Title: One by One

By:  Ruth Ware

ISBN: 150118881X (ISBN13: 9781501188817)

Website: http://www.ruthware.com

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra                   

Summary:

Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?  (Goodreads)

Review:

One by One is a gripping psychological thriller which kept this reader engaged throughout. This is the first book that I have read by Ruth Ware. As always with a new author – I begin reading with trepidation. I need not have worried, thank goodness. 

The story begins with a group of co-workers (and one ex co-worker) from Snoop arriving at a French ski chalet for a retreat. Snoop is an application that allows one to anonymously listen to the music that their friends, relatives, favorite celebrities, and social media influences are listening to. I found the storytelling interesting as it is told from the alternating perspectives of Liz, a minority shareholder and ex-employee of Snoop and one of the chalet personnel – Erin. 

The group of staff/shareholders of Snoop (essentially the executives) are there to discuss company issues but first they are going to go skiing and have some fun (well at least for those who enjoy skiing). Eight go out but only seven return! Then the cold sets in along with snow and then …an avalanche. Tensions are high. Discussions continue with respect to the fate of the company. No one trusts each other and soon two major camps emerge with respect to the corporate issues at hand.  And then there were six. And so on….

As soon as people started disappearing – I got chills and became totally engaged and wanted to read the story nonstop so that I could figure out why and by whose hand the shareholders were disappearing. And then when mother nature threw an avalanche at them as well as a loss of electricity at the chalet – thinks got a bit spooky and ominous. How would they survive the elements given there is not electricity, lack of supplies and a murderer amongst the remaining people?

Certainly enjoyed discovering how everyone was interconnected. That certainly helped muddy the waters when trying to unravel the mysteries. Found the Snoop listener information at the beginning of each chapter intriguing – though took me a wee bit to figure out this program and all its nuances. It certainly could be an interesting app! I found that I needed to read to the end to get the complete picture as to the who and why…especially the why. 

If you enjoy psychological thrillers with interesting characters, then I suggest picking up this book and giving it a read. I will be on the lookout for more Ruth Ware titles ☺