Too dramatic? I've never skied off piste in my life, so if you're like me, you can cross that off your worry list. If you don't even know what it means, don't do it! Just kidding! But not really. Skiing off piste means straying from designated slopes and routes. It can be extremely dangerous. Especially in this novel.
One by One is an intense and terrifying tale of a tech group holiday at a ski chalet gone wrong. The chalet guests have hidden agendas and alliances and varying skills on the slopes, including Olympic-level skiers, hotshot snow boarders, and bunny hill beginners. Inevitably, someone goes missing on the slopes. Then, one by one, terrible things befall the other guests.
Interesting back story for the novel: the group works for a music app tech start-up called "Snoop" that is similar to Spotify. The app allows listeners to "snoop" on others by listening to subscriber playlists in real time. The Snoopers arrive during a storm that sets off avalanche warnings. "Snoop" becomes an extra character in the novel, providing the scoop, quite literally, on what everyone is or has been up to and where.
Ruth Ware's style of suspense writing will keep you on the edge of your seat. The snowy setting is perfect for right now and makes an excellent pairing with In a Dark, Dark Wood, her 2015 tale of a reclusive crime writer trapped at a nightmare "hen party" week-end set in, you guessed it, a dark, dark, snowy wood.