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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.75
"You want to know if I’m as evil as everyone says I am. The answer is no. And yes."
It's true that I seem to be having a bit of a love-hate relationship with Riley Sager's writing, and his books can go either way for me. Some I absolutely loved (Home In The Dark), while others somehow didn't work at all (Survive The Night). That said, I can never resist a good gothic thriller and I had a good feeling about The Only One Left. The blurb is nothing but enticing, that's for sure! And I'm now happy to announce that this particular book falls firm into the first category. I basically knew I was going to love this story almost immediately, and I loved every single minute spent with this book. The crumbling Hope's End mansion makes for such a perfect setting for a gothic story; the unresolved multiple murder back in 1929 and rumors about the only surviving family member Lenora Hope only adding to this ominous atmosphere. The main story is set in 1983, and Kit makes for the perfect character to help us tell the story of Lenora in past and present. Why? Well, her story is similar to Lenora with her being accused of murder/assisted suicide, but no real proof to have her convicted... In other words: guilty by public opinion. The great thing about how this story is written is that you honestly don't know for sure if both women are guilty or innocent until the very end, and it only made me want to turn those pages even faster. I also loved the flashbacks to 1929 with Lenora typing her story with Kit's help... The plot structure is clever, and there were a couple big twists I never saw coming. I had such a fantastic time reading The Only One Left, and I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys atmospheric and creepy gothic thrillers where nothing is as it seems.
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Suicide, Chronic illness, Cancer, Grief, Infidelity, Sexism, Classism, Medical content, Death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Violence, Abortion, Addiction, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Medical trauma
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Mind Blown! Talk about twists! I didn't know what to expect for most of the book and majority of my ideas were way off. Once the end came, it was twist after twist, and just when you thought it was done, a gigantic reveal comes outta left field. This one definitely kept me on my toes.
Lenora Hope has been confined to a wheelchair for decades. Unable to talk or move anything but her left hand. She is completely dependent on others and unable to communicate in any way except tapping her hand or t ing on a typewriter. When her caregiver disappears, Kit is hired to replace her. As Kit starts digging into Lenora's past we're led through a crazy story of betrayal and heartbreak.
I liked how the house was a character in its self. This old dilapidated mansion on the edge of a cliff slowly sliding into the ocean made for an eerie and suspensful setting.
There's so many twists in this book, which makes it both intriguing and a little over the top. There's almost too many twists. Within a couple chapters we're hit with twist after twist after twist. The majority of the twists I didn't see coming, I knew that
The story ended up being
Lenora is blamed for the murders. She decides change her name and to fake her sisters death then pass her off as herself. So for years Virginia has been living as Lenora.
Fast forward: Kit finds out that her father is a murderer. Jessie, the maid is actually Virgina's granddaughter. Kit's father killed Mary to try to keep the truth of his past hidden. The house falls into the ocean with Kits father and Lenora in it. AND: Virgina has been faking it this whole time. She can actually walk and talk but wanted to punish her sister for everything she did to her.
Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Grief
kfergy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug abuse
jenjuniper80's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Cancer, Infidelity, Murder, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Confinement, Addiction, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Bullying, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, and Blood
felofhe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Classism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexism, and Medical content
chantejames's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I gave this book a perfect 5 stars. I've heard great things about Riley Sager and I can say, they were true.
The writing is incredible! Easy to follow but very immersive. The writing was so intense, which is a plus because it is a thriller book, that I had to stop reading and breathe before continuing. This book was hard to put down and hard to pick back up because of the intensity and emersion. The world building was perfect. The descriptions were perfect. It was like watching a movie.
The characters were very diverse and when they were on the page you saw their personalities, their flaws and their trauma not just their appearance.
The TWISTS and TURNS almost gave me a heartattck. Just when you think you finally understand... You don't. There was something new at every single turn. At times I had to put down the book, scream, freak out and it have me anxiety - the kind you want from a thriller book. I normally read cozy books because my anxiety can't handle suspense and this book had a LOT of it but it was worth it so I kept reading.
This is the type of book you can't tell someone about, they need to read it and experience it for themselves and I'd recommend it to any Thriller reader.
Amazing author. Amazing concept. Amazing book. An easy 5 stars.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Addiction, Mental illness, Alcohol, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Child death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Terminal illness, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse
spiritedfaraway's review
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Being it Kit's head was irritating and her not doing her job (she's a home-health aide) was infuriating. Kit's patient is in her seventies and uses a wheelchair and yet Kit would forget to do Lenora's exercises. In another instance Kit put a pair of headphones over Lenora's head because she wanted to have a private conversation. Nevermind the fact that she didn't ask, nevermind that Lenora couldn't take them of even if she wanted to. YOU DON'T DO THAT. To be honest there were just so many ableist things in this book.
There were also glaring plot holes everywhere, and almost all of the characters' motivations were confusing and made absolutely no sense. And do not even get me started on that horrible ending.
I have two more books of Sager's that I haven't tried before, but I'm not sure if I'll actually get to them because the more I think about this book the more upset I get and there is just not enough time in the world to read at best mediocre and at worst abysmal books. There are just too many other books I'd rather get to.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Blood, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
SO MUCH ABLEISMthe_true_monroe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was just phenomenal and mindblowing. This is probably the first book that truly brought me to understand what to be mindblown means.
The only thing I can think of that I wanted clarified is what was up with Detective Vick- he worked there at the same time Kit’s dad did but I do not recall any part where we heard more after Kit said that he should be called right before the confrontation with her dad
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Classism, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Kidnapping, Blood, Grief, and Bullying
Minor: Abortion, Child death, Ableism, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Sexual content
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, Alcohol, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Terminal illness, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Abandonment, Addiction, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Sexism, Alcoholism, Gore, Infidelity, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
daydaybookbay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I would feel smart for a moment because I noticed an inconsistency in the story, but that was the whole point to notice. It threw me through a loop because I then questioned myself if the other off-points I noticed were actually supposed to be there. This lost trust in myself made it more difficult for me to piece together the plot before the author wanted to reveal a twist. Very clever writing-I love it
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Alcohol, Blood, Ableism, Misogyny, Outing, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape, Addiction, Gun violence, Homophobia, Classism, Confinement, Abortion, Grief, and Medical content