This was definitely one of Riley Saver’s best novels to date. It had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. There were so many twists and turns I felt like I was on a roller coaster.

I really enjoyed the whole cast of characters, I feel like pretty much every one of them was necessary to make the story whole. Kit was a great unreliable main character, with her whole backstory.

Overall this book just made me love this author even more than before. I already can’t wait for his next work to be available.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for sending me this ARC to read and review.

I am already familiar with Riley Sager's work after receiving 'Survive the Night' as a gift from a student last year, so I was very excited when I saw The Only One Left on Netgalley. The blub was also incredibly intriguing:

A HEART-POUNDING GOTHIC THRILLER FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope
Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope's End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.
Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother's happy life
It's now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope's End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer - I want to tell you everything.
"It wasn't me," Lenora said
But she's the only one not dead
As Kit helps Lenora write about the events leading to the Hope family massacre, it becomes clear there's more to the tale than people know. But when new details about her predecessor's departure come to light, Kit starts to suspect Lenora might not be telling the complete truth - and that the seemingly harmless woman in her care could be far more dangerous than she first thought.

So, as I am a huge fan of all things Gothic and mysterious, this was definitely calling out to me!

We learn very early on that Kit is a carer, out of work, following the death of her own mother whilst in her care. Kit seems to be a very troubled character; her father no longer seems to want her around, her boss can't wait to get rid of her, the police don't believe her. However, lack of evidence has meant that Kit has remained out of prison but has now been ostracised in her own life.

Her boss finds her a new assignment (and ultimatum: take this or leave your job permanently) that will take her to crumbling and somewhat infamous mansion, Hope's End. Her job: to care for the now bed-bound, incapacitated and voiceless Lenora Hope, alleged killer of her millionaire family, 50 years prior to the opening of the novel. The story apparently takes inspiration from the real-life tale of Lizzie Borden, accused of murdering her father and step-mother in quite gruesome circumstances in 1892. Similarly, due to lack of evidence Lizzie, just like Lenora and Kit, was never convicted of the crime!

Perhaps one of the biggest characters in the novel is the wonderfully atmospheric crumbling Gothic-style mansion, Hope's End. The name itself almost acts as a warning to steer well-clear! It stands on the very edge of a precipice, leaning dangerously towards the Atlantic Ocean. The house is reminiscent of Daphne Du Maurier's Manderley from 'Rebecca' and, indeed, the housekeeper bears an incredible resemblance to the domineering presence of Mrs Danvers. The house seems to breathe and embody the tragedy of decades before and we can't help but wonder how the denouement of the novel will play out - will there be a final showdown between house and humans whereby the truth of the matter is lost forever?

Kit soon uncovers many mysteries within the house and the book quickly turns into an exciting whodunnit - I'll not put my questions here as I don't want to give away any of the plot!

However, I am reluctant to give this book 5 stars. Towards the end of the story, I did feel that the plot took a bit of an obscure turn, and things were beginning to feel a little far-fetched. This affected my overall reading experience as I felt that things were just ever so slightly too preposterous to believe. Then, just when I thought about giving up, Sager pulled it back! Then it swung pendulously between credibility and implausibility to the final page of the novel.

Nevertheless, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who particularly enjoys a good spooky mystery with intriguing characters that will keep you guessing to the end (I never saw the final twist coming!). The characters are well drawn with their own individual strengths and flaws. We can't help put commend Kit's tenacity throughout, as well as detesting the actions of supporting characters and, no matter who killed them, we can't help but feel that the Hope murders were somewhat deserved!

This book is released in the UK on 4th July 2023.

Thank you #netgalley and #sloughterandhodder for my early copy.

All the stars for Sager’s newest!

This was undoubtedly one of Sager's more atmospheric thrillers, to be compared perhaps to 'Home Before Dark' in terms of mystery and intrigue.

The setting of the book was 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. Picture this stately, old house perched at the top of a crumbling cliff, which is slowly causing it to slope towards the churning ocean… that alone was a touch of genius. Oh and it’s set in the 80’s!
Need any other reasons to read this? Ok here we go:

Kit is a caregiver who reluctantly accepts a post at Hope's End to look after the notorious Lenora Hope, after her previous caregiver goes missing.
In 1929 Lenora at only 17 was accused of murdering her entire family in a brutal bloodbath. With no murder weapon and no confession, she was spared a conviction but is now confined to a wheelchair. She cannot speak and is paralyzed except for her left hand.

Feeling a connection with the elderly lady after also being accused of killing her mother while caring for her, Kit begins to question Lenora about her past. The old lady seems only too eager to finally tell her story by typing it out on an old typewriter with one hand.

The result is a breathtaking ride that had my head spinning with all the twists and turns. Add to that a stern-looking housekeeper, eerie noises in Lenora's room at night and a missing caregiver, and you have the ideal recipe for the perfect thriller!

I could literally hear Agatha Christie’s ghost clapping when I turned the last page.

Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton and Riley Sager for allowing me to read this arc.

I finished this over a week ago and it’s still on my mind. It had me hooked from the first page, starting with a mystery. Why did Kitt get suspended from her job? Did Lenora Hope kill her entire family in one night? Why? The mysteries keep coming throughout the book, and the twists and turns were incredible. Riley sager managed to keep all of those plates spinning so flawlessly with this one when other authors can’t even hold one plot twist together!
The whole book has this creeping sense of unease about it, and from the mansion with its cracks and secrets, to the characters that you can never quite trust, it was so atmospheric and gothic.
I really enjoyed reading Kitts apprehension to becoming a care giver to Lenora, both under suspicion and vulnerable to the other, and waiting to see if they can ever learn to trust each other.
The supporting characters added to the suspense, and you don’t know who to trust.
If you like Rebecca, And then there were none, and just about any book with a haunted gothic mansion then this book is for you.
I couldn’t fault it, and I’m thrilled that I got the chance to read it!

Everyone knows the story of Lenora Hope who killed her sister and parents. After getting into trouble at her job, Kit ends up her caretaker. Spooky things happen. Lenora is trying to write out the story of her life. It was long in the middle for me. Lots of good twists but overall I just didn’t like this near as much as Riley’s previous books.

Shamefully, this is the first Riley Sager book I’ve read, despite having a few on my physical TBR and my first true dabble into the thriller genre. I regret not reading Sager sooner.

It was a slow burn however with this comes the Sager spinning a web of false beliefs into what is going on. My notes app got a real run for it’s money whilst I was reading this book.

I stayed awake until 1:30am to finish this book because from around 75-80% the story started ramping up with the twists and turns it took throughout. I had my suspicions and they were all wrong. What put me off thriller books to start with was that I could always guess the twist. This book? I had absolutely no idea the entire way throughout and when I first became comfortable with my assumption, I was turned in another direction.

Sager writes so vividly that I am absolutely not surprised by his success because this is perfection in story form. The way he describes the people, their demeanour as well as the surroundings. That house tilt is something I felt through the pages.

It’s creepy, it’s uncovering information from the past not necessarily the now which makes it feel more like a mystery than a thriller. You can see that everything is connected but you have zero clue as to just how they’re connected.

A huge reveal came and changed the whole perception of what we had been reading, comfortably believing to be one thing. That web was spun so intricately that I had to go back and reassess to see if there were any potential clues before then. Honestly, I suspected everyone of everything. I tried to work out the time line, ages, capabilities and I couldn’t hold anything down for too long before another twist came.

The last 10% was crazy, plot twist after plot twist came and just took everything. All of the reveals were topping each other but personally, this is something I absolutely love. There is no way I sat comfortably whilst reading this.

I’ve seen people saying that they felt Sager was just trying to out do himself with adding as many twists and turns as possible but I truly feel that without them, this book wouldn’t be as incredible as it is. The 80’s vibe wasn’t as prominent as I thought it’d be which for me is totally fine as despite being set in that era, it should read as a book set in our current time, there are just hints to 80’s things which I really liked.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Only One Left is for lovers of thriller, whodunnit and gothic mystery.

Riley Sager books for me are always a fun ride, with all the ridiculousness and crazy plots and this one was no exception. In fact, this has been my favourite of his recent books as I thought the Gothic setting worked really well. Hope's End as a house was a character and there was a real sense of threat from the house itself throughout the narrative, not in a supernatural sense but from the very real problem of a house being built at the edge of a cliff. The characters here all had a Gothic feel to them, with the invalid Lenora Hope, the suspected killer of her whole family, or the prim Mrs. Baker, the housekeeper who rules the house with an iron fist. Throw Kit into this mix as a caregiver for Lenora who has a checkered past of her own. I thought the storytelling aspect worked very well, as the typewritten sections were interspersed into the narrative, maintaining the tension throughout. I also thought that the many twists towards the end were very fun and I didn't see them coming. Overall, a super entertaining read that I will definitely recommend.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of The Only One Left, a stand-alone thriller set in Maine in 1983.

Kit McDeere is a caregiver and unwillingly takes the job of caring for Lenora Hope, a woman suspected of murdering her parents and sister in 1929. Now she wants to tell Kit her story, but Lenora only has limited use of one finger on her left hand so she painfully and slowly types it out, bit by bit.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Only One Left, which is full of twists and turns and atmosphere. I read to be entertained and nobody does creeping tension or curiosity arousal like this author. For me, it doesn’t really matter how outlandish or unrealistic the plot is, he always makes me want to finish the novel to get the answers.

The set up is great. There are question marks about Kit McDeere and her past, just as there are about Lenora Hope. Placing these two secretive and less than reliable narrators in a crumbling cliff top mansion adds a gothic element. The novel is told by Kit in the 1983 present and is intercut with Lenora’s typed account of events in 1929. I think it works well in contrast as 1929 is a fairly straightforward narrative of events, although the events themselves are less straightforward, whereas Kit is well on her way to a nervous breakdown as her imagination works overtime to explain a series of creepy events. I was hooked by all this, even if it’s not a fast read, more of a slow burner and my curiosity never dimmed.

There are a lot of twists in this novel, some more believable than others and some more guessable than others, but all entertaining and curiosity sating. I think it is a great work of imagination and that’s before the ending, which probably won’t work for the realists, but I found immensely satisfying and funny as it is a great happy ever after and an antidote to the previous tension and general creepiness.

The Only One Left is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

WOW!

At seventeen Lenora Hope,
Hung her sister with a rope,
Stabbed her father with a knife,
Took her mother's happy life.

Kit doesn't have many options after being suspended from work. She needs a job and the only one offered to her, as a caregiver, is with Lenora Hope. A woman suspected of murdering her family. Shortly after arriving, she begins to notice that things are not as they seem and she is determined to undercover the secrets at Hope's End.

I was captivated from the very beginning. Each chapter kept me in anticipation and ended with a hook compelling me to read just one more chapter. So many plot twists that I didn't see coming. I had so many mixed feelings about the characters - one minute I liked them, then disliked them and other times I felt sympathy towards them. The story was cleverly woven together - every time I was left with a question, Riley answered it very soon after.

At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope
Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life
“It wasn’t me,” Lenora said
But she’s the only one not dead

Kit, a healthcare professional, realises there's a lot to be scared of at the Hope's mansion. Not everything is as it looks and definitely not how it's told.

The story has an intense build, and seemingly weak characters. What the story made me realise is that there's a thing called too many twists, and it's not attractive - it's annoying. I couldn't root for any characters in the story, it's supposed to be in Kit's POV, or Lenora's? IDK, I'm laying off of the spoilers today. But anyway, the fact that I was 89% in the book when the story started to make sense means that I wasted my initial days reading this trying to make sense of the plot.

While Riley's writing is amazing, the attempt to spook the reader is present, too many characters, too many side plots and twists ruined this to no return.

There was a point when I wanted to abandon this, but as I said, I was already 90% in, so I thought I'll just suffer through. While I'm glad for the ARC in exchange for an honest review, I'm unhappy with this book, more like disappointed anyway.

It was repetitive (WE KNOW PEOPLE WERE MURDERED STOP MENTIONING IT ON EVERY PAGE) and got JUST PLAIN ANNOYING at the end. Felt more like a parody than a mystery. I'm out.

At seventeen, Lenora Hope; Hung her sister with a rope; Stabbed her father with a knife; Took her mother’s happy life

The captivating tale of Lenora Hope and the enigma surrounding Hope's End Mansion has intrigued everyone. School children used to sing rhymes about Lenora, accusing her of murdering her entire family. However, she was never convicted, and now, in her old age and frailty, she requires a full-time caregiver.

Kit, a caregiver who was forced to take six months of unpaid leave after an unconventional death occurred under her watch, returns to work only to be assigned the task of looking after Lenora Hope. Kit remembers the stories and the rhymes from her school days. Can she handle this assignment?

With a slow start, I held my breath, knowing that slow beginnings don't always bode well. However, I was proven wrong as the story quickly picked up pace after the first few chapters. I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the bond that developed between Kit and Lenora, with Kit giving Lenora the opportunity to express herself through writing her story on a typewriter. This meant we were treated to two points of view in the book: Kit's main narrative and enticing excerpts of Lenora's story as she typed them out. It was a masterful way of enhancing the overall tale.

I genuinely relished reading this book. It drew me in and kept me fully engaged with the twists that seemed never ending. Being a devoted fan of Riley, I am delighted with how this one turned out!

Thank you once again to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

"The Only One Left" is a Gothic thriller by Riley Sager. The book tells the story of Kit, a caregiver, who after an unfortunate incident with a patient is sent on an assignment no one else in town would take - to look after Lenora Hope, a 71-year-old mute and paralysed lady, accused of the cold-blooded murder her parents and sister. Lenora lives in Hope's End. Once full of life, after the triple murder, the mansion is empty, with only a few people still residing there, taking care of Lenora and the grounds. When Kit steps in, she immediately finds out there is much more to this place than the horror stories told in town. The house and its residents are full of dark secrets, carefully kept for nearly 60 years. But Kit is determined to get to the bottom of it all...

Everything about this story is haunting. It kept me on edge from page one until the very end. I was immediately drawn into the darkness of Hope's End and couldn't stop reading until, much like Kit, I got to the bottom of it all. Riley Sager has built an intricate net of relationships and characters, that gets more complex with each chapter.

I absolutely ADORED this book. It kept me on my toes all the way through. Surprise after surprise, I literally had to shout my disbelief at some of the plot twists Sager had created. An absolute gem of a book, a masterpiece of a gothic spooky thriller, confirming that Sager is the king of the plot twist and one of my favourite authors. Cannot wait for his next creation!

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fascinating with how creepy, yet delightful, it was. I mean that by ‘creepy’ is the setting and noises at night, and ‘delightful’ with how friendships are formed from something so sinister.
It’s a book that is knee-deep full of surprises. Once you think you’ve solved the mystery, you haven’t, and more bombs are thrown at you.
Riley really spins a good tale and he’s a go-to author for me without a doubt.

4.75 stars
As a big fan of Riley Sager, sadly his last 2 books weren't my favourite but he is definitely back on form with this book.
I loved all the different mysteries going on within this, from what happened to Mary, to the night the Hope family were murdered, to whether Kit was responsible for her mother's death. There was plenty to keep my interest and more.
There were some nice twists and I really enjoyed the way that the story progressed through the typed sections.
I also liked the atmospheric world that was created and the gothic vibes that it gave, despite it primarily being set in the 1980s, with flashbacks to 1920s.
I'm not entirely sure I liked the reveal of who killed Mary/Kit's relation to the Hope family but I did like how it ended overall.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Love Riley’s books so wasn’t surprised this was another super title full of twists and turns and keeping you turning the pages right until the end. Another stocking title!

I’d not read - or in fact heard of - Riley Sagar before, and on the basis of this creepy thriller I’ll be looking out their back catalogue. It’s a great twisty read - if you work out a big twist in advance it really doesn’t matter as there’s likely another one coming along close behind - I thought I’d cracked it but still got a surprise. Atmospheric, sympathetic characterisation and a cracking mystery at the heart of it. Recommended.

This was such a good read that I just didn't want to put it down. It had a similar vibe to Rebecca, which I loved.

Set mainly in the present day, Kit has been hired as a replacement caregiver for a woman who is believed to have murdered her family. Through a series of letters from Miss Hope, the storyline flits to the past to reveal the truth.

I loved watching the storyline play out as you tried to work out if she did it or not. With lots of twists along the way, I loved this from cover to cover.

I have many Riley Sager books, but the us is the first one I’ve actually read. He somehow became an auto-buy for me despite not having read anything. Although, I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of this book from Netgalley.

The Only One Left was an easy 5-star for me. What sealed the deal? The fact that I had to stop reading it late at night because it was giving me nightmares. This book is not a horror per se, but the author did such a great job of creating a spine-chilling vibe. What is it about a house that can serve as the basis for something really creepy? If you were a fan of The Haunting of Hill House or Bly Manor, you will know what I mean regarding Hope’s End.

I loved all the characters in this book. There were so many layers to them and it was difficult to know who was lying, telling the truth, or bending it for their own benefit. There was a grey area with characters like Lenora and Kit. We are given the impression they have done terrible things but, regardless, I couldn’t help but like them. I spent most of the book hoping they would be vindicated.

Regarding the ending and that hoped for vindication, I was certainly satisfied. There were some parts I saw coming, while others threw me. Despite it not being the major twist of Gone Girl (I’ll never get over that) it was great enough for me to give this The Only One Left 5 stars, without even really having to think about it.

Overall impression? To quote the book itself: it’s a humdinger.

Kit McDeere is a caregiver and has just come back to work after 6 months being suspended. She was accused of assisting in the death of her mother but there was no evidence to support it. She has no choice to take up another care givers job at the notorious Hope End. Where Lenora Hope in 1929 murdered her parents and her sister. Lenora is now bedridden and not able to move apart from one hand after several strokes and her previous caregiver just left in the middle of the night, leaving all her possessions behind. With the help of Kit, she types out what happened on the day of the murders. Did Lenora really kill her parents? Or was it someone else and what was the reason why? Will Kit find out before Hope End falls to the bottom of the cliffs?
Thank you, Hodder & Stoughton, for a copy of Riley Sager’s latest offering. Wow this is another excellent gothic thriller. I was totally invested from the first page. The is a very twisty thriller and lots of great characters that we are introduced to who all hiding their own secrets. Which are slowly revealed throughout the book. This author never disappoints. 5 stars from me

this book was quite enjoyable but it felt like i was reading verity by colleen hoover. their was so much that felt the same so none of the twists really surprised me. except the identity reveal. 3 stars for that and the creepy vibes!