“Everyone believes that Lenora Hope is a mass murderer.

When the Hope family was massacred decades ago, she was the only one left after that tragic night.

Mute, paralysed and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora has never been able to tell her side of the story.

Until her new live-in caregiver Kit brings her a typewriter.

And with one working finger Lenora begins to type:

I want to tell you everything.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of The Only One Left by Riley Sager. The Only One Left was published by Hodder & Stoughton on 4th July 2023 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow later this month (Thursday 28th December 2023). I chose to read a free eARC of The Only One Left but that has in no way influenced my review.

Riley Sager is without a doubt a favourite author of mine. I look forward to every new release with bated breath knowing that it’s going to be completely different to everything else that’s gone before. I first discovered this author when I read the sublime Final Girls. I love Final Girls. It’s one of my favourite books of all time and when asked for a recommendation, I always say FG, without a moment’s hesitation (along with one other book that regular readers of the blog may be able to guess…). I’ve read every single book Sager has published since Final Girls hit the shelves and I’ve loved them all. So when an opportunity to have an early read of The Only One Left arose I, of course, jumped at it.

Caregiver Kit has one last chance to prove herself. She’s given a posting that no one would want. Most people would quit rather than move into Hope’s End. Her charge is the infamous Lenora Hope. You know, the one the kids sing the rhyme about:

At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope
Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life
‘It wasn’t me’ Lenora said
But she’s the only one not dead

But Kit McDeere has no choice. And she’s secretly intrigued by the elderly, paralysed, mute woman everyone is terrified of. But on arrival at Hope’s End, Kit immediately feels out of her depth. There’s something ‘off’ about the staff. The creepy, old house perched on the edge of the crumbling cliff face is a literal death-trap. And Lenora, having kept what happened that fateful night secret for fifty years, now has something she wants to say…

The Only One Left is a gripping, deftly plotted gothic thriller that drew me in from the start. It’s a bit bonkers but I’ve come to expect things to take a slightly different turn with this author, and I am most definitely here for that. The setting is perfect. The ancient, musty house has ‘gothic thriller’ written all over it. With what Kit is told are bloodstains left from the Hope killings, and an ever pervading sense of threat and menace, Sager really has outshone himself in the creation of Hope’s End. It’s as much a character in the novel as any of the main players. Kit is an intriguing lead character who has secrets of her own. Why does she have no choice in accepting this assignment? Surely no one would willingly volunteer to spend time with mass killer, Lenora Hope, let alone carry out her daily ablutions and tend to her every need. When Hope is presented with a typewriter, she slowly starts to type her story using the only finger she has which still functions. And Kit, desperate to be the one to uncover the truth, is unwittingly drawn into the dark past of the Hope family.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. I very much enjoyed my time with The Only One Left. It’s a ghostly, creepy chiller of a mystery. Its gothic overtones are pitched perfectly and the intriguing storyline draws the reader into the family’s dark past. There is a lot going on in this book and some of it felt a smidge far fetched but please pause for a moment and see my earlier comment about the book being a bit bonkers. It all adds to the overall appeal for me. Time spent with a Riley Sager book is NEVER dull, that’s for sure! There are plenty of twists and turns throughout, some I would never have guessed, others felt a little more obvious but I was in the depths of the story and really didn’t care if I could see the odd twist coming before it dropped. All in all, The Only One Left is another cracking tale from a ‘must read’ author. A very atmospheric read featuring a host of characters you’ll love to hate, tonnes of lovely suspense and a really well-written overarching feeling of dread. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Only One Left. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager was published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton on 4th July 2023 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels, most recently THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE and SURVIVE THE NIGHT. His first thriller, FINAL GIRLS, won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel and has been published in more than thirty countries. His latest novel, THE ONLY ONE LEFT, will be published in June.

A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he’s not writing, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is “Rear Window.” Or maybe “Jaws.” But probably, if he’s being honest, “Mary Poppins.”