Riley Sager always delivers on mystery/thrillers. I love the idea of a "Lizzie Borden" type character who was accused and believed to have killed her parents even though it was never proven. I like the characters - including the tilting mansion - Hope's End. The house becomes a character in itself. Great read.

Well hot dog, that was a wild ride. Riley Sager is the king of writing atmospheric thrillers, and this one was no exception.

This is the story of a home-health aide named Kit, who takes a job caring for the infamous Lenora Hope, a woman whom everyone assumes murdered her family in the late 1920s. But the police were never able to prove this. Now in her 70s, she is wheelchair bound, cannot speak and only has the use of one arm, which she has learned to type on a typewriter with. One night, she types out a message to Kit, telling her she wants to reveal everything to her. And so the story goes on. We are introduced to a small cast of characters who live and work at the notorious Hope's End, a stately mansion atop a crumbling cliff by the ocean. The state of the house seems to reflect the state of the turmoil within it. I love stories like this... a cast of characters stuck within confined quarters.... not knowing who you can trust. The twists were twisting in this one 🙌🏼. I very much enjoyed it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin House Dutton for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for the free eARC!

In 1929, around the same time the stock market crashed, a horrific series of murders occurred at a seaside mansion in Maine. Eldest daughter Lenora Hope was the only survivor, and according to the Lizze Borden-esque chant, she stabbed her mother and father and then hanged her sister. Other than vehemently denying her involvement in the murders, Lenora never spoke to the press again, and since the police never found the murder weapon, there wasn’t enough evidence to convict her. Lenora withdrew from public life, and as home health aide Kit McDeere finds out, never left Hope’s End, the mansion where it all went down.

Turns out, Lenora suffered from a stroke, or maybe polio, not long after the deaths of her family. She’s been bedridden ever since, with almost no means of communication other than tapping her semi-functional left hand (twice for yes, once for no). She doesn’t seem to have any cognitive difficulties, although it’s hard to tell, given her limited means of communication. The household staff is down to a skeleton crew - a chef, a groundskeeper, a maid, and “head of household” Mrs Baker (who has never been married, but insists on the title anyway). Although the maid and groundskeeper are around Kit’s age, Mrs. Baker and Archie the chef have been at the house for years - dating all the way back to 1929.

Kit is hired to replace the previous nurse, Mary, who left without warning in the middle of the night. It’s not a great position - Kit’s grown up hearing the stories about Hope’s End and the infamous murders, but given her own recent work scandal, Kit doesn’t really have a choice. She reluctantly accepts, although she’s terrified of Lenora (which is illogical, given that she’s bedridden). Not long after Kit starts, Lenora reveals a secret - she can type. In fact, she had been using the typewriter Mary brought her to tell her story, and she tells Kit that she wants to continue with her. She’s going to tell her everything.

What follows is a classic Riley Sager thriller. The gothic setting, the house literally crumbling around them all. The potential supernatural element - is the ghost of Virginia Hope (Lenora’s sister) perhaps haunting the grounds? And of course all of the twists and turns. I always think I know where Sager’s stories are going, and I’m frequently wrong! I can’t really say more without giving too much away, but Sager’s great at convincing you that you’ve figured it all out early on, only to pull the rug (and then…replace the rug? This is a tortured metaphor).

One of the things that bugged me about his early books was that there was always a weird plot thread left dangling - usually the question of a supernatural element (I remember this most vividly with Lock Every Door). In this case, much like last summer’s The House Across the Lake, that question is definitively settled by the end.

My only issue is that I kept forgetting this book was set in the early 80s and the dates kept jarring me. Other than some mentions of technology, there’s not too much that really ties this story to the 80s, so it felt weirdly modern. Then someone would reference something that happened in the 1920s and I’d wonder how old these people were supposed to be before I remembered the year. I’m not really sure why it needed to be set in these particular timelines. I guess it’s more plausible that little police work would have been done, and a young woman wouldn’t have been seriously considered a suspect - given that this is all clearly inspired by Lizzie Borden. And the way the story works out, it has WAY less impact if a 2020s era character is finding all of this out 100 years after the fact; it has way more impact if these people are mostly still alive. But I feel like even in the 40s or 50s, we still weren’t in the golden age of evidence collection and preservation…

Either way, it’s an interesting twist on the Lizzie Borden tale, and it definitely kept me guessing.

Also (pedant alert!): it’s HANGED. She HANGED her sister with a rope, not hung. I can kind of see using “hung” for the rhyme, since hanged has a different cadence to it, but multiple characters use it when talking about the murders, and every time I saw “hung” instead of “hanged,” my eye twitched.

Let me start by saying I still love Riley Sager. His first two novels were great, BUT this one was not my fave by him.

I loved the initial concept - like a fictional Lizzy Borden of the late 1920s type of storyline - the delivery was lacking though and at times felt like I was reading a book intended for a younger audience with mild sexual references thrown in for idk, spice? Whatever it was, it didn’t hit the spot and I felt like I was reading a less scary Goosebumps book.

A big issue I had was that the main character felt much younger than 31 by at least 10 years. I wasn’t buying into her age, I was not convinced that she wasn’t 19, and I think it impacted my enjoyment of the story.

Also, he kinda threw everything but the kitchen sink in. I kept reading to find out the ending but it was convoluted twist after twist and not enough actual thrill factor for me and it got super outlandish.

I will still read this author’s books in hopes that a new one will slap like his first ones did.

I was beginning to worry that I would have to write Riley Sager off for good with his last few books being quite mediocre.

WOW, this book has completely redeemed himself and The Only One Left is now my #1 favorite book of his! It was a good run The Last Time I Lied.

Set in the 80s, Kit, a caregiver, has been on suspension from work for 6 months has received a new job placement. She will be the caregiver at Hope’s End, where in 1929, 17yo Lenora Hope was accused of murdering her parents and her sister!
Kit is extremely concerned to be a caregiver for a murderer, but she has no other options due to her failings of her last job.

A vividly written dark creepy atmospheric book, that keeps building with tension throughout. I wasn’t able to put it down and the twists at the end…completely got me good!!

Loved, Loved, Loved!

Publishes June 20, 2023 and you are going to want to run for your copy. It’s that good!

Thank you Dutton for my gifted earc.

Another fantastic thriller from Sager. I can't ever say no to a spooky old mansion, a decades old mystery, and murder. I do feel like some of the surprises weren't all that surprising but I can't say I was disappointed at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the eARC for an honest review.

Another solid thriller for Riley Sager. He did a great job developing the characters and surprising us to the very end. Will be recommending this book this summer!

Ahahahahaha...I mean ok, I guess. For a Riley Sager book, this is mid-level (the ending was 'eh,' not 'omg I hate you'), though it still has all (or at least most of) the requisite Sager twists. The VERY end was...goofy as hell. Was some of the MC's angst/self-flagellation ridiculous and problematic? Yes. Was she mind-bogglingly dense? Naturally. Were the twists unbelievable? Of course. Will I keep reading Sager? Absolutely. I like junk food.

Another thrilling story from Riley Sager! I was on the edge of my seat reading this. Sager's skill of building tension and suspense builds this tale up to be the only thing you think about before you go to bed at night. The set-up of the novel is so horror-movie-cliche that I just had to pick this book up. Creepy mansion? Unsolved murder? Yes, please!

That being said, I was a little disappointed with the ending (no spoilers). I think the build-up in the first 200 pages was so exciting that any conclusion would fall short. It was just dramatic reveal after dramatic reveal after dramatic reveal. Eventually, I had whiplash.

First off, I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me an ARC version of this story in exchange for an honest review.
I love Riley Sager. And this book is awesome! Totally has a gothic vibe with the old mansion up on a cliff by the ocean. And the old woman who may or may not be a stone-cold murderer. This book pulled me in and wouldn't let me go until I was done with every word. I loved the twists and the ending was superb. I don't want to get too into the story and spoil anything. There is a caregiver named Kit who loses her mother in a suspicious way who then goes to this mansion on a cliff overlooking the sea, Hope's End, to be a caregiver for an elderly woman who is under suspicion of having murdered her family - mom, dad, and sister - in 1929 at that very house. What then follows is a high-stress, anxiety-inducing game to find out what really happened in 1929 and who killed the nurse that was there before Kit. The story was stressful enough then the whole mansion is at risk of falling off the cliff and into the ocean which made me more anxious. Really good book. I give 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Riley Sager is the king of mystery and suspense! If you are looking for a book about a creepy old mansion, murder, possible ghost, and a woman who's going to try to figure out all the answers...this is your book! There are so many twists you'll never be able to actually guess what's true and not. If you're like me, you'll finish in 24 hours. Absolutely amazing!

This story had me hooked from the beginning. What's not to love?
A creepy house with a murderous past.
On a cliff edge that's crumbling into the sea.
An alleged murderer who no longer moves or speaks.
A newcomer trying to solve the mystery of those murders decades before.
Footsteps in the night, shadowy figures through windows.
And the twists that keep on coming right til the very end.
A fabulous twisting, gothic suspense novel.

The Only One Left by @riley.sager is one of my most anticipated thrillers of the summer and let me tell y’all it did not disappoint.

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

That creepy rhyme drew me in. I had to find out what happened at Hope’s End to make Lenora Hope Kill her family. This book has the quintessential haunted house vibes and there was one scene in particular that I could not read at night! 😱 I guess some parts of the story but my mind was blown at the end 🤯
Sager rounded this story out perfectly with his spooky atmospheric writing and a superb ending!

The Only One Left is out 6/19/23.
Thank you @duttonbooks and @netgalley for the E-ARC!

Would you live in a haunted house for money? If so how much would it take?

4.5 rounded up
Grabbed my interest with first paragraph and never let up. Great characters and story, lots of twists. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Twisty, turny, maybe a splash of implausibility, but I'm okay with that. Overall, it's a delightful ride, including the flashback sequences. Lots of time I don't like those--get to the present, I grumble--but these were, if not a treat, then a captivating look to the past. Crooked people living in a crooked house? Yes.

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.

Riley Sager has never been a preferred author of mine, and it's no secret that I hated his last book, but he has redeemed himself with THE ONLY ONE LEFT. As soon as I saw the blurb, I was curious about the comparison to Lizzie Borden and was intrigued by the whole Gothic vibe, hoping it would read like an original V.C. Andrews.

It did.

Set in 1983, humiliated home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at Hope’s End mansion to care for infamous Lenora Hope after her previous caregiver mysteriously left in the middle of the night. Now 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.

Kit's backstory was just as intriguing as the mystery unfolding in present-day. This was a deeply atmospheric, unsettling read that offered hints of Poe with the ancient mansion crumbling on a seaside cliff, the aging, mute woman accused of a horrific crime, and her caregiver hearing noises and seeing shadows in the oppressive, monstrous house as she tries to sleep. I enjoyed every minute of this book and thank Penguin/Dutton Books and NetGalley for this early read. THE ONLY ONE LEFT will publish June 20, 2023.

I always look forward to Riley Sager's newest book so I was really excited to receive this ARC and it did not disappoint! The loved the premise of this novel - a woman with a dark past becomes the caretaker for a notorious old woman accused of Lizzie Borden-style murders. It is set in a mysterious mansion with things that go bump in the night and everyone in the house is hiding a secret. There are a lot of twists and turns and startling revelations throughout told with not only a gothic novel feel but also a tangible 80's vibe (which I greatly appreciated as a child of the 80's). There is even an old children's rhyme to go along with the alleged murders and I loved that the author took the care to add that into it. It gives it an authentic feel that harkens back to a childhood and, nowadays, would just be all over social media. The characters are interesting and flawed and you will love and loathe some and root for some despite all you know about them. A great suspenseful thriller that will keep you guessing and I highly recommend. Thanks to Netgalley and Dutton for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

When Kit gets her new caregiver assignment, he is not thrilled. The rumors are that Lenora Hope killed her entire family back in 1929. Now she is unable to walk, talk, or move anything other than her left arm. Kit tries to believe in Lenora’s innocence, but there are some strange things happening in the house. Lucky for Lenora, her left hand is capable of using the type writer and she can finally tell her story.

This book was super f’ed up. When I started the book, I immediately had an inkling about a specific character, and while I was partly correct, I was also very wrong! I definitely did not see some of the twists coming, all I knew was that we could trust no-one. I also cannot imagine working and living in a house that becomes more slanted by the day, and is eventually going to fall off the cliff into the sea, but maybe thats just me! If you enjoy Riley, you will want to grab this one!

Well-written, twisty novel with a eerily spooky setting.
The red herrings and unreilable narrator didn't do much to stop me guessing the main twist, but I enjoyed seeing it play-out nonetheless. In agreement with some other reviews, the final chapter did feel a little unnecessary - I think it would have been fine without it. Also, the characterisation of the Father wasn't quite as fleshed-out as I'd have liked, everything considered.
However, it was an addictive read that I raced through in a couple of days - and one I'll definitely recommend to readers looking for some well-plotted, spooky escapism.

Although it has its faults, this is Riley Sager's best since Home Before Dark.

Summary
It's 1983 and Kit is a home care provider reeling from the death of her mother and horrible accusations. After Kit's work suspension is up, she is assigned to take care of Leonora Hope, the reclusive heiress to a decaying mansions who was accused of murdering her whole family in 1929. Leonora is now mute, immobile, and paralyzed except for her left hand. Kit begins to have a fascination about what happened the night Leonora's family was murdered and Kit provided Leonora a typewriter to communicate with Kit about what happened. Leonora promises to tell Kit everything.

Thoughts
This definitely kept my interest. I found the ending to be definitely lacking and had many unanswered questions with things that didn't match up, but otherwise, I think it was a really great thriller. It has vibes of several other classic thrillers, but it still felt fresh.

I will definitely be recommending this one.

Thanks NetGalley & publisher for the ARC!