Book review The Only One Left by Riley Sager

In today’s edition book blogger Kimberly Foreman reviews a spooky mystery novel ahead of Halloween.

Genre: Gothic fiction / mild horror / mystery

“At seventeen, Lenora Hope, hung her sister with a rope…” Now if that doesn’t pique your interest, I’m not sure what will! With Halloween only a week away, I’m recommending another spooky read for you – The Only One Left by Riley Sager (a nominee for the 2023 Reader’s Favourite Mystery Award by Goodreads).

In this unputdownable novel by Sager, our main character (Kit) is offered a job as a caregiver in Hope’s End. But who will she be caring for? None other than Lenora Hope – Lenora was accused of killing her family in the 1920’s. But although the whole of Maine suspected Lenora, she was never convicted of the crime.

Now, in 1983, Kit accepts the job as Lenora’s home-aide because she too has a troubled past, and she can’t afford to refuse the job. And so, with much trepidation, Kit moves into Hope’s End. It’s now a dilapidated mansion compared to what it once was, and it sits precariously on a crumbling cliffside above the sea. But Kit has more to fear than just the crooked house…

Lenora can’t walk or talk but she begins to tell Kit her story through typewritten messages. “I want to tell you everything” – Kit finds the typed message amongst Lenora’s things, but it’s not the only message she finds. It appears as though someone else from the household is leaving her ominous warnings – urging her to leave Hope’s End. But how can Kit leave without knowing what really happened to the Hope family back in 1929? Should she stay or should she go? And should she risk everything to hear the end of Lenora’s tale?

This was such a compelling read! If you love a twisty thriller, this could be the book for you this Halloween.

Some other spooky book recs for October:

*Audrey Rose by Frank De Felitta
*The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd
*The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
*Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
*The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb

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