The Only One Left
Ratings347
Average rating3.9
4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This had a great start! Kept me super engaged. I love a haunted house trope and the gothic atmosphere really helped make it feel creepy.
You're following Kit in the present (set in the 80s) and Lenora's typewriting telling you what happened back in 1929 when the family murders happened. I don't feel like this needed to be set in the 80s, there was nothing that made you think they were back in that time so I forgot that tidbit often.
I also feel like this could've been 50 pages shorter and about 5 LESS twists. I LOVE a good twist but he kept going... and kept going... and kept going.. and I just felt like the more twists that came up, made everything feel too convenient and unbelievable. The toooo many twists and the fact it should've been a little shorter is what knocked it down a star.
Regardless, the atmosphere and story were intriguing so I very much enjoyed!
At seventeen, Lenora HopeHung her sister with a ropeStabbed her father with a knifeTook her mother's happy life“It wasn't me,” Lenora saidBut she's the only one not dead
I hope you like this rhyme, as it is repeated approximately 70 kazillion times in the first half this book!
Okay, I kid, I kid; it's a great, creepy rhyme but it did start to lose its oomph after being repeated so many times. And really, so much of this book just seemed repetitive to me.
Also, this will make me sound like a jerk, but I think Riley Sager might be paid per line.
Because all of Kit's internal dialogue was formatted like this.
Each new thought needs a line.
It really didn't vibe with this particular reader.
I'm being overly negative. There's a lot to like here! Great gothic setting, fun mystery, lots of twists and turns at the end...I don't know, I'm definitely the outlier here. It was a compelling story and I didn't hate it (although I did think Kit was kind of a drip), but this is still a fairly low 3 red herrings out of 5.
Rating: 3.5 leaves out of 5-Characters: 4/5 -Cover: 5/5-Story: 4/5-Writing: 4/5Genre: Gothic, Mystery, Horror, Thriller-Gothic: 1/5-Horror: 0/5-Thriller: 5/5-Mystery: 5/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: YesHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LovedWhat a good book! It had me guessing who was who and what was what for majority of the time. This is my second book by him and I can say he might become a regular author for me. The only thing I didn't really care for was towards the end and what happened to her father. He deserved worse. I am also kind of confused on the timeline.
Ik hield echt van de sfeer: gothic met het verlaten landhuis dat gevaarlijk boven een klif torent. Maar het enorme aantal wendingen maakt het geheel gewoon belachelijk. Het verhaal gaat letterlijk en figuurlijk over de kliffen, stort neer en wordt meegesleurd door de golven.
“I can only run into the hallway while continuing to scream as it all unfolds like a slow-motion car crash in front of me.”
Het grootste deel van de spanning is enerzijds de setting en anderzijds onze grillige hoofdpersoon die steeds maar conclusies trekt, naar elke gril handelt en zichzelf opjut.
De eindonthulling was er gewoon te veel aan. HOE kun je meer dan VIJFTIG jaar lang doen alsof je bijna volledig verlamd bent? Belangrijker nog: WAAROM zou je dat doen? Gewoon om je zus te pesten? Ugh!!
I basically freaked out over the release of this cover. It's clear riff on/nod to And Then There Were None both in cover and name—And the complementary colors? A favorite cover this year for sure.
The novel features the recently accused/first person perspective of Kit, a care giver out of options. So when her boss sends her to the Hope's cliff mansion, she has no choice but to agree. The place has a dark past, the kind of past that gets altered over generations. Now their story's little more than a schoolyard chant, Kit didn't even know that Lenora was actually alive. Lenora is entirely reliant on her caregivers, but she does have one working hand that she can use to communicate... and type.
I really enjoyed this story. It is a slow burn, but the revelations and chapter endings keep you going. There is a slight level of creepiness, but it doesn't go supernatural. A mansion on a slowly crumbling ocean cliff is a great setting.
It does suffer a bit from what I've said about several other recent thrillers, where there is just so much thrown in. But Sager does handle it very well. Additionally, I was a bit held up because I feel like it really is like 60-80 pages longer than it needed to be.
Personally a 4.5/5*, not bad at all for my second Sager read.
I won this in a Good Reads giveaway. Which made me excited. Then I read it and thought it was a great “ghost” story. Both main characters are haunted by their past. This is about learning how to deal with things in your past.
So many twists! I enjoyed all the twists and turns at the end, but the middle was a little too slow.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I give Riley Sager's newest release, “The Only One Left” 5 stars. In this thriller/suspense novel, Kat travels to Hope's End to care for the infamous Lenora Hope. Kat is going through a rough spell and is hesitant to take the case due to the allegations that Lenora murdered her family in her youth. Kat may have more in common with Lenora than she thinks...
A spine-tingling thriller like no other, this intricately woven story transports readers to the decayed enigma of a rundown mansion perched upon a stormy seaside cliff. From the very first chapter, the author's prose sets the stage for a highly immersive reading experience. Each creaking floorboard, howling wind, and crashing wave interweave seamlessly with the narrative, intensifying the mystery that pervades every corner of this once-grand estate. The mansion, sullied by time and secrets, becomes a living, breathing character in its own right, raising goosebumps with every flip of the page.
The pacing in “The Only One Left” is a masterwork. Riley Sager maintains a perfect balance between heart-stopping suspense and moments of respite. As the plot unfolds, tension tightens like a coiled spring, ensuring that gripping revelations regularly punctuate the narrative at just the right moments.
In “The Only One Left,” Riley Sager has proven himself once again to be a masterful voice in the thriller genre. A true five-star triumph, deserving of a place on every thriller lover's bookshelf.
Fun read, quite fast paced, good plot twists and ending. If you're in a reading slump, try this.
4.5 (rounded up)
Was it the best written book ever? No
Was it over the top towards the end (2 books released in 2023 come to mind)? Yes
Did I have fun? Absolutely
The last RS book I genuinely liked was Lock every door and after the misses with his last 2 books, I was hesistant with this one. I think the premise and setting was good with a suprisingly unannoying MC. He did a good job of maintaining the suspense with the backstory. I do think it got a bit repetitive and slow at times. I honestly didn't mind the twists. As I said, I've read two popular books this year with crazy twists, so coming into this, I was sort of prepared
What an absolutely insane ride
This got me out of a reading slump! Not my usual genre, but you should read it if you want something spooky!
Loved the vibes, but the ending gave me whiplash with the number of twists. I LOVE twists, but a few of them left me a little confused and felt like Sager was throwing ideas at a wall or couldn't decide which twist he liked best so just did them all. Still, the atmosphere was great, very vivid and I loved the typewriter aspect. I also enjoyed the final final letter, it tied everything together nicely. Can't decide if I like this or Home Before Dark more, but similar gothic haunted-house trope and is the formula I think Riley Sager does best!
Master of twists and turns!
Such a great storyteller. You never want to put the book down because you just have to know how it ends. Then just when you think you've got the twist figured out there is like 3 more. I really enjoy this author - never disappointed with the storytelling just how quickly it ends.
It's been a while since I truly loved a thriller book and this book made me feel like when I first read Sager's earlier books.
Kit is sent on a in home care assignment to Hope Ends, an infamous mansion that was the scene of horrific murders over 50 years ago. In 1929 Lenora Hope was accused of murdering her mother, father, and sister but was never found guilty. After a series of strokes Lenora Hope is now mute and is confined to a wheelchair with only the use of her left arm. Lenora uses a typewriter to communicate with Kit where she says she would like to tell Kit everything. And the more Kit learns the more she realizes there's far more to the story and it has present day consequences.
Sager does a very good job at making all of the twists and turns throughout the book compelling. The need to know what the answers to the mysteries propelled me to the end pretty quickly. Both Lenora and Kit are both likable but throughout the book I kept feeling like I couldn't trust either. And with every question answered several more popped up.
The setting of this book was also perfect. Set in New England, the run down mansion is set on a cliff that overlooks the ocean. Not only does the setting add to the creep factor, the fact that Kit is now tending to a possible murderer in a creepy mansion, but also the state of the mansion adds even more tension to the already strange circumstances.
A story with many mysteries sometimes ends with disappointment or a bit of lackluster but I truly loved the ending to this book. It all made sense in a reality is stranger than fiction sort of way even though this is a work of fiction. I also love when an ending gives you a little bit more than just the answers you're looking for and this book delivered.
Highly recommend this as a fun thriller read.
This whole book felt like a super twisty, dizzying and slightly creepy game of Cluedo. I enjoyed it, a lot.
It kept me on my toes, made me believe I'd figured out “who did it” only to be proven wrong time and time again. Admittedly, there were a few parts that were predictable, I could definitely see where elements of the story were leading BUT there was so much more than I expected and I loved how it concluded. This was my first Riley Sager book, and I know I'll be picking up another one soon.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.