The part where the book is said to be "a feminist take on The Shining" is a lie. Just saying.

Unless you consider every story about a caretaker of a motel that is in the middle of nowhere to be a different version of The Shining, then sure.

I read later on in the Acknowledgements part of the book that her friend had dared her to write "a feminist The Shining" but until I finished the book, I was not sure how it was anything like The Shining or even a feminist version of it. I guess there was some feminism in the book, but again, the term "feminist The Shining" stayed with me from the start until the end and sort of bothered me.

Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad book. I enjoyed it from the first page, every chapter is fast-paced and got me disturbed by the actual random sounds around me in real life. There is twist after twist, and as a reader, you cannot trust anyone, not even the narrator who has a drinking problem and a history of imagining things.

The book is pretty solid, the plot was mostly decent, but the ending kind of fell flat. As a fan of the thriller genre, I guess I intend to have a higher expectation than I should have, but the ending just sort of... happened. It is a good book, but nothing remarkable. If you are a fan of the mystery thriller genre like me, I doubt that this book will impress you, but you might still enjoy the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book jumps right into it within the first couple of chapters. After the first few chapters the books alternates between different character POVs and timelines which was well done to keep the reader interested. The author did a really good job at keeping you guessing until the very end on what really happened. I'm a sucker for a snowed in or blizzard type of book so this was right up my alley. Will definitely be recommending for others to give this one a read.

This was a quick, fun read, but I think it would have been more successful if not marketed as a 'feminist take on The Shining.' Yes, it's a woman who is a writer and goes to a secluded hotel to finish her project, but just because the main character is a woman doesn't necessarily make it 'feminist,' and unless I'd read that comparison, I wouldn't have thought to compare it to 'The Shining' myself. I think doing so just sets readers up for disappointment when it could otherwise stand on its own as a fun thriller.

The last Room on the left by Leah Konen

This book came out of the gate strong and then I struggled to push through it. I enjoyed the jumpstart with the character and learning about her struggles and addiction to alcohol but then it continued and became a constant drone of the same ol, then the pieces started to fit in with her friendship with Siobhan… well then that got played out very repetitive and became obnoxious.

The premise to the story was interesting and the idea intrigued me, especially the shining reference, motel in the mountains, seclusion, etc. Overall I enjoyed the story and it held my attention but it failed to deliver in the haha department.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin group for this Arc!

3.5 stars.

The novel started out a little slowly before picking up. Two once-close friends who have lost touch are reunited when both are named caretakers of an isolated motel during the winter off-season.

Although its billing as a "twisty, addictive, feminist take on The Shining" sounds appealing, it is inaccurate. There are no similarities between the books beyond a shared premise - both involve isolated properties in the off-season, caretakers with existing substance abuse problems, plus mysterious and sinister occurrences. The author added a substance abuse issue to the equation and I feel that is a fairly common complication used in suspense novels as the basis for much of the suspense - are the sinister occurrences *real* or figments of the character’s alcohol-addled imagination? I typically do not enjoy books where the protagonist struggles with substance abuse, but I appreciated that the author strove to create characters who were “regular” and average, very different from the implausibly high-achieving female characters found in many works of contemporary fiction and suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Putnam for granting me access to this ARC for my review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

The Last Room On The Left by Leah Konen
Genre: Thriller
Length: 352 pages
POV: 3 - Kerry, Siobhan, & Allison
Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and @netgalley for the e-ARC of this book. The opinions stated are solely my own.

Synopsis:
Kerry has hit rock bottom. A writer who has recently separated from her husband due to a rising drinking problem, she has a book deadline to meet that can hopefully put her on a better path. Kerry takes a caretaker job at a motel in the Catskills to find peace and quiet to hopefully finish her book out of the hustle and bustle of the city.

She has a rocky start with her few neighbors and in a drunken state stumbles upon a dead girl within the motel grounds, frozen in the snow. The police come, only to find no such body and Kerry isn't sure what to believe anymore. Is there a killer on the loose? Why does she feel like she is being watched? And can she trust anything she sees on the premises as she continues to drown her problems in alcohol?

Opinion:
I really loved the setting of this story. A motel in the middle of nowhere, snow, very spotty phone service, power outages - it is a perfect recipe for a murder and great thriller. Without giving away anything, I enjoyed how Kerry's story intertwined with her [former] best friend, Siobhan's, and how both women were in the writing and movie-making profession. It was almost like a screnplay within a book, which was very cool. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was Kerry being a semi-unreliable narrator due to her drinking. That is a trope that I don't completely love. However, it was a good book and had a small twist in the epilogue that I liked! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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.

A bit slow for the first 1/4 of the book, then it picked up. Told by 3 POVs and set in a motel closed for the winter it definitely had spooky vibes the whole way through. Lots of twists and turns while trying to figure out who the murderer is before someone else dies.

Thank you to Net Galley and Putnam books for the ARC to read and review.

So, if you liked the Shining but wish there was a FMC and oh also the creep factor is upped and you'll never be able to sleep at night, than I have the book for you! This book was perfection for a King fan like me.

#TheLastRooomOnTheLeft #NetGalley
This is her best till date.
The Last Room on the Left by Leah Konen is a chilling psychological thriller that plunges readers into the dark and desolate landscape of the Catskills, where isolation and paranoia become Kerry’s constant companions. Kerry, whose life has spiraled out of control due to her crumbling marriage and worsening drinking problem, sees a glimmer of hope in a caretaker position at a recently revitalized roadside motel. Hoping the secluded environment will provide the perfect escape to finish her long-overdue book and restart her life, she takes the job.However, what starts as a hopeful retreat quickly turns into a nightmare when a blizzard traps Kerry in the motel. Through the blinding snow, she spots something horrifying—a pale arm sticking out from a snowbank. Alone, with a dead body outside and no way to escape, Kerry is thrust into a terrifying game of survival. The suspense builds as she questions whether the deadly threats are real or a figment of her imagination, driven by her isolation and mental state. But with the body count rising, Kerry’s fears seem all too real, forcing her to confront the terrifying reality that the killer may be closer than she thinks..
This is her best work till date. It was a sharp thriller.
Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for giving me an advance copy.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. Kerry’s life is in disarray with a recent breakup and falling out with a best friend. Now she has an opportunity to be a caretaker for a week at a remote motel in the Catskills. With a looming deadline and writer’s block on a book deal, this sounds like a perfect getaway. A chance to regroup and finish writing her book without distractions and put the past behind her. Kerry jumps at this chance, but odd things begin to happen almost immediately on arrival. There are strange noises, odd neighbors, limited internet for outside contact. Throw in a power outage, blizzard and …. a body found in the snow (it’s there and then it’s missing and then it’s found elsewhere and then it’s not….) and away we go. A bit of a feminine take on The Shining? Not exactly. No supernatural happenings. No ‘Here’s Johnny’…. Simply a main character with a lot of baggage trying to make it through the week alive and write her book. The characters were well developed but the MC was just not likeable. Expecting a strong female lead, Kerry is the opposite. She fails to be accountable and take ownership of where she’s come from and where she is heading. There’s a nice twist on who is the victim and who is responsible. The book pulls together nicely at the end. A good suspense novel that is well written.

The story follows Kerry, a writer, looking for an escape to finish writing her book and for a fresh start. She decides to take a job as a caretaker at a motel, during the off season. She gets more than she expects when she discovers a dead body. There’s no cell service and she’s snowed in. This is a perfect winter read and I enjoyed this story so much. It’s creepy and lots of twists and turns. If you get scared easily, read this during the day. I definitely recommend this one if you’re a fan of physiological thrillers!

🌟 Just finished this intriguing read that had me totally hooked, and wow, it was a wild ride! While it was pitched as a “twisty, addictive, feminist take on The Shining,” I found it to be a whole different flavor of spooky. Instead of supernatural chills, we dive deep into the lives of these incredibly fleshed-out characters—real women grappling with their artistry and the not-so-great men around them. It was refreshing to see characters navigating the messy middle ground of the creative world, rather than just the typical high-powered jobs or detective roles we often see in books. 🙌✨

And can we talk about the setting? 🎃 The simple yet spooky vibes of a no-frills motel felt all too relatable—I’ve stayed in a few of those "Instagrammable" spots myself! I’m honestly relieved I didn’t read this book before my last trip, because now every creaky floorboard and flickering light feels like a personal invitation to a good old-fashioned thrill. If you’re looking for a unique twist on the thriller genre, give this one a shot! 📚💖 #BookRecommendations #SpookyReads #CreativeWomen

This was a fun but spooky read that made me glad I don't stay at hotels alone. It did creep me out a bit but I don't usually read thriller/ creepy books so I may just be a bit of a wimp when it comes to that. Those who are looking to get a bit spooked or feeling on edge this is for you!

I enjoyed the book a lot but a “twisty, addictive, feminist take on The Shining” sounds like it great inspiration but not how the book actually reads. There are women who are artists who ultimately help themselves and bad men who hurt them but there no no supernatural elements which I think The Shining implies. I don’t think there is any doubt at any point t the mysterious girl and thin man around the motel are 100% real people.

That said, it is a book where the characters are very fleshed out beyond what is strictly needed for a mystery. They all seem very real and I appreciate how the author often writes about people who are teetering on the side of making it in a creative field. It is a refreshing change from the dozens of books I read where the women either don’t work or work very successful high power jobs or are police/detectives.

The setting was simple but spooky! I’ve stayed in’ a cheap but instagramable Motel before and I’m glad it was before I read this book!

Two old fiends that have disconnected find themselves both ending up as caretakers for a motel during the winter months. Kerry arrives for her duties and quickly realizes things aren’t right. This thriller had me guessing and second guessing what was happening or was the alcohol making Kerry imagine everything. I definitely recommend grabbing this one!!
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this arc! I really enjoyed this one!!

This was a really good thriller! I kinda had a love/hate relationship with the main character. The end was a surprise!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

The last room on the left starts strong with an unreliable narrator and a missing friend. But somehow it loses steam halfway through when the perspective changes and i skimmed to the end and was disappointed with it. Overall, not my favorite thriller.

Honestly, I think that the blurb calling this a “feminist take on The Shining” is probably a bit … ambitious. They both involve alcoholic caretakers of a hotel/motel and a winter storm, and that's about where the similarities end. There's nothing supernatural about this tale and the entire plot line revolves around there being an outside killer “terrorizing” the caretaker, not the caretaker's own descent into murderous insanity. I'm also not even sure how this book can be considered “feminist,” unless the two main characters simply being women counts (spoiler alert: it doesn't).

Really, The Last Room on the Left is mostly just a garden-variety psychological thriller. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but let's not pretend that this is some groundbreaking piece of literature. It's an easy, fast-paced read and it's entertaining enough, but it's certainly not deep. If you generally enjoy psychological thrillers, there's probably a decent chance that you'll enjoy this one. Just don't expect any iconic “Here's Johnny!”-esque scenes.

The mystery itself is okay. Who killed the previous caretaker and is the murderer still lurking around the hotel? I originally thought the plot was headed in one direction and was surprised when it went elsewhere, but after that the big reveal was fairly predictable. Red herrings abound, however.

Otherwise, expect lots of drunkenness and questionable decision making. Expect gratuitous (but extremely mild) S&M with questionable consent. Expect a main character who really likes the word "ass." Expect unintentionally hilarious scenes involving a bathroom window. Do <i>not</i> expect likeable characters or a super deep plot.

I realize that this review probably makes it sound like I didn't enjoy this one, but it really was … fine. I have a love-hate relationship with psychological thrillers and it takes an exceptional one to get me truly excited. This isn't a particularly novel novel (ha!), but it still kept me turning the pages.

My overall rating: 3.4 stars, rounded down. If you normally enjoy uncomplicated psychological thrillers that are not at all comparable to The Shining, you just might enjoy this one too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is January 14, 2025.