Member Reviews

3.5 stars. I actually really liked this book. I'm a stickler when it comes to ratings, as I save 4 and 5 stars for authors that are terrific writers and books that wow me. This didn't wow me but I enjoyed it.

I would recommend if you are interested in psychological thrillers, especially at some isolated mountain ski resort, without some huge reveal at the end. This book kept a steady pace and kept my interest until the end.

I really enjoyed Ruth Ware's style of writing and I will be interested in reading her other books!

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC! I was excited to read it and I wasn't disappointed!

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Ware has done it again! This clever, creepy, and suspenseful novel keeps you guessing until the very end. Employees of a trendy tech company go on a team-building retreat at a remote ski chalet in the French Alps. After a strained morning meeting, the team decides to ease tensions with some skiing, but when they meet back at the chalet they realize one of the company co-founders has mysteriously gone missing. Before the ski chalet hosts can get help, an avalanche strands the entire party, destroying a part of the chalet and all of their connections with the outside world. With a blizzard whirling around them and all means of communication cut off, they hunker down to wait for rescue. No electricity means that there are little heat and food but the group seems to be making the best of it until one of their own is found dead. You won't be able to put this action-packed, dark suspenseful mystery down!

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A beautiful and remote chalet in the French mountains is the setting for a Snoop business retreat. Snoop, the latest social media app that allows it’s members to listen to music that others are listening to in real time. It’s a favorite among celebrities and influencers. The Snoop staff members arrive for some skiing and business while staff, Erin and Danny, cook and manage the chalet.

A short impromptu meeting the first night puts everyone on edge and choosing sides in a potential buy out. Before they start arguing again about the possible sale, the group agrees to go skiing before the impending storm hits. Soon their group of eight becomes seven as one of the Snoop owners doesn’t return from the ski trip. As they argue about what they should do, an avalanche hits taking out part of the building and trapping them in the chalet. Things go quickly downhill for the group as they lose phone service, wifi, and eventually electricity leaving them in the dark and cold as tensions mount. When one of the shareholders is found dead in his room, they all start wondering who among them is a killer and why?

I loved this book from the start. It is a fun whodunit in a modern twisted version of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and aptly named as guests are dying One by One. Told from the POV of Erin- the chalet employee and Liz – the socially awkward and minor shareholder who is no longer an employee of Snoop. Both have secrets that they don’t want to be exposed. Most of the book points to someone who is angry about the buyout as the potential killer, but what is really motivating this killer? Although I guessed who did it, it was a great story never the less. This is a fun read in a beautiful location. I highly recommend as I couldn’t put it down!

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing, Harvill Secker for the ARC.

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I am so glad I was able to read the ARC for “One by One”. It’s my favorite Ruth Ware book yet. I love how she describes things, I was really able to just fall into the story. Typically I only read one book at a time, but I downloaded this and couldn’t put it down. The story line was great and so was the writing, I ended up not wanting to wait to finish my current read. The only thing that could make this book better is...having the tangible book instead of digital copy (I just prefer a hardcover book). I really really liked this one highly recommend. Happy Reading!

Ps. I did notice just a few grammatical errors that hopefully will be ironed out before final publication.

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One by One reads very much like an Agatha Christie mystery! A tech company goes on a ski retreat to discuss matters concerning the company without any distraction. Unfortunately murder happens! Does the owner want all of his critics out of the way so he can do his own thing? Is there a hidden story behind one of the guests or resort employees that they want to get rid of the entire company? Grab a cup of hot cocoa, sit by a fire and enjoy the weekend with another winner written by Ruth Ware!

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Ruth Ware’s back, y’all.

One by One, the latest from the reigning queen of thrillers, takes us to a ski chalet in the French Alps, where the gorgeous vista, amazing skiing, and luxurious chalet should make the perfect setting for a company retreat - but a holiday meant to promote collaboration and mindfulness goes more than awry when an avalanche traps the co-workers in the chalet...and one of their own begins killing them off, one by one.

The comparisons between One by One and Agatha Christie’s iconic And Then There Were None are perhaps inevitable (and likely deliberate), but there are other Christie classics in there too. Murder on the Orient Express gets a delicious yet subtle call-out that I can’t believe wasn’t intentional, while I’ll avoid the spoiler of naming another well-known mystery by the Queen of Crime that is even more present in One by One’s semi-homage. But Ruth Ware, though deserving of the accolades that have been given her as a modern-day Christie, has written us a thriller, not a whodunit. Though there are murders aplenty (I did mention the shades of And Then There Were None, didn’t I?), the eventual revelation of the “who” who did, in fact, do it is not the story’s satisfying culmination it would be in a classic Golden Age mystery. Instead, there’s still a full quarter of the book left to go - and Ware has saved the most action-packed, nail-biting part for last. Did you know how much fun a freezing midnight ski chase could be? Because I sure didn’t, but it totally is. Still, this dramatic climax, and the admittedly somewhat deflated denouement that follows, is a bit jarring after what had previously been a creepy, haunting, and, yes, much more Christiean locked room mystery. I enjoyed both parts thoroughly, both the snowed-in-with-a-murderer chills of wondering just who could it be, and the frantic excitement of the action movie climax. I’m just not convinced the two parts, however enjoyable on their own, fit together perfectly.

That said, even with this less than seamlessness, One by One more than delivers on the solidly paced, sharply written, and utterly suspenseful thrills for which Ruth Ware has become so well known. And it even made me want to try my hand at skiing. Almost. Maybe without a murderer along for the ride.

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This was a fantastic mystery and it reminded me of the classic film, Clue! This story is set in French Alps as an group of co-workers have gathered to discuss their company and changes moving forward. After an avalanche, things keep getting worse and worse for all involved as people start dying. This was a quick paced, fantastic "whodunit" read where things were slowly revealed to the reader. I couldn't put this down and it may be my favorite Ruth Ware novel to date! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

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I read One By One by Ruth Ware in one sitting—while it’s the kind of book that should be read in the middle of winter, I cranked up my AC and couldn’t stop turning pages. Some of the characterization could have been stronger (I was still struggling to differentiate and care about several of the characters, even at the end of the book), and the sheer amount of cursing was distracting and somewhat annoying. . . But overall, I enjoyed it!

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When I saw all the characters in this book, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up. I mean there are 12 different characters. But thankfully the story is told through the POV of just 2 characters, Erin who runs the ski lodge and Liz who is one of the guests. I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend.

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Ruth Ware does it again! This book has Ware’s trademark atmosphere with a new feel . A group of technology gurus meet in a remote chalet to discuss a potential buy out. Tempers flare, snow flies, and people die...one by one. A wonderful tribute to to an Agatha Christie type closed-circle mystery.

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The scenario in this book is at the top of my list of favorites. A group of people stranded in terrible weather and bad stuff starts going down. And what’s better than an avalanche?!
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I have to keep this review pretty general and short because I don’t want to give away one single thing. I couldn’t guess what was going on in this one. I had a theory that I was confident in for a while but I was quite wrong. The thing that sticks out to me the most about this book is a part near the end when the story is particularly action packed. My heart was literally pounding and I felt like I was there. The whole story is suspenseful and I felt like most of the characters were untrustworthy which makes the best kind of mystery. In a Dark, Dark Wood is still my favorite Ruth Ware book but this one is definitely second place.

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Soooooo good!

This isn’t my first book by this author and it definitely won’t be my last.

Ruth Ware knows how to tell a story. She weaves a tale like no other.

I was hooked from the very beginning. And the story only got better with each turn of the page.

I had a pretty good idea of who was committing the murders. With these stories, I trust no one. Especially those who seem the most innocent or unlikely. Such was the case for me here.

I loved the twists and secrets. Some easy to see. Others, well hidden.

There were a few characters I loved. Others I hated.

This was really fun to guess at. I thought the intensity was perfect. And the ending wars insane!

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This was my second Ruth Ware book, and she did not disappoint. Although I was able to guess the twist halfway through the book, it was a compelling read, and certain plot points kept me guessing. There were times where it was difficult to keep up with the large cast of characters, it only took a few chapters to get them straight, and Ware did a great job making each one of them unique enough that I was able to remember who was who. I also enjoyed the POV switch between the two women, and the perspectives we were able to see which each one..

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This is the second book I have read by Ruth Ware, and I am confident I have found one of my favorite authors! One by One starts with a group of colleagues who have set out on a week-long skiing trip. After an avalanche and a string of murders, they are trapped with the realization that one of them is a murderer. This was a great, quick read! Look for it to hit the shelves in September.

I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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While this indeed a standard locked room kind of mystery, it is a fun version. Some typical tech characters hovering on the brink of a make it big moment. To celebrate or deliberate, they rent a chi chi chalet in the remote mountains.
The combination of weather and hubris set up a killing, so it has to be one do them.. But who, why?
It is a fun story and while I bet you can figure out whodunit, there was a little bonus surprise.

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I normally throw in some type of quote to sum up a bit of the book's tone, but since this hasn't been through it's final editing stages yet, I'll refrain. :)

I was invested from page one in this isolation (think cabin-in-the-woods-style) murder-mystery. It only got more interesting the more I read until at last I finally had it figured out! The characters were engaging and the back-and-forth perspectives from the two narrators added to the tension admirably.

The only thing that left me scratching my head a little bit was the amount of time spent with the surviving characters after the climax. It went on for long enough that I wondered if there would be something I missed that still needed wrapping up?

All in all, it was a very entertaining, quick read!

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This book was 3.5 out of five stars, for me. I had high expectations for this one, since I love Ruth Ware. For the most part, each of her books is better than the last - but this one seems to fall back into pre-Death of Mrs. Westaway patterns. It’s your typical closed door murder mystery (which I love, so no complaints here), but it’s missing something to make it unique. I felt like I could be reading Paula Hawkins or Lucy Foley - it just felt a bit cookie cutter. I was a little let down when we figured out who dunnit relatively early, and then there weren’t a lot more twists after that. Not her best in my view, but a quick and enjoyable read.

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It was hard to put down, great atmosphere with the ski chalet reeling from an avalanche and being cut-off from everyone. I liked the pace and would recommend. I did have trouble keeping all the characters straight and pretty much had guessed what was happening. Was looking for more a twist at the end but did enjoy the book.

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Predictably lame and boring. A paint by numbers “suspense” novel that fails to offer any shock and awe. Given my history with the author’s work, not even the dud conclusion managed to evoke surprise.

Ruth Ware’s work—the few books I’ve dabbled in over the years—hasn’t left me with an overly positive impression. My experiences with her work hit-or-miss, most finding a home in the latter category. Regardless, some warped sense of missing out, breed from the enthusiasm I’ve seen for her work, continues to drag me down this tortuous rabbit hole. No more. I refuse to sacrifice any additional time on her lackluster storytelling.

Ware's sixth novel brings readers to the French Alps for a stay at a mountainside chalet hosting a Snoop corporate retreat. A motley crew intent on bringing their tech startup public and relishing in the subsequent success. Their claim to fame, an app that allows users to stalk or Snoop the music others are listening to at any moment. Who cares? But, I digress.

I won’t get into the nitty-gritty of the plot, because there isn’t much nit or grit to be had. I’ll also refrain from any introduction to the characters because the moment my eyes met one person in particular, I just knew. Knew this person would be responsible for the antics of the trip and for picking off fellow chalet guests *one by one*. Ware phones this one in, making for an uninspired and grating experience.

Things in particular that tanked this novel for me, the: (1) obviousness of the killer’s identity from go, (2) removal of almost the entire cast around the 60% mark, (3) killer's hackneyed revelation, (4) unsatisfying ease in which things are wrapped up, and (5) incessant drivel strung across the final eight chapters, offering nothing to the storyline.

Needless to say, this is not a book I enjoyed, nor one I can recommend. Ware's approach often involves taking an Agatha Christie novel and molding it into something of her own. One by One an iteration of Christie’s, And Then There Were None. If you’re looking for a high-stakes, edge-of-your-seat, lost in the snowy wilderness plot that pays homage to And Then There Were None, I highly recommend checking out Loreth Anne White’s latest novel, In the Dark. The characterization, stunning backdrop, and puzzling plot—catapulted by White’s compelling words—are sure to leave a lasting impression.

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Ruth Ware has done it again!! In this chilling new book she masterfully creates a story woven in truth and lies. You never know what's coming next!

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