Wow! Another fantastic read by Leah Konen! This book was captivating from beginning to end. Flawlessly flawed characters kept me flipping pages long into the night. Absolutely could not put it down. Recommend it.
Thank you NetGalley, Leah Konen and GP Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Leah Konen for this early copy. What a roller coaster of a book! The beginning had me hooked and gave such "Shining" vibes, one of my favorites of all time. As we follow Kerry's character you can't help but feel you may be going insane with her. Then the story goes in another direction with different view points. I was on my toes reading until the very end. For anyone who enjoys a spooky, winter based vibe, this is for you.

This is a good book but I really wish it didn’t compare itself to The Shining. There’s the Overlook Hotel, this is a motel and that’s where the similarities end. Okay, and yes the main characters are writing a book.

There’s no supernatural elements. No isolation. No creepy twins. This book was a good mystery and I like how the author described the motel.

Another thing, what makes this feminist? I cannot tell you how this book is feminist. Thanks for the ARC.

Quite a fun lil who-dun-it. I can see where the author tried for what she calls “a modern feminist take on The Shining”, and sure, it could be a cousin.

I very much enjoyed the characters being well written and layered. I read a lot of suspense/thriller and so often these characters can be so one dimensional that it becomes difficult to care about them. Not an issue here, each character has good points and flaws, successes and mistakes like everyone else. Things that make you root for them even when they are colossally messing up.

I know I didn’t read this quickly (look, it’s the holiday season things are going on lol) but it really is a nice quick read. No boring pieces, interesting characters. The book is written in that method where each chapter is named for who ms point of view it is taking which can sometimes get difficult to follow, but it never does here. And I don’t want to give anything away but the very last bit is a good little twist.

Many thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/G.P.
Putnam's Sons for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

So one thing right off the bat that somewhat bothered me is the blurb that says this is a feminist take on The Shining. No.. just no, it's not. But I did not let that discourage me! This book is a mystery/ thriller that takes place in the CatSkills. Kerry is a mess. Sometimes relatable, sometimes naive and frustrating. She is supposed to be using this caretaker position alone at the motel to work on her one big break of a novel. Things do not turn out as planned. Cue hallucinations and suspects around every corner. Overall this is a good book. In my opinion it dragged on a little bit the twists made up for that in the end. I will definitely check out more books by Leah Konen.

Thank you to NetGalley, Leah Konen, and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC. Expected publishing date January 14th 2025.

This was a fun, twisty thriller - IN WINTER! Certain scenes reminded me of The Shining which scared the bejeezus out of me as a kiddo. I loved every page!

An interesting thriller set against a chilled winter scape.

I really wanted to love this but found some areas of it not quite meeting my (probably too high) expectations. The reveals were not jaw dropping to me and the story, while well-told, tended to jump around.

I liked how the author did use the different povs to create tension, however I felt like there was a deeper message there (regarding a specific relationship) that never came to fruition in the way it could have.

I did enjoy the mc’s journey to sobriety and the setting was great!

I’d recommend to those who aren’t looking for anything too spooky as it was more slow-paced and questioning that totally tension filled.

My rating: 3*

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Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for this gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Fun twisty thriller taking place at an empty motel in the winter. Definitely some The Shining vibes which I'm not mad at. I really liked this book and flew through it once I started. Had a lot of twists and surprises and kept me guessing. 4 stars and would absolutely recommend and want to read more from Leah Konen. I want to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Room on the Left, by Leah Konen
Rating: 4/5
Published: 14 Jan 2025
Kerry relishes the prospect of a whole season in the snowy mountains of the Catskills. She needs time and space to finish her book, and her only responsibilities will be working as the care-taker at a trendy, new motel. However, nothing is as it seems. As Kerry explores the grounds, she spots a hand in the snow, but soon the body vanishes, and Kerry is forced to question whether there has really been a murder, or perhaps she is losing her grip on reality? She soon becomes embroiled in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, and she doesn’t know if her mind can be trusted or not. She has suffered from hallucinations before, but this feels different. It feels dangerous.
I loved the whole ‘Shining-esque’ feel to this novel, and I definitely didn’t know who could be trusted. It’s a brilliant book, full of twists and turns, and it kept me guessing right until the end. That twist too – wow!

Kerry's life has taken so many bad turns that a job at a creepy motel sounds like a good idea. How bad could it be? Well....it could be very bad!
This is a fun thriller with some good twists. There are a couple draggy bits but stick with it; it's worth it. I love the motel setting with its mysterious past. It's one of my favorite tropes. It's a good book to read when the wind is howling and the snow is falling.

The premise for this book was so interesting, I love a book that is set in a hotel theme.

I did find parts of the story interesting, but I also found parts of it boring. So it was just a middle of the road book for me.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for my arc copy!

This started off slow, but quickly became a roller coaster. I trusted no one, and there were several good little twists! And the ending is so good!!! This is a fun, twisty read that will 100% keep you guessing!

Now that was a thriller! I think I felt like I was losing my mind with the main character, Kerry, I was frantic to figure out the ending!

Kerry, in a pattern of self destruction, has hit rock bottom. Her alcoholism had cost her everything, so she takes a caretaker position at a motel in the Catskills for a month.

She arrives at the motel to find out the previous caretaker has left the place a mess…or has she…left that is? In Kerry’s alcohol laden state, she is forced to figure out is there a frozen body in the back yard, is there a killer, who’s the killer and who can she trust? Or is any of this happening at all?

This was an unpredictable mystery, filled with some questionable characters making bad life choices that makes for an interesting closed room murder mystery! Brace yourself for one last twist at the very end, gasp!

It was a fast paced, quick read, and overall entertaining novel.

There were so many twists and turns in the book. I thought I knew what was coming and then...boom....different twist. I liked the book overall. It was difficult to get into at first. But it picked up speed and held my attention. A good winter mystery.

Completely unputdownable, with twists, turns, and a shockingly multi-faceted, realistic and compassionate POV on alcoholism that just happens to play parts in the narrative - absolutely didn't see this awesome book coming!

This was a fun thriller, full of unlikeable characters set in a snow storm, it certainly kept me intrigued throughout, even though these people made such terrible decisions!! I can see some similarities to The Shining but at a whole different level.

Our main character is just an absolute mess. Her husband has left her, her best friend hates her, she has writers block and is drinking herself into oblivion. She decides to get away from it all and takes a caretaker job at a closed motel in February. She just wants to write . But a huge snow storm takes out the power and things get a little crazy from there.

Thank to Penguin Group Putnam for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published on January 14th.

This was a great psychological thriller. I did see some similarities between it and the shining like the blurb said, but I wouldn’t necessarily go as far as to compare the two. This book was a good thriller. It kept me guessing until the very end, and then the twist at the end was great. I really enjoyed reading this book from different perspectives. There were two primarily, with an additional one thrown in at the end as a nice treat. This book was very atmospheric and immersive. I loved the setting; it was very creepy. Locked room thrillers are some of my favorites and this one was really good. There is just something about being trapped in one location that makes me get excited and enjoy the reading experience. I loved the twists; they really surprised me, and I enjoyed them a lot.

If you’re looking for a twisty remote location thriller, then you need to check this one out.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I was so bored I couldn’t even get through it. I had to stop about 65% in. The setting and idea should have made for a compelling psychological thriller, but the characters and storytelling fell flat unfortunately.

The main character is an alcoholic whose life is in shambles, and it feels like that is what the entire book is focusing on, rather than the actual story. This book is not thriller in my opinion. I was intrigued by the fact that her ex-best friend was also staying at the motel prior to her, but again the author didn’t take the story anywhere substantial. Wouldn’t recommend, sadly.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. However, there wasn't enough in it. Neither perspective had quite enough to warrant the full story. I will absolutely give Konen credit for the last chapter though.

I also am still against stories that use substance abuse as the core of an unreliable narrator. It's 2024, we're better than that.

This book was a fun, atmospheric read. But ultimately, it was full of plot devices and loose ends that went nowhere. Or maybe it was just misdirection. All of the characters were kind of jerks and the “bad guy” twist was pretty obvious.

It was a bit confusing to read the same things happing in the past and present. And why DID person A have a sketch of person B? I also find it very unlikely that person B wouldn't recognize person A, even from the back.

Things that did work: descriptions of the cold snow, the feeling of isolation, the allure of a mysterious and sexy guy!