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A review by pagepixie
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’m not very well versed in the thriller/mystery genre so I’m not sure how reliable my rating for experience with this book is. Never the less I’ll do my best.
This book is definitely filled with a lot of small clues, twists, turns, and to that end I did find it very engaging. To a certain extent I did not expect the killer to be who it was.
However, I found there to be a lot going on in this book and yet not enough actually happened. Most of the lies did come together at the end but I was left a little unsatisfied. Specifically, I found the truth about the murders to be anticlimactic.
In addition, the deterioration of the house added a bit of a fantastical element to the story that took me out of the mystery aspect of things.
I found almost every character to be unlikable. Especially our narrator, Kit, who claims to be paranoid and convinced she’s going to the next victim. And yet trusts almost everyone one she bumps into with whatever new tid but of information she has discovered. Despite being pretty dumb throughout this novel, non of that even catches up with her. I’ll leave that to you to decide whether that is fortunate or not!
Overall, this is definitely a page turner that keeps you guessing to the end. Whether you like that end or not is what may cause you to enjoy it better or worse than I did.
This book is definitely filled with a lot of small clues, twists, turns, and to that end I did find it very engaging. To a certain extent I did not expect the killer to be who it was.
However, I found there to be a lot going on in this book and yet not enough actually happened. Most of the lies did come together at the end but I was left a little unsatisfied. Specifically, I found the truth about the murders to be anticlimactic.
In addition, the deterioration of the house added a bit of a fantastical element to the story that took me out of the mystery aspect of things.
I found almost every character to be unlikable. Especially our narrator, Kit, who claims to be paranoid and convinced she’s going to the next victim. And yet trusts almost everyone one she bumps into with whatever new tid but of information she has discovered. Despite being pretty dumb throughout this novel, non of that even catches up with her. I’ll leave that to you to decide whether that is fortunate or not!
Overall, this is definitely a page turner that keeps you guessing to the end. Whether you like that end or not is what may cause you to enjoy it better or worse than I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Grief, and Classism