Book Review: One By One

 Book Review: One By One

By: Ruth Ware

Snoop, a music app that individuals can ‘snoop’ on what someone else is listening to at that moment. Therefore, if your favourite musician is listening to a song you can listen along at the exact same time they are listening to the song. Snoop, a music app with a few people behind it. Snoop, a music app company with a list of shareholders who could potentially make a lot of money if the buyout happens. Snoop, a music company with a list of shareholders but mainly one who does not want to be involved.

Liz, a minor shareholder in Snoop, accompanies the other shareholders on a ski trip to a beautiful chalet in the mountains. Little did she know that her, and the five other shareholders would be stuck at the chalet because of an avalanche. With the Snoop shareholders there are also two chalet staff, Erin and Danny, managing their food and lodgings.

However, the avalanche is the least of their worries, one of the majority shareholders disappeared after been seen on the ski hill not long before. After that, another shareholder is found dead in his room. One by One, secrets are revealed, and mysterious events happen, are these events accidental because of the storm or is there something more sinister at work?

One By One told by the point of view of Liz, the ex-employee of Snoop who is also a minority shareholder, and Erin, the mountain chalet employee taking care of the Snoop employees staying for the weekend.

The location of the mountain chalet sounds beautiful but when one of the guests disappears after a skiing adventure before the storms hits it becomes everyone's worst nightmare. Liz is an ex Snoop employee, while she no longer works at Snoop she still holds 2% of the shares in the company. When the company is considered for a buyout, the shareholders need to determine when this is the right course. The majority shareholders are split with Liz being the possible deciding factor. But Liz has a secret of why she left Snoop, and this could determine which way she chooses. 

Erin works are the mountain chalet, she along with the cook Danny are there to ensure the ski trip goes smoothly. But Erin has a past that she is keeping secret. 

After the avalanche, all guests and employees are stuck in the chalet. Slowly running out of food and warmth. With hardly any cell service will they survive the events? Or with there something more going on than a lot of snow sitting outside their door? 

I thought that the characters were well described, reading some of the other reviews of this book I saw a lot of people saying they got confused between which character is which. But like reading And Then There Were None or any other novel with a lot of characters being introduced from the beginning, I thought Ware did a great job of giving description to the characters at the beginning to understand which person is which. 

The location is mystical but sinister. It's the perfect place for a bunch of people to be held up and horrible things start to happen. It also sounds beautiful and reminds me of my home in Alberta Canada with the mountains only an hour away. 

I really liked the characters of Liz and Erin, while Liz is not an outgoing person her thoughts were relatable since I too am not an outgoing person in group situations. I thought Erin was likable and kind of witty which was a nice change of pace from Liz. Together I enjoyed their narrations.

While I did figure out what was going on about mid-read, I thought overall it was a good ending. Some aspects were a little farfetched but mystery novels are allowed to be farfetched in the most realistic way possible! 

I give this novel a ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, the only downside was the middle seemed a little slower but really picked up near the end. The pace seemed a little off. But overall, I really enjoyed this book and it's probably one of my favourite Ruth Ware novels to date!