Thank you so much to #NetGalley and Dutton for the e-ARC of the latest summer thriller. This one fits right in the Sager canon. This was just as dark as it's predecessors, but with more gothic and lore undertones. We have unreliable narrators and plot twists abound. However, I could not escape how similar this book is to Verity by Colleen Hoover (with significantly less cringe, thankfully). You just have to buy in to very coincidental plot arcs in order to truly get into it. I couldn't put down the last 50 pages.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy of this twisty mystery set in the 1980's and inspired by the Lizzie Borden case. Home-health aide Kit accepts a job caring for the fabulously wealthy, stricken, and mute Lenora Hope, who might have murdered her parents and sister in 1929. Kit, infamously suspected of killing her own desperately ill mother, must now care for Lenora or lose her job. From the start Kit is wrong-footed with the housekeeper, frightened of Lenora, and thrown off by questions she can't shake. Did the teenage Lenora kill her family? Why did the previous caregiver suddenly leave? If Lenora is truly paralyzed, who moves things around in her room? Lenora laboriously types out the story of her past for Kit-- why would she tell it, after so many years, and to a relative stranger? Kit is a bit of a sad sack, and the bond between the two women is thin. The central mystery falls somewhat flat as even the young Lenora could not have, physically, managed her sister's murder. On the other hand, imagining Lenora typing her chapters with Kit's assistance, letter by letter, is truly horrifying. The mysteries pile up, the plot, indeed, twists, and the resolutions are surprising, if lacking emotional depth. Fans are loving it. .

THE ONLY ONE LEFT is the latest thriller from the one and only Riley Sager. This setting reminded me of HOME BEFORE DARK, which currently remains my favorite Sager. This one left me on the edge of my seat until the very end -- I definitely didn't see all of the plot twists coming -- but the ending left me wanting more.

What I loved most: the setting! Just absolutely perfect (creepy mansion on top of a cliff where murders took place 60+ years ago)

What I didn't love: the ending felt too wrapped up for a thriller... personally, I like it when there are more loose ends/unsettled at the end of thrillers

Sager remains an auto buy author and I can't wait to see what he does next!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Loved this book. I really liked Sanger’s previous book so I was looking forward to this one. I was not disappointed. So many twists and turns, memorable characters. A great, fast-paced plot. A definite hit.

4.5

Glad that I got to read this early. Good gothic tale with some surprises. Will recommend to patrons. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Okay this one lived up to the hype for me! Wow. The series of twists that were revealed so perfectly had me devouring the last part of the book. Riley Sager continues to impress me.

At first the long chapters bothered me (as do any long chapters in books) but I found myself so engrossed with the story throughout almost the entire book that I forgot to notice the length of the chapters.

You may think you figured it out early on, but you’re more than likely wrong.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the copy!

Sager has done it again, another summer thriller just in time for the beach. Fast paced and twisty, Sager doesn't disappoint. Great quick read. Would recommend.

This book had the perfect blend of family secrets, characters with a dark past, and never-ending suspicion that had me second-guessing myself all the way up to the end! If you love a small cast mystery, unreliable narrators, or are fascinated by Lizzie Borden-esque mysteries you will LOVE The Only One Left by Riley Sager!

I loved how while this novel takes place in the early 80s and it never feels dated or out of touch. I wanted to follow Kit and get answers along with her and never found myself asking why she wasn't using a piece of technology because I was that drawn in. The crumbling Hope's End was the perfect setting to blend historic and modern together and really set a sense of unease throughout the story.

In terms of plot, this novel had so much going on but it never felt overwhelming and elements of the story never felt too conveniently placed to simply move the story into the next chapter. The characters in this novel are so well thought out! Their motivations for their actions and secrets are so clear and compelling. That paired with the amazing web of relationships and their consequences made me so invested in rushing to the end.

This is one of the best thrillers I've read so far this year! The Only One Left with its amazing characters, great plot, and well-executed prose will make any reader an instant Riley Sager fan.

So it’s no secret that Riley Sager is a hit or miss author for me and this book was a hit! This story has a bit of a slow start but once it got going I was hooked. At one point I had to turn the audiobook off because it was taking too long so I switched back to the actual book. 🤣 I did figure out one of the twists, but everything else caught me by surprise and I loved it!!! Reading this book gave me all my Final Girls feels after I was done reading and I highly recommend this story.
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This just did not do it for me. I was invested in the beginning - I was drawn in to what was going on with Kit, there was that fantastic rhyme about Lenora Hope killing her family (a la Lizzie Borden), the house was sufficiently creepy and the alternating story lines. So for the first third of the book, I was hooked. Until I wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I love plot twists - but these were so utterly over the top that I really struggled to enjoy them. I wanted to LOVE this, but unfortunately I could not get past how outlandish it turned out.

Great atmospheric thriller with an unexpected ending twist. Sager brings a crumbling old mansion on the coast of Maine and a cast of creepy characters to life in this story about a caretaker who must unravel the mystery of a decades old murder. This book hits the mark for a great beach read - thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

This was good. It will be popular with the murder mystery set for sure. In 1929 a young woman was accused of killing her parents and older sister, and her night of horror got written down into a childhood playground chant. Now it's the 1980s and Kit McDeere has been assigned to care for the aging killer, Lenora Hope, at her family's massive seaside mansion. Lenora is paralyzed and can only communicate through a series of nods, though Kit soon realizes that she does have control of her left hand. Lenora starts talking to Kit via her typewriter and promises to tell Kit the true story of the night of the massacre. As Lenora gets deeper into what happened, more odd things start happening around the house and Kit starts to wonder if Lenora is still capable of hurting her.

Rager does it again!!! But this time, I have a new favorite! What a fun, eerie and twisty read this was! I was hooked from the first few sentences. And loved all the stories woven in. We definitely got this book at my library, I know lots of patrons will love it!

This was a WILD RIDE! One of the first thrillers in months that has truly shocked me with the twists. I predicted a few of them but the way they all came together was beyond the realm of prediction, and I loved the build up and gothic vibes of the “Hope’s End” setting.

This may now be my favorite Sager book to date! The twists were the kind that made you want to start over to try to catch the foreshadowing and re-read, which are hallmarks of a great thriller in my opinion!

*** Thanks you to the Publishers and to Netgalley for providing with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***
Riley Sager never disappoints! The story dragged me in right away and I was on the edge of my seat. The twists kept coming and I never really guessed what was going on.

THIS. BOOK. IS. SO. GOOD.

I could not put it down and finished it in one sitting. Normally coming off a red eye exhausted—I was determined to know what happened and this book kept me guessing until the very end:

I have been telling every reader I know to RUN to get this book.

I love gothic thrillers and this didn't disappoint! Its creepy and very atmospheric, I couldn't put it down. The story and characters are great and I had a blast reading this.

This felt like a combination of Simone St. James' "The Book of Cold Cases" and Colleen Hoover's "Verity" but with Riley Sager's own touch. I enjoyed the twists and turns as you went through the story, doled out over the chapters. I appreciate how Riley Sager sets his novels in different eras of time, never really relying heavily on the aspects of modern technology which really can bring a plot to a screeching halt. I had a hard time with his last novel, but feel this one has really brought his stories back up to the bar I'd come to expect from his writing. Well done!

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 was so good, I read it twice! You know a book with so many aha moments and twists and turns that at the end you are left shook wondering what the heck just happened? I had to actually go back and re-read this gothic-like, isolated mansion on a cliff mystery for all the things I missed the first time! I loved the chilling Lizzie Borden themes. Dual timelines and multiple murders really engaged me as a reader and heightened the eerie setting. Highly recommend. Thanks NetGalley and Dutton Books for my earc.

🏚️ I have a rough relationship with this author. Sometimes I like his books, but other times I think they are just a bit too unrealistic (like The House Across the Lake). I keep reading his books though, and I’m happy I do because The Only One Left is by far my favorite Riley Sager book. I loved this one!

🏚️ This book has such a phenomenal gothic vibe and I’m here for it. Unknown footsteps, a slanting and creepy mansion on a cliff, a missing caregiver, and a potentially murderous patient? YUMMY! The entire read gave me vibes of some classic gothic novels and I loved it. I read this in one day!

🏚️ The atmosphere was great, the characters were great, the pacing was great, the twists were great, and the ending was great! Have I mentioned yet that I enjoyed this book? 🤣

🏚️ If you love classic gothic novels, I think you would truly enjoy this book.

Thank you @netgalley and Penguin Group / @Duttonbooks for an eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.