Hello Beautiful People! Welcome back to another review! I’ve been really getting into a lot of Prime Reading available books recently and have found some really awesome books on there. One by One by Freida McFadden is one of the books that I checked out, and I’ll just say I finished this one in a day because it was so hard to put down, so let’s get into it!
Main Characters:
- Claire and Noah: College sweethearts who are struggling a lot in their marriage, Claire is also cheating on Noah, and the two go on a trip with their friend group
- Jack and Michelle: Friends of Claire and Noah, well Jack is more of the friend Michelle is his wife who begrudgingly tags along
- Lindsay and Warner: Lindsay is Claire’s best friend, Warner is Lindsay’s new boyfriend and things seem to be getting serious between the two
My Review
One by One by Freida McFadden is about exactly what the title ensues. A group of 6 friends go out in the woods, and one by one they lose people and the group gets smaller. Although the plot of a group being slowly picked off by a killer is a common one, I found that I really enjoyed the book and was kept guessing the whole time. The ending was an insane twist that I didn’t see coming, I had a totally different idea of who the killer was. Frieda McFadden does a fantastic job throwing the reader off the killer’s scent, and over I found it to be a really fun read.
I gave One by One an 8.5/10 rating. As I mentioned before I crushed the book out in a day. I finished it so quickly because overall it’s not a super long book, and it moves at a fast pace the whole time (which I personally love). Frieda doesn’t pack the book with a bunch of filler just to drag things on, she gets right to the point, and lets the story move at what I personally found a great pace. While there are quite a few characters in the book I didn’t struggle at all to keep up with all of them, and I felt like each character brought something interesting to the story. I also finished the book so quickly because I could not put it down. I started reading it on a Saturday morning, and I was dying to find out who the killer was once the story started. The dynamic between the characters, and honestly all the bad traits about each of them, makes it so you really can’t tell who the killer is. I would say if you’re in the mood for a quick weekend read, and you have an Amazon Prime membership, you’ve got to check this one out.
I also found this book to be really unique because Claire and the killer are the only two perspectives we get. The killer has their own parts sprinkled throughout the book in which we get the back story of their life, and how we ended up here. While these parts are anonymous and we don’t know who it is, or that it’s actually the killer we can assume that it is. I have to say I was really happy to see that these parts were anonymous. Nothing bugs me more than when the author spoils who the killer is early on in the book for the reader, and then we just read as the characters try to figure out who it is. It takes away the fun and the mystery. I was grateful that if Freida was going to include this perspective from the killer she kept them a secret until the characters found out who it was. She also makes the info that the killer shares so obscure that we can’t even tell the gender of the anonymous person.
I will say that the writing in this is pretty meh (like the characters kind of being a bit cliché and cheesy) but that personally never bothers me. If anything someone helps me tell what specific role each character is here to play. Claire is the insecure wife motherly figure, Noah is the insecure husband but also the ass, Jack is the pushover but also the protector, Michelle is the dominating (bitchy) woman presence, Lindsay is the free spirit wild child, and Warner is the mysterious attractive man with a big ego. The role of Each character becomes clear as they try to find their way out of the woods as a group once they get lost. I would say that while it was kind of a piss off to see how the men treated the women in this book, it’s a little accurate in some ways. It was also a bit of an eye roll when Claire’s cheating came to light. I mean a woman in a toxic marriage, who could have seen this coming? As soon as I saw the dynamic between Noah and Claire, I thought to myself, ‘Yeah she’s cheating on him for sure’.
While it’s clear the distinct role that each character plays, I will say that none of them are really likable. They are kind of insufferable if anything. Other than one character’s death, I wasn’t really heartbroken when the others started getting picked off. They all kind of sucked and while I sure don’t feel like that means they should have been killed, it didn’t make it super concerning when they were. If anything there was a degree to which you could kind of see why they were getting picked off, which is terrible to say I know!
Overall I would definitely recommend this one for anyone in the mood for a fun, quick, mysterious read.
Summary and Commentary
***Please be aware this section will have spoilers***
The book starts off with Claire essentially telling us how much she dislikes her husband Noah. The two clearly have a bad relationship, don’t like each other much, and only stay together because they have children. The two are getting packed up for a group trip they are taking with some friends. They can’t even get through packing without ripping each other’s heads off. It’s a bit weird and I definitely questioned why they would be together if they really dislike each other this much. I also wondered if this was supposed to be some lead-up to some tension that may come up later in the story. With the way Claire treats her husband I wondered if she was being unfaithful in their relationship. It definitely seemed like it considering she can’t even seem to stand to be around him. Claire says she has other motives for this trip and needs to talk with Noah about something which made me wonder if she was going to leave him or something.
As they drive to pick up the rest of their friends who are going on the trip, Claire tells Noah that she got them separate rooms. Noah wasn’t pumped about it, and to me, it seemed really weird. Claire claimed it was because they needed some time apart and would be doing different things on their trip so it seemed like a good idea. I wondered if the person she was cheating on him with was in the friend group or something because that would explain why she would want a room for herself. She also doesn’t mention anything about leaving him or wanting to end things so it was even weirder to me.
They pick up Claire’s best friend Lindsay and her new boyfriend Warner. Lindsay seems to be this more posh, boss bitch woman. She’s also a free spirit so it seems to be a big deal that she’s being tied down, and it seems to be getting serious. Lindsay also seems to be the one to defend Claire, she’s her ride-or-die. They also pick up Jack and his wife Michelle, Jack being Noah’s best friend. I thought here that if Claire is cheating on Noah it has to be with Jack, and what an eye roll. I mean it’s kind of the cliché to have the wife cheating with the best friend, and it’s always messy. Jack’s wife Michelle doesn’t seem to really enjoy being with the friend group and is only there for her husband. She’s kind of presented as this bitch was brings bad vibes to the group. If anything though I was sure she was just able to sniff out the fakeness of the group, and they didn’t like that. It seemed like an odd group to be together, and I got the sense that other than the best friends in the group no one really likes each other.
We then get a perspective from the anonymous person, presumably the killer. These parts were interesting because they just describe their horrible childhood to us. I thought that the killer might be using this as an excuse to explain to us why they would inevitably start killing the group. It’s clear that this person was very abused by their mother growing up, and had a complicated relationship with her. They wanted her to be proud of them but also knew that their mother never would. Their father isn’t very present due to work, but when he is around things are happier. We also get a sense that their mother may be mentally ill to some degree.
When the group stops off at a gas station Jack and Claire sneak off and start kissing. I knew it! God how stupid, and I mean with their spouses around? She got them separate rooms so she and Jack could have time together. I mean again stupid. I could tell that this just wasn’t going to end well. Jack also comes off as a two-timer. Claire clearly has feelings for him more than just a hookup, but he doesn’t have the balls to leave his wife. He claims he wants to but can’t do it. It’s just so lame and I can’t believe Claire would continue on with it. Later on, they stop off for a bite to eat. Noah and Claire can’t be around each other, and I also get the vibe that Noah may know about Claire and Jack although she claims that there is no way he could. We also see that Warner is an ass and is trying to control Lindsay. This is weird to Claire as she never as Lindsay as conforming to a man, and wondered why she would let someone treat her like that. I mean to be fair Claire lets her husband say horrible things to her and doesn’t leave him so I don’t feel like she can’t judge much.
As the group continues to drive out to this secluded cabin resort, their vehicle breaks down. I found this to be really weird because it’s pretty rare for newer vehicles to just die for no reason so I was instantly thinking sabotage. Now the group is stranded in the middle of the woods and is unsure of what to do. They also don’t have cell service. A classic combo, stranded in the woods lost, with no cell service, and low on food and water.
The group starts walking and attempting to find the Inn they were going to. Lindsay and Claire walk behind the group and talk. Lindsay tells Claire that she saw her kissing Jack at the gas station and that she needs to stop. Lindsay being the only one with logic tells her that this will only end in disaster and says that Claire is better than this. While the two walk Lindsay eats some random berries growing on a bush, defiantly a no-no. Look I don’t go out in nature very much but I know you don’t just eat shit. Claire tries to get her to stop but she keeps going. The group continues on and eventually, Lindsay gets too sick to keep moving. The group is panicking and Claire tells them about the berries she ate. Everyone freaks out of course and Jack being a bit of a nature guy is fairly certain she ate a poisonous berry. Lindsay has a seizure and Warner being a doctor attempts CPR on her. He tries for a while but Lindsay’s heart wont restart. I was lowkey a bit shocked and I felt really sad for the group. I wasn’t expecting the first death to be accidental. I mean the killer couldn’t play any role in it. Claire of course doesn’t want to leave Lindsay but everyone tells her that they need to continue on and come back for her later. I’ll be real everyone except Claire wasn’t upset enough for me here. Even her boyfriend seemed way too chill, and I was like, ‘So no one’s freaking out that she’s just dead?’ None the less the group has to continue on and leave Lindsay’s body behind.
As the group continues on Michelle trips and busts up her ankle. It’s starting to get late now, the group is exhausted, so they decide to make camp and rest. It seemed weird to me that if they were on the right road to the cabins they hadn’t found them at this point. Noah and Warner were leading the group and I wondered if one of them was maybe sabotaging things, making it so the group wouldn’t make it to safety before nightfall. As the group sets up camp Claire suggests that everyone go around and share their favourite memory of Lindsay. Again people were super weird. When it came time to Warner I definitely got a bit suspicious. He got all weird and shared he had no good memories of her. Claire also raises a brow at this because how could they have been dating and he doesn’t have anything nice to say? Makes me think something may be up with the guy.
We get another POV from the soon-to-be killer. We get another look at their family life and there’s this air to the family dynamic where it’s hard to tell if the mother is mentally unwell, or whether she’s being gas-lit by her husband. It’s hard to tell based on the person’s description but it seems to them that they learn more from the mother being unwell.
The next morning the group wakes up and Michelle is gone. No one understands how she left in the night with no one hearing her, especially since she was hurt. Despite all that Jack has told Claire about his relationship with Michelle he panics about her being missing. If I am being real I am not sure why this tripped Claire up as much as it did. She’s all jealous that he cares that his wife is missing, which is weird as hell considering she would react the same way if Noah went missing. It was weird and showed how selfish Claire really is. The group wants to keep moving but Jack wants to look for her. I was confused why everyone was fine leaving her considering she could have just gone to the bathroom and gotten hurt. Jack of course is not fine and refuses to move on until she’s found. The group looks for her but can’t find her. They find some blood nearby and it’s believed she was attacked by an animal. I definitely wasn’t thinking that but all signs lead to it. I also wondered if maybe Jack was putting on an act to make it seem like he really cared she went missing to overplay the fact that he did. It was just a theory that popped up in my head.
With Michelle gone the group continues on. It’s still crazy that they haven’t found civilization yet, and Noah tells that to Claire. He wants them to leave Jack and Warner who seem to be losing it a bit. Noah feels like Warner is taking them in circles, and that Jack’s compass is broken. He thinks they will have a much better chance on their own. I was inclined to agree with him. I was very suspicious of Warner and Jack, although Warner doesn’t have a motive to kill them all unless he’s just straight-up crazy. I mean he was the one who picked the place for them all to go to. Claire doesn’t want them to go off alone however because she’s still all weird on Noah, which like girl get over it he’s trying to save you guys. The group continues on.
They have to camp for another night and no one is impressed. When Claire is collecting fire wood Jack pulls her off to the side. He seems to think that Warner or Noah is sabotaging them. I was like well this is interesting, now Claire is going to have to decide who it is she trusts. Jack however does seem to think it’s more Warner though then Noah, but I was confused about whether Warner would want them to be lost. He doesn’t really have a motive. It was his first time meeting all of these people. They get in a fight about how he reacted when Michelle went missing and I was like oh my god get over yourself, Claire. Things seem to end between the two which is definitely for the best. Claire is all but hurt now though because she seemed to think the two may run away together. The four set up to sleep and there is a lot of bickering, fighting, and dick-comparing going on. None of the men want to admit they are lost and don’t know how to find the way. Jack is defiantly losing it and is clinging onto this gun they brought for hunting. He seems a bit paranoid and I was wondering if maybe the killer wasn’t connected to the group at all.
Noah and Claire awake in a start from hearing a gun go off. It had to be Jack and both Jack and Warner are gone from the camp spot. They go looking for the two worrying that Jack killed Warner. Jack comes back covered in blood but claims that he didn’t kill Warner. Not only that he didn’t even find Warner and just found a bunch of blood in the woods. I was defiantly suspicious about this because it was really seeming like he killed him, but this was also a bit too obvious. I mean if he was the one killing everyone he may be a bit less ‘I did it’ about it. Claire admits that no one really cared when Warner went missing despite the fact he had the map. I was like damn this is a group of cold people, the guy may have been an ass but if he’s dead that’s concerning. But yeah I guess to them the fact he went missing with the map is the worst part.
Now down to three they start heading north no longer relying on the broken compass and lost map. As they continue on for a while they find a cabin. Not one of the ones from the resort, but still it shelter, and maybe rescue. They go to the cabin and it seems like someone definitely lives there but there is no one inside. The cabin has running water and food, so the three dive in as it’s been two days since they have eaten. Claire is really thrown off because it seems like whoever lives here was in the middle of eating and then randomly left. The men are way less suspicious of it all but I was on the same side as Claire. I almost wondered if maybe they were in the killer’s cabin. They think maybe the owner left in their vehicle and will be back at some point. There sadly isn’t a phone in the cabin so they are out of luck calling for help.
Noah falls asleep in the cabin, and Claire goes looking for Jack who is getting firewood. She finds him in the woods and he says he needs to show her something. A little way in the woods in the back of the cabin a truck is there. Not only that but there is a fresh dead body in the truck, most likely the homeowner. The question was who killed him and why. Sadly the keys to the truck are also gone so they can’t use it to get out of here. Now Claire starts to think that maybe someone instead of an animal is after them. I didn’t think it could have been Jack or Noah who killed him so I was really questioning if the killer maybe wasn’t connected to the group at all, but something was telling me they were. Jack tells Claire that he thinks Noah had something to do with all of this, and that it can’t be a coincidence. I thought that Noah definitely had the most motive but why not just kill Jack, why kill everyone else too? Vice versa to Jack though if he wanted out of his marriage all he had to do was kill his wife, why kill everyone else? Jack seems to think that Noah drugged them at night with the water and that’s how he’s been able to do everything without anyone seeing him or waking up. He also could have messed with their vehicle. I was wondering though if Jack was trying to convince her that Noah was what he really was. Claire doesn’t believe Jack though and thinks he’s off about Noah. At this point, Jack was definitely my number one suspect.
In the cabin things between Noah and Claire are doing a lot better. She decides to tell him that her and Jack were having an affair, which I was like is this really the right time? He takes it well though because he tells her that he knew. He had also cheated – not to the same degree she did- but he still did. Not only did he cheat, but he did it with Lindsay! So he got back at her by doing the same thing she was, except he didn’t really like Lindsay. They also just kissed nothing more. It seems like with this aired out now the two are happy to have a fresh start. I guess Claire just totally forgot about everything Jack said. During the night Claire can’t sleep and having water now she decides to wash her and Noah’s clothes. She finds a knife hidden in Noah’s pocket and wonders why he never mentioned he had it. She also thought about the fact that the guy dead in the truck was stabbed. There wasn’t any blood on the knife but still, it was weird he had a weapon and didn’t say anything. It made me a little suspicious of him but at the same time, it would be weird that he could do that much damage with a little knife.
When Noah and Claire wake the next morning Jack is gone. When they go outside of the cabin the front is covered in blood. It’s not a good sign but at this point, I was thinking it had to be Noah unless Jack was just trying to throw them off the scent. Claire follows the trail of blood and it goes to the truck at the back of the house. Jack is dead inside, okay so it’s definitely not him. Someone then speaks to Claire telling her to step away and I thought it was Noah. Nope. Its Warner! I was kicking myself because I totally didn’t think of the fact that he just disappeared but no body was found. So it was him all along? But why? Warner explains that he wasn’t alone in all of this. So were he and Noah working together then? Did they just mean to kill Jack and Michelle and Lindsay was an accident? When Warner leads Claire back to the cabin to be with Noah she sees that it wasn’t Noah and Warner working together… someone else is holding a gun to Noah’s head.
It’s freaking Lindsay. Those anonymous parts? It was Lindsay. When she met Claire in college Claire became her friend, the sister she never had. Claire uplifted her in ways her abusive mother never did. Turns out Lindsay killed one of Claire’s boyfriends in College who cheated on her. She always wants to protect her and make her happy. Turns out Lindsay knew about Claire and Jack far before seeing them at the gas station. When Noah kissed her she knew it was not because he liked her but to get revenge on Claire. She had been used in their mess. She realized for the first time how horrible Claire was, and just like everyone else in her life they just wanted to use her until they were done. With being used in this way she extracted a plan to hurt all these horrible people in the ways they have hurt her. I mean to a point I got it but that’s a wild motive. It definitely shows how unstable Lindsay is.
Warner isn’t a real doctor and is a crazy dude Lindsay met who liked to take money in exchange for hurting people. She planned for her and Claire to be the only ones left. Warner was always the scapegoat he just didn’t always know it. Lindsay shoots Warner and plans to kill Noah next. Noah has his Swiss army knife on him and can get the jump on Lindsay before she kills him.
The book ends with Lindsay in jail and Noah and Claire together, and planning to stay together. Lindsay though even from her cell is wreaking havoc. She made sure to leave a few things on Noah to make it seem like while he didn’t Lindsay would be doing all this killing, he did go out there to kill. While Claire unpacks their bags she finds things that would insinuate Noah had planned on killing Jack to get Claire back. The book ends with Claire wondering if Noah is really the person she thinks he is, because hell she defiantly can’t tell a killer from a non-killer. It was a bit of a soft ending but overall I enjoyed it.
I hope you enjoyed this review! Have you checked out One by One before or any of Freida McFadden’s other works? What did you think?
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