Review: One of Us Will Be Dead by Morning by David Moody

Fifteen people are trapped on Skek, a barren island in the middle of the North Sea somewhere between the coasts of the UK and Denmark. Over the years this place has served many purposes a fishing settlement, a military outpost, a scientific base but one by one its inhabitants have abandoned its inhospitable shores. Today it s home to Hazleton Adventure Experiences, an extreme sports company specializing in corporate team building events.

Life there is fragile and tough. One slip is all it takes. A momentary lapse leads to a tragic accident, but when the body count quickly starts to rise, questions are inevitably asked. Are the deaths coincidental, or something else entirely? Those people you thought you knew well, can you really trust them? Are you standing next to a killer, and will you be their next victim?

A horrific discovery changes everything for everyone. There s no way home now, and a trickle of rumors becomes a tsunami of fear. Is this really the beginning of the end of everything, or a situation constructed by the mass hysteria of a handful of desperate and terrified people?

The lower the population, the higher the stakes.

Kill the rest of them, before one of them kills you.

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One of Us Will Be Dead by Morning is not a book for the squeamish! The body count rises at an astronimical rate, and details are not spared. I enjoyed it, and have to admit, parts were certainly unexpected, always a good thing. It takes place on a remote island that is currently home to an adventure group that does team building exercises.

The current group of coworkers on a retreat to the island find themselves trapped there as their ferry home crashed amongst the rocks, littering the corpses of its incoming passengers. Did they die in the crash? Were they murdered? Or is something else going on? If they didn’t die in the crash, are they safe or are they the next potential victims? All things to think about instead of heading back home as they planned. I have to admit, just the thought of traveling to a remote island with coworkers is a bit horrifying by itself. But then to get stuck there as horrify deaths that start to pile up? With no idea who you can trust? Then it becomes a living nightmare.

This book is part of a series that I’ve not previously read. I am always a bit hesitant to do this, because often I feel like I am missing critical backstory or not understanding the depth of relationships of characters, etc. and in the end my reading experience might not do the book justice as I am jumping in at the wrong point. In this case, I do think it works as a standalone. I would expect I might have had a better understanding of Haters had I read the first book, or maybe caught on to what was happening a bit quicker. But I don’t think that it mattered. The details I was missing I think created a bit more mystery (like you would have in the very first book).

So, what is a Hater? Well, they are normal, rational people. Some of the time, anyway. They can blend in with the population, have normal interactions, but they prey on people, and move lightining quick. Their goal is to inflict pain, so there are no quick merciful deaths with Haters, they are excruciating and gory. Again, I’ll repeat, this book may not be for the squeamish.

Overall, I would say this was an enjoyable and gruesome read and I do think it worked well as a good starting point to the series for me. And again, I have to mention that being trapped with coworkers always adds an extra dose of horrific fun to a story.