Read "One By One" by Ruth Ware

... But maybe don't pay full price

Ruth Ware’s newest mystery, One by One, is good. I’m not gonna sit here and tell you otherwise, even if I have a couple qualms with it. Ware has a pretty strong fan following, and for good reason: she’s a fantastic author. This newest novel is no exception, especially story-wise. When a group of skiers find themselves trapped in their fancy rental house after an avalanche, the bodies start piling up. And no one trusts each other … not even the serving staff.

The premise works great. It’s a classic “bottle episode” that puts a lot of big personalities in a very small, cramped space. There’s no comfort in this house, either: the power goes out pretty quickly and amenities are lost. Add to that a simmering tension between some of the residents (who were already at qualms regarding a possible sale of their tech company) and things get uncomfortable really quick. Great for us readers, because you know how much we love tension!

I did have a qualm with the narration. The chapters split between two characters: Liz, a former employee with ties to the tech company; and Erin, the hostess. Here’s my issue: they sound very identical. And this becomes a problem because the narration is in the first-person. The only real difference between the two narrators is that Liz regularly doesn’t use contractions (she’ll say “I will not” instead of “won’t,” etc.). And this lack of distinction makes the narration blur together.

So this is a pretty subjective criticism. If you don’t think you’re going to be bothered by the two narrators who sound very similar, you’re going to very much like this book. If you’re like me and you think first-person works best when the narrators have distinctive voices, I think you’ll still like this book.

Just don’t buy it at full price.