I’m sad to say that I don’t think that this was Ruth Ware’s best work. The general plot and “reveal” left a lot to be desired for me and I found it to be a bit predictable.

I did really like the setting and the friendship between Erin & Danny. Also, the climax of the book is where everything is revealed was genuinely spooky and super suspenseful. Very well done. The rest of the book just didn’t match up for me.

Ruth Ware once again proves why she is a master at suspense, particularly locked room mysteries.

Jacket copy: “ 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 startup, 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.”

I read this book during sweltering summer heat, but I was so immersed in the story, that I was wrapped in a blanket cocoon, chilled to the bone. I loved it. I did deduct one star because I knew who the killer was fairly early on, but Ware’s reveal is masterful.

This is a must read for fans of suspense/thrillers.

Thank you so much to Ruth Ware for writing great stories, and to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

This mystery/psychological thriller set in the French Alps, where a group of co-workers get trapped in their ski chalet after an avalanche, is a quick, entertaining, & suspenseful read. Ruth Ware conjures the beauty and coziness of an idyllic ski retreat and turns it deadly with multiple murders. This contrast made for an intriguing read.

Always a fan of multiple perspectives, but from the beginning I kind of expected that we would get more than just the two - Liz and Erin. Similarly, at the beginning of each chapter we got a glimpse into the characters Snoop account (music social media company at the center of the plot). It did carry significance, but I kept feeling like even more could be done and there were missed opportunities where this book could be even better.

A locked room mystery at a ski chalet that managed to intrigue and surprise me while it was happening, but ultimately it didn't wow me. The type of book that I enjoyed reading, but won't end up being on my "favorites of the year" list by any stretch. I had never read another Ruth Ware novel before, and after this one I'd be open to another, but not rushing out to grab one.

This is a story about people, and what drives them.

With clever nods to Agatha Christie, and a chilly mountain town setting- this book will be a perfect fall thriller. I was pleased to not to the twist coming & I felt a sense of loss when characters left us, because they were well crafted even when they were briefly present. The suspense was real!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

Thanks Net Galley & Gallery Books for this e-ARC!

One by One has moved up the ranks of Ruth Ware's books to become one of my favorites. Ware proves that she is the master of creating a suspenseful and eerie setting when she penned this novel about a ski trip where everything that could go wrong does go wrong. Many of the characters are keeping secrets and no one truly knows one another. Even when you piece together who the culprit is, Ware's skillful writing keeps you on the edge of your seat to see if there will be yet another victim or if this person will be lucky enough to make it out alive, as it is only the lucky ones who survive this nightmare.

Ruth Ware has done it again. I loved this book. A dark, twisty murder mystery that will get you hooked until the last page.

It took a few chapters to work out all the characters and how they fit together. Once the book got into the action, I couldn't put it down. There's enough mystery to keep the reader guessing but the clues are there to follow. The thrill and suspense kept me interested and the action was very well written. I am not a skier but could follow the descriptions enough to picture what was happening. The characters were believable and written with some depth. No one was explicitly good or explicitly bad.

If you've enjoyed Ruth Ware's other books, you will love this one. The danger and suspense remind me of In a Dark, Dark Woods which is one of my favorites. An excellent read which I will definitely be recommending to anyone looking for a good thrill.

"Thank you to Ruth Ware, the Publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review"

This is the second book I have read by Ruth Ware and equally as amazing. I read it one day and could not put it down.

SNOOP is an App similar to Spotify where you can "snoop" on famous people's playlists. The employees of SNOOP (described in the prologue to the novel) are taking a corporate retreat at a ski chalet in France. The Shareholders are Topher, Eva, Liz, Elliot and Carl. There are also assistants, Tiger, Ani, Miranda and Inigo. Plus, Erin and Danny as caretakers of the chalet. A lot of people to keep track of and understand what their role is. One reviewer said she had to take a picture of the first few pages so she could go back and identify.

One by One is such a great mystery. Though most of us will guess who the killer is right in the beginning, the book takes you on so many twists and turns that you begin to doubt your initial thought of who the killer is. The reader is only treated to two points of view - Erin and Liz. The book is set against a backdrop of a mountain chalet with lots of skiing "lingo" which I, as a non-skier, had to look up.

I loved this book. I loved all of the characters and they are described so aptly that I could picture them in my mind. Five stars for plot, character development and the fast pace.

Amazing read! There was build up which made me invested in the characters and intriguing thoughts here and there that kept me hooked.

What a great premise for the page turner. Glad I read it during the summer heat bc the Swiss Alps took my mind off of the oppressive temps.
Reading this in lockdown mode was an interesting time as all readers will be able to sympathize with.
Ruth Ware continues to surprise. WEll done.
Links coming soon

Brilliantly written by Ruth Ware. A corporate retreat (to discuss a new app for a company) finds 12 people snowed in among the mountains of France. Ten visitors and two hosts are at a fancy chalet...

So what could go wrong? Everything...

A talented write by a solid author. Although you may not like them - there is great character depiction and unfolding of the plotline. An Excellent Read!!!

Many Thanks to Gallery Books/ Scout Press and NetGalley for a super story!

The developers of a social media app and their employees attend a retreat at a ski chalet. One goes missing, the rest are cut off from the outside world due to an avalanche, more deaths occur, and the guests and workers don’t know who to trust. This was a quick and entertaining read, and while I had suspicions about who was the murderer of the group, I found the book to be suspenseful. It was a nice modern spin on an Agatha Christie classic.
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for an advance copy of this book.

Mixed feelings on this one. Ruth Ware does such a great job playing with classic mystery setups and adding to them her own voice and a modern spin. I liked this book but never felt totally immersed. In hindsight, I experienced some reader's dissonance due to my expectations of an Agatha Christie-style locked-room mystery, something the book's marketing definitely leans into. However, the killer was screamingly obvious right from the start and I never felt puzzled by the mystery of it all. Then, about halfway through, the book clicked for me because I realized I was reading a modern take on a Hitchcock thriller instead. Once I realigned my own reading experience, I locked into the story a lot more intensely. So, maybe I blame the book's marketing? Maybe Ware didn't quite mesh the two genres as well as I wanted? Regardless, I may seem overly critical when, overall, I still enjoyed the book a lot and will definitely recommend it, and Ware's other novels, to mystery/thriller readers.

A corporate retreat at a ski chalet sounds divine, but there are secrets hidden among the attendees that have deadly consequences. The employees of snoop arrive in the French alps with days of presentations, beautiful slopes, and drinking ahead. However, one of the founders immediately sets an aggressive tone when she tries to rationalize a buyout that the other founder is strongly against. The employees take sides, with former employee and minority shareholder Liz left as the deciding factor.

After a break on the slopes, an unexpected avalanche hits, leaving one of the founders potentially dead and the rest of the group stranded inside the chalet. When suspicions arise that the death may be murder, more and more people end up dead. There's no help coming and no where to go.

I don't usually read this genre and I'm a pretty harsh critic of it, but I was absolutely enthralled by this story!! The tech company was full of stereotypical characters but it was the events of the week that kept me turning pages. The story alternated between Liz and one of the chalet workers, which was the perfect mix of insider and outsider insight into the company and its secrets.

The suspense kept building as more and more clues led to the reveal of the murderer and an intense chase wrapped up the novel. I will be highly recommending this to readers who love this genre and those who normally avoid it!

One by One is the perfect mystery story to read during the winter, snuggled up by a fire. It follows 12 different characters, all who are introduced rather quickly, and their trip to a mountain chalet. Two of the people are employees at the chalet, while the other 10 characters are employees of a tech company that created a popular app called Snopes.

This story is fast-paced, and it’s’ tricky to keep track of who’s who at first, but once you figure out everyone then it’s smooth sailing. I loved the suspense and trying to figure out who was the murderer in this mystery. The story is told from two different perspectives: Liz, a former employee of Snopes, and Erin, one of the employees at the chalet. The only issue with this story was how unbelievable the ending was.

Overall this book has Agatha Christie vibes, and is a fun murder mystery read.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a fun read. It's told through two narrators, one who's a woman working at a posh, remote ski chalet, and one who's an outsider with a group of pretty wretched rich, beautiful app developers for a fictional music app called Snoop. The guests start dropping like flies as an avalanche has trapped them and they're without power or contact with the outside world. I had a really hard time keeping track of the Snoop people and they seemed rather one-dimensional. It really could have done with more work on character development to establish who was who and why we'd care that some of them died, to be frank. Other than that, it was still well done and a fun who-dunnit.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.

One by One is a thrilling adventure, however I was disappointed in the ending. I felt there was a lot of potential in fleshing out the "bad guy" that was never realized. Still, I couldn't put it down!

Another great “trapped” murder mystery from Ruth Ware! This one is best enjoyed on a winter vacation, sitting by the fire with a warm drink. A corporate retreat for a small tech company is held at a luxurious private ski chalet and things go wrong from the very first ski run. An avalanche makes it impossible to get help or to escape the danger they’re all in. The rich, snobby, trendy characters are a fun group of suspects, along with the chalet staff. One of my main concerns was that nobody would hire a 22-year-old as the only hostess for the chalet, but Erin was a great character overall. Fun, fast-paced mystery thriller!

This one was okay. the characters never seemed fully developed to me, and it was a bit hard to keep track of who's who. I wasn't invested in either of the leading ladies story. An okay thriller.

Another thrilling read by Ruth Ware. This fast-paced murder mystery is set in the alps and will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat as the characters start disappearing...one by one. My favorite Ruth Ware book to date.