Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - One by One

I stayed up all night reading this book because it freaked me out so much. In case this was ever in question, I will never be going skiing ever. Not even for the hot chocolate. I can get that somewhere less terrifying and avalanche-y.

I try to be upfront about the fact that I'm an idiot about solving mystery/thrillers. My problem is that I'm so suspicious of literally everyone that no single suspect stands out as particularly murderous. It could just as easily have been Sally with the teddy bear in the nursery, for all I know (ok, that actually sounds very sinister... do not sign me up for that book). I'll think I've noticed something highly suspect, and then a character has the same idea almost immediately, a sure sign that it is too blatantly obvious and I am in the process of being outsmarted. The dual POV had my two brain cells working mighty hard trying to recall who knew what (including me, let's be honest). It was a fascinating approach to storytelling, and as those trapped in the chalet are picked off one by one, I found myself glancing backwards at what the two protagonists had seen and heard to try to find gaps and deceptions.

So basically, I was indeed very ~thrilled~ by this novel. I was on edge for almost the entire thing, both before and after the murderer is revealed. I also appreciated the wrap-up/wind down time at the end to see how the surviving characters react to the truth and move forward.

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patricia_epub's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I greatly enjoyed listening to this book. The introduction immediately caught my attention and got me hooked, and made me even scramble for my reading journal to take notes about each character profile so I could piece together their "personalities" based on the music they listened to, and maybe link them up into some archetypes as well.

I also enjoyed the back-and-forth POVs between Erin, the chalet worker, and Liz, the oddball in the group of guests. I knew there was a reason why they were chosen as the "eyes" of the story and I am quite proud to say that I pieced that together early in the story. I loved the epistolary-like sections at the start of each chapter, which ultimately showed me the author's hand long before she was ready to give the readers the twist. Despite this, I am happy that knowing the identity of the killer did not put a damper on my enjoyment of the remaining 70% of the book.

I have my reservations with the fleshing out of some of the minor characters, who felt at times like caricatures with their brief comments or opinions. But considering how short their 3-day interaction was (not to mention the tragedies they faced on after the other), I think it's easy to get over with and just enjoy the ride. They were all definitely archetypes, as I had suspected right from the beginning, which did not give me much expectation in the character development area. My biggest issue was how some parts felt a bit draggy or even unnecessary. When I realized the entire ordeal only happened within 3 days, I was shocked because it felt like they've been in the cabin for a week at least.

The ending for the "villain" felt a bit anticlimactic for all that build-up, though. But I do appreciate Ruth Ware's attempt at parallel imagery. I would say that despite the twists and turns of the plot, the ending definitely cemented to me that this was a character-driven story. Overall, it was a good story and an equally-as-good execution.

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georgia29's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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