Agatha Christie’s mysteries were the first I read when I graduated from the Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden level of the genre that I still love the best — mysteries. While I must admit that my favorite Agatha Christie book is and will always be Murder on the Orient Express, a close second is And Then There Were None. Imagine being in a secluded place with nine other strangers, having been invited by an unknown person. Imagine further how frightening it would be when one by one, they are being murdered.

Undoubtedly, prolific mystery author Ruth Ware had Dame Christie’s novel in mind when she wrote her spooky One By One. In this novel, a group of people working for a high tech start-up company that offers an app that allows you to not only learn what famous people are listening to at any point in time, but also allows you to listen to the music at the same time. The company — called Snoop — is led by a former couple who, while no longer a couple, still work together and are on the brink of great success.

The cofounders organize a company retreat at an isolated mountain lodge in the French Alps with all of the employees in attendance. It is a time for the employees to learn more about the company. More important, there will be team-building activities like snowing and snowshoeing. Things are going smoothly until there are whispers about one of the cofounders underhandedly trying to sell the company.

Adding to the distress, unexpected weather, including an avalanche that buries the nearby village, leaves the people helplessly stuck in a freezing cold lodge with no electricity or cell service. Still, the lodging is top-notch, and the food is delicious. Things aren’t looking too bad until people start dying, one by one.

Just as in Christie’s novel, they know someone among them is a murderer. No one is to be trusted. Who is the killer?

Ware provides just the right amount of tension as the people try to figure out who they can trust. In the end, this reader was caught off guard by the killer and the reasons for the murders. The book kept me up past bedtime as I tried to figure out who was next in line.

This is the best novel by the author that I have read. Agatha Christie would be satisfied.

Here is a link to the book.