I was very excited to receive the Netgalley ARC for Ruth Ware's novel, but honestly, if half star reviews were a thing, I would probably be giving One by One only 2.5 stars.

The story has a similar feel to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but of course with a modern twist. Everyone slowly getting killed off is at a ski retreat with their tech start-up coworkers. The Snoop profiles preceding Erin's and Liz's POVs were extremely tedious and pointless. Nine times out of ten they just said "offline" with "Snooper" numbers remaining the same and no songs listed. It just reminded me of how silly the whole premise of something like "Snoop" was at the start of every, single, chapter. I was over it. Every time anyone talked about the logistics of Snoop, I could feel my eyelids start to droop!

Without spoiling anything else, as the climax crescendoed, I expected the novel to wrap itself up nicely and come to an end. But it kept going. For about another 50 unnecessary pages. I felt like this was a thriller with a slow burn that then lit up and expired as quickly as a match. Disappointing, to say the least. But I'm going to go ahead and round up to 3 stars.

I've read a couple of her books and really enjoyed them. When I started reading this it reminded me of an old Agatha Christie book titled "And Then There Were None". Same premise, different story and time. Overall this book was enjoyable and I highly recommend it.

I love and have read all of Ruth Wares book and this by far was as intriguing as her others. I couldn’t put this one down and enjoyed it fully.

The book is set in a snowy chalet, up in the mountains. Has this very mysterious vibe the whole way through. This book keeps you guessing. I kept saying to myself “ Uhoh what else is going to happen.” I would recommend this and all her books to anyone who loves a good mystery that keeps you wanting more.

A slow paced and not very much action but a slow burn to the conclusion. Interesting enough to keep you reading but not my favorite from this author.

Ruth Ware can write an atmosphere like no one else. A cabin in the woods, a ship at sea, a creepy house on the moors, and with this newest: a ski chalet in the French alps after an avalanche. And among the stranded guests, a murderer lurks. Shiver! Such a page turner! This latest book from one of my favorite authors didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed it from the start and each twist and turn was a fun ride. Highly recommend! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a preview of this upcoming book!

Another winner from Ruth Ware! She's my go-to for suspenseful thrillers! Another wildly entertaining, and unputdownable book!

Another skillfully crafted and brilliant thriller by Ruth Ware. Ruth Ware has a talent for constructing captivating plots that hook the reader and "One by One" is no different. The story is told from two alternating viewpoints, Erin and Liz. Erin is the chalet host at an exquisite retreat in the French Alps where Liz is spending the weekend as part of a company retreat. The company, Snoop, is in dire straits so the founders have taken their shareholders and employees on a weekend excursion to make a final decision about the fate of the company. The problem is that the founders have different motives. Topher wants to hold the company and Eva wants to sell. Liz, with her 2% shares of the company, is the key to who will win the debate. Only, when an avalanche strikes and they begin losing members of their party one by one, the Snoop vote becomes the least of their problems. "One by One" grasps the reader's attention from the exposition and holds it until the very end, where all loose ends are neatly wrapped up. I just finished reading this book five minutes ago and I am already looking forward to the next Ruth Ware masterpiece.

Ruth Ware excels at “locked room” mysteries (put characters in a place where there’s no easy entry or escape, and let mayhem ensue) but she outdoes herself in her newest, ONE BY ONE. Setting her story in a remote Alpine ski chalet, she makes full use of the location and atmosphere – a breathtaking winter landscape that suddenly becomes terrifying when the weather turns deadly.

The weather is perfect for skiing when the young chalet caretakers, Erin and Danny, welcome ten people associated with a popular music app called Snoop. But it quickly becomes obvious that this trip will not be all pleasure. A fight is brewing among the ten over a buyout offer that would make some of them multi-millionaires but would rob Topher, the head of the company, of control. The group is together to resolve their deep differences and come to a decision about selling or not.

On their first full day, Erin leads the group on a round of skiing, fitting it in just before the slopes are due to be closed because of a coming storm and the danger of an avalanche. When they return to the chalet, they realize that Eva, Topher’s partner as head of the company, is missing. So it begins, as one by one others in the group fall victim.

Snow falls relentlessly, the feared avalanche almost buries the chalet, and the power and heat go out. Ware uses these well-worn elements in a way that makes them fresh and frightening.

The visitors are not likable, and the reader knows one of them is a killer, but Erin and Danny provide a solid heart for the story. The final quarter of the book provides can’t-put-it-down suspense and action on the way to a satisfying ending. Highly recommended for those who enjoy Ware’s work as well as readers who haven’t discovered her yet.

Sandra Parshall
Author of the Rachel Goddard mysteries

I’ve stumbled upon quite a few enjoyable “locked room” mysteries lately, but this one is the best of the recent bunch!

A group of owners and employees of the music app, Snoop, book a trip at a luxurious ski chalet. Tensions are already high within the group before an avalanche plummets the resort and leaves them stuck, along with the two employees who work at the resort. Then, one by one, people start getting murdered. You know how these stories go.

ONE BY ONE is told through narrators Liz (a former employee of Snoop, who is along for the trip) and Erin (the resort hostess). I think only having the two narrators made it easier to remember who is who, which can sometimes be difficult with this type of story. I was hooked from the beginning. This is a fast-paced whodunnit that never loses momentum, and I thought it flowed perfectly to the very last page. I loved the ending as well!

I have previously read Ruth Ware’s first two novels, and wasn’t completely blown away. This is the best one yet, and I will be going back to check out the ones I missed. I was extremely impressed with the flawless execution and suspense of the story.

Thank you to Scout Press, Ruth Ware, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For the first time in a Ruth Ware book, I preferred the ending to the beginning. It didn't help that I saw the big twist coming very early in the book. It took out the suspense from the story. Once the twist was revealed then it became an suspenseful cat and mouse game. I wished that the twist wasn't a twist. It would have added something different to the book.

The characters weren't interesting and very cliche ridden creatures. I didn't care about their deaths. The setting was very well done and you could feel the cold.

This is based on ARC received by Netgalley for an honest review.

I received a digital ARC of this book for free through Netgalley. All opinions expressed here are that of my own.

4 Stars, rounded up from 3.7 due to Ruths ability to keep me reading til the end.

"One by One" follows a group of app shareholders on a group retreat into the snowy mountains. Is it really just a retreat or do some of the shareholders have something else in mind. After a tragic accident (or is it?) these men and women have to navigate their business decisions while dealing with something more sinister.

I have always loved Ruth Ware books. The twists, the turns! She really knows how to keep me reading. The thing about this book though, is it doesn't feel like your typical Ruth Ware book. It's more like your classic "who done it". Like a game of "Clue" if you will. The characters were great, but unfortunately I had figured out fairly early who did it. This is not typical of the books I've read previously from this author. And there was no real "Whhaaaaatt?" at the end, like she usually has. Overall it was a fine book, one I would recommend to patrons, but not necessarily one I would recommend to my fellow thriller readers.

I just thought this was fine. The premise is super interesting, mystery and secrets at a remote ski resort.. what could be better! However, it was slow to start and a bit repetitive. I felt like I knew what was going to happen and who was behind the twists and turns from from the start. The last 50 pages are really the only part that had my heart racing. It was fine but not as good as I was expecting or wanted

It took me 3 weeks to read this book because the first 50% seemed to drag on and I really wasn’t interested. I finished the last half of the book, which was much more exciting, in about 24 hours. The two narrators along with the rest of the characters were just not interesting to me. As you get farther into the book and learn more about their pasts, it becomes more intriguing, but I felt like it took to long to reveal some things. Not one of my favorites by Ware, who I’ve found to be rather hit or miss for me personally.

I’m a huge Ruth Ware fan and desperately wanted to love this like I did her previous book, but it just didn’t happen for me. The premise involves 9 people from a company called Snoop who rent a villa in the French mountains for skiing/team building. The congregation of very different personalities alone creates tension, but when one of the group goes missing and is thought to be dead, suspicions abound and the accusations fly.

What I did like about this was the blizzard in the French Alps setting. At one point there was an avalanche that trapped everyone in the villa with no heat, electricity or means of communication with the outside world. I was drawn into these descriptions and felt anxiety like I was actually there. What wasn’t as successful for me was the amount of characters, which were hard to keep straight and, at times, didn’t seem plausible, almost as if they were caricatures. I also didn’t find myself that invested in the mystery and, therefore, the plot dragged at times for me. I do like how Ruth Ware likes to change up her settings and applaud that aspect of her writing. I definitely recommend this to fans of psychological fiction because I’m sure that Agatha Christie style plot will definitely appeal to a lot of readers. It just wasn’t my favorite.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Gallery/Scout Press and Ruth Ware for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I loved The Woman in Cabin 10. The Death of Mrs. Westaway and Turn of the Key? Meh. So I wouldn’t say I went into this as a Ruth Ware fan, but I wanted to give it another go, now that my life is stabilized enough (in a pandemic? WTF?) that if I don’t like a book, maybe it isn’t just me…so I was happy to get a copy of One by One from Galley Books/Scout Press and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

I was expecting sort of an Agatha Christie vibe after reading that this was one of those stories where the characters get picked off one by one. I’m not sure that is the case, but I am sure that it was a really fun read. Good plot, interesting setting and characters, and a twisty ending. In this story, a group of millennials from a dot-com/tech company (with a hot new product called Snoop, that enables the user to latch on to the music feed of anyone at any time) who go on a corporate getaway to a chalet in the Swiss Alps. They want to focus on mindfulness and collaboration, but this chalet is not the place for that, it seems. The chalet staff includes Erin, who seems to do all the cleaning plus be the hostess and social director, and Danny, who is both the chef and the pool boy/outdoor maintenance guy. There don’t seem to be any other staff, and the chalet can only be accessed by a funicular, meaning they are VERY isolated. Okay, it’s best to just suspend your disbelief, the point is this group of 10 people arrives at this secluded luxury hotel, then are completely isolated when an avalanche cuts them off from any contact with the outside world.

Among the group of guests, there is a Zuckerberg-esqe company founder named Topher and a stunning woman named Eva, and the story is “Topher’s and Eva’s own personal game of thrones.” It is told from various points of view. focusing on Erin, Danny, and Liz, who is the most relatable character. A former employee who was smart (or lucky) enough to get some compensation in the form of shares in the company, she stands to become RICH now that they are on the verge of a major buyout. As the story unfolds, and people keep dying or disappearing, it seems like no one can really trust anyone, and it’s all great fun. The only possible downside is that while suspicion is focused on various people over the course of the weekend, I figured out who the culprit was early on (although the WHY remained a mystery til the end), which means pretty much everyone will figure it out, because I am terrible at solving the mystery based on clues throughout a book. Four stars, and I’m now a fan of Ruth Ware.

One by One was "the one'" that rescued me from my quarantine reading slump. I've enjoyed other titles by Ruth Ware and this did not disappoint. The plot was all at once familiar and fresh, with enticing characters and just enough twist and turns to keep my entertained. Predicting the ending is only part of the fun. If you are looking for a page-turning book to get your mind off things, this is it!

This is my favorite Ruth Ware book. It’s awesome. The plot moves incredibly fast and the twists and turns are so surprising! I also loved that it took place in the mountains and everything. If you want a fantastic and exciting read, this is a great choice!

Nice plot reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”. Twelve people stranded during a blizzard and avalanche at a remote ski chalet. Two employees and ten stakeholders in an internet streaming company that some wants to sell and some keep. As people start to go missing or be killed, you see that not everyone is as they present themselves.

This book kept me coming back for “just a few more chapters”, which is surprising as the only character I liked was Erin, one of the employees. She obviously has a past she is keeping from her coworker and the guests. Why does she have a large scar on her face? Why did she drop out of medical school? I kept reading in the hope she wasn’t the bad guy in all of this.

Not all of the book seemed realistic to me and it didn’t flow well enough for me to rate it 5 stars, but it is a solid read that made me think the snow was piling up outside my home when it was actually 70 degrees.

Ruth Ware never disappoints.
In typical Ruth Ware fashion this book keeps you turning pages trying to figure out the questions the unraveling plot is making you ask. This is a murder mystery set while a group of coworkers is on a ski vacation together. I don't want to give too much away, but simply couldn't put it down.

Ruth Ware does it again! It seems every book of hers I get my hands on I can't put down, and One by One was no different. A page turner for sure, plus I think right now we can all identify with how things change when you are stuck inside with the same people and can't get out! Highly recommend!