I've really enjoyed some of Ruth Ware's previous books, and even though One By One took a while to get going, it did not disappoint.
I've never read And Then There Were None, but my impression is that One By One is the same type of story. There are ten characters alone in a ski chalet. Two of the people are the employees who are there to cook and clean and generally take care of the guests. The other eight are part of a group from a high tech software company. Well, seven of them are current employees. One is a former employee who doesn't seem to quite fit in. A former personal assistant, she doesn't exactly run in the same circles as the employees.
Turns out they are on a retreat, but also voting on whether to accept a buyout deal. The employees are evenly divided, and it turns out the ex personal assistant is the deciding vote.
Then there's an avalanche that strands them all -- and people start dying.
The first 30% of the book is introduction of characters and setting, and even after all that, I still got some of the characters confused. But it didn't really matter. The narrators were all well defined and interesting.
I didn't really figure out what was going on (or who the "bad guy" was), and that was great. There were a few possibilities, and one of my suspects was indeed the culprit. The story kept me on my toes, until a pretty spectacular climax.
If you enjoy the "stranded people being killed off" trope, One By One is worth your time.
Published by Gallery/Scout Press, September 8, 2020
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
384 pages
Rating: 4/5
