Oh my goodness.. couldn't put this one down. Started fairly slowly but soon picked up and was an absolute roller coaster of a tale. 
A group of associates gather together for a skiing/ work break and after an avalanche of devastating proportions  the cracks begin to show. Danny and Erin the chalet hosts deal with the horrors that ensue....and the ending is a real page turner. Thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.

One by One delivers pretty much what you might expect, and while it wasn’t a bad read it all felt just a little obvious to really rate more highly. I enjoyed it, just not as much as I’d hoped.
We have a fairly large cast of characters all linked by the fact they’re in an alpine chalet when disaster strikes. There are ten members of the trendy Snoop app holidaying, and their staff Erin and Danny. A storm arrives, setting off an avalanche which cuts their chalet off from the village. One of the party is missing, and this is bad...but then it gets a whole lot worse as members of the party are picked off.
Someone in the party is a murderer. Trapped in their resort home, they have to decide what to do to survive as they try to work out who’s behind these murders.
The large cast made this rather difficult to get behind. Some are left undeveloped as they are not really that important. It’s clear that there are tensions within the group, people have secrets and more than one has something they could see as motivation for murder. 
From quite early on the signs were there as to who was responsible. Part of me hoped this would not prove to be the case; that there’d be some sleight of hand, a twist I didn’t see coming. Admittedly, I didn’t work out exactly why this situation had come about but it all felt just a little obvious. I also couldn’t help but feel the whole background of the app was for little purpose other than to explain a couple of key moments, meaning the time given to it was starting to seem unnecessary.
I’m grateful to NetGalley for granting me access to this in advance of publication, but it didn’t live up to my expectations having enjoyed Ware’s other novels.

I have to admit I’ve never really fancied the idea of skiing. I’m definitely not a fan of extreme cold and I’m pretty accident prone at the best of times. You would be more likely to find me in front of the fire curled up with a book while everyone went off to ski. Actually on second thoughts that sounds pretty good. Well it did until I read One by One, now I’m probably even less likely to book a skiing holiday in the future!

In One by One we meet the directors and staff of the popular music app, Snoop. Having decided to visit the exclusive alpine ski resort of Saint Antoine they soon find themselves in a dangerous situation. It’s safe to say that there is plenty of tension within this group already without the devastating avalanche that leaves them stranded. Then what follows is a deadly cat and mouse game.

The plot itself moves pretty steadily. I have to admit it took me a few chapters to get a feel for the characters as there are quite a few to get to know. I had to check back a couple of times to some of the earlier chapters which helped to get it all sorted in my mind who was who. Although to be fair my memory is pretty terrible at the best of times! I wouldn’t say that I particularly liked every character. Let’s just say for the most part they don’t have the most likeable traits. However this didn’t really bother me too much because I am a fan of unlikeable characters. I guess I probably became more attached to Erin’s character as she was pretty much in the same boat as the reader. Which was basically in the dark and wondering what was happening as the mystery over certain events deepened. I thought the idea behind Snoop as a company was very interesting. Along with seeing how each character fitted in within this company. I was also eager to discover why there was so much tension and at times hostility within this group.

Just as the title says, one by one the numbers in this group are slowly but surely whittled down. I did have my suspicions over who was behind it all and even though I was proven right, it didn’t ruin my reading experience. I just enjoyed putting the clues together and wondering how everything would play out. The setting itself provided a menacing presence as the isolation brings increased tension to the characters situation. One by One is the kind of book you want to read wrapped up all cosy and warm as the cold, dark mystery unfolds.

The characters (and lack of characterization) were what let this book down for me. 

I am a long-time Ruth Ware fan and have enjoyed all her books up until now, though some more than others of course. The premise of this book was fine, sounded quite interesting, if not quite as exciting as The Turn of the Key and The Death of Mrs Westaway. Where this book just didn't work for me was in the fact that there are twelve characters but several of them I couldn't keep track of because they basically had identical "I'm a shareholder/businessperson" personalities. I am someone whose reading experience is very much affected by my emotional connection to the characters, and that was just lacking here.

It was also frustrating that the culprit's identity is revealed with so many pages left to go (though most seasoned thriller readers will likely figure it out much sooner anyway). This dampened what little tension the book had managed to muster up until that point.

There is no doubt that Ruth Ware is one of my favourite authors and One By One is her latest gripping story. Set in the beautiful and snowy French Alps, it features a group of people gathering for a corporate retreat, the two staff members running the remote resort, dangerous secrets, a killer ready to do anything to protect those secrets, and weather conditions that keep the characters isolated from the rest of the world. And, because of all these elements, I spent an enjoyable Saturday completely engrossed in the story.

Based on the many thrillers I read, corporate retreats are a bad idea… they always end badly! In One By One, inspired by Agatha Christie, Ruth Ware creates a story in which the employees and shareholders of a successful app company reunite in a resort to discuss the future of the company and to ski. With millions of dollars at stake and secrets threatening to come to light, the tension is high. Things get worse when an avalanche isolates them with no cell reception and no way to call for help. When one of them disappears, it becomes clear that there is a killer on the loose and no one is safe. When everyone is a suspect, who can you trust?

The story is told from two points of views. Lily, a former employee of the app company, finds herself in the middle of the battle between the two founders of the company. Thanks to her perspective, we get a deep and interesting insight inside the company and its members. On the other hand, for Erin the chalet in Saint Antoine is her escape from her past. Even from the outside, it is clear that tempers are fraught between her new guests and things take a dark turn when one of them disappears.

Ruth Ware never disappoints. I loved the cold and immersive setting, the deceitful and suspicious characters, the clever, chilling, and addictive plot. I raced through One By One. How could I not? I needed to know who the murderer was and it took me by surprise. I don’t know if One By One is my favourite of Ruth Ware’s novels, because I love all of her books, but it is definitely a must-read! Highly recommended!

This is my first read by this author. 

It was ok, as far as mysteries go. 

Usually I never guess the culprit/bad guy etc but I was able to guess early on who was not to be trusted in this story. 

It you like mysteries, this one might be for you.

It begins as a bonding holiday for the directors and shareholders of the hugely successful app Snoop, which is the new craze to hit music world but they soon realise they are there for another reason. I liked the opening chapter of this book, set in the Alpine ski resort of Saint Antoine. The last guests had gone and all the cleaning, preparation and re-stocking the chalet had been completed. Erin and Danny, the chalet hosts, were taking a well earned time out before the new guests arrived. They weren’t to know that it was literally the calm before the storm.
The new guests are a real mixed bunch that took a little time to get to know, especially with some of them having names that could be male or female. They are mainly boisterous which makes them memorable or geeks and mousey which again worked for me. The atmosphere turns sour when the real reason for the trip is revealed.
When the group are taken out on the slopes it is with caution, although they are of mixed abilities. A weather front is coming in rapidly. Left by Erin, so she can do chores back at the chalet, the group make their way up the mountain. Not everyone returns and when they do it isn’t long before the chalet is hit by an avalanche, making the rest of them cut off from the nearest town.
By the time the avalanche hit I had got to know the characters and what their role in the company was. The story moves into a ‘Whodunnit’ mode as unexplained deaths hit the group. There are plenty of people with a motive for wanting their colleagues, friends and co-shareholders dead, but which one is capable of murder?
The descriptions of Saint Antoine are superb, the slopes, the Piste and the avalanche. Ruth Ware is an atmospheric writer as she built in my mind the scene of beauty and treachery and the deterioration of everything in the chalet, including the people as time goes on. The last quarter of the book is very intense with brilliant heart-pounding moments that made this book impossible to put down.

I wish to thank the publisher and NetGalley for an e-copy of this book plus a hard copy, which had been delayed in the post due to covid.

We went from The Turn of the Key to this?? How low we've sunk!

Snoop is a modern, trendy, innovative Company that has created a successful music app of the same name, that allows users to ‘snoop’ what tracks their friends (and even celebrities) are playing, and listen along with them in real time.

Ten Snoop Employees, Two staff. 

A week-long stay in a chalet high in the French Alps.

There to decide the future of Snoop.

Five shareholders. Two in favour of the buyout, two against, one undecided.

A morning of skiing sees one of their group fail to return to the chalet.

Then the Avalanche hits.

As you can see, One By One had plenty of potential, but unfortunately almost nothing about it worked for me.

*WARNING: MILD SPOILERS AHEAD.*

Did anyone not guess who the killer was? Well, if your answer is no, you didn't have to wait long to find out because their identity was revealed at 66%? That's right, 66%! I couldn't believe it – wondered if the last 30% was going to contain an excerpt from a much better Ruth Ware novel, The Turn of the Key perhaps? You know how sometimes they do that? But then, sadly, I remembered I was reading an e-ARC, so that didn't seem likely. So, I consoled myself, certain that there was a phenomenal big twist/s still to come. Nope, there was no twist, instead we were subjected to a repetitive very long cat-and-mouse game, followed by an underwhelming motive for the murders.

There were only 12 characters, but I honestly struggled to keep them straight, as the majority of them may as well have been cardboard cutouts. Tiger or Ani? Inigo or Rik? No clue? Never mind, it was of little consequence anyway, since most were neither suspects or contributed anything to the plot.

An overload of business, tech, and ski jargon, profit and loss sheets, contract clauses, etc, really bogged down the first half.

The two alternating POV's was okay the first 50% but then became insufferable. Would've been nice to hear from some other characters – maybe then they wouldn't have been so underdeveloped?

The constant bickering was a bore to read.

Why did characters keep running out of a room when something upset them? I can't count the number of times it happened. Someone, turn it into a drinking game.

The snoop app was a cool idea. I'd use it. At the start of each chapter were four lines of ‘snoop statistics' pertaining to the POV, which I quite liked. And the ‘clue’ revealed in that data was one of my favourite parts.

The themes of entitlement and inequality and the character growth that resulted from this realisation had me somewhat emotionally invested.

My recommendation, read The Turn of the Key instead. Or, if you’re after a snowy setting for your next whodunit, Lucy Foley's, The Hunting Party is my pick.

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Random House UK Vintage Publishing, and Ruth Ware for the e-ARC.

I'm a huge fan of Ruth Ware and was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of her latest, One by One. I was particularly pleased because the wintery setting makes it an absolutely perfect read for this time of year.

One by One is set in one of those exclusive skiing resorts in the Alps. The shareholders and directors of a hip new social media app called Snoop have gathered at a luxury chalet to discuss a prospective buyout. With the group already split, tensions are running high when a massive avalanche hits, isolating them from the outside world. No Internet, no phone signal, the power cuts out and the pipes begin to freeze, but it takes two deaths before they begin to realise that someone might be deliberately picking them off, one by one...

The story is told from two points of view: Liz, who is a minority shareholder in Snoop but feels hopelessly out of her depth, and Erin the housekeeper - who has a few secrets of her own. The story has a slow burn start to allow for a proper introduction to all the characters, but once the avalanche hits the tension really tightens. The last quarter of the book, involving a cat-and-mouse chase through the snow, is extremely exciting. I'm amazed I still have any fingernails left!

One by One (as you might have guessed) is a 'locked room' murder mystery with an affectionate nod to a couple of Agatha Christie's bestsellers. Fans of Ruth Ware's earlier books, particularly In a Dark, Dark Wood, will love it. Recommended, especially on a snowy winter's night...



Thank you to Ruth Ware and Vintage Books (Random House) for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

I read in a dark dark wood quite a few years ago and I’m sure I liked it but didn’t love it. I think I need to say the same for this. It wasn’t bad at all but I felt it was a bit slow and a bit predictable.  This locked room style book follows a company retreat to a french ski chalet. I loved that it was set in a ski resort and really made me want to try and get skiing again (one day! 🤞🏻). Ruth wares has a writing style that is easy to follow and this sorry started well with interesting characters but it just didn’t do much for me beyond that.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc. 

I love a cosy mystery so I was instantly drawn to this and this was my first Ruth Ware book. 

This started off strong and it was good getting to know the characters, and their individual vengeance's. I did find at points in the beginning that this dipped a bit, and for me there was quite a lot of discussion on skiing, which is something I know nothing about so was difficult to follow. 

Once we got really into the mystery I was really invested and wanted to find out who done it, I must admit I did guess at about 65% into the book, but it didn't distract from the rest of the book. 

The ending felt a bit rushed, so overall this was a 3.5* and I am interested to pick up more Ruth Ware.

I devoured this book in two days! Easy reading, a pace that will leave you breathless and a classic plot with a modern twist. What's not to like?!

One by One follows a group of employees on a corporate retreat in a ski report. They become stranded there after an avalanche, where one of the members of the group goes missing. After things start to emerge which makes the person’s disappearance suspicious, the group have to start questioning whether one of their own is a murderer. 

Thrillers are such a hit-and-miss read for me, usually. I love the idea of them and I get excited about the blurb but oftentimes they are a let-down: I find that they can be badly written, poorly paced and easy to work out. However, I can confirm that none of these things were true for One by One, which is my favourite thriller I’ve read this year. 

The first thing I will say about the novel is it has an almost relentless pace, jumping straight into the main plot and action. It didn’t take too long to get started, and once it did, I was hooked – I devoured this book in a day, which isn’t something I do all too often anymore. 

The set-up of the novel is ideal for a thriller – they’re cut off in the middle of nowhere, so there’s a closed pool of people that could be the murderer. The novel does a good job of throwing your suspicions on to one person and then another, never letting you stick on one person for very long. I did start to suspect who the murderer was, but I thought it was handled well enough (and gave you enough doubt) that I wasn’t absolutely sure and couldn’t work out how. 

The book is split into two points of view – Erin, one of the hosts at the ski chalet they are staying in – and Liz, an ex-employee of Snoop. I liked this as it gave you a chance to see multiple perspectives of the group and how they acted. Both narrative voices were distinctive, and Ruth Ware did a good job of making Liz feel rather cold and distant at times, like her characterisation in general. 

I would definitely recommend this to thriller fans! The pacing is excellent, the writing is really good and the characterisations are done well. It also didn’t feel like something too outside the realm of possibility – sometimes these sorts of novels push that a bit – and I was tense enough to want to know what was happening, devouring the novel until I got the answers.

This is a great murder mystery. 
Set in the mountains of a French ski resort, the shareholders and directors of music app, Snoop get together for make or break talks. 
Erin and Danny work for the chalet company and are there to help with food and skiing but they don’t know what to think when this strange group of people turn up. 
There’s a multitude of characters in the party of ten people and Erin can’t work some of them out. 
They decide to go out skiing as the weather is set to worsen but only 9 of the group come back. 
Eva was last seen on the slopes and after some digging, her phone signal is showing she’s gone over the edge of a sheer drop. 
The group are sad at first then murder is suggested so emotions then go through the roof. 
An avalanche then hits them and phone signals go, shortly followed by the electricity. 
Another body is then found in the chalet, so they know one of them is a killer. 
This is a tense, gripping read that had me questioning everyone but I got it totally wrong. 
This book has a great reveal and a nail biting conclusion which I absolutely loved. 
Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Oh, I loved it. An atmospheric and claustrophobic thriller, it got me hoocked and I couldn't put it down. It has all the elements I like on a thriller book: a secluded place, group of weird people, misterious deaths, loads of snow. It looks like the perfect enviroment for something terrible to happen. The only downside is that I kind of guessed who was the person killing everyone but I didn't not see the reason for that coming. Oh wow... It was a great book by Ware and another one I loved. Highly recommend it.

So I frigging loved this book! Although, not sure I want to go skiing again after reading this and I do enjoy a spot of skiing, might just stay away from this resort. I loved the concept of Snoop too, a social media app to track people’s music taste and listen to what they are listening to in the moment, it is quite intimate and intrusive at the same time but it brought background to the team to where everything begins.

As is the way when skiing, at times you are truly isolated when on the mountain if you have an empty run, but those avalanche warnings aren’t something to be messed with. That warning brings the start of something quite dark and devious. I had my suspicions from the start, but I wasn’t 100% confident in my reckoning. It reminded me of Agatha Christies And then there were none (my second favourite Christie book) where people are picked off One by One. But like always, is it the obvious person who is committing these heinous acts or is there someone else to blame?

I flew threw this book, the chapters are short and succinct. When we are with Liz, a shareholder of Snoop we see what it is like to be on the inside. When we are with Erin, the Chalet host, we see the outsiders point of view and both offering interesting takes on the events as they unfold.

I loved that the story is only told from two characters point of view. It made for riveting reading and adds a layer of mystery because you really didn’t know what was going on outside that small bubble. We are only told things when the character themselves learn of the events. Who is safe? Who should we be worried about? When the avalanche causes problems and the chalet is basically on its own kind of lockdown then the fun really begins. A web of deceit has been woven but do the reasons justify the crime.

Gah, so much I want to say, I just thoroughly enjoyed it, the cold and stark yet beautiful setting of the mountains. The unsuspecting flies in the middle of a spiders web. For me, it worked, I know it hasn’t for some people, but for me it did. I was racing through the book, eager to know how it would all end. To see if it would end, or would it just be a vicious loop. I felt the cold, I have experienced that cold but to be shut off from the world. To be truly alone, on a mountain that truly terrifies me.

Ruth Ware has done it again!  A modern day Agatha Christie! A remote chalet with a corporate group spending a week together and gradually members of the team begin to disappear and a killer is in their midst. The dynamics between the shareholders/top employees is believable; their sense of entitlement and what they expect from the 'staff' is believable. The surroundings are well described and the extremes of weather had me reaching for a blanket. Ruth Ware shares who is responsible for the deaths about four fifths of the way through rather than at the end of the book and there is a change of pace and direction taking the story to a conclusion with a clear explanation rather than just tidying up loose ends. Another good read!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Ruth Ware/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 ⭐

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC
I thought this story was an easy enough story to read and was suitably interesting.

It didn't leave me with strong feelings either way of I'm honest and it was easy to predict the killer so the reveal felt lackluster.

There was a decent bit of action near the end.

Overall a decent story, very enjoyable. Just nothing earth shattering

When you have a chalet in the Swiss alps, 10 people who don't all like each other and an avalanche that cuts the power and cell reception, you know it's not going to be a book where people will be sitting around a fire roasting marshmallows waiting to be rescued! 
Although some bits were predictable I still thoroughly enjoyed this book and felt like taking out my old Cludo board. Who did it; how and why are the questions you keep asking and together with some of the characters you play armchair detective. 
If you feel like a great whodunnit in the classical Agatha Christie style this is a must-read. 
"Now we are ten. Now we are nine. Now we are eight. The words chant inside my head, a kind of gruesome countdown, edging closer to zero, one by one."
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Have to say I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting something quite special with all the 5 star reviews.
I did guess quite early on who the killer was and for me it really didn't pick up until 70% of the way through. The tension then ratchet up.
Some of the characters were unlikeable, Topher especially. 
The friendship between Danny and Erin was genuine and they really cared about each other.
The descriptions of the ski resort and the weather were very atmospheric. 
I so love a thriller but for me wasn't pacy enough. 
Thanks to Netgalley and Vintage for the ARC