One by One

Very promising theme and setup, however, it suffered from an identity crisis. I love a good isolation trope and one set at a chalet? Sign me up. However, from the get-go, this book did not know what it was. A murder mystery? a thriller? In the end, it was a hodge-podge of both genres which made for a very messy and linear plot. It started out great with a slew of characters being introduced, but by limiting the chapters to a few POV's, we get caricatures of a few characters and once the major arc begins, the reader quickly understands who is the probable victim and quite frankly the murderer. From there, the plot was extremely linear which changed the landscape to a more thriller/suspense vibe. By the 75% mark, the murder is essentially solved and it just leads to unnecessary pages of wrapping things up. Sorry if this review isn't as coherent, but in summary, my major gripes were:

- Not staying true to one genre
- Lack of more POV's
- Very linear plot

Not to end on a sour note, I did like the way the author used the technology industry as a theme. Not many murder mysteries (at least I've read) in recent times have used it, so it was a pleasant surprise.