The Only One Left
Riley Sager
Lizzie Borden x Interview with a Vampire in Riley Sager’s The Only One Left.
Cover and Synopsis
The Only One Left Cover & Blurb
At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope
Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora 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.
Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life
It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—I want to tell you everything.
“It wasn’t me,” Lenora said
But she’s the only one not dead
As Kit helps Lenora write about the events leading to the Hope family massacre, it becomes clear there’s more to the tale than people know. But when new details about her predecessor’s departure come to light, Kit starts to suspect Lenora might not be telling the complete truth—and that the seemingly harmless woman in her care could be far more dangerous than she first thought.
Book Information
The Only One Left
Published June 2023 by Dutton.
Genre : Thriller/Mystery
Pages : 400 pages, Paperback
Review
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
I’m giving Riley Sager another go. Here’s the thing, I like his writing. I’ve enjoyed the first handful of books but the last three ? Not for me. Jump down to my Final Thoughts to avoid the possibility of major spoilers.
- It’s giving Interview with a Vampire meets Lizzie Borden.
- Bloody Mary reference. Oddly enough I’ve got Supernatural on and they too have a Bloody Mary episode.
- Love Sidney Sheldon’s books.
- Dangling like octopus tentacles.. really?
- It literally says Lizzie Borden in giant letters on the back. Oops.
- Mary is definitely dead.
- This house doesn’t seem structurally sound at all.
- Lenora! You frail little fibber.
- Was it the sister who killed the parents tho.
- I feel like your proof is gonna go poof.
- Lenora is definitely more on the ball than she lets on.
- Like mother like daughter I guess.
- Is this supposed to be the night of the murders?
- Mrs. Baker! Scandalous. & Suspicious.
- I feel like Carter is gonna find himself dead.
- I feel like Archie is in on this deal.
- Who is in the home?!
- I think Lenora only killed her sister if she killed anyone at all.
- What was the mother doing out of bed anyways? Killing her husband in a murder suicide ledulm rage?
- Detective Vick is suspiciously free with his answers.
- I think Lenore likes that people think she killed everyone.
- Excuse me.. is the sister alive?
- What.
- You know what? I like this one.
- But who did kill the parents?
- Ricky can’t keep it in his pants.
The Only One Left by Riley Sager Review
Minor Spoilers
The Only One Left by Riley Sager is leaps and bounds better than the previous three books I read by him. I first started reading Sager’s books way back in 2019 – I blew through Final Girls, The Last Time I Lied & Lock Every Door. Sager became an auto buy author for me. I followed that up with Home Before Dark in 2020 and then Survive the Night in 2021. And for me, that was the beginning of the end.
At Seventeen, Lenora Hope hung her sister with a rope.
In 2022, Sager released The House Across the Lake. The third consecutive dud for me. I was no longer excited for his yearly releases. Fast forward a few years, and I was finally ready to give Sager another try. I am glad I did. The Only One Left was fantastic. The story was intriguing and atmospheric – I wish I had saved it for the fall to read. I liked the blend of Lizzie Borden and Interview with a Vampire combined with the gothic, haunted and decaying house vibes.
Stabbed her father with a knife. Took her mother’s happy life.
What I didn’t enjoy were the characters. The main character, Kit, left a lot to be desired. Let’s face it, Sager severely lacks in the compelling female character department. Sometimes I think he has never met a woman a day in his life. Has the man written a well rounded reliable female character ever? And yet, I think every book he has written has a woman up front and center.
“It wasnt me.” Lenora said. But she’s the only one not dead.
In my opinion, and without having read Middle of the Night & With a Vengence, The Only One Left is Sager’s best work in years. Not every single story from a favorite author is going to hit every single time. After consecutive misses from Sager, I went into The Only One Left with the bar on the floor. I don’t have high hopes for his latest releases, but I’m not writing Sager off completely. Not yet.
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