One by One
Written by Ruth Ware
Never since And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie have I been so pumped about a mystery. There’s just something special about an isolated party where people begin to meet various ends…one by one. I’ve haven’t read many thriller books, but my mystery loving friends and their recommendations finally got through to me. I plucked One by One off my “to be read” shelf” and let the author, Ruth Ware, take me to a ski chalet for a contemporary whodunnit.
The pool of victims—I mean the characters—consist of the ski chalet’s staff and the employees of Snoop, a popular music social media app, visiting the Alps on a company getaway. The Snoop guests are eccentric, posh, and ready to debate the future of the company, all expect for Liz. Liz is an unkempt ball of anxiety and wishes she could be anywhere else in the world. Liz is such a misfit that it’s hard to understand why she’s even there. Why does she detest the Snoop employees? Does she even work for Snoop? If not why is she on a company trip with them? Ms. Ware won’t give up those answers easily.
Meanwhile, Erin from her place in the chalet service staff, wonders about Snoop’s group dynamics. She overhears conversations between the Snoop employees and begins to piece together the juicy office gossip, but this isn’t The Office, it’s a thriller. Cue the fatal avalanche! After an avalanche destroys the surrounding area and traps the guests and staff inside together, everyone quickly learns that the avalanche might not be the deadliest threat on the mountain.
This book has action, gossip, personality, and, most of all, a mystery that delivers. Not all mysteries have a pay off, but this one does. I’ve read mysteries that withhold all answers before the long-awaited end spills all the secrets. Tension and suspense are important for making a mystery a page turner and the solution sweeter, but it’s important to that the rest of the book be interesting. That’s why this book impressed me as much as it did. A lot happens on that mountain. The book is thoughtfully crafted with clues, foreshadowing, and twists, and a studious reader might be able to crack the case before the book reveals what’s behind the final curtain.
The biggest credit I can give to this book is that I reached a point about one-hundred pages to the end when I audibly gasped and could not stop reading until the end. I found this book hugely satisfying and a new favorite of mine. I even went on to read the other Ruth Ware books, and I have yet to find One by One’s equal. Go get snooping on Snoop!