s a Bourne-like chase. Whew!
I most enjoyed the first part of the book, with its echoes of “And Then There Were None.” It’s a miracle more people aren’t murdered during corporate retreats, and the author brilliantly conveys the underlying fears, tensions, and resentments of the conspicuously cool guests, founders of a high-profile startup. There’s a hilarious moment early on when Tiger-Blue, the startup’s “head of cool,” leads the guests through a “centering” exercise, which beautifully captures corporate psychobabble and the stifled derision of the participants. The author ratchets up the suspense as people die and disappear from the beautiful, remote ski lodge, isolated by a fearsome avalanche. I was looking forward to the author’s continuing the promise of the title, the “one by one” deaths that create unbearable tension among the trapped survivors. The shift in the second half of the book is still interesting but for me, not as suspenseful or absorbing.
Still, no one creates atmosphere like Ruth Ware, from the dark, swirling snow to the glacial moon. And her startup idea seems clever, like an app people might actually use. This is a quick, cold, enjoyable read – perfect for a hot summer day.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.