One by One

By: Ruth Ware

Narrated by: Imogen Church

“An excellent mystery/suspense novel that will remind you of Dame Agatha at her best.” —Stephen King

This instant New York Times bestseller and “claustrophobic spine-tingler” (People) from Ruth Ware follows a group of employees trapped 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: 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.

Critic reviews

"Imogen Church's extraordinary narration of Ruth Ware's newest suspense novel will keep listeners glued to their earbuds, unable to do anything else but listen wide-eyed and rapt. In an homage to Agatha Christie (AND THEN THERE WERE NONE), Ware has taken the premise of people trapped in an isolated house with an unidentified killer; cleverly adapted the who, where, and what to the 21st century; and pumped up the dread with parallel first-person narratives. Ten employees of a tech start-up meet for a retreat in an alpine chalet with two staff. Tensions abound; then an avalanche isolates the group. Church delivers a myriad of individual voices, offers telling characterizations, and transports listeners into every scene with perfect pacing of the humor, conflicts, and terror. It's witty, cunning, and addictive."

Finished in One Day

Another great book from Ruth Ware! As with her other books, I finished this one in a single day. I enjoyed the whole concept. (I’m now wondering if there will be a new app. 😉) I think I figured out whodunnit about the time I was expected to figure it out, not by my great deductive reasoning. Can’t say too much more without spoilers, and who likes those?!? Imogene Church was fantastic as always!! She’s a perfect fit for Ruth Ware’s books!

Dragged on too long and ended with tiresome wokescolding

I normally love Ruth Ware’s books, and this one started out with an appealing premise. However, even though I’m not usually the type of person who tries to figure out the whodunnit, it was quickly apparent who was behind the murders. And my GOD, I am so sick to death of picking up an book for entertainment only to have the author lecture me about the evil of white males. The last few hours seemed to drag on forever. The best thing about the book was the excellent narration, voiced by the brilliant and consistently pitch-perfect Imogen Church.

Wordy, drawn out.

Wordy and long drawn out story. Author uses the F word excessively when other 4 letter words would have the same effect.

Slow to start but a good read.

Not one of Ruth Ware’s best. However it was solid enough. Narration by Imogen Church is the best part. She’s fantastic. The story was slow to start but once things started happening it picked up the pace.

Gripping climax.... Best kind

I found this because I adore Imogene Church as a performer. The story was "ehhh" for a while, but really built suspense effectively. One of my favorites.