One by One
by Ruth Ware
by Ruth Ware
Blurb:
My Reaction:
Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?
When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?
My Reaction:
Three stars out of five, from me.
The title and something I read promoting this novel made me think it would be more along the lines of Christie's And Then There Were None, but it's not as compelling, dark, and terrifying as that. Unlike some people, I didn't feel immediately certain of the murderer's identity, so that's a positive-- but unfortunately it was a little of a disappointment when it was revealed. Not how I was hoping it would go.
On the whole, it was okay. I didn't like most of the characters, and not just the ones you're supposed to hold in disdain. I didn't particularly care for most of the ones that you are meant to like, so... ~shrug~ Meh.
I could've done without a few political/"woke" references toward the end. We were doing so well for most of the book, but then at the end, I guess the author just couldn't help herself. It wasn't necessary. Didn't add anything to the story. Another disappointment.
This last bit's a spoiler, so consider yourself warned...
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I didn't like the way that we're obviously supposed to applaud Erin's excessive sensitivity when it comes to the dead characters, when to me she's just being ridiculous. She's in a life-or-death situation where accessing a phone is of the utmost importance, and yet she makes a huge deal about how awful she feels about using (the dead) Elliot's thumb in order to unlock his phone. ...When he was alive, Elliot seemed pretty practical. I really don't think he'd mind Erin touching his hand after his death. It's not as though she were defiling his body!
(Strange, though, how she had to work so hard to get the thumbprint to work, but Liz seems to have no such difficulty. Speaking of Liz, the fact that she doesn't think twice about using Elliot's thumb is clearly supposed to be a meaningful moment of contrast between psychopath Liz and caring healer Erin. Ugh.)
The title and something I read promoting this novel made me think it would be more along the lines of Christie's And Then There Were None, but it's not as compelling, dark, and terrifying as that. Unlike some people, I didn't feel immediately certain of the murderer's identity, so that's a positive-- but unfortunately it was a little of a disappointment when it was revealed. Not how I was hoping it would go.
On the whole, it was okay. I didn't like most of the characters, and not just the ones you're supposed to hold in disdain. I didn't particularly care for most of the ones that you are meant to like, so... ~shrug~ Meh.
I could've done without a few political/"woke" references toward the end. We were doing so well for most of the book, but then at the end, I guess the author just couldn't help herself. It wasn't necessary. Didn't add anything to the story. Another disappointment.
This last bit's a spoiler, so consider yourself warned...
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
I didn't like the way that we're obviously supposed to applaud Erin's excessive sensitivity when it comes to the dead characters, when to me she's just being ridiculous. She's in a life-or-death situation where accessing a phone is of the utmost importance, and yet she makes a huge deal about how awful she feels about using (the dead) Elliot's thumb in order to unlock his phone. ...When he was alive, Elliot seemed pretty practical. I really don't think he'd mind Erin touching his hand after his death. It's not as though she were defiling his body!
(Strange, though, how she had to work so hard to get the thumbprint to work, but Liz seems to have no such difficulty. Speaking of Liz, the fact that she doesn't think twice about using Elliot's thumb is clearly supposed to be a meaningful moment of contrast between psychopath Liz and caring healer Erin. Ugh.)
There's a similar moment later in the book, when Erin has to quickly and quietly cobble together a skiing outfit from whatever's available in the locker room. She looks down and realizes she's wearing clothes belonging to another dead character. "The thought that I'm literally stepping into a dead girl's clothes makes my stomach lurch with guilt." Oh, good grief! You're borrowing her clothes in a desperate attempt to save your life. I'm sure she'd have told you to take them with her blessing. It's not as though you're idly searching through her suitcase and stealing whatever clothes take your fancy. Such a stupid thing to waste time thinking about. (And such a stupid thing to include in the novel.)
There are other quibbles (how many sleeping pills does it really take to kill someone, for instance, how did Liz know which jacket Eva would wearing, considering that she's wealthy enough that she might have more than one, and so on)... But that's enough.
END
SPOILERS
It was entertaining in parts, and a nice enough way to pass some time, if you enjoy the genre.
There are other quibbles (how many sleeping pills does it really take to kill someone, for instance, how did Liz know which jacket Eva would wearing, considering that she's wealthy enough that she might have more than one, and so on)... But that's enough.
END
SPOILERS
It was entertaining in parts, and a nice enough way to pass some time, if you enjoy the genre.
