Spoiler Discussion for One by One by Freida McFadden

My Spoiler Discussion for One by One by Freida McFadden will discuss this NEWLY REISSSUED (in 2024) book by a very popular suspense and thriller writer. Who were the suspects? What were the clues? I’m here with a plot summary, a character list and I’m ready to discuss this book! Read along with me and then let’s talk about the ending of One by One!

Spoiler Discussion for One by One by Freida McFadden

One by One was originally self-published by Freida McFadden in 2020. It was newly re-published by Poisoned Pen Press on April 2, 2024.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy. I read this book in March 2024.

If you want a plot rundown or my full thoughts on One by One and how it compares to McFadden’s other books, you can check out my Review of One by One here (coming April 2!)

Characters in One by One by Freida McFadden

As discussed in my review, the Agatha Christie “one by one” format is an ideal one for a writer like McFadden. There are only six main characters in One by One (plus three very minor ones, Claire and Noah’s kids and Claire’s sister.)

Quick Plot Summary for One by One by Freida McFadden

Six friends head off by car for a fun getaway in the Colorado mountains. Those six characters are:

• Claire: a special ed teacher with a stale marriage and a secret
• Noah: Claire’s husband, who picks fights with her
• Lindsay: Claire’s former college roommate. Newly in love with:
• Warner: a newcomer to the group, he quickly annoys them
• Jack: Noah’s college best friend. Or does he resent him?
• Michelle: Jack’s frosty lawyer wife. She doesn’t even want to be here!

There’s also a possible fifth character, a secret burn book writer who intends to eliminate each person on the trip … one by one (cue maniacal laughter…)

Major Events in One by One

Right off, things go wrong. Claire and Noah are bickering. When the group stops at a gas station, we learn that Claire and Jack are having an affair.

Lindsay is smitten with her hot new boyfriend Warner, but her college friends Jack, Noah and Claire think he’s controlling and weird.

As the group gets closer to their destination, they lose cell signal and their GPS. Fortunately, Warner has printed out a paper map to guide them. What a guy!

Then the car completely breaks down. What kind of janky minivan is Claire driving? Warner says the inn is only 2 miles away according to his map, so the group decides to walk.

They get lost. Lindsay, who says she’s starving, eats some “blueberries” off a tree. Lindsay dies.

The group camps for the night and Michelle goes missing.

Jack and Noah bicker about the gun Jack brought and Jack confides in Claire that something is wrong with his compass.

The next morning, Warner is missing.

Claire, Noah, and Jack are thrilled to find a cabin with running water and some food. There is electricity (there’s a fridge) but apparently none of them has a phone charger. Jack tells Claire he thinks Noah was drugging the group with fake water purification tablets.

Jack goes out for a walk and, in a truly weird interlude, Claire and Noah have sex. She confides about her affair and he’s not even mad.

Claire wakes up from her post-coital nap and discovers a) Noah has a secret knife and b) Jack is missing. Then she finds Jack, shot to death.

Before We Discuss the Ending, What Were the Major Clues?

• Warner either brought the worst map ever or they are bad at reading maps
• The mention of Claire’s drowned boyfriend was odd. Did SHE murder him? Is she an unreliable narrator?
• Michelle brings up the fact that Jack brought a gun on a fun friends getaway. Convenient?
• Then Michelle mentions that her client hired a hit man. Wow, Michelle.Red herring, or does she know about Jack and Claire’s affair?
• Their compasses aren’t working.
• Noah knows about Claire’s affair and doesn’t care. Does that eliminate him as a suspect or is he faking?

Spoiler Discussion for One by One by Freida McFadden: The Ending Explained

Warner turns up with Jack’s missing gun. He forces Claire back to the cabin. Noah is there with … Lindsay. Warner and Lindsay met online, discovered their mutual psychopathy, and decided to carry out the crimes together.

Their plan is to frame Noah for everything, saying that he found out Claire and Jack were cheating and killed Michelle, Jack, Claire, then himself. Warner and Lindsay will pretend they went out for a walk and came back to discover the terrible scene.

Who was the anonymous burn book writer?

Lindsay. Her abusive childhood and father’s cheating with his own sister-in-law made her into a vengeful person.

She killed Ted, Claire’s cheating college boyfriend. Now she’s out to get ALL the cheaters, namely Jack and Claire. (Why Michelle? Does she defend cheaters as a divorce lawyer??)

And … surprise: Lindsay double-crosses Warner, shooting him too.

But Noah takes Lindsay by surprise and stabs her. She drops the gun and the police arrive. Lindsay had called them so that they could arrive to save her and she could frame Noah for everything.

This is a Freida McFadden book, so it has to have one more twist.

What did Lindsay and Warner do to sabotage the trip?

• Blocked the cell signals so the group lost coverage and GPS
• Brought a useless map
• Used strong magnets to disable the compass
• Faked Lindsay’s death with the poisoned berries. (Warner was pretending to be a doctor.)
• Made the creepy claw marks on the trees
• Killed the owner of the cabin so they could use it

What was the final TWIST?

In prison, Lindsay reflects that she planted the magnets in Noah’s suitcase to plant doubt in Claire’s mind.

Eh, I though the rest of the book was pretty good, but that last twist was not mind-blowing or even great…

Who Were Your Suspects?

NOAH seemed too obvious to me. CLAIRE would have been a good twist, but I didn’t see the author making a special-ed teacher and mom the murderer.

WARNER was too much of an a-hole and having him be responsible would have been pretty random.

I was convinced that the diary writer was female, because she was bullied for having to cut her hair short. MICHELLE was a strong possibility.

But, having read the original And Then There Were None by Agatha Christis, I was watching for the culprit who fakes their own death. Which left …. LINDSAY.

What Did You Think of One by One?

I actually thought it was one of McFadden’s most successful books. The suspense was consistent and the twists and turns kept me guessing.

The ending was a little too random for me. If Lindsay hated cheating and cheaters so much, she could have just eliminated the two cheaters (Claire and Jack). Why go after Michelle too? Plus, their fake story that Noah killed Michelle, Claire, and Jack in a jealous rage falls apart a bit when Michelle has been dead for a day longer than the rest.

Plus the final twist was a bit “eh” for me.

Questions that I don’t think were answered in the book:

Did Warner and Lindsay sabotage the mini-van? They must have, but how and when?

Did Warner and Lindsay drug the group with the water tablets? Genius idea, but if they took credit for that I missed it.

Questions? Did I miss anything? Talk to me in the comments!!!

Also if you loved this, check out my post on other thrillers inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None!