Thrillers & Suspense
![Ruth Ware - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_ruth_ware.jpg)
One by One
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"A claustrophobic spine-tingler." -People
"Not only do Ware's novels wink at [Agatha] Christie in a saucy way, but Ware herself is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime." -The Washington Post
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark, Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.
Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn't sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there's a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers…each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide.
When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech start-up, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other: PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes. But as soon as one shareholder upends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hadn't made it back from the slopes when the avalanche hit.
As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further…one by one.
"A claustrophobic spine-tingler." -People
"Not only do Ware's novels wink at [Agatha] Christie in a saucy way, but Ware herself is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime." -The Washington Post
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark, Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.
Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn't sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there's a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers…each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide.
When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech start-up, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other: PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes. But as soon as one shareholder upends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hadn't made it back from the slopes when the avalanche hit.
As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further…one by one.
Editorial Reviews
PRAISE FOR ONE BY ONE
"[Ware] sets the bar higher in One By One by burying her principal players in an Alpine chalet beneath an avalanche. . . . Readers will recognize the obvious homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but with enough ingenious twists to make this whodunit another triumph for Ware."
-The New York Times Book Review
"Not only do Ware's novels wink at Christie in a saucy way, but Ware herself is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime."
-Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
"A claustrophobic spine-tingler."
-People, "Best Books of Fall 2020"
"Ware manages to make a retreat in a chalet in the wide-open French Alps feel claustrophobic, nerve-wracking and deadly… The author's choice of telling the story in dueling narratives – Liz, a former Snoop employee who was invited to join in the retreat; and Erin, one of the chalet's two staff members – enhances the steadily escalating pace of the book."
-USA Today
"Especially timely, given that the terror of isolation is at its heart… This is And Then There Were None rendered for the twenty-first century."
-Booklist (starred review)
"Ruth Ware is often described as the new Agatha Christie . . . [S]he is a revitalizer, bringing the genre to a new audience with her modern preoccupations and addictive style."
-Air Mail
"Tempestuous . . . [a] claustrophobic, adrenaline-fueled cat-and-mouse game."
-Publishers Weekly
"Ware's gifts for characterization, plot, and pacing shine here… Ware's fans will devour this in a sitting."
-Library Journal (starred review)
"Hilarious, well plotted, and vintage Ware, this one is not to be missed."
-CrimeReads
"Ruth Ware's Hitchcockian thrillers have yet to disapp...
"[Ware] sets the bar higher in One By One by burying her principal players in an Alpine chalet beneath an avalanche. . . . Readers will recognize the obvious homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but with enough ingenious twists to make this whodunit another triumph for Ware."
-The New York Times Book Review
"Not only do Ware's novels wink at Christie in a saucy way, but Ware herself is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime."
-Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
"A claustrophobic spine-tingler."
-People, "Best Books of Fall 2020"
"Ware manages to make a retreat in a chalet in the wide-open French Alps feel claustrophobic, nerve-wracking and deadly… The author's choice of telling the story in dueling narratives – Liz, a former Snoop employee who was invited to join in the retreat; and Erin, one of the chalet's two staff members – enhances the steadily escalating pace of the book."
-USA Today
"Especially timely, given that the terror of isolation is at its heart… This is And Then There Were None rendered for the twenty-first century."
-Booklist (starred review)
"Ruth Ware is often described as the new Agatha Christie . . . [S]he is a revitalizer, bringing the genre to a new audience with her modern preoccupations and addictive style."
-Air Mail
"Tempestuous . . . [a] claustrophobic, adrenaline-fueled cat-and-mouse game."
-Publishers Weekly
"Ware's gifts for characterization, plot, and pacing shine here… Ware's fans will devour this in a sitting."
-Library Journal (starred review)
"Hilarious, well plotted, and vintage Ware, this one is not to be missed."
-CrimeReads
"Ruth Ware's Hitchcockian thrillers have yet to disapp...
Readers Top Reviews
HilaryRowellJacob
I was really looking forward to this as I love Ruth Ware's books and I love these kinds of stories, so I was looking forward to a gradual ramping up of horror and suspense to a truly explosive ending. The suspense never realy got started, at least not until the very end, by which time I had disengaged & was only reading to get it finished. The characters are flat & one dimensional, as well as having no sympathetic features, the story telling is halk hearted at best. I loved The Woman in Cabin 10, it was full of suspense & danger, with a main character you could root for. It is the reason I have read every other Ruth Ware book & have not been disappointed. Until now. If you're looking for a truly thrilling story of a group being picked off one by one in an unforgiving, unfamiliar location, then I would recommend instead The Winter Over by Matthew Iden and The Silence of the Sea by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Leave this one to the People's Friend serialisation it deserves
poshbird87The Coo
Sorry to the author but this will be another book I firmly cast to the "What a waste of my time" pile. Her earlier works, 'In a Dark, Dark Wood' (2015) and 'The Woman in Cabin 10' (2016) are legitimately 2 of my favourite books. Her 2019 release 'The Turn of The Key' was also an enjoyable read, and for me, a real page-turner like the other two titles, but this story, its characters, I found incredibly boring and one-note. I got 87% of the way through before I completely skim-read the rest as I was sick and tired of reading so much pointless detail about the slopes, the piste, the funicular, the bubble life, who was at the top of the mountain, who skied down, who saw who etc etc Plus once the twist had been revealed and again, stayed very one-note, I just wanted to get the book over and done with so I could move on. Ruth Ware is a good author, but this one (along with 'The Lying Game' (2017) were just complete misses for me.
Kat McQueenposhbi
I like all Ruth Ware's books, but to me, this one hit it out of the park. Her best ever. It is suspenseful from the first page, filled with intriguing (mostly unlikable) characters, and just plain fun to read. The setting, a ski resort in a remote location, is perfect. It's secluded and atmospheric. The characters are there on a retreat, deciding whether to accept a potential buy-out, and this secondary plot drives the mystery of who is taking these people out one at a time. Though I confess I did figure this out fairly early on, that did not spoil the book for me in the least. On the contrary. I relished every page, wondering whether I was right--and often doubting myself as Ware is a clever enough writer to drop conflicting clues throughout the story. If you love mysteries, get this book. You will enjoy it--and pass it on to a friend, which I am doing this week. This has been one of my ten favorite books this year. Cannot wait for Ware's next mystery. She gets better and better.
Frannie ZLSLaura
Just getting into it but I find it hard to believe that such a trendy high-tech "young" company who's claim to fame is a unique music app would be listening to all these oldies. Doesn't make sense. And I hate a book where the first couple of pages list characters and their descriptions. Like you could possibly remember them all. Disappointing waste of time. After being disappointed with Ware's short story Snowflakes I have to wonder if she'll continue to be one of my favorite authors. And what has she become - a sort of copycat author? First The Turn of the Key and now this. Better to just read Henry James and Agatha Christie.
Short Excerpt Teaser
1. Liz LIZ
Snoop ID: ANON101
Listening to: James Blunt / You're Beautiful
Snoopers: 0
Snoopscribers: 0
I keep my earbuds shoved into my ears on the minibus from Geneva Airport. I ignore Topher's hopeful looks and Eva, glancing over her shoulder at me. It helps, somehow. It helps to shut out the voices in my head, their voices, pulling me this way and that, pummeling me with their loyalties and their arguments to and fro.
Instead, I let James Blunt drown them out, telling me I'm beautiful, over and over again. The irony of the statement makes me want to laugh, but I don't. There's something comforting in the lie.
It is 1:52 p.m. Outside the window the sky is iron gray, and the snowflakes swirl hypnotically past. It's strange. Snow is so white on the ground, but when it's falling, it looks gray against the sky. It might as well be ash.
We are starting to climb now. The snow gets thicker as we gain height, no longer melting into rain when it hits the window but sticking, sliding along the glass, the windscreen wipers swooshing it aside into rivulets of slush that run horizontally across the passenger window. I hope the bus has snow tires.
The driver changes gear; we are approaching yet another hairpin bend. As the bus swings around the narrow curve, the ground falls away, and I have a momentary feeling that we're going to fall-a lurch of vertigo that makes my stomach heave and my head spin. I shut my eyes, blocking them all out, losing myself in the music.
And then the song stops.
And I am alone, with only one voice left in my head, and I can't shut it out. It's my own. And it's whispering a question that I've been asking myself since the plane lifted off the runway at Gatwick.
Why did I come? Why?
But I know the answer.
I came because I couldn't afford not to.
Snoop ID: ANON101
Listening to: James Blunt / You're Beautiful
Snoopers: 0
Snoopscribers: 0
I keep my earbuds shoved into my ears on the minibus from Geneva Airport. I ignore Topher's hopeful looks and Eva, glancing over her shoulder at me. It helps, somehow. It helps to shut out the voices in my head, their voices, pulling me this way and that, pummeling me with their loyalties and their arguments to and fro.
Instead, I let James Blunt drown them out, telling me I'm beautiful, over and over again. The irony of the statement makes me want to laugh, but I don't. There's something comforting in the lie.
It is 1:52 p.m. Outside the window the sky is iron gray, and the snowflakes swirl hypnotically past. It's strange. Snow is so white on the ground, but when it's falling, it looks gray against the sky. It might as well be ash.
We are starting to climb now. The snow gets thicker as we gain height, no longer melting into rain when it hits the window but sticking, sliding along the glass, the windscreen wipers swooshing it aside into rivulets of slush that run horizontally across the passenger window. I hope the bus has snow tires.
The driver changes gear; we are approaching yet another hairpin bend. As the bus swings around the narrow curve, the ground falls away, and I have a momentary feeling that we're going to fall-a lurch of vertigo that makes my stomach heave and my head spin. I shut my eyes, blocking them all out, losing myself in the music.
And then the song stops.
And I am alone, with only one voice left in my head, and I can't shut it out. It's my own. And it's whispering a question that I've been asking myself since the plane lifted off the runway at Gatwick.
Why did I come? Why?
But I know the answer.
I came because I couldn't afford not to.
