One By One – Ruth Ware
Snow is falling in the exclusive alpine ski resort of Saint Antoine, as the shareholders and directors of Snoop, the hottest new music app, gather for a make or break corporate retreat to decide the future of the company. At stake is a billion-dollar dot com buyout that could make them all millionaires, or leave some of them out in the cold.
The clock is ticking on the offer, and with the group irrevocably split, tensions are running high. When an avalanche cuts the chalet off from help, and one board member goes missing in the snow, the group is forced to ask – would someone resort to murder, to get what they want?
My thanks to Graeme at Vintage for my review copy and the opportunity to join the Ruth Ware Readers Party
Ever had a book hangover? It’s the grumbly sensation which arises when you put down a stonewall banger of a read and turn to your TBR pile with a feeling of dispair for the next book you choose to read (as you know whatever you pick will just not be as good as the story you just finished). I mention this because One By One has given me a major book hangover and I have no idea what to read next.
The remote alpine ski resort of Saint Antoine has two staff members on site to cook for and to look after the guests – Erin and Danny. Erin is the host/cleaner and co-ordinator and Danny is the excellent chef who can prepare the fine food for the chalet residents as they come off the slopes at the end of a day’s skiing.
Erin and Danny are to be joined by the shareholders and staff of music tech firm Snoop. Snoop operate an App which lets you snoop on the music library of other users. If Ed Sheerin is online and listening to music then Snoop users can listen along with Ed to share the experience. The app has been phenomonaly successful but Erin realises that the Snoop representatives are at Saint Antoine to discuss the future of the company – the company are at a critical stage and the decisions they make during their stay will determine the future of the firm. From what Erin can tell there are two factions and a vote on a corporate buy-out will need to be taken by the shareholders…tensions are high amongst the ten Snoop representatives.
Each of Ruth Ware’s previous books have been wonderful at scene setting and the development of the principle characters and One By One is no different. We feel surrounded by the snowy peaks, chilled at the idea of stepping outside and, through Erin, we get a feel for the young friends and colleagues who make up Snoop. The founder Topher and his former partner Eva (the principle shareholders and the heads of the two differnet factions for the future path of the firm). Their tech nerd is there, the legal brain, PA’s and support colleagues – all one dynamic wee team with the confidence, charisma and the arrogance of youthful success. Except there is one of their number that doesn’t fit in. Liz. She is shy, reserved and awkward. When the Snoop staff make plans they forget to include Liz. Erin can’t figure out how Liz came to be involved with Snoop and why she has been invited along to Saint Antoine. The awkwardness around Liz only compunds the problems Erin has to deal with while keeping the high manintenance guests pacified and helping cool tempers when opinions on the buy-out differ.
After a morning board meeting the guests head to the ski slopes to take a collective break and enjoy some of the challenges offered on the various ski slopes. However the day is going to end with a shock as one of the party gets sepearated from the group and doesn’t return to the chalet. Panic and confusion split the group furhter – conditions outside are worsening and the friends cannot go looking for their missing colleage. As they hunker down and contemplate what happens next it becomes obvious the shareholder power has shifted and when the remaining shareholders realise how positions have changed they begin to wonder if someone has taken matters into their own hands. Would someone resort to murder to ensure they get their own way?
Conditions worsen, tempers fray further and worry increases when a second death occurs. Can Erin and Danny keep their calm and keep their guests safe or is there a killer in their midst?
One By One is a wonderfully tense mystery story. The remote location and the blizzard conditions outside the cabin gives the book the feel of a locked-room murder mystery. Erin is our principle narrator and she guides us through most of the incidents as they occur, her anxiety and suspicions drive the whole book and it works perfectly. I didn’t want to break from reading as it all seemed to be unfolding in real time and I felt I had to keep going.
When a book is as gripping as One By One you know you have invested your reading time wisely. Ruth Ware consistently delivers high level thrillers and One By One only confirms her standing as a writer on the top of her game.
One By One is published today by Vintage and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084GKMG9L/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
