⭐️Captivating, Catastrophic,Chilling⭐️

One By One is Ruth Ware’s newest novel. If you didn’t know, Ruth Ware is one of my favorite thriller writers and I absolutely love her books. I had been pining to read this book for a long time and finally got it from the library last week. I read it in less than 24 hours and my feelings about this book are very mixed.

While the writing, story and characters are all splendid, the book is eerily similar to The Guest List. I would actually recommend those who have read The Guest List to skip this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

SYNOPSIS (from Goodreads)->

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?

REVIEW->

The Plot ->

The plot is as good as any Ruth Ware novel. Mysterious from the beginning, the story is a whodunnit, with survivors trying to track down a killer among them. While the plot is strong, I did feel like the execution was lacking a little. There are some obvious clues that were unexplored in an attempt to make dramatic reveals and I expected more from Ruth Ware.

The Characters->

Told from Erin(the housekeeper) and Liz (one of the guests) POVs, the characters were portrayed in 2 lights by the two women. As each of them revealed a new piece of information about the characters, the reader gets to slowly put the info together to form a full image. The slow character building will keep you hooked and second guessing everyone’s motives. Liz and Erin have their own baggages too and their perception of each other is fascinating to read.

The Writing ->

The writing in one word is ‘astounding’. Her description of the snow and avalanche will give the reader chills, no matter where you are. Being a corporate mystery, there are a lot of technical details that are explained in the book. Snoop is an app and so their tech is cutting edge. I like and appreciate how Ruth Ware has taken the effort to explain critical pieces of tech for the readers.