Saturday, June 19, 2021

Review: One by One

One by One One by One by Ruth Ware
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A chalet in the French Alps -- the only way you can get to it is to ski or by a funicular. I am not a skier, so I would not enjoy the skiing or snowboarding --

But! It's a beautiful chalet, rented out to folks (and companies) with money. Nine bedrooms. Staff are Danny, who cooks (and wow the meals that are described!!), and Erin, who does everything else. Not a skier, as I said, but I would like to be there to see everything and eat those meals.

This week's guests: the top echelon of an app called "Snoop." Ten guests. On the first full day the weather reports predict bad weather in the afternoon, with the slopes being closed, so the group skiies all morning -- a mix of abilities, a mix of who is having fun and who is doing it because you can't say no to the boss.

One last run. And only nine come back to the chalet.

And then -- an avalanche hits. They are stranded, isolated. No cell service. And then -- the first death.

And then another.

It can only be someone in the house.

This is told by two narrators, Erin, who is one of the staff; and Liz, one of the guests. It's no spoiler to say that when you have two narrators like this, who both have secrets, that one of them knows more than they are telling us.

The suspense was great; I guessed some things, didn't guess others; and loved the isolation and how that added to the tenseness of the situation, even before bodies started dropping.


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