Murder mysteries are intriguing, and the chase to find answers leaves your heart beating until the truth is revealed. I was first recommended The Only One Left by a friend. She knows I enjoy a good mystery book, and its bright cover caught my attention, not to mention a sale that was happening at Barnes and Noble.
Riley Sager is a New York Times bestselling author. His book, The Only One Left, also is a New York Times best-selling book.
A Small Summary
The protagonist Kit McDeere is a caregiver to elderly patients in need of end-of-life care.
She stays with them and only leaves them once they can no longer afford the care or pass away. In the beginning, we find out a patient died of suspicious circumstances while in her care due to negligence on Kit’s part.
As the book continues, more is revealed about what happened to her patient.
However, the main plot of the book starts when Kit gets rehired at the Caretaking company after being questioned by the police for murder. Her manager decides to place her with a new elderly patient, Lenora Hope, who was accused of murdering her sister Virginia Hope, and her two parents. The majority of the story happens at Lenora’s mansion on the cliff called Hope’s End, a fitting title.
Kit is forced to take the job because she can’t find any other job opportunities. Kit uncovers secrets about those in the mansion. She almost goes insane trying to reveal the real killer of the Hope family.
Reduced to a wheelchair and non-verbal, Lenora can only type on a typewriter to communicate.
Person by person, Kit finds out everyone’s secrets and reveals her dark past. The twists come as we discover and have to determine who is lying and if Kit herself is as truthful as she claims to be.
The Only One Left is an engaging murder mystery especially for non-readers or those unfamiliar with the genre. The dialogue is important and the imagery is easy to picture.
Each step is detailed, and the changing perspective as we get to read what Lenora types along with what happens in real-time in the book.
Review
I’ve read a lot of mysteries and murder mysteries in my time.
From first starting at The BoxCar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, to The Maid by Nina Prose, and now The Only One Left by Riley Sager.
The Only One Left is a fantastic murder mystery that is well crafted and in-depth with descriptions of the scenery and the deception of reality.
A true murder mystery occurs when all the characters don’t know the truth or when some characters do know the truth and hide or lie about their role in the truth. A true murder mystery is about the characters and the manipulation of the truth by each. Lying, deception, and withholding the truth from the reader create unknown gaps to be filled that create the best atmosphere for a murder mystery to deliver unique twists in the plot.
In The Only One Left, EVERY character is caught lying about their actions, their pasts, and the truth. In the end, you’re left wondering what is real or fake.
Every previous conception you thought about a character is quickly shattered by the end.
I would give this book four out of five stars.
The Only One Left is a great starter murder mystery with twists that are unexpected until almost the end. Kit builds suspense by being a great liar and wanting to protect herself but in all the wrong ways.
However, the twists though are believable to a point. The last twist in the book was unnecessary and ruined the trajectory of the story. Every Twist and plot point before the ending was believable in a story but the ending became what clashed with the facts that already existed in the story.
Warning spoilers: Lenora could not move and was thoroughly tested by over ten doctors and nurses to confirm that fact. Then suddenly at the end of the book she revealed she was faking her condition all along. This conflicted with the tests that Kit ran on Lenora and as well as the snowglobe scene when Kit dropped Lenora’s prized snow globe to see if Lenora would move to stop the snowglobe from shattering.
The conflictions were mildly frustrating as we watched the author tear down the world that was built in the end scene. The conflict is ultimately why this book won’t receive a five-star book review. Although the characters were deep and in-depth, and the scenery was beautiful. The last twist ruined the rest of the book.
Precisely why The Only One Left is a good starter murder mystery, a beginner wouldn’t think about the ending so much or the fairy tale ending.
Most murder mysteries strive for a resolution at the end of the book, but The Only One Left leaves the ending as too fairytale and perfect with everything working out. It’s frustrating for an experienced reader who recognizes that murder mysteries usually end in heartbreak, death, and grief. However in this book that was not the case. The book glossed over all of the complicated emotions to achieve the perfect but confusing ending.
Overall, The Only One Left was a great starter mystery book to ease those wanting to learn and read more about the genre. Although not perfect, the book does have the appeal of a decent book and descriptive imagery that depicts the gloom excellently. At the end, the author was confused about the twists and eventually the book’s direction. I would recommend this book to anyone and advise them that there are better murder mystery books to read.
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