One By One
Ratings78
Average rating3.5
Super easy and quick to read! Definitely did not guess the right person or the twists in this book. The ending through me for a loop and literally could not trust any of the characters in this book.
Man, what a letdown. The premise was decent, the writing was great, the characters were good, the story was captivating...and then the last third happened...
Everyone who hyped “the twist” did this book a disservice. Not only was the twist not that good but the whole thing was choreographed miles away. It was like going into an M Night Shymalan movie.
I'm willing to give Frieda another chance because she's really good at setting up a story but the plot to this one was...well, it was bad. The actions the characters made were questionable the whole time. The further the story went along, the less it made sense. The motives for the, ahem, “plot twist,”...I feel insulted.
TL;dr version: Frieda seems like a good writer but this generic, formulaic pulp feels like the hype might have been paid for
I just finished One by One written by Freida McFadden and here are my musings.
Claire needs this vacation. With her marriage on the rocks, overworked at home and work, a week without the kids is exactly what the doctor ordered. An adult couples week away will hopefully start to fix the damage to her marriage.
One the way Claire's minivan breaks down. With no cell reception they make the decision to walk the rest of the way to the resort. Trouble is, the forest is dark and ominous... They find themselves lost, hopelessly lost.
When one by one, they start to die or just disappear, the only thing that is common between them all is the large claw marks they keep finding, which means Claire's dream vacation has now turned into her worst nightmare.
This book ticked all the boxes.
Locked door mystery CHECK
Twists and turns CHECK
Cat and mouse games CHECK
Hairs on the back of your neck standing on end... DOUBLE CHECK
I love when a book doesn't give you enough to figure out what is going on but makes you think you have it all figured it. This book had me flip flopping like a fish out of water trying to figure out what was going on and the ending.... DANG!! Did not see it coming.
I didn't like any of the characters and usually that doesn't sit well with me but I loved that I didn't like anyone. We got the POV of Claire and an anonymous person who we get their back story for. I never figured out who the anon person was either and I was sure I knew. I'm rarely wrong and this really pleased me.
I am a @fmcfaddenauthor fan but this just means my standards are super high already and this one was knocked out of the park.
5 stars and thank you thank you thank you to @poisonedpenpress for my gifted copy and this bad boy is out now.
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I swear this plot twists get better and better.
One, Freida McFadden hands down is my new favorite thriller author. She knows how to weave words like a sorceress. Two, I need to stop guessing so early in the book - this time I did guess a couple of things, but not the -big- one.
There were a couple of times I went, “Yeah, that doesn't make sense,” purely because if it was my friend group and I, that scenario wouldn't have happened. That's just the battle of perspectives though.
Overall enjoyed the book. Once I read more of her work I feel like this would be a top ten.
This was an interesting fast-paced thriller. The story quickly gets started and doesn't let up until the end. The book is narrated by Claire and a mystery anonymous person and the whole book I kept theorizing on who they were. It did surprise me at the end and took a turn from who I thought was the killer! The characters were all unlikeable, but I guess it was the point, it made everyone feel suspect. I also enjoyed the epilogue and the little zinger left at the end.
The big thing I didn't like, but was essential to the plot point, was the cheating trope. I found it annoying, as well as the characters involved.
3.25
Like all the other Freida McFadden books this was very fast paced, engaging, kept me hooked but the ending really let me down I didn't like it.
Throughout most of the book it felt like it was a 4 star or 4.25 but that ending lowered it down to a 3.25.
If you're new to the world of Freida McFadden, I suggest you pick up this book and dive in! This was a great thriller for someone who is just getting into psychological thrillers or Freida herself as an author. I enjoyed the different twists and turns but questioned some of the things that happened in the beginning. Some of the things the characters were doing or saying didn't really track or make sense to me. However, I can't say exactly how I would react if I was stranded in the woods looking for my vacation inn. For that, I gave it a 3.75 star rating. The twist was great and I stand by my statement of Freida being the queen of all epilogues.
If you're looking for a fast paced psychological thriller, pick this one up. So good!!!
I am on track to read every one of Freida's books and I am so excited! Each of them have their own twists and turns and she's one of my favorite authors. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Freida McFadden for this ARC!
I loved this book! I never thought that what Emma said in the beginning meant anything until it wss brought up in the end. At first, I thought that I had it all figured out and then the twist at the end! Omg I totally wasn't expecting that. If you are into fast paced Thrillers, this books is 100% for you!!!
Plot Twist
I couldn't find the characters likable. Everyone was apparently super good looking, which is not necessarily something that takes away from the story. However, it is constantly repeated over and over how everyone was so attractive. This resonated with me closer to a horror movie where you hope everyone would just die soon. Plot twist was good though.
3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was alright. It was a basic “picked off one by one” thriller. The writing was okay. The characters weren't super likable. I didn't love the twist but I didn't absolutely hate my time reading it. Just wanted more from it.
So, one more title to emphasize the lesson in ‘careful with your expectations'. Because The housemaid was just so absurdly good, I obviously expected this one to be so. Bear no mistake, it is good. But not absurdly good, maybe.
She still has the makings of throwing red herrings properly: even when you ‘know' what's happening/going to happen, I can tell you you're probably going to be mistaken - I was, once again. But be it because now I know her style a bit or because the characters were not so interesting, it was less surprising and sounded less brilliant.
That said, it is a solid 3.5 stars, that I read in two hours and had a bit of a surprise when you thought there were no more - and I'll still read other titles by her.