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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The pacing was janky. The ending was rushed and I straight up didn't have a good time.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️ 3 stars | Riley Sager I want to like you more than I do, but I just don’t know if I can. I liked this story, I did. the twists were cool, and the setting was amazing. I think there were just 1 too many red herrings? plus some explanations that came out of nowhere? idk. I will give his books another go, but many not on audiobook.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved this story so much! The twists and turns were unexpected and I love the dual POV. Definitely one to read if you like a thriller.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was so confusing until it wasn't . I loved it! I did find it odd to be bawling at the end of thriller though..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Only One Left by Riley Sager (Todd Ritter, aka Alan Finn) is a horror/mystery published in 2023
Following career shaking allegations, Kit McDeere is forced to take a position as caregiver to alleged murder Lenora Hope. In a mansion precariously teetering on the edge of a cliff, Kit finds herself adrift with uncertainty of Lenora’s guilt…and her own. Slowly unraveling decades old family scandals, imminent threats reveal themselves from the shadows of sloping halls and her own home until the truth comes crashing down in front of her.
----------------
This was almost a DNF for me. I read the prologue, closed the book, and read five other books before I picked it back up. I couldn’t shake the pre-assumption that this was going to be cut from the same cloth as every other murder mystery book/show/movie that you would expect and, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really hooked until the last third of the story.
But, damn, once I was hooked…I was HOOK-ED.
I sometimes find myself frustrated by pattern recognition, but Riley Sager masterfully crafts red herrings throughout the narrative with such that there were a couple of big reveals I didn’t see coming. I can not express enough how much I appreciated Sager’s gift for deception and misdirection; the narrative lied with the truth and confessed with lies in a way that was gripping and pleasantly frustrating.
The Only One Left seems to be categorized as a horror, but I can’t say that I found anything particularly scary (other than the timeless audacity of a man with too much money). Mysterious, yes. Intriguing, certainly.
As I mentioned, I didn’t find myself immersed into the story until the last third or so, but part of me wonders about the intentionality of a slow build. As the truth unfolds itself (piece by, sometimes, agonizing, piece), I can’t help but feel like the pace is deliberate.
I’m excited to read more from this author, and I’ve already The House Across the Lake and Things Half in Shadow (under the name Alan Finn) to my TBR.
Following career shaking allegations, Kit McDeere is forced to take a position as caregiver to alleged murder Lenora Hope. In a mansion precariously teetering on the edge of a cliff, Kit finds herself adrift with uncertainty of Lenora’s guilt…and her own. Slowly unraveling decades old family scandals, imminent threats reveal themselves from the shadows of sloping halls and her own home until the truth comes crashing down in front of her.
----------------
This was almost a DNF for me. I read the prologue, closed the book, and read five other books before I picked it back up. I couldn’t shake the pre-assumption that this was going to be cut from the same cloth as every other murder mystery book/show/movie that you would expect and, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really hooked until the last third of the story.
But, damn, once I was hooked…I was HOOK-ED.
I sometimes find myself frustrated by pattern recognition, but Riley Sager masterfully crafts red herrings throughout the narrative with such that there were a couple of big reveals I didn’t see coming. I can not express enough how much I appreciated Sager’s gift for deception and misdirection; the narrative lied with the truth and confessed with lies in a way that was gripping and pleasantly frustrating.
The Only One Left seems to be categorized as a horror, but I can’t say that I found anything particularly scary (other than the timeless audacity of a man with too much money). Mysterious, yes. Intriguing, certainly.
As I mentioned, I didn’t find myself immersed into the story until the last third or so, but part of me wonders about the intentionality of a slow build. As the truth unfolds itself (piece by, sometimes, agonizing, piece), I can’t help but feel like the pace is deliberate.
I’m excited to read more from this author, and I’ve already The House Across the Lake and Things Half in Shadow (under the name Alan Finn) to my TBR.