One By One by Ruth Ware My rating: *** out of 5 Stars Published: September 2020 by Gallery Scout Press Genre: Thriller Pages: 384 Buy It:Amazon
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What it’s about:
Snoop, an up-and-coming tech firm sensation, decides to hold a company retreat at a swanky ski chalet in St. Antoine, France for ten of their employees/shareholders. The beautiful Eva and the charming Topher (company founders) are at odds over how to proceed with a buy out option. Each tries to garner the favor of the other shareholders, that is until a horrible skiing accident puts everything on hold. But when another shareholder is found murdered, they all begin to realize that it may not have been an accident at all.
Stranded by a massive avalanche, the company and the chalet crew, Erin and Danny, have to figure out how to survive with the ever-dropping temperatures and waning provisions as they wait for help. After the third guest is found murdered, they realize that they are all in danger. Will help come in time?
Why I liked it:
I am a big Ruth Ware fan. Since her first book, A Dark, Dark, Night, I have been drawn in by her amazing writing and her ability to develop characters that you may not like, but can’t help being interested in. Certainly, the characters in this book were mostly unlikable. But even so, their stories were fascinating. Ware also does a fabulous job with the setting. Not a skier myself, I found her description of the French Alps and the skiing references to be interesting. Because of this, as with her other novels, I finished this book in one weekend.
Why I Didn’t Like It:
Again, I really like her novels. Other ones I particularly enjoyed were The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Turn of the Key (both of these are also locked-room mysteries). Unlike those stories, this book did not bring an element of surprise at all. You know almost from the very beginning who did it which left you feeling disappointed and unfulfilled at the end. I kept hoping there would be some twist that would blow me away, but alas, there was not.
I will keep reading Ware’s books and hope that the next one is more like her earlier works.
