Rating: 5/5 stars

Reeling from struggles in her professional life, Kit McDeere finds herself pulled into a web of secrets when she is assigned as a caretaker for Lenora Hope, an infamous woman long believed to have murdered her family when she was only seventeen.

It’s only February, but I’m going out on a limb to predict THE ONLY ONE LEFT will be one of my favorite reads of 2023. It was without doubt the best thriller I’ve read in a *long* while, and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time with twist after twist (only some of which I saw coming, and one of which made my jaw literally drop).

I love a Gothic novel, and this one delivered creepy atmosphere in spades (it gave me actual trouble sleeping, both because my brain was in knots trying to figure it out and because I was totally creeped out). It also had a cast of really fun characters, each of whom had a good balance of secrets and likability that had me constantly questioning everything I thought I knew.

THE ONLY ONE LEFT is still a few months out from release, but I absolutely cannot recommend it highly enough. Run, don’t walk, to get those preorders placed!

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: Gothic vibes; endless twists; revealing-secrets-via-storytelling trope

CW: Suicide/suicidal thoughts/suicide attempt/discussions of suicide; death of loved ones/family members/parents; blood/murder/violence

Riley Sager is one of those authors that I drop everything for when I get my hands on a copy of his newest book with zero care that The Only One Left does not release for 4+ months. Set in 1983 with some flashbacks to 1929 on the property of a wealthy family who was allegedly murdered by their only surviving daughter, Lenora. Kit is hired as the caregiver for Lenora and slowly starts to unravel what exactly happened in 1929.

The Only One Left had me eagerly turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next and I definitely did not guess where this was headed!

Sigh.

Huge Sager fan and loved this book up until the big conclusion. WAY too much going on and so much of it was just over the top. Unlike his other books, this is not a supernatural story. Don't get me wrong, I could not put it down once I started reading it and I was left surprised over and over again, but the ending left much to be desired.

Well, everyone knows that I just love Riley Sager. Even if I didn’t love his books, I’d still love his very relatable quirkiness. He’s a thriller writer who loves Disney. And Taylor Swift. What’s not to love? But as it happens, I 𝘥𝘰 love his books, and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘧𝘵 is a Hitchcock lover’s dream come true. It was my most anticipated book of 2023, and so thank you @duttonbooks for making my bookish dreams come true with an early read.

Sager is a master of building tension and suspense, and he knocked it out of the park with this one. It’s atmospheric, gothic and has that spooky vibe I love.

There are so many plot twists and crazy turns, that it left my mind boggled (even if I did need to suspend belief a time or two.) I did feel things got a bit slow in the middle – but dang those last forty pages gave me whiplash. What in the 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘦 is going on here?

I definitely recommend this one, friends. It’s available June 20, but you can pre-order it now.

My thanks to @duttonbooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

The Only One Left is an atmospheric thriller with an intriguing premise that will take readers on a wild ride complete with several twisty surprises along the way.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

First I have to just say that I am a Riley Sager super fan! I’ve read and LOVED every single one of his books and so getting my hands on this ebook which also happens to be my most anticipated book of the year, made my bookish dreams come true! And this book did not disappoint!

Besides being completely unputdownable, I am so impressed that Sager did it again with another satisfying thriller with several unforgettable twists! While Sager has cemented himself as my favorite thriller author, by using the same formula of utilizing a popular horror trope as inspiration for each novel-this one, inspired by Lizzie Borden, was so creepy and well done! It was perfectly atmospheric, as I’ve come to expect from his settings. The characters are intriguing, and per usual, you just never know where the story is heading until that final twist and conclusion leaves your mouth agape and your mind completely satisfied!

The main character, Lenora, inspired by Lizzie Borden, and accused of murdering her family (yes, complete with creepy rhyme), is now wheelchair-bound following several strokes with only mobility of her left hand. Her caretaker, Kit, is hesitant to take this job but is also desperate. So, despite the notoriety surrounding Lenora and the crumbling mansion upon the cliffs where she resides, she agrees to be the live in caretaker. But soon she starts to notice that there may be more to Lenora both mentally and physically than meets the eye and is determined to find out what happened on the night of the grisly murders.

Between Lenora as a character and Hope’s End as the eerie mansion where the murders took place, I would best describe this as Verity meets Daisy Darker.

I truly loved this book so much and will be recommending it to everyone ahead of its summer release, while simultaneously counting down to his next book! Thank you SO MUCH to Dutton and Netgalley for this eARC!

This was a wild ride, but took a while to get there. I LOVED the premise though. And the setting was amazing (a mansion on a cliff – hanging on for dear life.) The last 40 pages felt like whip lash with the amount of twists and turns, though. Dare I say, an even wilder ending than The House Across The Lake?! It was definitely entertaining! I read it in less than two days!

I'm a huge Riley Sager fan, and was thrilled to get a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

In 1929, Lenora Hope's family was murdered, and she was the only survivor. She was acquitted, shut herself up in the house, never to be seen in public again. Fast forward to 1983, and 31 year old Kit is in desperate need for a carer job, and she is hired to take care of Lenora full time. Kit grew up hearing the rumors of the big house on the cliff, but she needs the money and is also interested to see what Lenora is really like.

I know other people have had mixed reviews of Sager's last 2 books, but I think this one will please them. He does gothic and spooky so well, and I was sad when it ended. I love guessing at what is really happening on the page, because Sager makes you work for the actual mystery. 5 stars to this thriller, which I'm guessing will be a summer hit.

I’d like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Well Riley Sager, you’ve done it again, you sucked me into a book that I didn’t want to put down. As soon as I heard it was giving off Lizzie Borden vibes I knew I had to read it. In 1929, Lenora Hope murders her parents and sister, Virginia in their mansion high on the cliffs of the Maine coast. Never charged, she still lives there as a recluse in 1983 when home care aide, Kit is sent to take care of Lenora 6 months after she has an incident with a patient. Do these two women have anything in common, did they actually kill the people who the police think they did? Lenora has only the use of her left hand and can type, she wants to tell Kit the story of what really went down that night in 1929, but after other incidents start happening along the way, so is she really telling the truth? This was one hell of a wild ride with multiple plot twists I didn’t see coming. Would make an excellent movie.

Riley Sager has returned with his latest novel The Only One Left.
The Only One Left follows Kit, a caregiver with a lot of baggage (even though she doesn’t have much in the way of luggage), a scandalous tenant, and a creepy home with many secrets teetering on the edge of a cliff.
This is my favorite Riley Sager book to date! The surprises and shakeups are abundant.
Is it a ghost story or something more sinister? You’ll have to read and learn for yourself, but I guarantee that you’ll love it!
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview.
Music Pairing: Duran Duran - Last Chance on the Stairway

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

As the master of multiple surprise endings Sager doesn’t disappoint with his newest Gothic novel imbued with an atmospheric house and cast of unreliable characters. Kit, a caregiver with a newly tarnished reputation, is sent to Hopes End, where Leonora Hope, infamous for murdering her family and getting away with it, needs constant care. Kit equally parts scared and curious, is astounded when Eleanora wants to tell her story to Kit about what happened that night. But so much more is going on than Eleanora’s past story, as present day events keep changing Kit’s perceptions. And even if you have to suspend belief at certain plot points this is a gothic novel not to be missed.

Riley Sager is back again! “The Only One Left” is a heart-racing thriller full of twists and turns that we know and love from Sager.

omg omg omg, this book. It's Riley Sager's best one yet! I read this in a day. It would have been hours, except the work day got in the way. You think you know where the story is going. And then there's a twist. And another twist. And yet another twist. And so on until an electric conclusion. Well done!

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

Thank you SO MUCH to Riley Sager and Dutto for my copy of this book! One bloody night in 1929, the Hope family was brutally murdered. All but Lenora, who survived to tell the police she didn’t do it. After the massacre, Lenora didn’t set foot outside of her cliffside estate, Hope’s End, and her story turned to legend.

Now 1983, Lenora is in need of a caretaker. Her previous nurse disappeared in the night and Kit is out of options. She takes the job as her last resort, and is surprised to find the infamous Lenora confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak or move, except for her left arm. She communicates by tapping on an old typewriter, and decides she wants to share her story with Kit. But can Lenora be trusted?

Thoughts: The Only One Left is another home run from Riley Sager. From the very beginning, the atmospheric setting and eerie plot capture the reader’s attention. The story of Lenora is fascinating, and set in the creaky Hope’s End, it is the perfect backdrop for an unreliable character. The cast of characters Sager creates are unique and interesting, but Kit and Lenora are the stars.

I couldn’t read this book fast enough, and the pages of type written story between the chapters had me anxious to turn the page. Always master of suspense, Sager had me gasping out loud and listening for sounds in my house. I loved this book and it may even be my new favorite book of his! I recommend this book to anyone who likes a creepy setting, twisted cast of characters, and a satisfying ending. 5 stars!