I really enjoyed this suspense thriller. It was an interesting setting in a chalet high up in the Alps and I did not expect the book to develop how it did. It kept me gripped all the way though, right to the end.

I was enthralled after only two pagess.

The chapters alternate between two chracters, Erin, a chalet worker and Liz, one of the guests.

The book feels a little like Then There Were none.

A really enjoyable story that'll keep you guessing.

My thoughts are mixed.
"One by One" resembles an Agatha Christie in plot. Staff from an app development startup are at a snow resort for a private conference. Two staff are there to host the stay.
Within days an avalanche cuts them off and people start dying... One by One.
Ware tells the story through the eyes of Erin, one of the hosts and Liz, minority shareholder, as short, diary entries. This allows us some insight into the other characters, assuming of course our narrators are honest.
The suspense is excellent as we jump from one perspective to the next and when both diarists are isolated together, it builds to a relative crescendo with a desperate downhill ski pursuit.
The mechanics of the story are smart and Ware understands skiing. Reading the pursuit is very much like lurching at speed along a ski slope.
In the end there are a few surprises which explain everything... In detail. Again, do we really need to sign off every character's life "after" the incident? Does it matter? That depends but I did not care enough about them to want to know.

A murder that’s driven by greed creates this fast-paced thriller set in a chilly ski-resort.

The characters are engaging and the story makes even the reader question who to trust.

Recommended for fans of murder mysteries and psychological thrillers.

Snow is falling in the exclusive French ski resort of Saint Antoine and the shareholders and directors of the hottest music app, Snoop, hope that, but the end of the corporate retreat, they will have decided their company’s future: a billion pound dot com by out or the not sell. But with a near split on what to do, a decision must be made.

But when one board member vanishes moments before an avalanche cuts the chalet, its guest and the two staff, off from help, business tensions turn to a desperate urge to survive. But something doesn’t feel right about the disappearance… it’s as if this was a murder. But was it murder, an accident or are they safe somewhere else? Because, if it was murder, that means the murderer is with them…

This book feels very much like a homage to Agatha Christie. There is the obviously And Then There Were None, but there are little nods to other Christie mysteries or clues used such as A Murder is Announced, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Evil Under the Sun and The Sittaford Mystery, which I think will give Agatha Christie fans a real kick. There might be more, but not that well read in Christie’s work (I plan to read two or three more of her titles by end of the year, starting with Death On The Nile). And, like a Christie, once this book hits its stride, you are running with the plot, feeling the uneasy and tension of the characters and trying to figure out if there is a killer and, if so, who?

An interesting difference between And Then There Were None and One By One is how the story is told. And Then There Were None is told in third person, watching all ten characters trapped on an tiny island off Devon, but in One By One, the story is told by two characters: Erin, who works at the chalet, and Liz, one of Snoop’s shareholders, owning only 2% and who REALLY doesn’t want to go to the chalet. Because of this, the story adds an extra layer of tension as we, the readers, are with the characters as realisation slowly dawns on them and, at the same time, see some dark secrets of people come to light.

While I devoured this book, I do have one or two issues. The first is the beginning felt a tad slow for me. I know why - we need to know these characters before it begins to hit the fan, but when I read a mystery, I don’t want to spend the first chunk of the book, going “Where’s my murder/disappearance?”. I feel that undermines what the book is trying to set up.

The second was the ending. I won’t spoil it, but things had to be wrapped up in last few percentage (that’s fine. I’m glad that this happened as one or two things needed to be explained), but there was a moment where we went into Final Girl trope which we see so often in crime and horror. I get why, but I was expecting something new and different. A twist or sting in the tail.

I think I was expecting more so, not an issue with the book, it’s a me thing. Because, when you read the book, you see that this is the only way for it to be told.

But I devoured this in three/fours days and I would happily recommend this to Agatha Christie fans as they will eat this up! Plus, with this coming out near Christmas, this will be the perfect Christmas chiller!

I have one other Ruth Ware book on my kindle - The Turn of the Key - and I can’t wait to figure out when am going to read this, or if I should read one or two others first (The Death of Mrs Westaway or The Woman in Cabin 10)…

Firstly thank you to the publishers for accepting my request to read on netgalley.

Ruth is a great writer in this genre of who done the crime.

Set in a cold resort adds to the chilling atmospheric tension to the narrative.

I did struggle to keep up with the different characters but thats more a personal issue than one of the book.

Where money is there lies the crime. Greed breeds contempt and rivalry.

Who can be trusted? Who is the killer ?

A fast paced murder mystery .

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy. First discovered Ruth Ware’s novels when I read The Death of Mrs Westaway. As soon as I finished it I bought all of her other novels as I loved her writing style. Once again in “One by One” Ware has crafted an engaging thriller. This is not a book to pick up and down, this is a book you need to keep reading until the denouement.

Let me start by saying that I love Ruth Ware. Thrillers aren't generally a genre that I read but her books are an auto buy for me. I didn't love her last book, The Turn of the Key, as much as I had hoped but One by One is definitely a return to a format that the author does best.

One by One is set in St Antoine, a ski resort in France, where members of Snoop, a successful music app, arrive at the ski resort for a company retreat. When a major avalanche cuts off all electricity in the chalet and access to the resort, the group are left stranded with no help and one of their party missing. When a body is found, it is clear that there is a murderer amongst them, but who is it?

Ruth Ware has been compared to Agatha Christie and its definitely easy to see why here. The secluded setting with people being picked off one by one is brilliant and sets you on edge as a reader. We're told the story from two different narratives so it's very interesting to try and figure out who you can trust.

I couldn't put the book down from around 70% in as it was so tense and I needed to know what happened to the characters.

Definitely a 5/5. Such an easy, well written and gripping read with interesting characters who you care and root for. It gives nothing away and keeps you guessing until the reveal.

Having read The Turn Of The Key, my first book by Ruth Ware, a few weeks ago and really liking her writing style, I was over the moon to see that she had released a new book with what looked to be a brilliant premise.
And it sure is a brilliant premise!
It being told from alternate viewpoints, with one of them being an employee at the chalet, this added another dimension to story and kept me hooked from the very beginning.
I wasn't sure what would happen next or who to suspect, which was a very good thing.
It did take me a little while to keep track of who was who and what it was they do at Snoop but once I got into it I couldn't put it down.
There were plenty of twists and turns, quite literally sometimes on the slopes of the mountain and the setting and them being cut off from the rest of the world, whilst the body count increases, makes this a 5 star murder mystery/thriller for me.
And if you enjoyed Sleep by C.L. Taylor (one of my favourite reads this year), I would definitely recommend reading this next.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve seen Ruth Ware described as “the Agatha Christie of our generation” and that has never been truer than in “One by one”. A beautiful mountain chalet in the Alps, a company retreat with some of your coworkers and an avalanche hitting, getting you snowed in at the top of the mountain. What could go wrong? The answer is: everything!

I gotta be honest, this type of mysteries, reminiscent of “And then there were none”, are some of my favorite stories. Give me a group of people isolated in a remote setting and bodies turning up every few chapters and I’m happy. And with this book I enjoyed every single moment.

"One by one" is Ruth Ware at her best. Last year "The turn of the key" was a bit of a let down for me, but in this instance she's truly back to form. I was so excited I got this ARC that, even though it has a November release date, I had to read it right now. That's how badly I wanted it.

I got hooked up from page one, when all the different characters are introduced. The story is told in alternating chapters by Erin, one of the chalet workers, and Liz, one of the guests. This alternating POV makes the story quite dynamic and I found both voices equally interesting. There was not a dull moment throughout the novel. The setting was magnificent and the author manages to transport you to that mountain, feeling the cold as the characters do. I've never skied in my life and after reading this I doubt I will ever do :) The final confrontation had me biting my nails the whole time. Also there was a final twist I wasn't expecting and added another layer to the story.

Ruth Ware is a superb suspense writer and I daresay even Agatha Christie would be impressed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just the thing to read when you need switch-off entertainment that is gripping but unchallenging. The spotify-alike app company gives a contemporary edge updating the Agatha Christie plot. Ware cleverly twists her model and also gives her reveal early enough to really ramp up the tension in the final 25%. Some of the characterization is thin with people barely being more than names and what Erin does with a broken ankle makes her superwoman! Still, it's worth just going with the flow - a fun, one-sitting read.