#ruthware – Rosepoint Publishing

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Book Blurb:

Harkening to Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None, this high-tension thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them—from Ruth Ware, the New York Times bestselling author who “is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime” (The Washington Post).

Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure they won’t extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she agrees to try out with him.

A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla finds herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana—in order to win a cash prize.

But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real—and the stakes are life or death.

My Review:

Well, not exactly a new idea for a plot, one that’s been done more than a few times before. This one starts with five couples.

Lyla is in a pickle with her contract for her research and at loose ends, and against her better judgment, agrees to go with boyfriend Nico to participate in a reality TV show called One Perfect Couple.

Something is immediately wrong when the deserted island that was supposed to be a paradise isn’t really ready. The two crew who delivered them have set rules which surprise a few of those so thrilled to be chosen that they neglected to read the fine print.

Unfortunately, the first round eliminated Nico who is sent back and Lyla is left without her partner supposedly waiting for further eliminations to see who will end up the one perfect couple.

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware - UK cover — One Perfect Couple – UK cover

To add to the debacle, there is a ferocious storm (hurricane?) that rips through the island almost immediately and leaves those on the island essentially without power or communication to the mainland. Taking inventory of stores, they devise a plan to survive until rescue arrives and one guy appears to take control.

Uh oh…predictably, things begin to happen and not in a good way. They begin the fight for food and water. As the drama ramps up, the group begins to lose a survivor at a time and the tension turns desperate, then deadly.

It starts a bit slow, introducing the characters and the plot device, but once on the island and the storm hits, it becomes engaging and entertaining. There are twists and a surprise in the denouement you didn’t expect. Who will survive to be rescued?

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thrillers, Suspense Thrillers
Publisher:
ASIN: B0CLHL3J44
Listening Length: 14 hrs 25 mins
Narrator: Imogen Church
Publication Date: May 21, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Ruth Ware is an international number one bestseller. Her thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game, The Death of Mrs Westaway, The Turn of the Key, One by One and The It Girl have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times, and she is published in more than 40 languages. She lives on the south coast of England, with her family.

Visit http://www.ruthware.com to find out more, or find her on facebook or twitter as @RuthWareWriter

Happy Listening!

One by One by Ruth Ware – a #BookReview – Thriller & Suspense

“Her scent trails after her like an oil slick.”

Book Blurb:

Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers…each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide.

When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech startup, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other: PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes. But as soon as one shareholder upends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hadn’t made it back from the slopes when the avalanche hit.

As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further…one by one.

My Review:

Faithful to the end, when I reviewed The Turn of the Key I promised to read another of Ms Ware’s books. She is currently running #2 in the hit parade for psychological literary fiction on Amazon. She is an international bestselling author. I feel like a spawning salmon who’s decided she’s had enough of jumping fish ladders and wants to retreat back to the Pacific.

I’ve read perhaps three other novels recently with roughly the same premise, albeit slightly different settings. In One by One, a group of tech execs arrive at an exclusive French Ski Chalet to do a little bonding, some brainstorming, and decision-making on company direction. Of course it’s roughly divided equally with the tipping vote in the hands of a former employee, Liz, a mousy little thing who becomes one of the two POVs.

They are to go skiing, even in the face of a very nasty French winter snowstorm, and it sounds very Squaw Valley worthy. The tension is palpable. When the avalanche occurs, it’s a douzy, wreaking havoc on the chalet, cutting them off from services and utilities. And when they count noses, realize one of them didn’t make it down the mountain back to the chalet in time.

There are two resort workers, the chef Danny, and Erin the other POV who is the resort guest interface. Each chapter is headed according to their Snoop stats, but I’ve yet to discern a real value gleaned from those facts. Certainly sounds like a more invasive personal information source than Facebook but I’m still scratching my head over why I’d care what anyone else is currently listening to.

The tech company personnel are mainly entitled brats of wealthy families who turn demeaning eyes to both Danny and Erin. No way you’d really care what happens to them and when nine becomes eight becomes seven—do you really care? For that matter, I couldn’t rustle up a sympathetic bone for Liz the mouse either. Erin is okay and I’d extend her a hearty hoo rah, but I won’t be shedding a sympathetic tear. And the language? The novel would be half as long if it weren’t for four letter words.

The narrations of Liz and Erin tend to overlap just a tad where one leaves off and the other takes up the storyline. The killer becomes a bit obvious. The conclusion ramps up the tension but adds disbelief to the superhuman feats of Erin. Whoa! She did what with what? And then the novel inexplicably continues. I thought it finished! Wasn’t that the end? It was for me.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary advance, uncorrected reader’s proof of this book from publisher and NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press

ASIN : B084G9Z5C3

Print Length: 383 pages
Publication Date: September 8, 2020
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five of Five Stars

The Author: Ruth Ware is an international number one bestseller. Her thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game and The Death of Mrs Westaway have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times, and she is published in more than 40 languages. She lives on the south coast of England, with her family.