“Men are afraid that women will laugh at them and women are afraid that men will kill them.”-Margaret Atwood

The Last Room on the Left is a twisty, psychological, horror thriller. It was claustrophobic in the best way. 2 friends, Siobhan and Kerry, become the winter caretakers of a motel in the snowy Catskills. Some secrets come to light with grave consequences. The mood is very much one of cabin fever, loneliness, and betrayal. You will read this one very quickly and end up shocked… and then shocked again at the epilogue. Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC.

I have never read anything by this author but I'm glad I got this one. I really enjoyed this book. I flew through the book and it kept me guessing what was gonna happen next. I'm going to check out some of her other titles while waiting for her next one. I ended up giving it 4 stars and will definitely recommend it.

This was a great story, I loved the reference to The Shining. This book was full of suspense, mystery, and thrills, and a very tad bit of horror. It kept me guessing who did it till the end. I found myself anxious to find out, on the edge of my seat. If you enjoy reading suspenseful thrillers, this book is great!

3.5 stars rounded down. This book started off slowly but luckily it picked up. It’s told by an unreliable narrator, which kept me guessing what was really going on. It would be a great winter read given the snowy setting!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

this book has a very intresting plot. this is a lock door mystery. the final twist is done very well. i really liked kerry thank you so much net galley for this arc copy.

I really enjoyed this one! I loved The snowy, spooky setting of the motel.
The twists and turns were great, and believable - it really left me questioning whodunnit but also if there narrator was reliable or not. At one point I thought okay am I losing my mind too? Ha!

A great thriller, especially in the depths of summer she. I needed to get out the humidity and into a frigid scary woodsy murder mystery.

Thank you NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for this!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the advanced copy of this book. The beginning was intriguing, typically I love isolated thrillers/mysteries, especially in a setting where the main character is trapped by something, like a winter storm. Unfortunately, I don’t typically like a thriller with an unreliable female character that is unreliable because of a drinking or drug use problem. It’s just not something I love reading about, and the MC, Kerry, brings it up a lot. We’re also victim to a ton of “telling” instead of “showing” what makes up both Kerry and Siobhan, the other POV, which makes them paper thin; I couldn’t connect with either one. Their POVs sounded the same, and were confusing to switch between. I just didn’t jive with this author’s writing. There was nothing scary, spooky, or thrilling about this, and I ended up skimming much of it because I was bored.

Highly compulsive read - loved the gritty characters, the empty motel in the middle of a blizzard definitely gave Stephen King horror vibes. Will be recommending it!

There are many comparisons out there in reviews (and even mentioned within the book) that this is a modern take on The Shining but with a female lead. I didn't necessarily get that, although I suppose there are a few similarities. That is neither here nor there, but it was a good story. Very creepy, with a dead body that seemingly keeps moving, an actively spiraling alcoholic, friends who might be better described asfrenemies, and plenty of suspects to go around. Add in a winter storm that feels like it's own storyline character, and I was in for the adventure!!!

I didn't finish this book. It moved too slow for me and every that did happen seemed extremely redundant. I didn't plan on DNF-Ing. I thought I'd go back after a break but I didn't think about the book once and have no desire to pick it up again.

It’s a modern day twist on the Shining, as Kerry, an alcoholic, has lost her husband and is struggling to deliver her latest novel on schedule. She offers to be a caretaker for a renovated motel up in the mountains during the off season- but as soon as she arrives she constantly feels like she’s being watched. She then finds a dead body in the snow and tries to figure out what to do as suddenly the body disappears. The alcoholism makes her appear to be a very unreliable narrator for this story that keeps surprises coming until the end. I don’t normally like unreliable narrator books so I didn’t like the beginning to be honest, but then it hooked me.

Kerry, hitting rock bottom, needed a break from reality. She plans to spend a month as a caretaker for an isolated motel, in hopes it'll help her get perspective on life and help her write her very overdue novel. Things take a turn when Kerry stumbles upon an occupied room full of booze and drugs, and things go even worse when she finds a dead body outside.
Told in alternating viewpoints between Kerry and her ex-best friend, Siobhan, this book does a good job of keeping the reader on their toes. The twists and turns along the way as Kerry meets local town folks weren't always as expected.

Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Group for the early read!

This book was very interesting and I loved the mystery that came along with it! I really enjoyed the perspective from multiple points of view and well rounded / sought out characters! Winter hotels are going to make me think about this book!

Thank you Leah Konen, Putnam Books & NetGalley for allowing me to read this Great book!

A feminist take on the shining? Yeah, i was immediately willing to read that! Extremely fast paced (i read it in 3 hours) and tense!! No internet, no landline, no power, three best frenemies, lots of untrustworthy men, and the spookiest setting made for a very fun afternoon.

Leah Konen creates a compelling story with her upcoming novel, The Last Room on the Left. Overall, I enjoyed the book, rating it as 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3. Konen is a skilled storyteller, creating a unique setting for her book: mid-winter in the Catskills Mountain. The main characters develop well throughout the novel, their backstory and relation to the main character unfolding appropriately. As you learn more about the characters, you begin to realize how and when the 'twist' will unfold. Overall, I enjoyed the story and intend to look into other books written by Leah Konen. My average rating reflects my thoughts and placement of this book on a list of best-to-worst thrillers. While it likely isn't going to reinvent to thriller genre, it's an enjoyable and easy-to-read book that I would be quick to recommend to a friend.

Thanks to Leah Konen, the publisher, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Last Room on the Left refers to Room 13 at a roadside motel in the Catskills. The motel is closed for the winter, but employs a caretaker for a month at a time. Caretakers are carefully screened by the owner who is looking for creative people who need time away in order to pursue their projects. The caretaker, Kerry, discovers an apparent murder, but when the somewhat questionable police arrive, there is no body, and no one believes Kerry because of her alcoholism.

I possibly would have enjoyed this book if there had been at least one semi-normal, functional character in it. The plot was great, but I didn't like, nor connect with, a single character. If I had known in advance that the book contains S&M, I wouldn't have selected it to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a pretty interesting take on The Shining. I enjoyed it and the gaslighting by many of the characters in the book left you wondering exactly what Siobhan and Kerry were really dealing with.
Lots of characters, then the different POV and timelines made for an interesting read. It was easy to follow too.
Lot of surprises too!
Great book.

A locked room mystery, an unreliable narrator and a snow storm trapping our FMCs at an isolated motel - what could go wrong?! The plot was fast paced & full of drama. It was so atmospheric - I read this in the middle of summer, but it still gave me chills; I can definitely see this being the perfect winter read to cozy up with.

There were lots of twists and I didn’t see the last one coming! I really enjoyed this one.


Many thanks to Putnam books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the Publisher for my arc!

oh my god! this was fantastic. It literally is a feminist retelling of the shining. 10./10 I could not put this down. I've always wanted a eerie creepy winter thriller and this was perfect.

I really liked this book. It was a little slow at first, but it picked up kept me at the edge of my seat. I also really liked that this took place in the Catskills, I am from upstate New York, so this immediately had me interested.