THE ONLY ONE LEFT - Riley Sager

3 stars

Well that was…. Something. Definitely not my favorite Sager, but that’s okay. We can’t love them all.

Concept: ★★★★
Characters: ★★
Villain(s)/Reveal(s): ★★ (for me! I know a lot of other readers would give this a solid five star)
Enjoyment: ★★ 1/2

The Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora Hope was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.

With that Lizzie Borden-style murder setup, The Only One Left takes off in typical Sager fashion.

We've got a female main character with some secrets: home caregiver Kit McDeere, who's been on forced work leave due to a tragic and unseemly accident with her last patient. She's somewhat unlikeable, somewhat opaque in motive, and out of options.

We've got a setting filled with creeps: the Hope's End manor, complete with crumbling cliffside ruins and some seriously skeevy staff.

We've got the big hook: elderly Lenora Hope is finally ready to tell her story, and Kit McDeere is her semi-willing audience.

It's turtles all the way down from there, folks, with some serious twists and turns along the way for even the most hardened mystery reader.

The Only One Left is one of the only—pun intended—Sager novels that I hadn't read during its publication year. What can I say, the concept didn't grip me even with that compelling cover design.

I think that apathy toward reading it was a harbinger for what was to come for my reading experience. I just... didn't connect with this story at all. From the concept to the main character, all the way down to the series of spectacularly Sager twists and turns in the conclusion—it just wasn't a hit for me. (I know this is a "me" issue, as the other reviews for this one are fabulous.)

This was... fine. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was set in modern times—it took place in the early 1980s—and possibly had more action? or at least, more things going on? This story was SO limited in setting, characters, and setup that I found myself bored for most of the reading experience. Which was wild, given how bonkers it got there toward the end. I do enjoy limited scenario books... so I truly don't know what was happening here with this one.

Oh well. Can't love them all! If you too didn't love this one, please do still try other Riley Sager. My favorite, The Last Time I Lied, is SUCH a good time.