An interesting concept, if I was new to thrillers I think my mind may be blown. However I have recently read a thriller with a similar plot twist which meant it was fresh in my mind for the reveal!

I enjoyed the writing style, but the pacing could have worked a little better for me near the beginning third. Once I got past this point I sailed through the end.

Thank you for the advanced copy! Fans of Riley Sager are sure to lap this fun book up!

Sager is the king of thrillers. He’s done it again with this gem! There were so many clever twists and turns in this one I started to feel motion sickness I think! From start to finish you’ll second guess most of the characters and go through all the emotions with everyone of them. Another 5 star read by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager
Publication date: 4 July 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.25 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
This is the July pick for the Literally Dead Bookclub.
~~~~~
Everyone believes that Lenora Hope is a mass murderer.
When the Hope family was massacred decades ago in their mansion, Hope's End, she was the only one left after that tragic night.
Mute, paralysed and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora has never been able to tell her side of the story.
Until her new live-in caregiver Kit comes to Hope's End with secrets of her own.
~~~~~
This is my first Riley Sager and I approached it with trepidation as I've heard that his books can be really hit-and-miss.
But I thought this was OK. I loved the first three-quarter of this book, I appreciated the gothic setting of Hope's End and how the mystery was ramping up.
However, the pacing of this story was quite jarring; after a slow build-up, it really went off the rails in the last quarter, with plot twist after plot twist after plot twist, coming one after the other, fast and furious, so much so that I felt that this book gave me whiplash! I mean, the author threw everything at this reveal, bar the kitchen sink and it does make for a chaotic and slightly ridiculous ending, which no amount of suspension of disbelief could soften.
This being said, the story kept me hooked and I flew through it as I really wanted to know what happened, and isn't that the whole point of a thriller?
I'll definitely be up for reading more from this author in the future.
~~~~~

A slow burn mystery with a hint of a possible haunted house story. An unraveling of a 50+ year murder mystery with so many secrets and a few really good twists I didn't see coming. While it is a bit slow, the last 20% really kicked it into high gear and makes it a compelling read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this eARC.

"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"

It's 1983 & Kit McDeere is forced to take a live-in job as a carer to Lenora Hope, sole survivor of a family massacre from 1929 which took place in their cliffside mansion in the posh side of town. Most people believed that Lenora was guilty of the murders but she denied it & the police were unable to make a case, so Lenora has lived in her childhood home, Hope's End, ever since. Following some health issues over the years, Lenora is now in her seventies & needs 24 hour care but Kit is unenthusiastic about the job, although she does have some empathy with Lenora having been suspected of a crime herself.

When Kit arrives at Hope's End, it's obviously neglected & becoming more dilapidated by the day with roof tiles crashing to the floor & inside the whole house has started to lean dangerously towards the cliff edge. There are only a few members of staff left - the housekeeper Mrs Baker, a maid, a cook, & a handyman - & Kit soon discovers that her predecessor, Mary, left in the middle of the night & no-one knows why - or they're not saying if they do. Lenora is almost completely paralysed & non-verbal with the use of just her left arm, & over the first few days Kit surprisingly starts to warm to her charge. Then one day Lenora gestures to a typewriter in the room & Kit wheels her over to it & is surprised but pleased when Lenora taps out short sentences as at least they can now communicate effectively. She is shocked but intrigued when Lenora types her next sentence: "I want to tell you everything".

Opinions seem split on this one, but I thought it was a return to form following the disappointing (to me) The House Across the Lake. I thought it was absolutely gripping & couldn't put it down. I have noticed that there seems to be a stock figure repeated across the author's books: a ruggedly good-looking handyman/ neighbour/ex-boyfriend who may or may not be involved in whatever is going off. I digress: anyway, very little romance though thankfully (bit of an ick with the sexual relationship between Kit & the young neighbour next door to her childhood home). The narrative is mainly from Kit but we get flashback scenes via Lenora's memories where things start to become clearer, but it wouldn't be a Riley Sager book without some killer twists. There were quite a lot of them here, in fact I nearly got whiplash from the switchback of those never-ending twists but yeah, very entertaining read. 4.5 stars (rounded up)

TWs: age-gap relationship, infidelity, murder, pregnancy, strong language, suicide.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

A classic Riley Sager thriller and setting it in 1929 and 1983 only made it feel more so! As usual the storyline is gripping, twisty and downright shocking at times with so many grasp out loud moments I was practically clapping my hands with glee! This felt authentically familiar to me but surprisingly fresh and new at the same time! Fans will lap it up and new readers will immediately want to read everything he’s written before. If you were a fan of Sidney Sheldon back in the 1980s then this will be right up your alleyway!

**Thank you to Netgalley & Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC. All opinions are my own.**

In 1929 shocking murders took place at Hopes End Mansion, the only survivor? Seventeen-year-old Lenora Hope.

"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"

Fast forward to present day 1983, the story starts off with Kit McDeere, a caregiver who after a suspension for some misconduct, is finally offered a new client, Lenora Hope. All her life she has heard the rhyme, and now she is to care for a so-called murderer.

Hopes End is nothing like Kit envisioned, a once immaculate mansion on the seaside cliffs, is now barely standing. The only inhabitants are the housekeeper, a handyman, a cook, a maid, and Lenora Hope herself.
Kit finds herself entangled in the mysteries of the house, and the need to know what happened all those years ago, whilst dealing with her own demons and traumatic past, but nothing is as it seems. The previous carer vanished without a trace, and no one has really gotten to the bottom of what actually happened in 1929, until now.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and I couldn't put it down. From the very first chapter, Sager hooked me in, and made me want to know "What actually happened".
I loved the idea of a whodunnit, mixed in with the eery vibes of the house, and the people all keeping secrets.
The twists and turns kept on coming, and when you thought you finally knew what happened?
You had no idea.

Each book gets better and better, and all the more captivating and gasp-worthy.
This is the third book of Sager's that I've read and I will continue to read his work.

I knew this book would be good before I had even read it and I was correct! It was absolutely wild and Riley Sager just nails it everytime!

After the death of one of her patients caregiver Kit is returning to work after a 6 month break. She takes a postion at the infamous Hope's End to care for the even more infamous Leonora Hope. The only suspect in the mass murder of her family in 1929 when she was just 17 years old.

It is now the 1980's Leonora has veen bed bound for fifty years, unable to talk, barely able to communicate and yet, she wants to tell Kit her story, after all these years will we finally know the secrets lurking within Hopes End...

The Only One Left has it all, murder, mystery, intrigue, a big ol 'creepy house shrouded in secrets and the people that live there are hiding even more.

Will the secrets of Hope's End finally be revealed?

This one is a multi pov, dual timeline story that is gloriously gothic, laced with mystery and full of page turning twists that keep you wanting more and more!

I loved it and I love Riley Sager!!

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

Riley Sager is yet to disappoint me! This was an amazingly tense, twisty and creepy thriller, set in 1983.

Kit has just began to work again as a carer following a period of suspension after her last client died suspiciously. She has no choice but to accept her new placement in the home (and as the carer) of Lenora Hope, a woman who was once (and still is) suspected ofbrutallu murdering her entire family in one evening.

Kit enters the house feeling tense and awkward, knowing about the past of her patient but what she doesn't expect is to begin a spiralling decent into psycological terror, aided by strange noises in the night, creepy staff in a (literally) crumbling manor house and the building fear that she is beginning to lose touch with reality..

I've seen that some reviewers didn't enjoy the twist, however I thought it was just mad enough to be shocking but not totally out of the realm of possibility. I think with thrillers like this, there always has to be moments where you suspend your disbelief for a while but that's what makes it so exciting to read!

Thank you so much to @netgalley, @HodderBooks and @HodderPublicity for this e-ARC in exchange for my unbiased review!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

This was my first Riley Seger book and I really enjoyed it - I'm a convert!

This book is evenly paced until the last quarter until the twists keep coming right up until the end.

I liked the way that the book was set in a time where modern technology couldn't be used to expedite the story which increased the suspense. I also liked that the building was in the process of falling down through the book which gives a real sense of urgency.

While there is only a small cast of characters they were well developed and interesting.

wow! the first riley sager i enjoyed! i really hated final girls and didn't care for home before dark but this one worked for me. phew

Well this book had me hooked from the start! So many twists throughout that really kept me on my toes.

The story about a tragedy that struck a wealthy family in the 1920’s was intriguing but the back story about Kit is what really interested me. It’s clear that there is more to it but the outcome is something I couldn’t have predicted.

This is the first time I’ve read this author but I will be reading more. If you liked Colleen Hoover’s Verity, then give this book a read. You won’t be disappointed.

In The Only One Left we find ourselves in the early 80's, following Kit as she takes up a job as carer to Lenora Hope, a woman who has been confined to a wheelchair, unable to communicate after suffering a series of strokes. A woman so infamous she has a playground song written about her. So the legend goes she murdered her family in the 1920's but she was never convicted. Now, with the help of Kit and a typewriter, she's about to tell her story,

This was such an entertaining read, I wasn't convinced with Riley's last couple of books but I adored this. The ambience is perfect and the story will keep you tuning pages.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read The Only One Left.

'Yet there it is, a sort of anxious shock fluttering behind my ribs like a bird trapped in a cage. "The Lenora Hope?"'
-
My FAVOURITE Sager yet! Riley Sager always has a way of ingeniously weaving brilliant plots around a thrilling mystery and delivering powerful twists you truly don't see coming, but in his latest novel, he's really excelled in my opinion!!
-
Everyone believes that Lenora Hope is a mass murderer.
When the Hope family was massacred decades ago, she was the only one left after that tragic night.
Mute, paralysed and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora has never been able to tell her side of the story.
Until her new live-in caregiver Kit brings her a typewriter.
And with one working finger Lenora begins to type:
I want to tell you everything.
-
When I say I couldn't put this down, I truly don't mean that lightly, I was messaging friends who had already read it my theories, I was thinking about it when I wasn't reading it, I LOVED it so much. Sager has a clever way of dropping so many little breadcrumbs along the way in his books that you never know which ones to fully pick up and follow the trail of, and I can assure you most times you're gonna be wrong, this was a marvel of story telling in my eyes and I was consumed with the mystery the encapsulates this whole story. My advice for you is to run to your local and pre order this one for release on 4th July!! You won't regret it!!
-
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this one!!

Wow oh wow, another grand slam of a book by Riley Sager. So far, I've read three of his books, and I still do not see any of the twists coming which in my opinion is a good thing.
This story is a take off of Lizzy Borden, but asks the question, what if Lizzy Borden were alive in modern times and needed a home health aide? Well, Kit is that home health aide and she is tasked with taking care of the notorious Lenora Hope who is rumored to have killed her family one night in 1929. Kit is naturally nervous about taking care of Lenora, but the more time she spends with her, the more curious she becomes about the family's murder, the disappearance of the previous caregiver, and what of the supposed ghost haunting the house?
This was a terrific book, I could barely put it down! I love when I get so wrapped up in a story, I almost felt like I was at the house and if I went into my bedroom, there would be Lenora waiting for her turn at the typewriter.
I honestly can't wait to read another one of Riley Sager's books, every one of them have been absolutely amazing.

This was my first time trying Riley Sager and I really loved this and feel so lucky to be able to get an arc for this and this book to be my first one. I had never pick up Riley Sager before and didn't know what to expect and this was such a surprise book. I will be trying more of the author's books for sure.

I thought the plot was really intriguing and the isolated setting I really liked with the old house gave me feelings of the movie Crimson Peak vibes and also Rebecca . The characters were so interesting I liked Kit the main character and the relationship she builds with Lenora find out the whole story of what happened in her past. I really liked the side characters, the atmosphere made you feel so tense The typewriter dialogue I found so different and I felt it really added to the atmosphere and it was and a little bit creepy! Going back and find out her backstory but also Kit's backstory. The plot reveal I didn't see coming and the twists I loved. Which such a ride and would 100% recommend that people should pick up this book.

If you are looking for a new summer thriller read, pick this one up!

This is a decent, suspenseful, drama about a young woman who goes to look after an invalid in a large and ghostly house that’s also teetering on the edge of a cliff!

It’s an easy read, just a frustrating one at times.

There is suspense, some ghostly appearances and a cast of weird characters. The storyline is clunky at times but comes to a satisfying conclusion. So, overall, for me a 3* Good Read.

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley as I was delighted for the opportunity to preview.

A dark gothic thriller, The Only One Left is exactly what I have come to love about Riley Sager: a deep brooding mystery full of suspicious characters and an atmospheric setting where anything could happen. And when I say anything, I mean ANYTHING!

Hope’s End is a brilliant setting and the haunted house vibe is described wonderfully. Now in decay with parts of the land crumbling into the sea, everything feels as on edge as the mansion is itself. And with strange noises and shadows at the window, the paranormal energy felt inside only adds more threat to Kit's safety.

All of the characters are brilliantly developed. Kit has her own secrets that are bubbling to escape, and none of the staff at Hope's End seem to be telling the truth. Even Leonora admits early on that, while she wants to finally be able to tell her side of the story, she still considers herself a bad person, so it's impossible to know where her boundaries lie and if she's even going to tell the truth at all.

Even though I considered all options, I definitely couldn't predict this one. While The Only One Left is a much more standard psychological thriller (meaning that nothing is too out of your imagination to be able to get your head around), there were still so many fantastically shocking turns in this story, and I had no idea when the twists were going to stop.

The Only One Left is definitely a book that you won't want to put down this summer. So make some time to squeeze it in, and be prepared for a sleepless night!

Kit McDeere is a caregiver, or at least she was. After a patient died on her watch she was suspended for 6 months with the jury out on whether her actions were careless or worse, deliberate.
Everyone has their own view and no-one is really very keen to have Kit looking after them, so her agency, not really wanting to keep her on their books, offers her the job that no-one else will accept.
Leonora Hope is paralysed apart from some function in her left arm and hand. She has had a series of strokes and no longer speaks. Leonora Hope is also widely believed to have killed her mother, father and her sister in their gothic, cliff-side house, Hope’s End Mansion, decades ago in 1929.
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’.
With nowhere else to go, Kit takes the live in job. She meets Mrs Baker, a Mrs Danvers like housekeeper, who assures her that Leonora is now incapable of causing harm to anyone.
After giving Kit careful instructions for Leonora’s care she takes Kit to her room, where Kit finds that her predecessor’s personal effects are still all over the room. Mary had to leave suddenly, Mrs Baker explains, but Kit is unnerved. Who leaves their personal effects and even their precious medical bag behind, however much of a hurry they are in?
Riley Sager’s book has a number of mysteries for the reader to get their teeth into. Did Kit help her patient to die? What happened to Leonora’s previous nurse, Mary? Did Leonora kill her parents – and if she didn’t – who did?
When Kit discovers a typewriter and realises that Leonora can use her good hand to type one fingered, the two develop a means of communication and slowly the picture of what happened to Leonora starts to emerge.
The story is told in two timelines and from two different perspectives. Kit’s and Leonora’s typed narrative.
But is Leonora a reliable narrator? How far do we trust Kit? Both questions are difficult because neither of these characters is particularly well fleshed out. All we know is that Kit has had an inappropriate relationship and Leonora has been accused of the mass murder of her family.
Sager’s setting is appropriately gothic with a decaying mansion, family portraits covered over in black crepe and the isolation of the residents of Hope’s End Mansion which sits on a rapidly crumbling cliff edge.
But honestly, this book relies on a series of pretty massive coincidences and I can’t in all conscience say that I was entirely surprised by the outcome. This is a story full of the most unlikely twists and turns and while I can suspend disbelief, this plot is just so far-fetched that I can’t begin to tell you that it is plausible.
Sorry, but this one just isn’t for me.

Kit McDeere ist seit 12 Jahren als Pflegekraft tätig. Nach einem gravierenden Versagen wurde sie sechs Monate ohne Lohn von der Arbeit freigestellt und musste wieder bei ihrem Vater leben. Nun, nachdem der Vorgang geklärt ist, darf sie wieder arbeiten. Da sie trotz aller Bemühungen keine andere Stelle finden konnte, muss sie wieder für dieselbe Agentur arbeiten. Ihr wird eine 24h Pflege angeboten, für die 71-jährige Lenora Hope, die nach einer Reihe von Schlaganfällen vor einigen Jahren kaum noch kommunizieren kann und auf einen Rollstuhl angwiesen ist. Unterkunft und Verpflegung sind eingeschlossen. Ihre Vorgängerin war unter mysteriösen Umständen einfach verschwunden. Lenora lebt in Hope´s End, einem der Häuser direkt an Cliff, das von vergangenem Reichtum kündet. Kit ist sehr überrascht über das Arbeitsangebot, sie hat Lenoras Namen seit Jahren nicht gehört. Bis heute wird gemunkelt, dass sie 1929 ihr Eltern und ihre Schwester ermordet haben soll. Der Fall wurde zur Gruselgeschichte für die Kinder. Sie gab damals an, dass sie während den Morden geschlafen hat und ihre Familie später tot auffand. Aber sie konnte auch nicht angeben, wer ihre Familie sonst getötet haben könnte und warum sie selber verschont blieb. Die Stadt war von ihrer Schuld überzeugt. Auch wenn Kit sich dabei nicht wohlfühlt, wird sie das Angebot wohl annehmen müssen, schließlich konnte Lenora nie etwas nachgewiesen werden.

Zum Beginn des Buches ist man direkt mitten in den Ereignissen. Es dauert nicht lange bis es zur ersten überraschenden Enthüllung kommt. Man taucht immer tiefer in die Geheimnisse der Familie ein, die Gefahr steigt stetig. Die Anzahl der Verdächtigen nimmt zu, aber richtige Beweise sind rar. Es werden interessante Parallelen zwischen Kit und Lenora deutlich. Kit ist als Protagonistin sympathisch und nachvollziehbar.

Durch die Aufteilung des Romans in die Erzählungen aus Kits Sicht und die Niederschriften von Lenora fließt die Geschichte gut voran. Durch die abgehängten Bilder, die Mördertour, die Urnen und die alten Blutspuren kommt leicht gruselige Stimmung auf. Gut beschrieben wird die düstere Atmosphäre im Haus, in dem die Zeit stehengeblieben scheint. Haus und Cliff werden fast zur eigenen Figur.

Das Ende hält einige Überraschungen und Wendungen bereit und hat auch einen spannenden Showdown zu bieten. Außerdem werden alle Fragen und Aspekte geklärt. Es geht weit über das hinaus, was andere Romanenden zu bieten haben.

Das Buch konnte mich sehr gut unterhalten und mit seiner intensiven Atmosphäre gefangen nehmen.