This latest book by Ruth Ware takes on the isolated murder mystery vibe that I love. In this book we have a company retreat that gets snowed in by an avalanche where they lose signal and power, but they also start losing people. People are being picked off one-by-one (eh, get it?), and that can only mean there is a murderer among us.
Snoop is a hot new app where people from all over the world can listen in on what other people are listening to at that time. Users locations are kept secret, no geotagging here, so even celebrities are flocking to the app drawing in millions of users so they can hear what their favorite celebs are listening to. For a company retreat, the executives of Snoop (Topher, Eva, Elliot, Rick, Carol, Tiger, Miranda, Annie, and Topher’s assistant Innigo) decide to go on a ski trip in France and they invite along the only other person who has stocks in the company but no longer works there: Liz. There we learn that the company has been propositioned for a buyout and it’s down to the five votes of the shareholders with the deciding vote being Liz. Overwhelmed by the pressure of the decision, shy Liz’s anxiety shoots through the roof and she fails to make up her mind right away.
Not even by the end of the first day, one of their group goes missing and the avalanche that has been threatening to come, comes fast and buries the rest of the crew in their resort. The resort runners Erin and Danny must do what they can to keep their guests comfortable, but tensions are running high and its not just a typical vacation, it’s life and death for everyone in the chalet. Erin can only do so much to keep panic at bay while also trying to figure out who is endangering the rest of the group. There’s no where to run and emergency help may or may not be coming, it is all about survival.
I want to say that this was an addictive read. I couldn’t stop listening to this book. I was engrossed in the story and desperately wanted to know what happened next. Who was going to die? How would we find out about the killer? It was all very exciting. My biggest complaint about this book is that I realized who the killer was so early on. I mean really early on, like four to five chapters into the book. I did entertain the idea of other killers, but they were quickly washed away by the characters themselves addressing my same concerns. I did enjoy seeing how it all played out, and what steps were being taken, and how the characters were reacting to everything.
If you like Ruth Ware’s writing, I think you’ll enjoy this, if you like a good confined mystery, I also think you will enjoy this. I can definitely see this becoming a movie as it has a lot of spooky, eery appeal. I wish it were just a little less obvious though because if I had no clue who would be killed next, that would have made it way more exciting and thrilling.
Just Read It 