Audiobook Review: One by One by Ruth Ware

One by One

by Ruth Ware (Compact Disc Ware)

 

When the libraries’ Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group read and discussed One by One by Ruth Ware for our July meeting, it was my first time to sample a Ruth Ware novel, after numerous readers have recommended her to me over the past three to four years. In this case, I listened to One by One, narrated by Imogen Church, as a book-on-CD in my car on my way to-and-from work in 25 minute segments each day.

I’ll have to admit, I wasn’t pulled into the story quickly — I’d gotten over 2 full discs into the 11-disc audiobook, and was thinking the story was moving very slowly, with too much descriptive text, and then, suddenly, I discovered I was invested in the story and the characters, and bad things started to happen.

 

In the tradition of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, One by One features a group of disparate characters, trapped in a remote and inaccessible location, when emotions and hostilities erupt and the group members begin dying off…one by one. In this case, it’s a remote, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps, the group of characters is formed of a bunch of co-workers at a trendy internet tech company on a corporate retreat, along with a former company employee, and the two workers (a chef and a housekeeper/manager) that are employees of the chalet. Emotions run ragged when a buyout option for the company comes up, but discussions are pushed back until after everyone can go skiing. Only…there’s a snowstorm coming, not everyone returns from the ski outing, and as they all hunker down at the chalet to try to figure out what happened to the missing group member, an avalanche hits, causing injuries and knocking out the power. And then people start dying, in unnatural ways.

 

The story is told from two different women’s points-of-view, and in the audiobook, narrator Church gives each of those distinctly different “voices” and temperaments. The tension and fear keep ratcheting up, with each consecutive chapter, and I found myself not wanting to stop listening to the book-on-cd, when I’d pull up to the curb at home after work.

 

Strong recommendation from me on this one…though you need to stick with it past the early doldrums. The audiobook was terrific. Most mystery/suspense works I tend to read are parts of series, but One by One is a stand-alone, without question. I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading/listening-to more Ruth Ware titles in the future!

[ official One by One page on the official Ruth Ware web site ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Services

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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Scott listened to this one for the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group discussion online in July 2021.

 

If you're a mystery fan, join us for the next group meeting on August 26th, where we'll be discussing the suspense novel The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian. The Just Desserts group has returned to in-person meetings as of June 2021. Join us at 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the 4th floor auditorium of the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown at 14th & "N" St. on the last Thursday of each upcoming month. For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts