The biggest thing The Only One Left by Riley Sager delivers on, are the twists. Filled to the brim - and I mean brim - this novel will have you questioning everything. This doubt makes The Only One Left a worthwhile read. In my experience, Sager's novels fall into two categories: breathtakingly twisty (think Home Before Dark) or just above average (think Survive the Night), and this novel falls into the former. Like me, you will be taken on a twisty ride and with a decent enough protagonist and unexpected ending, The Only One Left will be an hour worth your time. If you want twists, thrills, and intrigue - this is the read for you!

The story is told through two viewpoints: Kit's and Lenora's via the typewriter. Lenora is a sixty-nine-year-old who after polio and a stroke, has only limited mobility of her left hand. She is still the main suspect of her parent's and sister's death, but with no evidence to prove it, has spent the last few decades free but dealing with those suspicions. As legend goes, she is the killer but her newest caregiver, Kit, is no longer convinced she is the culprit. What unravels is the story of how the two came to be together, what truly happened that night, and the lengths some go to cover up the truth.

There are a few choppy transition moments between Lenora's typewriting style and Kit's thoughts that may take you out of the flow of the read, and I think this is something to be aware of as I'm not sure how well the transitions would translate to audio meaning this may be a novel better suited to being read. The plot does flow even with this pauses and you will be questioning everything, making this a worthy mystery.

What I feel would have assisted this novel are fleshed out descriptions of the non-protagonists of the story. You will get to intimately know Kit and Lenora, but I found the supporting character's history to be lacking. A bit more exposé in this instance on what drew them to the house, why they remained, etc., would have been beneficial. They needed just a bit more which I think would have further heightened the twists making you more inclined to follow a misdirect and create your own suspicions.

Lenora and Kit, they are good protagonists. Both are smart woman who are more intuitive than they let on, and I think that perception helps their bond and the subsequent story that follows. I would have taken a few more pages of character development in this novel, to really flesh out the read but overall, these are enjoyable characters to read.

Big smiles all around for that ending. A banger of a mystery. It is undoubtedly an ending that will leave you satisfied, even if it isn't necessarily what you expected. What can I say, it grows on you. The Only One Left has good twists, well thought out clues, two good narrators, and an ending that closes the story with a bang. This is a novel worth an hour of your time.

What in the crumbling mansion happened in this novel? There is so much to consider, so let us discuss. For starters, who suspected Lenora was really Virginia and that Miss Baker was really Lenora? Not I. I had zero suspicions about it, absolutely zero. Okay, maybe a small suspicion that Virginia was the culprit of the murders and then hung herself, but my suspicion was only partially correct. She did attempt suicide, but she did not commit the murders.

I cannot believe Lenora was so vindictive that she chose to keep her sister a prisoner, but then again, Virginia was actually the one keeping her prisoner? And if Lenora, the true Lenora, hadn't kept her and declared her legally dead, then Patrick - Kit's father - would have murdered her to keep his secret. What in the mind boggling twist is this? Did you suspect this? Because I did not.

What I did suspect was that Kit's father was the one who helped her mother take the pills. The inability for him to look at her made me suspect him and I was right! I did not expect the twist for Ricky to be Patrick, her dad! Or that Rick was a different Rick to the one who impregnated Virginia. I did suspect that Rick was fooling around with both sisters and I was wrong, he was into Archie and I did not even suspect that. I then suspected Carter to have involvement or Jessie with how quickly she fled, and surprise surprise, I was wrong again. I've been too cocky lately with my suspicions and this novel has brought me back to reality, and that reality is I'm only kind of okay at guessing misdirects. But damn, these misdirects were good. Like really good in my opinion. I suspected the smallest portion of this story when in reality, there was so much more going on. I liked the twists, they fit well into the story and showed some vindictiveness between the sisters and the tumultuous living within the home which I appreciated.

What I did not really understand was why Ricky chose to stab the mother when she most likely would have died anyway from her self-inflicted wound. His pride was not built up as much as I think it should have been to warrant such an attack and is why I wanted a bit more character development to justify this insane decision. It was briefly mentioned how prideful he was, but not enough to really recognise how prideful he was. He killed a woman. And then fled. For Kit to deal with that knowledge, it would be tough. I appreciated how her thoughts on it were mixed - the love and rage - it was complicated and those emotions were written well.

Also, I haven't even mentioned Virginia faking immobility for forty-odd years. Why? That at least was alluded to but seriously, that was crazy. Also that brings up the fact that Lenora continuously punished her by never letting her outside, a TV, or anything to bring her joy - because she thought her sister murdered her parents. And so did Archie! The only good blokes were Archie, Carter, and Jessie. I liked Jessie being the granddaughter - another thing I could analyse - and it explained why she ended up at the cliffside mansion!

There are so many twists in this novel and I liked it. I enjoyed the complexities and I truly didn't suspect a single thing correctly, excluding the pills, and that is a feat. I am eager to see what else Riley Sager writes and I know whatever my next read of theirs is, it's going to be a wild ride.