One By One
Published July 13th 2020, Kindle Edition 295 pages
One by one, they will get what they deserve...
A night spent sleeping on dirt and leaves is not how Claire Matchett expected to spend her vacation.
She thought this would be a break from the stresses of work and raising her young children. A chance to repair her damaged marriage. A week of hiking and hot tubs with two other couple friends. It sounded like heaven.
Then Claire’s minivan breaks down on a lonely dirt road. With no cell reception, the group has no choice but to hike the rest of the way to their hotel. But it turns out the woods aren’t as easy to navigate as they thought.
Hours later, they are lost. Hopelessly lost.
And as they navigate deeper into the woods, the members of their party are struck down mysteriously one by one. Has a wild animal been hunting them? Or is the hunter one of them?
But as more time passes, one thing becomes clear:
Only one of them will return home alive.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I really need to learn not to rely strictly on reviews for recommendations, as it seems more and more often I find myself at odds with the majority. This supposed “thriller” demonstrates my point beautifully. While most of those who reviewed the book found it to be “captivating”, I found it to be tedious and redundant, populated with characters whom I disliked from the very beginning. The story was short on detail, save the three or four specifics that were repeated ad nauseam—Claire is unhappy, Claire loves her children, Michelle is a cold fish, Warner is handsome. Over. And over. And over.
Three stars for effort and the fact that it was mercifully short.
Rating: really liked it
6 people
6 days
6 person minivan
666 is the number of the devil. And so it begins ...
This was a quick, fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Six people start off on what should be an east journey and it ends up anything but. Chapters alternate between Claire and “Anonymous”. Anonymous is the problem, but we don’t yet know who that is. I guessed only part of the end. I thought Claire was a bit whiny, not the sharpest pencil in the box. I found most of the characters likable and one character I wanted to shoot myself. The pace was steady, but started a bit slow. Overall, I liked the book and I’d recommend it if you aren’t looking for a complex, intellectual thriller.
Rating: really liked it
One by One is a murder mystery that tells the story of six friends who get lost in the woods and begin being picked off one by one.
These day, it's very hard to get lost in the woods. And it's even harder to stay lost ....Um, nope, that is not true.
This was my first Freida McFadden novel and I really enjoyed it. The six friends were a little on the dumb side when it came to basic survival. A few times I rolled my eyes as they seemed to eager to get themselves more and more lost. But I chalked that up to people who've never been out of the city and manipulation.
The writing was addictive. Once I picked it up I didn't want to put it back down. I'm definitely going to grab more of McFadden's work the next time I'm at the bookstore.
Rating: really liked it
ONE BY ONE is a psychological thriller by bestselling author Freida McFadden. This is the sixth book I have read from this author, and having loved her novels, I was eager to start reading One By One. As an avid reader of psychological thrillers, I can only say, treat yourself and read all of her books! Her books are so good!
Her Standalone Books Include:
Baby City (2015)
The Surrogate Mother (2018) (Read)
The Ex (2019) (Read)
The Perfect Son (2019) (Read)
The Wife Upstairs (2020) (Read)
One By One (2020) (Read)
Want to Know a Secret? (2021)
The Locked Door (2021)
Do Not Disturb (2021)
Do You Remember? (2022)
The Housemaid (2022) (Read)
The Inmate (2022)
Never Lie (2022)
This is my review of One By One.
This is an intense drama where six friends head to a big cabin in the woods for a relaxing week-long vacation. Claire thought this would be a break from the stresses of work and raising her young children. A chance to repair her damaged marriage.
The first group consist of Claire and Noah who met in college, have two kids, and are only staying together for the kids. Claire doesn’t feel that their damaged marriage will last through the trip.
The second group consists of Lindsey who has just met Warner, and will introduce him to the other groups.
Jack, Noah’s best friend who both went to college together, and Jack’s wife, Michelle, a divorce attorney, are the third couple in the group.
The chapters alternate between Clair’s POV and Anonymous.
Then Claire’s minivan breaks down on a lonely dirt road. With no cell reception, the group has no choice but to hike the rest of the way to their hotel.
They are soon lost in the woods, and as they steer deeper into the woods, one by one of the members are struck down mysteriously.
One by one, they will get what they deserve...
One of the six is responsible for the twists and mishaps in their trip.
Only one of them will return home alive…and Claire must figure it out if she wants to ever see her kids again.
This suspenseful mystery novel had me hooked from the very first page. It kept me guessing all the way to the end.
Rating: really liked it
A serial killer. Lots of unexpected twists. There is a lot to love in this book.
I will say that it starts of slow. Like, real slow. The first 60% of the book is focused on the relationships between the characters. I like a lot of character development, so that suited me just fine. But if you like auction packed thrillers, this is probably not one for you.
Rating: really liked it
Careless writing, absurd plotHow serious can this author be about her craft when she throws in ridiculous elements such as the culprits using the perfect tool to make sinister claw marks on trees - are you scared yet? - along with magnets, maps, berries etc as devious ploys? Why have everyone wandering aimlessly for days when the psychos were so eager to kill two people for the shabbiest excuse for a motive a writer has ever come up with? How can the writer care that much when the bandaged right ankle becomes a wrapped left leg a few sentences later?
This book is so silly, so bad that I am embarrassed I actually read it.
Rating: really liked it
Three couples head for a breakaway at a luxury spa in the middle of nowhere but only one of them is going to make it back.
Claire and Noah have been together since college, typical suburban family with 2 kids and a rocky marriage that Claire doesn’t think will survive the trip.
Lindsey has just met Warner , he is the best thing in the world according to Lindsey but this is the first time the others will meet him.
Jack and Michelle are the other couple, jack is Noah’s best friend and went to college with them, his wife is a high flying divorce attorney and no one seems keen on her.
So what could possibly go wrong when the minivan breaks down and the secrets behind all of these couples come to the surface!
I’m currently working my way through all of Frieda McFaddens books and am yet to be disappointed
Rating: really liked it
Utter nonsense. Utterly predictable in its unoriginality.
Rating: really liked it
Twists, turns, mega-suspense...and a very evil ending, I did not expect...like....at all !
Wow !
Rating: really liked it
wow! WOW! WOW!
Rating: really liked it
Three couples go into the woods for a camping getaway. Everyone supposedly has a secret. One by one characters die.
This is based on the classic concept of Agatha Christie's
Ten Little Indians but of course that is a high bar to try and reach. The narrators of each chapter are either anonymous, always in italics, or as is mostly the case, Claire. She is a bit of a dolt in my opinion and tends to repeat the same thoughts over, which bogs the story down.
Some of the interactions are a bit unbelievable, as well as the behaviors when faced with increasing deaths in the woods. Still, trying to figure out who the killer is did keep me intrigued.
Rating: really liked it
I love every book from Freida!! This one was suspenseful and you felt right there in the story 🤗
Rating: really liked it
I think someone has hacked my account as I have not even read this book to rate it.
Rating: really liked it
**HATED IT!!!**
OK, I didn't start off hating it. The premise of this book is that three couples get stranded in the woods on their way to a holiday inn. Apparently, they each have a secret and one by one they start to disappear/die.I originally started reading this because I had downloaded a bunch of short reads to my kindle and thought this was one of them...it is not! And it did not warrant being a whopping 295 pages!
To begin with, you are so intrigued about Claire, the main narrator and her strained relationship with her husband Noah and the goings on between herself and his best friend Jack. But after the first death, everything just became extremely repetitive, and slightly far fetched (given that this isn't a fantasy) .I did NOT enjoy how it started to drag and the unoriginal attempt to come off as somewhat supernatural when it wasn't and the end was horrendously rushed.
The thought process was good but it was like the author had an idea as to how she wanted a novel to end and the reasons behind the things people did, and then just filled in the blanks, hoping for the best. The cliffhanger vibe it was left on was probably the only part that really made me go "oooh yeah, that's going to mess them up".
Weirdly, I do think it would make a great movie full of suspense, especially if the flashbacks are utilised but it is certainly not a book I would recommend to anyone to read. I have swiftly returned it to the prime reading library and do not wish it well!
Rating: really liked it
This is my second book by McFadden and I loved it! You know from the first couple of pages that it's going to be a good thriller: three couples have planned a week long getaway at a remote inn and Claire is excited to be away from her kids and has reserved separate rooms as she's planning to separate from her husband, Noah. But of course, nothing goes as planned and there are tragedies around every corner; there's the remote and scary woods, claw marks in the trees, and animosity between friends. How could this end well? Now on to her next book as I plan to read them all!
