Then There Was One by Wendy Cross

The Blurb On The Back:

Let the games begin.

Every inhabitant in the Quadrant knows about The Pinnacle, a reality TV contest set on a remote planet with a five million cash prize. For three desperate entrants, winning would mean the world.

Right 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.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

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.

THEN THERE WAS ONE was released in the United Kingdom on 1st February 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.