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A review by nicolem_young
The Only One Left: A Novel by Riley Sager
5.0
Book/Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Cover: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️⭐️
TRIGGER(S): MURDER, SUICIDE, LOSS OF PARENT, DRUG OVERDOSE, INFIDELITY, FORCED SEPARATION FROM CHILD, CANCER
POV: Singular (Dual?), First Person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Tropes: None
Spice: None
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Debut Novel: No
Safe or Dark: Dark
Note: I went back and forth between a four and five star rating for this one (since I don’t give out five stars lightly at all) but ultimately settled on five due to the amazing cover and overall vibes of the book.
Fair warning: this book is a bit over the top and far-fetched at times.
This novel is reminiscent of the Lizzie Borden murders, and I AM HERE FOR IT!
We all (well, most of us) know the case of Lizzie Borden and the schoolyard rhyme that goes along with it.
Lizzie Borden took an ax
And gave her mother forty whacks,
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.
Now it’s time to learn about the case of Lenora Hope and her schoolyard rhyme.
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
Honestly, who would willingly become the caregiver of someone who is suspected of murdering their whole family?
It’s me, hi; I’m the person who would do that. So would the main character of this book.
However, my anxiety would never allow me to be chilling out maxing relaxing all cool in a house that was literally falling off a cliff. I would have Scooby Doo ran out of that place as soon as my body realized how off balance it was.
That being said, how are all of these people going about their everyday lives when their house could take a tumble into the Atlantic Ocean at any given moment?
They wake up like, “Oh, the bed is more slanted than it was last night. Time to go eat a blueberry muffin.”
“Wow, this house is so off-kilter it is making it difficult for me to walk, but just get a load of this view.”
“The walls sure do seem to be getting a lot of new cracks in them. Let me just go see what’s for dinner real quick.”
Ok, those aren’t direct quotes from the book, but you get what I’m trying to say.
Who saw the edge of a cliff and said, “Yup, this is it. This is the spot. Just slap my house right here.”?
Don’t ask me why this is my first ever Riley Sager novel because I have no idea. I am ashamed that I waited so long to pick up one of his books! It’s not as if they haven’t been sitting on my TBR for a while.
Lovelies, this book had my favorite thing: short chapters, and I flew through the pages. I just didn’t want to put it down (I read it in five days) . I couldn’t put it down. From the very start, this story had me in a chokehold.
The back and forth of the current day storyline and Lenora Hope’s story that is told through her typewriter was intriguing. Lenora lost her ability to speak after suffering a stroke, and learning about her past through her writing was so fun. We learn the details of a fateful tale that takes place in 1929 at the same time and pace as Kit does. I thought that was great. We aren’t given all the information upfront and forced to relive it through Lenora’s own words. We are hearing it directly from her.
The flow between the two was smooth and intertwined wonderfully. It wasn’t choppy or jarring at all. You definitely knew when you were reading a typewritten part of the story and when you weren’t.
Riley Sager’s writing is detailed without being overly complex and confusing. He sure knows how to paint a vivid picture. The way he describes the creepy house our main character, Kit McDeere, is working/living in is fantastic. I felt like I was actually there inside the secluded mansion, sitting on an eroding cliffside. I could work up a picture in my head of the interior of an old home built in the early to mid-1900s that was slowly falling apart. The peeling wall paper, stained carpeting, Tiffany lamps, vintage furniture and appliances, and poor electrical wiring. I could picture it all. It's as if the estate was frozen in time.
I love the Victorian, Edwardian, and jazz age eras. I am fascinated with the way of life, decor, and fashion of those times. So, reading about it was an absolute delight for me. Sager just writes about it so well.
While the book isn’t scary, it sure as hell is creepy. I found myself looking over my shoulder and getting goosebumps while reading multiple times. The sense of dread Kit is feeling throughout the story definitely envelopes you. The vibes are perfect for Halloween and the overall “spooky season." Which just so happens to be my favorite. Riley, baby, the unsettling vibes of the plot are IMMACULATE.
For the most part, all the characters were enjoyable, but my two favorites were Kit McDeere and Jessica “the maid." Kit was kind-hearted but flawed in the most realistic of ways. She had the best of intentions that didn’t always work out. Kit also might have been a little on the dumb side. But hey, who am I to judge a character's questionable decisions when I too have made so many of my own? Jessica was fun and eccentric. A young woman who was lonely and bored while being stuck in a dark mansion she was employed to clean. I enjoyed both of these characters immensely. I liked the other characters in the book as well. Actually, I lied. I didn’t like Mrs. Baker at all. They all had their own quirks; some were interesting and some were sinister. Each of them had their own personalities that came alive through Sager’s storytelling.
While some people said they found the plot twists (that’s right, there’s more than one) to be predictable, I never saw them coming. I don’t know; maybe I’m stupid, but the big reveal(s) caught me completely off guard. The “holy crap” moments were real with me. Well, I’ll be damned; just color me surprised.
SON OF A BITCH, THAT ENDING! It was so bizarre and off the wall. It will live in my head rent-free FOREVER!
By the time we approach the end of the book, we’re pretty sure all the twists and turns are done; what needed to be revealed was. Not in this case, no sir. Sager got us all the way to the epilogue and really said, “Let me just toss one more twist in here for good measure.”
I’ve read other thrillers with similar ideas or plot lines before, but this one was for sure executed the best (outside of [b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386605169l/17899948._SX50_.jpg|46663] by [a:Daphne du Maurier|2001717|Daphne du Maurier|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422444467p2/2001717.jpg] and [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557343311l/10210._SY75_.jpg|2977639] by [a:Charlotte Brontë|1036615|Charlotte Brontë|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1335001351p2/1036615.jpg]) . I’m so glad that I finally decided to pick this up, dust it off, and give it a go.
I had fun with the fact that the book was set in 1983. I grew up in the 90s and 2000s, but reading about Walkmans, landlines, cassette tapes, typewriters, and life before having electronics glued to our hands 24/7 made me very nostalgic.
Needless to say, Riley Sager might just be a new favorite of mine. Time for me to get started on reading his entire catalog.
TLDR: A CREEPY THRILLER WITH LIZZIE BORDEN VIBES! YOU WON’T REGRET PICKING THIS UP!
As always, please remember that reading is subjective, and that’s what makes it so great.
Book Cover: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️⭐️
TRIGGER(S): MURDER, SUICIDE, LOSS OF PARENT, DRUG OVERDOSE, INFIDELITY, FORCED SEPARATION FROM CHILD, CANCER
POV: Singular (Dual?), First Person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Tropes: None
Spice: None
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Debut Novel: No
Safe or Dark: Dark
Note: I went back and forth between a four and five star rating for this one (since I don’t give out five stars lightly at all) but ultimately settled on five due to the amazing cover and overall vibes of the book.
Fair warning: this book is a bit over the top and far-fetched at times.
This novel is reminiscent of the Lizzie Borden murders, and I AM HERE FOR IT!
We all (well, most of us) know the case of Lizzie Borden and the schoolyard rhyme that goes along with it.
Lizzie Borden took an ax
And gave her mother forty whacks,
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.
Now it’s time to learn about the case of Lenora Hope and her schoolyard rhyme.
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
Honestly, who would willingly become the caregiver of someone who is suspected of murdering their whole family?
It’s me, hi; I’m the person who would do that. So would the main character of this book.
However, my anxiety would never allow me to be chilling out maxing relaxing all cool in a house that was literally falling off a cliff. I would have Scooby Doo ran out of that place as soon as my body realized how off balance it was.
That being said, how are all of these people going about their everyday lives when their house could take a tumble into the Atlantic Ocean at any given moment?
They wake up like, “Oh, the bed is more slanted than it was last night. Time to go eat a blueberry muffin.”
“Wow, this house is so off-kilter it is making it difficult for me to walk, but just get a load of this view.”
“The walls sure do seem to be getting a lot of new cracks in them. Let me just go see what’s for dinner real quick.”
Ok, those aren’t direct quotes from the book, but you get what I’m trying to say.
Who saw the edge of a cliff and said, “Yup, this is it. This is the spot. Just slap my house right here.”?
Don’t ask me why this is my first ever Riley Sager novel because I have no idea. I am ashamed that I waited so long to pick up one of his books! It’s not as if they haven’t been sitting on my TBR for a while.
Lovelies, this book had my favorite thing: short chapters, and I flew through the pages. I just didn’t want to put it down (I read it in five days) . I couldn’t put it down. From the very start, this story had me in a chokehold.
The back and forth of the current day storyline and Lenora Hope’s story that is told through her typewriter was intriguing. Lenora lost her ability to speak after suffering a stroke, and learning about her past through her writing was so fun. We learn the details of a fateful tale that takes place in 1929 at the same time and pace as Kit does. I thought that was great. We aren’t given all the information upfront and forced to relive it through Lenora’s own words. We are hearing it directly from her.
The flow between the two was smooth and intertwined wonderfully. It wasn’t choppy or jarring at all. You definitely knew when you were reading a typewritten part of the story and when you weren’t.
Riley Sager’s writing is detailed without being overly complex and confusing. He sure knows how to paint a vivid picture. The way he describes the creepy house our main character, Kit McDeere, is working/living in is fantastic. I felt like I was actually there inside the secluded mansion, sitting on an eroding cliffside. I could work up a picture in my head of the interior of an old home built in the early to mid-1900s that was slowly falling apart. The peeling wall paper, stained carpeting, Tiffany lamps, vintage furniture and appliances, and poor electrical wiring. I could picture it all. It's as if the estate was frozen in time.
I love the Victorian, Edwardian, and jazz age eras. I am fascinated with the way of life, decor, and fashion of those times. So, reading about it was an absolute delight for me. Sager just writes about it so well.
While the book isn’t scary, it sure as hell is creepy. I found myself looking over my shoulder and getting goosebumps while reading multiple times. The sense of dread Kit is feeling throughout the story definitely envelopes you. The vibes are perfect for Halloween and the overall “spooky season." Which just so happens to be my favorite. Riley, baby, the unsettling vibes of the plot are IMMACULATE.
For the most part, all the characters were enjoyable, but my two favorites were Kit McDeere and Jessica “the maid." Kit was kind-hearted but flawed in the most realistic of ways. She had the best of intentions that didn’t always work out. Kit also might have been a little on the dumb side. But hey, who am I to judge a character's questionable decisions when I too have made so many of my own? Jessica was fun and eccentric. A young woman who was lonely and bored while being stuck in a dark mansion she was employed to clean. I enjoyed both of these characters immensely. I liked the other characters in the book as well. Actually, I lied. I didn’t like Mrs. Baker at all. They all had their own quirks; some were interesting and some were sinister. Each of them had their own personalities that came alive through Sager’s storytelling.
While some people said they found the plot twists (that’s right, there’s more than one) to be predictable, I never saw them coming. I don’t know; maybe I’m stupid, but the big reveal(s) caught me completely off guard. The “holy crap” moments were real with me. Well, I’ll be damned; just color me surprised.
SON OF A BITCH, THAT ENDING! It was so bizarre and off the wall. It will live in my head rent-free FOREVER!
By the time we approach the end of the book, we’re pretty sure all the twists and turns are done; what needed to be revealed was. Not in this case, no sir. Sager got us all the way to the epilogue and really said, “Let me just toss one more twist in here for good measure.”
I’ve read other thrillers with similar ideas or plot lines before, but this one was for sure executed the best (outside of [b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386605169l/17899948._SX50_.jpg|46663] by [a:Daphne du Maurier|2001717|Daphne du Maurier|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422444467p2/2001717.jpg] and [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557343311l/10210._SY75_.jpg|2977639] by [a:Charlotte Brontë|1036615|Charlotte Brontë|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1335001351p2/1036615.jpg]) . I’m so glad that I finally decided to pick this up, dust it off, and give it a go.
I had fun with the fact that the book was set in 1983. I grew up in the 90s and 2000s, but reading about Walkmans, landlines, cassette tapes, typewriters, and life before having electronics glued to our hands 24/7 made me very nostalgic.
Needless to say, Riley Sager might just be a new favorite of mine. Time for me to get started on reading his entire catalog.
TLDR: A CREEPY THRILLER WITH LIZZIE BORDEN VIBES! YOU WON’T REGRET PICKING THIS UP!
As always, please remember that reading is subjective, and that’s what makes it so great.