Horror and psychological thrillers take me out of my reading comfort zone, but One by One is the debut story from Hosby, an author I have come to enjoy reading. While I don't think it is her best work, as a debut novel it shows real promise.

This is the story of a group of friends who are heading to the beach for a few days, but stopping off at a cabin in the woods, so that Kenan and Rae can sign it over to the new owner, an individual called RL.

We are told that Kenan and Rae's parents were murdered at the cabin some ten years earlier, and that Kenan witnessed the brutal rape of both Rae and their mother on that same terrible night. Rae understandably has haunting memories, and hasn't been back to the cabin since. She is reluctantly going now, but only to sign the papers of sale, and then leave the past behind and head off to the beach.

There are eight friends, and one of the girls has brought along a man she met three hours ago, Adam. They travel to the cabin in two jeeps only to find that RL has rearranged the meeting which forces the group to stay in the cabin overnight.

As the title suggests, the group are dispatched one by one. But who is doing the killing? The friends all point their fingers at Adam as nobody knows anything about him, or perhaps RL has lured them to the cabin for his own sport.

I found the beginning a bit slow as the group seemed to be winding themselves up in anticipation of the creepiness of the cabin, and talked about what might happen, long before there was any hint of things going bad. However, the pace picked up once the bodies started dropping.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of, as well as their various friendships groups, and while I was thinking about their petty jealousies and hook ups, I failed to identify those responsible for the terrible slaughter or see the twist in the tale coming until it was revealed in the story.

The sequel to this is Six Plus One which I have just started, and am already enjoying. ( )

At her brother's request, Rae is going on a trip to her family's old vacation cabin to sell it to a mysterious person only known as RL. It's only supposed to be a brief pit stop for the siblings and their friends while they're on their way for a fun filled July 4th beach weekend. However, nothing goes as planned.

Characters are interesting, complicated and develop as the story progresses.

The narrative is complex with an intriguingly woven web of mystery and action. Rich detail sets scenes and helps to develop characters, action and plot.

Overall, a thrilling read! ( )

By: Yawatta Hosby
Published By: Dream Snatcher Press
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating:5
Review:

"One By One" by Yawatta Hosby was one good horror mystery thriller read. When I first started reading "One By One" my thoughts were that it was just going to be another mystery read but I will tell you as I continued to read I got much more than I had expected. We will find this family has been scattered and torn apart by death of the parents and now we have the son and daughter (Kenan & Rae)trying to move on by selling their log cabin vacation home in Virginia. As this story moves on we find the Kean, Rae along with some of their friends and a stranger going back to this abandoned log cabin where both the brother and sister had seen their 'parents tortured and killed.' However, strange things began to come up...who was the stranger that Marissa had brought along on the trip? Why was Naomi and Rae mad at each other? Who was Brady trying to hook up with?

The characters from: Kenan, Rae, Marissa, Selma, Naomi, Adam, Tobey, Brady to Logan..oh let's not forget 'RL' were all well portrayed and colorful only giving us a good unforgettable story.

When people started disappearing 'paranoia' will set in big time in this read. This group will be "Alone in the woods, thirty miles from civilization with no cell phone reception, the weekend turns into a deadly game when a killer hunts Rae and her friends. They struggle to stay alive and discover the truth." But was is the truth? Who is trying to kill them? Will it be someone in this group or ...Well, this will be the time that I say you must pick up this excellent read by this author to see how this story will end. I will only say what seems to be may not be the real thing until the very end. Now, to understand that you will have to see for yourself how this author has magically put this story together for the reader.

This novel definitely had my attention all the way through to the end. Would I recommend this mystery read? YES! only if you want a excellent read. Well done Ms. Hosby....I enjoyed this read. ( )