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Then There Was One
Then There Was One | Wendy Cross
2 posts | 2 read
The perfect, murderous YA thriller to get you back in your Hunger Games era, from an exciting new voice.
Let the games begin.
Every inhabitant in the Quadrant knows about The Pinnacle, a reality TV contest set on a remote planet with a huge cash prize. For three desperate entrants, winning would mean the world:
Rich-girl BEX can finally leave her broken family behind.
For politician’s son ZANE, it’s his only opportunity to save his mother.
And it’s outcast RAYA’S last chance at a better life.
But as the competition starts, the contestants are quick to discover that this year’s game has unscripted and DEADLY consequences.
And the only thing they’re truly competing for, is SURVIVAL.
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review
IReadThereforeIBlog
Then There Was One | Wendy Cross
Panpan

Wendy Cross‘s debut YA SF crime novel mixes AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie with SURVIVOR but while the pacing is fast, it cannot make up for very thin characterisation (including of the 3 POV characters), equally thin world building (with Cross heavily dependent on mentioning an aspect of this universe when she needs to explain a twist) and some heavily foreshadowed twists so that as a result the novel just didn‘t work for me.

review
OutsmartYourShelf
Then There Was One | Wendy Cross
post image
Pickpick

Three teenagers are thrilled to receive an invitation to compete in 'The Pinnacle', a reality TV contest set on a remote planet where ten teenagers compete to win a cash prize. Bex, Raya, & Zane all have their own reasons to want to win, but when the ten contestants meet on a deserted island, it's not long before they realise that this is no ordinary contest, but a competition to survive & there can only be one winner. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf The 'locked room' or 'isolated setting' genre is one of my favourites so one that was set in space was even better. Unfortunately the contest side of things was quickly jettisoned & it was your usual murder thriller where the group are isolated from everyone else & they start being killed off one by one. Judging by the title, this is perhaps an updated YA version of Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None'. 9mo
OutsmartYourShelf The reader has 3 POVs for the narrative but they were not really distinct enough & I had to look back at the chapter headings several times to see which one I was currently reading about. Overall, I felt that the concept wasn't really developed enough & the ending is rather abrupt, although it left me hoping that there is a sequel as I really need to know that someone goes & looks after Zircon the dog as Raya had to leave him behind. 3.5 🌟 9mo
OutsmartYourShelf My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Penguin Random House UK Childrens', for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5949422625
Read 4th-8th Feb 2024

#ReadAway2024
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
9mo
DieAReader 🥳Great 9mo
33 likes4 comments