I've read all but one of riley sager books and I've found then very hit and miss. Many are fantastic reads and some seriously really miss the mark. They are love or hate, this one is seriously good.

It's very well written, great character development and plenty of twists and turns. I had no way of guessing that ending!
Would recommend to any reader.

Thank you to @netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We follow Kit as she becomes a full time carer for Lenora Hope who is famous in their town for murdering her mother,father and sister many years ago but has never been found guilty of the crime. Lenora asks Kit to help write her story of the events which led to this awful night and share her truth.

This is everything a thriller should be. Full of darkness, twists and mystery. It kept me on the edge of each chapter just wanting more and more! Making you suspect every character involved and analysing everything! I had my theories about certain characters and although I was half right to a degree, nothing could've predicted the actual twists that were to unfold!!

I don't want to give spoilers but what a book. I didn't see half of that coming and I absolutely loved it and how it turned out. The timeline going back to the past to help us understand how the family were. I truly hated Lenora's father. The tragedy broke my heart and made me feel so many emotions, but the ending made up for that!

If your a thriller lover then you definitely need to read this!

I really wanted tk enjoy this one but I just couldn't get into it. I'm not sure whether it's an author thing or not

I really enjoyed The Only One Left.
This is the second book I've read by Riley Sager, the first was Home Before Dark.
I actually enjoyed this one a lot more!

There were so many twists and turns in this book that had kept me hooked untill the end!
The only negative i have is that i wasn't the biggest fan of the characters but I'm usually not in these type of books so It didn't bother me to much.
This book really was a lot of fun and I definitely recommend it!

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5 rounded up


Thanks to the author, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have read a couple of Riley Sager novels by now, and if I’m honest I don’t know why I continue to do so. That’s not to say that they aren’t decently tense and fun thrillers, but that they’re all a bit samey and predictable at this point. I did appreciate the setting of this, but I think it could have gone even heavier with the spooky coastal mansion vibes. The characters were okay – there was some decent backstory, but I didn’t find myself particularly warming to any of them. I did feel the intrigue during the bulk of the middle of this book, but by the time the twists started coming I was bored – in this one in particular there are just SO MANY TWISTS that it starts to get a bit ridiculous. Overall, I didn’t hate this by any means, but I’m not sure I’m in a rush to pick up another Riley Sager anytime soon.

Kit is a caregiver and has been assigned to care for Lenora Hope who resides at Hope End house. Leonora however is infamous as there was a murder at the house.

This offering by Riley Sager certainly has a gothic feel to it. The story has all things that are to be expected, a house on a cliff, a murder, a ghostly feel and family secrets. This is a genre that I do enjoy and have read a lot of books within it.

I was enjoying this book very much but felt towards the end the reveals let it down. There was a lot of twists at the end and I felt there was maybe just too much. Some twist were predictable, another I didn't guess and was quite surprised.

I will definitely read more by Riley Sager as I do enjoy his books. This one for me isn't his best but I still enjoyed most of it.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the book to review.

Wow! This is a Great gothic tale. I loved the creepiness and mystery around the house. The build up throughout the story was just amazing. The characters were realistic and complex. The ending was twisty and exciting. The only thing I would change is the title of the book- I think it should incorporate the sisters’ names.

I like a lot of Sagers books. They are what they are. Usually a homage to a certain genre, The Only One Left is no different, a kind of gothic horror/thriller even though it’s set in the late 20th century.

The off kilter mansion on the coast slowly being consumed by it is a great setting for the story and a not so subtle metaphor for the characters and their stories.

The whole family murdered by one of their children(possibly) is the back drop to this story as a caregiver finds herself looking after the elderly survivor many decades later.

The idea here is great and the initial setup had me hooked. The writing of the characters and the execution of the story are where this book fell down for me.
It becomes extremely repetitive as the story slowly unfolds. Like the book is just way too long for what it is.

The final acts are also somewhat silly with too many reveals. The writer just seemed to get himself in a twist trying to explain the goings on and I thought a simpler, less consulted series of events would have resolved the story much better than it did.

Sagers writing again is very cinematic, which I really enjoy. The writing of the house and the initial chapters were the highlight of the book for me. A great idea that draws the reader in but, becomes repetitive and loses its way before throwing the kitchen sink at the ending to try to make up for that and resolve everything in the most convoluted and unsatisfying way.

Two and a half stars rounded up to three for those initial chapters which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

Wow. I love Riley Sager's books and this was one of his best. The story takes place in the 1980's and follows Kit, a woman whose personal tragedy almost cost her everything. She returns from a suspension at her job as a caregiver to take on a particularly daunting patient: Lenora Hope. Everyone in town knows the case: the Hope family, except Lenora, was murdered in the family house in 1929. Lenora was the most obvious suspect but there was no proof. Kit takes the job and finds that Lenora is willing, via typewriter, to tell her what really happened. What happens after the typewriting begins unravels a story with twists that readers will not see coming. I genuinely did not guess what was going to happen and I love when that is the case! Three cheers for Riley Sager, one of my favorite authors. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Big fan of Riley Sager and was very excited by this synopsis and book cover. This book definitely gets you hooked from the start and really sets the scene. I guessed some of the plot but the twists at the end definitely surprised me but were a little out there. I preferred this over Survive the Night, The House Across the Lake and The Final Girls but probably not as much as his other books which are some of my favourite thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

The Only One Left is Riley Sager’s best thriller yet. Set in a creepy gothic mansion with a cast of interesting characters (ahem, suspects), this book was such fun to read. I’ve read almost all of Riley Sager’s books and this was by far my favorite. It was suspenseful and had the best ending I’ve read in a long time and I read a lot of thrillers. Riley Sager has hit this one out of the park. I’d highly recommend.

Holy guacamole 🫣 What on earth have I just read 😲🤯
How is it possible to write a book like that Mr Sager? Please, I need all the explanations 🔎

This is an instance where I NEED/ *want* to get a physical copy fo the book RIGHT THIS SECOND so I can instantly reread, and annotate and tab the hell out of it! I want to take this book piece by piece, chapter by chapter and just figure everything out, the foreboding, the little clues 🧩 Everything!!
It was just insane 🤯 My mind is still reeling from it all and I am just shooketh. I was not prepared to experience this book, at all.
I went in wanting to add a touch of mystery, a dash of thriller to my enormous list of current reads, and this one just blew my mind.

It was quite contemplative in the beginning, setting the stage for everything, but damn I was still hooked. I was trying so hard to come up with theories, trying to figure out what had happened. And while I was right about a couple of things, most of the twists, well, I did NOT see them coming, not by a long shot and they completely blew my mind. I mean at some point it was twist after twist after twist. You thought it was over, you have figured it all out? Ahahaha 😈 Nope, far from it, Sager just keeps drilling into your brain 🧠, shaking it to its core 🫨

I don't know what else to say right now. It was just an amazing book. The pacing, the plot... and the characters, making you doubt all of them all the time, but still, you can't help but feel empathetic towards them, to find them endearing in a twisted way. And the house 🏠 I love it when the setting is like a side character, and here, Hope's End not only set the *vibe* for the story, but was also crucial for it.

Anyway, this is probably my favourite thriller of the year so far. And that's saying something considering I read Daisy Darker last month and I absolutely loved it.
Just do yourself a favour and pre-order this book 🫢


Thank you @netgalley, @HodderBooks for this eARC in exchange for an honest review 🩷

This is the second book by the author I’ve read after The House Across the Lake. And I enjoyed this one as much as I did that. Both had twists- and off the first book was a mid point turn everything on its head, this was a third act twist upon twist upon twist: you might see one coming, but impossible to spot them all. The story itself - protagonist hired to look after an elderly woman who may or may not have murdered her parents and siblings many years ago- had, for me, touches of Rebecca, Great Expectations in its characters, and a story within a story being played out ala Misery- while being nothing like any of them narratively. Some may find a gothic ‘80s novel anachronistic, or the twists too excessive for the plot. Me? I really enjoyed it and read it in one sitting.

When you give a voice to the voiceless, anything can happen!

What a darkly unique thriller! All of Mr Sager’s books are super weird and creepy; I’ve been locked in since “Final Girls”, but this one was something else! If you love summer thrillers, you have to read this book

2.75 stars

I really liked the beginning of "The Only One Left" but then it just went off the rails and the story just became way too exaggerated for my taste.

What isn’t there to love about a murder mystery that happened in a mansion that is built on a cliff that is starting to crumble?

This is a great gothic psychological thriller with a few great twists that I didn’t see coming. I had a hard time putting it down.

I’m so happy the usual writing style of Riley Sager is back. His first four books were amazing, but the last two were duds for me. So I was super excited to read this one and find that it was just like his usual twisty entertaining style.

I loved the time period, the setting and the cast of characters. It kept me engaged the entire time.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Hands down my favorite by Riley Sager!
What’s better than an 80s suspense set in a creepy, slowly deteriorating mansion. This superb creepy, suspense is written around the 1929 murders of Lenora Hopes parents and her younger sister.
Guilt, blame, murder and secrets!

Make this a must read this year!
Thank you NetGalley, Riley Sager and Hoddler & Stoughton for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC of The Only One Left for an honest review.

The Only One Left follows Kit McDeere sent to work at Hope's End to care for Lenora Hope famous in the town for apparently murdering her Mother, Father and her Sister. Only the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she left Hope's End her home and the mansion where the massacre occurred.

Lenora was rendered mute from a series of strokes, her only means of communication with Kit are by tapping out sentences on a typewriter. One night Lenora tells Kit that she wants to tell her everything.

As Kit helps Lenora write out her story it becomes clear that there is more to the story than people know. Kit starts to wonder if Lenora is as harmless as she first thought.

I really enjoyed this thriller novel! Riley Sager's other books have always been either a hit or a miss with me but this one captured my attention and kept it right until the end.

There were so many twists and turns and secrets that came to light. Normally I am able to figure these stories out before reaching the end but there were a couple of big twists towards the end that surprised me and I just did not see them coming.

If you are a fan of Thriller novels I recommend picking this one up it is definitely worth the read!

Riley, here takes this.... 🔫 and shoot me already! Cause I'm done with this s*** show.

Riley, can I get at least one decent and likeable character from this book? Is it that hard to write only one good character so I can root for him/her through this entire hell ride?

"I want to tell you everything things ive never told anyone else yes about that night because i trust you"

"You want to know if I’m as evil as everyone says I am. The answer is no. And yes."

"At seventeen, Lenora Hope Hung her sister with a rope, stabbed her father with a knife, took her mother’s happy life"

SUMMARY
Kit McDeere, she is a caregiver. After being suspended for six months by her agency because she is alleged to have killed her patient, she returns to work and is assigned to become a full-time nurse for an old lady that lives on the cliffs inside a massive mansion.

Lenora Hope, she is now seventy-one years old. Over the past twenty years, she's suffered a series of strokes that have left her mute, paralyzed, and confined to a wheelchair. All she has is limited use of her left arm. Hope's family had been murdered on October 29, 1929; her parents and sister were dead inside that mansion, and the only one left was Lenora Hope, who everyone believes is the murderer. But now she wants to tell Kit everything about what happened that night, and as she begins typing, the truth starts to reveal itself......

👁️‍🗨️This story is told in first person POV alternate between (Kit and Lenora (?))

🕰️There is a Dual Timelines in here.(Past and Present)

So here is the thing: since the positive and negative things in this book come together, I'm going to put them all together in "MY THOUGHTS."

MY THOUGHTS:
📌 I really loved how the story began; it literally hooked me up from the opening because it was told from Lenora's POV, which made me feel the mystery and start guessing right from the first page.

Right from the start, I felt like I was exactly inside Hope's End (the name of the mansion). I really enjoyed 'The Murder Tour'," and how and where they got killed were presented in that tour. And I was picturing it inside my head.

📌 This book is very well written; how the house looks and every room that the character visits are perfectly described. You can get the full picture of those things that the author wanted to tell you. But here's the thing: because it perfectly described every single thing, I felt the story started slowy.

Also, the author is not using the apostrophe mark when Lenora is typing to inform or ask Kit for something. I liked this detail since we know the only thing that works is her left arm, so why bother with an apostrophe mark?

But the detail also became a major problem in this book; some things were certainly overdescribed.

📌 The Characters
As I said in my opening, there is literally no likeable character in this book; even the main character herself (Kit) was NAH. Also, Lenora's POV was very intense and interesting at first, but I don't know the more I read from her POV, the more I felt "digusting." Well...'disgusting' is the right word to describe all of these emotions.

📌 The Twist
Before I explain the twist in this book, I want to give you a little bit of an explanation: "What is a great twist for me?" For me a great twist is not something jaw dropping or caught me off guard. But the definition of great twist for me is something that makes more sense, is acceptable, or at least have a little bit of reality check to the story itself. And the last one that didn't end up looking like it was forced to be there. It's okay to be predictable as long as there is a sense inside it.

And unfortunately, I couldn't find a great twist in this book, but I want to do some justice to the twist. Not all of the twists in this book are bad, but I will rule out that this one is not my cup of tea, so it might work out for you but not for me. I felt the twist was too forced out to be the twist.

📌 The Ending
Bwhahaha, i don't know what to say.
If i want to put it in one word i think i'm going to use "Weird".

📌 Why 2 Stars?
I don't usually want to give specific explaination what makes me give this book 2 stars, but this time I think I should. It was because of my too high anticipation and expectation toward the author and the story. I was really excited when I finally read this book, and those things went too high, and that's why at the end it felt flat. I expected more, but this is all I got, so yeah, 2 stars.

If you lower your expectation little bit it might be work out very well with you.

WHAT I FELT WHEN I WAS READING THIS BOOK:
#{1%-5%}
For f*cking sure, I was being overly excited.

#{5%-30%}
I started to think about what kind of book I read; it was still good, but Jesus, it's hard to explain *sigh*

#{30%-55%}
I was losing my patience and getting tired of the house, the rooms, and the people's descriptions.

#{56%-60%}
I was thinking maybe I should move on and leave this book behind. (DNF'd)

#{60%-70%}
I saw hope, and I got this: maybe I can finish this book.

#{70%-100%}
The story was getting more ridiculous, and the twist was also getting more unacceptable, but never mind as long as I can finish this book. Since I'm no longer excited.

CREDIT:
Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🐥

This is my first Riley Sager book and I am OBSESSED! Now going to be working through his back catalogue.

The Only Way Left had SO many plot twists I couldn't keep up! I loved everything about this story!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book