I don't read thrillers that often but this one was an absolute page turner for me.

Right from the beginning the author tells a very gripping and engaging story about people with dark histories and a very old house that sits on the edge of a cliff and is a danger on its own.

While we follow the main character on her path to solve a mystery and to care for the person who might be the murderer, the suspense is slowly but steadily building up - and in the end everything seems to happen at one, surprises included.

I really enjoyed reading that novel and I am very happy that it will be translated into german.

Preposterous, but in a good way. So many ‘final reveals’ at the end of this thing!

It was definitely good. Not on par with his haunted house book I loved so much. But this one did have this crazy tilting cliff side house that was spooky and cool. It’s good. I’ll probably forget it within a week but at least I actually enjoyed this one.

Thank you to Netgalley as well as Hodder and Stoughton for providing me with a free ARC.

I wanted to fall in love with this book so badly. The premisce was so good: Kit McDeere a nurse is returning to work after a scandal that left her patient dead. Although she's been suspected of murder, no one's managed to prove her guilty. Her next patient is the town's most famous inhabitant Lenora Hope, who the kids sing cruel rhymes about and everyone mocks and shames. She's the only survivor of the Hope family massacre. Kit has to drive up to the cliff's and go care for the now old lady in her huge victorian mansion, but she quickly finds herself caught up in trying to solve the family's mystery.

It sounded great! Sadly one of the main characteristic of a gothic mystery is the ambiance and I found it very lacking. A great big house and a couple creaks does not do the trick for me. The story also lacked suspense which forced the author to spread the story too thin, causing a lot of repetition. I figured out what had happened to Lenora very early on and it was quite a disappointment to discover I had guessed right. There were many more twists to come though, which for a second I thought was nice -There were still some surprises left after all!- but eventually disappointed me as they revealed huge plot holes and drove the story in nonsensical territory.

It's a shame..

One more thing, and I could be wrong about the inspiration but I wonder if anyone noticed the similarities with the movie Titanic ? There were scenes that ressembled it so much, some of the dialogues even ? Let me make a case for it.

Rather early on in the book as Lenora <spoiler> ,or should I say Virginia, </spoiler> tells her tale explains that she wanted to end her life. On the terrace she climbs over the railing but is surprised by a voice. She meets her poor lover as she is over the railing ? Sounds familiar to me.. She almost slips too. He asks her if she's going to jump and she answers with "I don't need to explain myself, especially to someone like you". In Titanic Jack tells Rose she's not going to jump and she answers with "Don't presume to tell me what I will and will not do, you don't know me". Same vibe to me. Ricky then tells her "He's curious why someone with your life would even risk death by climbing up on that railing" He proceeds to shake her hand and introduce himself, I mean COME ON..

<spoiler>Much later in the book as Rick's wife tries to catch him in the act with his lover Virginia she heads to the garage. The car scene anyone?

Lenora talking to Virginia as the latter tries to escape and run away with her lover "It's not just you who'll be affected. All of us will pay a price. Think of your reputation. Think of mine!" I fully expected her to tell her that women's choices were never easy at this point. </spoiler>

Oh and there's also that incredible and huge mansion being built on the cliff <spoiler> and eventually falling off. Early on there are earthquakes so we know there's a fat chance of it falling down into the ocean </spoiler> <spoiler> you can feel the disaster coming on. There's a line that reads "Perhaps because of Winston Hope's hubris in building a masnion at the edge of a cliff despite knowing it was only a matter of time before it crumbled into the ocean." Maybe someone should have told him about Freud theories.

Oh the shooting scene in the Grand Stairs right before the mansion falls into the sea ???? PLEASE !!
There's also the fact that Virginia dies at 101. </spoiler>

Titanic is my favourite film, it makes it easier for me to draw those connections so there is a chance it's just me seeing things where they're not but I'd love to know if anyone saw it too! I wonder if it was intentional on Sager's part or unconscious..

Sadly I didn't find this story as compelling as Cameron's. Although I'm not trying to compare the two. Besides these similarities (and a few smaller ones) The story is completely different.
I did like the fact that there was no way to know if both narrators were reliable or not. I grew to like them even if I couldn't fully trust them on the stories they were telling. I know I've been pointing out a lot of negative points because they did taint my reading experience but it's not all bad, I think if you like accessible writing and a quick thriller you might like this. It's also pretty self aware. I liked the moment when the author referenced King, who is an obvious inspiration to the book, the story even being set in Maine.
Also I can't leave without pointing out the stunning cover. It's probably what most drew me in. It has a vintage horror book vibe to it and I love it so much.

Not a favourite but I would be willing to try another book by this author sometime in the future.

So good! So twisty! If you love a psychological thriller, absolutely read this. I can see this being a BIG book of the summer.

Kit gets a job as a caregiver for a woman who is accused of murdering her family but was never convicted. Naturally she is fearful but has to take the job for income she badly needs.

She’s given an opportunity to find out what really happened that back in 1929. As the story progresses she comes to realise her and Lenora aren’t that different.

The book had me gripped and I didn’t wanna put it down!

The Only One Left by Riley Sager
Rating: 5⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Year: To be released 4th July 2023
Brief Synopsis: At Seventeen Lenora Hope, Hung her Sister with a rope, stabbed her father with a knife, took her mother’s happy life.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’ve needed this book!! I will be thinking about all those twists and turns for a long time. 🤯!!

I’m a massive fan of Riley Sager, I’ve loved every book and ‘Home Before Dark’ is one my favourite books.

This is up there now!! The isolated location with the risk of being on a cliff, the slanted house, the rumours, the sounds, the idea that nothing is as it seems. It packs a hefty punch of a well thought out thriller. I didn’t see any of the twists coming, I thought I was on to something but then bam! I was wrong.

Kit, Lenora’s caregiver was a really likeable character and unlike most of Riley’s troubled characters she was still flawed but I really warmed to her. I was rooting for her the whole way through.

I liked how this was all from Kit’s POV but some of the chapters were broken up by the typewriter text from Lenora so it drip feeds you the past events. I also love that it was set in the 1980’s so no internet, no mobiles.

I wish I could reread this book now without knowing what happens, I 100% recommend this.

Thanks so much to netgalley, hodder & stoughton for this ARC!

Riley Sager, for me, is a very hit or miss author. He either nails it or misses the mark and sadly, this one just missed the mark.

What started out as a fantastic premise just dragged on so much and didn't really connect with me.

Likes:
⚛️ The plot-twists were incredible, and I couldn't guess any!
⚛️ I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it either.

Dislikes:
🥴 Slow-burn thriller, with almost nothing happening in the first 80%
🥴 The page count is quite high for a thriller imo, 378
🥴 Repetitive, so much so that I thought I mistakenly went some 10 chapters back
🥴 I could say more but I don't want to give any accidental spoilers

𝕱𝖎𝖓𝖆𝖑 𝖁𝖊𝖗𝖉𝖎𝖈𝖙: If you're a fan of slow burn thrillers, give this a go!

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder Books for an earc in exchange for an honest review

The Only One Left is another winner for Riley Sager. This house of horrors mystery is full of twists and turns which will entertain his readership. It features Kit a caregiver who is just about unemployable due to her past is offered a job to care for Leonora Hope who in the 1920's may or may not have murdered her parents and her sister. With a cast of suspicious characters and Leonora who is paralysed and cannot speak Kit finds herself drawn to Leonora's past. My only negative is some of the language used by Leonora in the 1920's, it is way, way too modern, as a teenage girl from a wealthy family she would not be using these terms, in fact it jars the narrative. There's also maybe one twist too many right at the end, however I'm sure fans of this genre will love The Only One Left.

Wow my head is still spinning with all twists and turns in this story and just when I thought I had it sussed out up popped another twist that left me gasping!
When Kit McDeere arrives at the rambling mansion Hope’s End to be a live in carer of Lenora Hope it’s with some trepidation as Lenora is believed to be the killer of her parents and sister and although nothing could be proven from her first meeting with Lenora Kit is left with the feeling all is not what it seems in this creepy old house.
The book then just races along with so much going on I was completely hooked as to what direction the clues were leading me to and I have to admit the plot had me totally fooled and oh boy I loved that.
The writing and all the characters in the story were spot on, the gothic type setting of the cliff top mansion slowly crumbling into the sea all added to the tension and atmosphere it really was an unputdownable read. I have to praise the author Riley Sager this was a stunner of a read and met me guessing so many thanks for that.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lenora Hope - mass murderer?
She was the only one left after her family were massacred all those years ago…. but now, paralysed and mute, Lenora has the chance to tell her side of the story….
All I can say is WOW!!
I absolutely loved reading this - best story I’ve read in such a long time!
With vibes of a gothic style thriller, this mystery is jam packed full of twists, turns and brilliantly written heart stopping moments.
I am already looking for more reads by this author - if they are half as good as this one, I just can’t wait!
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder and stoughton for the arc of the only one left by Riley Sager.

Absolutely loved this book! Soo twisty and easy to read. I couldn’t put it down as I wanted to see what happened next. Highly recommend.

Wow! What. Fantastic read! This one had so many twists and turns, it made me dizzy! I’m usually really good at figuring it all out by the middle, this book had me guessing, even to the last few pages. I love the alternate time lines, and that the more recent time was in the 80’s. I’ll admit, I don’t usually like go this type mysteries, but this one might have changed my mind. Another great book, Mr. Sager

This was an okay read for me, I wasn't disliking it until it got to the end where everything basically fell apart but it also wasn't a great reading experience.

The premise sounded good, very typical Riley Sager, but it started out alright. I don't think there was ever really any suspense, I wish the author had leaned more into the gothic vibes and explored the story in that direction but that never happened. I think this was quite predictable from the start and it had a lot of repetitive scenes that got really boring the further you read.

The ending definitely got very messy, it was almost impossible to follow the storylines and the author just kept adding more to the story that it was hard to keep track. It was also over so quickly, considering nothing really happened prior to the big reveal. The main character just suddenly figured out the mystery and then it was over. I didn't dislike the way it ended but there also could have been so much more to wrap things up.

This book had plenty of twists to keep me guessing. The ending was also a surprise. I found myself second guessing everything as Kit learned new things about the people in the house and in the past. The first part of the book took me a day or two to read, but the rest I raced through to find out if I was right or wrong about everything. Then the ending? You need to read it to find out!

Riley Sager's latest atmospheric psychological thriller is probably his best yet, a gothic chiller set in Maine, where Kit McDeere, a carer who needs a job but finds herself out of choices after being subject an investigation and suspension, over which she claims to be innocent. It is 1983, the only offer of work has an apprehensive Kit becoming a carer to the infamous wheelchair bound Lenora Hope in her seventies, after her last one disappeared, living in the notorious remote crumbling mansion, Hope End, on a cliff edge. Lenora and her home have a unsettling and disturbing history, In 1929 the Hope family were killed, the only survivor, the eldest daughter, Lenora.

Although it could never be proved, Lenora was assumed to have stabbed her mother and father to death and hung her sister Virginia. This reputation has followed her all through the years, she has continued to lived in the family home right up to the present day, with Lenora claiming to be innocent too. Physically her health has dramatically deteriorated, a history of strokes have resulted in her being left mute and with the use of only one hand. Having been allocated a bedroom next to Lenora, a series of odd and strange events leave Kit jittery and frightened. At long last Lenora starts to communicate with Kit by tapping the keys of an old typewriter, intent on telling her story, but can she be trusted?

Sager takes his compulsive and gripping narrative in unexpected and surprising directions as twist follows twist, keeping the reader on their toes throughout. There are all the requisite elements of the dark, gothic psychological thriller here, this includes unreliable narrators, high levels of suspense and tension, secrets, deceptions and lies. This is a thrilling and well plotted read, with a mansion threatening to collapse, packed with drama, and which kept my interest from beginning to end. I can see this appealing to many readers who appreciate the most twisty of chilling thrillers. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Outstanding…
This author absolutely never disappoints and this latest offering is no exception to that rule. Is Lenora Hope a mass murderer? When Kit arrives, typewriter in hand, Lenora begins to to tell her story - and what a story it is. An atmospheric, gothic menace surrounds this tale, lying heavy, as it spins from past to present with startling efficiency with a whip smart narrative peppered with hair pin bends and surprising twists. The reader will know that the denouement, when it arrives, will be a belter. Outstanding.

I have read and enjoyed every Riley Sager book to date and will always continue to put his new releases to the top of my TBR pile. My favourite book of his is Home Before Dark which this book reminds me of a lot. It is a great gothic horror and full of the twists I have come to expect from Riley Sager.

It was a bit repetitive, a lot of talking over things we already know. Kit was also really gullible, everytime someone told her 'new' information she would take it as gospel and not question the validity, even if she knows they have lied to her before. There were a LOT of plot holes and questionable/unbelievable behaviour;
Virginia not getting caught prancing around at night. Also, I'm not being heard talking at night with Archie or Jessie???
Virginia has been faking her condition- which means she has been willfully filling adult diapers and letting people assist her on the toilet and bathe her, etc. I just can't accept that.
Kenny harrasses 'Lenora' for presumably killing their family but was apparently cool with Kit being accused of killing her own parent?
Kit's dad left the suitcase out to be found when he knew Kit was coming over. Why? That was only going to end in her coming to find you.
Dumbest detective in a really illogical, unbelievable way.
Kit's dad going into the house to basically die, right in front of his daughter too. Even if you're afraid of being caught for your crimes, I just can't fathom doing that.
'Lenora' 'wants to tell MC everything' but doesn't start by actually speaking? Instead, it's days and days of what must have been painfully slow typing. And this was her 2nd attempt!

My main criticism is that in every single Riley Sager book the main character always falsely accuses their love interest of being responsible for whatever is going on. It's extremely overused and very predictable, which is why I couldn't rate this higher.

With all this said, I still enjoyed the book because I always feel like even when a book by this author isn't the best, its still always really fun to read.

Is Lenora Hope as evil as everyone says? She is a myth, the subject of a playground rhyme, still chanted to this day. Fifty four years ago in 1929, did she kill her parents and her sister in the mansion on the cliff tops? Lenora always claims her innocence, and she’s never convicted, except in the court of public opinion. Now, she is in need of full-time care and Kit McDeere gets the job, not that she especially wants it but she is desperate for employment as she has so few options. What did Kit do that also achieves notoriety and leads to the “punishment“ of the job? Like Lenora she’s judged and blamed.

Oh my days! He’s done it again for me
yet again knocking it out of the park! This is a very clever plot as it starts as a Gothic style chiller with some really ghostly elements, creaks, shadows, off-kilter, sensations and things that go bump in the night. It’s a du Maurier style thriller with one character channelling, Mrs Danvers. Then it changes and becomes more of a mystery, wrapped in a mystery, Russian doll style.

One of the strongest (of many) elements is the cliffside mansion, which in 1929 was a show off, look at how rich we are, magnificent pile. Now in 1983, its disintegration is a metaphor for characters lives, which are crumbling around them. The

One of the strongest (of many) elements is the cliffside mansion, which in 1929 was a show off, look at how rich we are, magnificent pile. Now in 1983, its disintegration is a metaphor for characters lives, which are crumbling around them. The setting is superb and used masterfully in the objects, the rooms, the wallpaper and so on creating a wonderfully atmospheric backdrop to the drama. The characterisation is excellent, all of them are fascinating and so well crafted. The game playing between them is so suspenseful and tense with some of them mastering the art of manipulation and hiding secrets by the truckload. Some of them beggar belief and you do not anticipate them.

The plot undergoes multiple changes and it’s so immersive as you are desperate to understand wherein lies the truth. The twists and turns keep on coming so it’s a wild ride on a rollercoaster with a pace at times that is breathtaking. There are several occasions where my jaw drops in shock as I so don’t anticipate THAT one coming. What’s more when you think Riley Sager has finished and taking his foot off the pedal cruising to the end, nope, he’s saved one more good ‘un to finish off a terrific read. Brilliant! An easy five stars for me.

So, I’ll simply round off by saying, read it, you won’t be disappointed! Finally, (yes, really) that cover! Excellent!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This was my first Riley Sager novel but it definitely won’t be my last. I enjoyed the premise and the writing style, although I must admit I wasn’t a huge fan of Kit as a main character - she just seemed kind of dopey to me? Virginia and Lenora were far more interesting to me and I wish the story came from their POV, though I get that wouldn’t have worked now I’ve finished the story!!

Plenty of twists which I didn’t see coming, and I always appreciate that in a novel. 3/5 stars overall!