This book was received as an ARC from Gallery Books /Scout Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Ruth Ware does it again with a tense murder mystery that left me breathless and on the edge of my seat the entire time. I absolutely love the books where just when you had everything figured out, a new twist emerges and the whole plot takes a new turn out of left field. Her imagery of the ski retreat, and the luxuries all of the staff had was so tempting that I felt like I was transported right in the resort with them along for the ride and the greatest mysteries I read, I always feel like if I was a character I would be the snitch to tell them what was going on and run for it. Ruth Ware is very popular in our library community and this will definitely be a good addition to the mystery collection.

We will consider adding this title to our Mystery collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

One by One is the first of Ruth Ware's books that I've finished. I read about a third of The Woman in Cabin 10 a few months back, but I got bored with it and haven't picked it back up since then. From reading reviews of Ware's other novels, I've gathered that her books seem to be very hit-or-miss for a lot of folks, and I can already tell that this one will be no different.

Billed as the latest mystery from the "Agatha Christie of our time," One by One is without a doubt Ware's modern reimagining of one of Christie's most beloved and renowned mysteries, And Then There Were None. Hell, at one point she even pays homage to the classic whodunit when a character says something like, "And then we were six," after finding out that another character has just been offed. Alternating POVs between Erin, the chalet girl, and Liz, a guest in the Snoop party (and the only ex-employee present), One by One is about a tech company's corporate retreat at a ski chalet that starts to veer off course when there is an avalanche on the mountain. Not only does the timing of the avalanche coincide with the mysterious disappearance of one of Snoop's co-founders (and skiers extraordinaire) who was last seen on one of the pistes, but also the avalanche itself leaves all the other guests in the Snoop party, along with the help, trapped by snow inside the chalet and virtually cut-off from the rest of the world, with no Internet access, phone service, or any other mode of contacting emergency services. It doesn't take long before that once-cozy chalet morphs into an icy house of horrors when, one by one, the guests start turning up dead.

I liked this book. I really did. But I feel like a sellout admitting that I liked it since, in terms of predictability and originality, One by One was no better than the other mysteries/thrillers that I've taken the mickey out of for being too predictable and/or derivative. I've already touched on the novel's lack of uniqueness (see: cheap And Then There Were None fanfic), but the real crime was that a book written by the so-called Agatha Christie of our time was more predictable than a virgin's period. The identity of the murderer was so painfully obvious from the get-go that I was half convinced and hoping that prime suspect #1 was actually just a red herring. Alas, that was not the case. The murderer couldn't have been more suspicious if he/she had been holding up a sign that read, "It's me! I'm the murderer! Suspect me!"

Despite its considerable shortcomings where predictability and originality are concerned, I still thought One by One deserved four stars because, truthfully, I thoroughly enjoyed almost every page of the story (except for the off piste skiing interlude at the end), even though I was almost certain of the bad guy's identity the whole time I was reading the book. The fact that the element of mystery was MIA from a veritable mystery novel but I still couldn't put the book down just goes to show that Ware's storytelling really is something else. It really makes me wonder about how great her work could be if only her mysteries were exactly that: real mysteries. If that ever happened, maybe then Ruth Ware really would live up to the distinction of being the Agatha Christie of our time.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
Another good Ruth Wade. Not really a thriller but it was a mystery that mostly kept one reading. Lots of characters, some of whom are well developed. Worth a fall afternoon spent reading.

One by One
384 pages
Genre: thriller, suspense
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Unread shelf since: September 2020
** Thank you @gallerybooks & @netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review **

SYNOPSIS: This was a definite work retreat gone wrong. Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers and you can’t trust any of them? When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?

REVIEW: I really liked how much background we were given right away with all of the characters and how the story is set up, but unfortunately it didn’t capture the “thrilling” aspect of the story enough for me. The first page was a great lead in, then it really took about halfway through the book for it to pick up. I still didn’t get a very thrilling or suspenseful feeling from the book. I felt like I was right there on the slope the whole time. I would categorize this as more of a mystery than a thriller. The plot also seemed to drag out, which also added to it being less of a thriller. Also, within the first few chapters I guessed who the killer was, and I started looking for signs throughout the rest of the book, and it was super obvious to me then. I didn’t like that l was able to figure out the killer so early. I also didn’t find myself super attached to any of the characters, because the story seemed so fast paced, I didn’t connect in the beginning. There were also so many characters that I felt none of them, except Erin and Liz, were well developed. I did really love the setting, and I wish I would have read this in the winter! Ruth Ware always does a good job setting her scenes in my opinion with settings, and this was great.

Another good one from Ruth Ware. In ONE BY ONE, Ware places ten 30-something adults in a chalet in the Alps, trap them, and lets the murders begin. What was supposed to be a trip to rejuvenate and reevaluate for the team members at Snoop, a music app, quickly becomes a nightmare. Told from alternating viewpoints from one of the guests, Liz, and the chalet hosts, Erin, ONE BY ONE unfurls its secrets slowly, with mounting tension in every passing page. Ware is brilliant at creating atmosphere; I could feel the cold, see the snow drifts, feel the sensation of skiing. I was so engrossed by the book that when I reached the last delicious page, it was 3:00 a.m. Yum!

Ruth Ware always delivers with a kind of creepy but not crazy-scary book. Perfect for a fall read by the fire. But maybe not in a secluded ski resort. :0)

A corporate retreat at a posh ski chalet goes wrong when an avalanche hits, both literally and in the office. I love Ruth Ware's work, but this one wasn't love for me. While I enjoyed the vast cast of characters and trying to solve the mystery, the middle of the story was lacking that wow factor I was expecting.

Ten guests arrive to a remote luxury chalet in hopes of deciding on an IPO or a buy-out. Mix in two staff, an avalanche and guests that start to go missing or end up dead. Ware brings alternating perspectives to weave together a contemporary tale of the classic chalet who done it.

This is my third or fourth Ruth Ware book - some I've loved, some were just OK. This was was kind of in the middle! I went into this not super loving the plot of being trapped in a remote ski chalet and one by one the guests dying. This feels like the same reused plot of a bunch of other mysteries and thrillers - all that has changed are the characters and the scenery. The book started out a little slow for me but once the action picked up and the first death happened, the suspense built and kept my attention. It took me about a week to read the first third of the book because it just felt that slow for me and only about 3 days to read the rest of the book because I wanted to get through it to find out who the killer was! Ruth ended up tying everything together seamlessly and it was something I didn't see coming!

I was excited to dive into this book, especially after seeing a ton of people post about it on the Book of the Month boards. I was intrigued by the corporate-retreat-gone-wrong setup, but the cast of characters was a little unwieldy and it was hard to totally keep track of their roles and relationships. I did keep reading to the end to find out who the murderer was, but I found the threads and motivations didn't come together in a fully satisfying way. I haven't read Ruth Ware before (or Agatha Christie, as it were), so maybe this kind of whodunit just isn't for me.

The concept of One by One is really appealing, where a remote location gets cut-off from the outside world and one by one the stranded characters are murdered, with the killer obviously being one of them.

Erin and Danny operate a ski chalet in France and are hosting a company retreat for Snoop, a social media company that enables subscribers to tune into each other’s music playlists in real-time. With celebrity users, fans can listen to exactly what their favourite person is listening to – a bit like two people sharing earphones by putting an earpiece in each other’s ear.

Topher and Eva are the two major shareholders in the company and control equal equity positions except for a minority shareholder, Liz. Liz is socially awkward, not quite fitting in with the rest of the company which is made difficult as she is not an employee but has reason to support both Topher and Eva. With a company buyout offer on the table and Topher and Eva entrenched into opposite positions, Liz has the deciding vote to take the sale deal or not. When an avalanche cuts contact and access to the outside world, the isolated group mysteriously start dying and we have a traditional whodunit on our hands. The narrative is delivered from the voices of Erin and Liz, probably the two most interesting characters and yet they still left me in consternation at times.

The ingredients are there for an engrossing murder mystery, the setting in a snow-covered landscape with the biting cold playing its part and the backdrop and motive with a company and its shareholders making a life-changing decision on how their futures will be secured. Even guessing the killer early is not off-putting if the puzzle maintains red herrings and multiple choices. Having read several books from Ruth Ware there are common issues that repeat – the characters lack development and there are always noticeable plot holes. This novel is no exception and a story that promises so much doesn’t quite deliver. Ruth Ware has this habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Ruth Ware fans will enjoy this one and I would rate it 3.5 stars. I would like to thank Gallery Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review.

Another awesome Ruth Ware story... definitely worth your reading time! Never disappointed with her stories.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

This is definitely my favorite Ruth Ware book I've read so far! I think this does a fantastic job of establishing the setting. I could feel the cold and the isolation pressing in. As a skier myself, I really enjoyed the fact that it takes place at a mountain chalet and there's skiing. It certainly helped me connect much more with the story!

We follow two points of view here: Liz, part of this company retreat, and Erin, a chalet worker. I thought that Erin was fantastic. She's very nice and relatable. Liz is awkward and has difficulty picking up on social clues. I didn't enjoy Liz's sections quite as much, but I think following both Erin and Liz allows for us to fully grasp the situation.

As a side note, I really liked this social media company aspect. It was really fun to watch the "snooping" at the beginning of each chapter and see just how things change as the book progresses.

I absolutely flew through this book! I would definitely recommend it, especially if you're looking for an atmospheric book to read in winter.

I received a copy of this for review from the publisher via NetGalley - thank you! All opinions are my own.

My video review can be seen on my channel (around minutes 23:57-26:31 of this video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AsFLmyEgmo

The exclusive French ski resort of St. Antoine is set to receive a corporate party -- a tech company called Snoop. Ten people will arrive for discussions about the future of the company in a lovely setting with amazing views and fabulous skiing. The only problem is that the area has been rocked by heavy snowfall and several recent avalanches. The two chalet hosts, Erin and Danny, are busy getting everything ready for the guests at Chalet Perce-Neige -- the rooms are spotless and the champagne is chilled. Just 3 days later, 4 people are dead, 2 others are hospitalized, and the other survivors are in shock. NO SPOILERS.

What a fun, fast-paced mystery told from two perspectives. Since the cast of characters is limited, it's a guessing game as the numbers fall. Although you'll probably figure out the who fairly quickly, it might take time for suss out the why of it all. It's a quick one, easy to read in a single sitting, and I devoured it over the course of a couple of hours. I liked the writing style and the flow of the narrative and had my favorite characters. The setting, along with the avalanche, gave the story a nice dark atmosphere and added to the increasing tension throughout. Enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

This book keeps you on your toes! First you have to pay attention to all the characters and figure out who is who. And there are quite a few characters in the story. Then it's a "who dun it..." and you think you have it figured out until something changes.
I have read other books by this author and while I enjoyed this book I don't think it is as good as some of her other ones. But still a good read.

So I've read all of Ruth Ware's books so far and I'm feeling the same way about this way as the others - eh, it's ok. I do like the set-up of the story - anything where people are trapped together, whether on an island, in a ski resort, during a storm, an avalanche - I'm all for it. Of course the people have to be somewhat interesting and there can't be too many of them - it gets confusing and you don't tend to care when one of them gets murdered because you can't keep straight who it is anyway. That's the case in this book. A start-up tech company takes a business/pleasure trip together to a ski chalet - the tech company is one which allows people to "snoop" on what other people are listening to. You can even listen to what your favorite celebrity is listening to at that very same moment. I could care less what any celebrity is listening to at any given time, so for me this just sounded silly. Plus there was too much explanation about this company that you don't need to know. Then the characters have names like "Tiger" and "Inigo" which makes it hard to remember, when that character makes an appearance in another chapter, as to who it actually is. Is it a guy or girl? I can't remember, too many nondescript characters. It's pretty easy to see from the get-go who the killer is, and after the murder part is all wrapped up, the ending drones on for another couple of chapters, which is highly unnecessary. Despite all this, it's an enjoyable read to divert you from thinking about other nonsense going on right now.

Another good read by Ruth Ware. The characters were difficult to keep track of early on in the book, but it gets easier as you go. I especially enjoyed the setting of this novel as it added a different element to things.
#netgalleybooks#ruthware#mystery#suspense

Ruth where did it again a quick two day read so predictable but still a lot of fun. It reminded me of Agatha Christie books

It’s a tech company’s team building meeting in an isolated ski resort in the remote French Alps. Ten Britons go in. One by One they are picked off. Remind you of another famous, but not racial sensitive, tale?

It is hard to beat Dame Agatha at, literally, her own game. Especially using one of her three best plot devices. However, I still enjoyed this slow-paced tale. I just didn’t love it like the author’s last book, the gothic The Turn of the Key, which I recommend much more vigorously. For One by One, 3 stars.

Thanks to Gallery Books, Scott Press Books, and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

A group of people go to a chalet in the mountains for a work trip and people start getting murdered. Good premise, right? This book started out rough for me. There were a lot of people to keep track of and it was kind of slow going. I really wanted to give this book a shot though so I kept going. By the middle it started to pick up and by the last 1/3 I was on the edge of my seat needing to know what happened next. So although it was a slow start, I enjoyed the ending which is why I gave it 3 stars. I think fans of Ruth Ware will really like this and I think it will also be a great read this winter for people to ‘escape’ into the mountains for a good murder mystery.
Thank you #netgalley and #gallerybooks for an advanced copy of this book.