The Grueling Suspense in Ruth Ware's "One By One"

Ruth Ware once again masterfully weaves together a gripping, nightmarish mystery that puts Agatha Christi to shame in her latest thriller book One by One.

Eight members of the popular tech start-up, Snoop, and a former employee retire to a lavish mountain chalet in France for a weekend to team-build and discuss the app’s future. With a panoramic view of the snow-blanketed mountain scape, lavish amenities and an in-house chef and housekeeper, the getaway was on track to be another luxurious vacation.

However, when Snoop co-founder Eva reveals the trip’s true intentions of a potential buyout, the promise of profits or possible loss divides the group. While at distinct oppositions, the team forges forward toward the famous slopes of the French Alps for some agreed-upon leisure time. But, even the rugged slopes and stress of the buyout pale in comparison to the avalanche that ravages the mountainside, especially when the group realizes that one of them never makes it back.

With the power out, the cold creeping in, and help a distant hope, the group succumbs to the darkness and realization that one of them is willing to kill to keep the buyout at bay. As the days blend with the night in the cold desolation of the chalet, paranoia builds alongside the body count.

Much like the ski slopes she writes about, Ware has created a fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled thriller book riddled with anxious twists reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s grueling suspense. Aside from the cast of wealthy, privileged Snoop employees, the setting they're dropped into becomes a character in direct opposition. While the snoopers value the material things, the avalanche and seclusion strip them and leave them not only vulnerable but afraid.

This unfamiliar setting ultimately creates a sense of uncertain anxiety fueling the tensions between the characters and possible outcomes of the story. The avalanche takes with it the power, cell service and hospitable climate, leaving the reader along with the characters to question their fate. How will they get out? Did they reach help? How long will they be trapped? However, the environment in One by One is not the only fear factor at play.

When it comes to light that Eva’s disappearance may not have been an accident or subsequent result of the avalanche, the group realizes one of them can’t be trusted, especially when another falls victim, and another. The silent killer skulking around the chalet paired with the setting sets up contrasting outcomes for the group. Will the killer succeed in averting accusations and make it out? Will the entire group succumb to the killer’s spree? Or, will the killer be ousted and brought to justice? Will the group make it out and return to normalcy? This uncertainty, although, wouldn’t be nearly as effective without a deadline.

Albeit not as defined as a ticking bomb, there is a deadline for the surviving members of the chalet. As the in-house chef Danny keeps preparing meals, he faces the fact that the food will eventually spoil and run out. The remainder of logs to keep the fires warm will also deplete, and the cold outside will ultimately overtake the chalet. Then, of course, there is the murderer among the group who may pick them all off. When posed with an imminent deadline, whether it be from food, cold or murder, the threat builds, and the outcome for survival becomes slim.

This building and anticipation create a truly thrilling book. It keeps the reader on their toes, anxious for what’s to come next. It’s the perfect read to curl up in bed and read from dark to dawn.

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