Thriller Annotation

 

Author: Riley Sager

Title: The Only One Left

Genre: Thriller

Subgenres: Gothic 

Publication Date: June 20, 2023

Number of Pages: 385

Geographical Setting: Maine, United States

Time Period: 1983 and 1929

Series: Stand Alone

"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"

Plot Summary: After being suspended for six months from her home health aid job after the death of a patient on her watch, Kit returns for a new assignment. Kit left a bottle of pills that should have been locked up within a patient's reach of a woman who was suffering. Was it negligence, or did Kit play a part in helping the patient take her own life? 

Much to Kit's surprise, she's assigned to care for the infamous Lenora Hope. In 1929 Lenora was accused of murdering her entire family Lizzie Borden style. After all these years, Lenora is still living in the same home where her family was murdered - blood stains are still on the floors. Lenora has suffered from multiple strokes which have left her paralyzed and unable to speak. She has some limited movement though and can type with one hand. That's how Kit and Lenora have been communicating, but one night when Lenora offers up the entire true story to Kit, it's an offer she cannot turn down. What happened in 1929 and is Lenora really the killer? 

Subject Headings: 

Home health aides -- fiction 

Murder -- fiction 

Families -- fiction 

Massacre Survivors -- fiction 

Appeal: 

Tone 

The Only One Left is told in alternating perspectives of Kit in present-day 1983 and Lenora's typewritten story that flashes back to 1929. The chapters are kept pretty short to attain the suspenseful feel. One thing I also loved about this book was how Hope's End felt like its own character. There are fantastic gothic descriptions of how decrepit this house is and how it's slowly falling off the top of the cliff, "my gaze fixed on the jaw-dropping structure looming up ahead. But as I get closer, the luxurious grandeur of the place fades like fog, revealing the neglect hiding in plain sight. Up close, I realize, Hope's End is a mess. One of the second-floor windows is missing panes and now has plywood covering a gaping hole. Chunks of marble have broken off the detailing around some of the doors and windows. The roof is missing a fifth of its slate shingles, giving it a battered, pockmarked look that's honestly a relief" (Sager, 2023, p. 24). There are other descriptions of how dilapidated this mansion is and it gave me an Edgar Allan Poe The Fall of the House of Usher vibe, which I appreciated so much. The mansion is also tilting. There are several instances where Kit struggles to gain her balance and feels/looks drunk because of how bad the erosion on the cliff is becoming. What a spooky and unsettling atmosphere to imagine. 

Storyline

I do not want to give away too much but let's just say that this book has quite the intricate plot. The first half of the book was really easy to keep up with. Kit spends her time taking care of Lenora and has a strict schedule set by the estate caretaker, Mrs. Baker but we slowly learn who everyone is through Lenora's eyes. The last 150 pages or so were hard to keep up with and things got a bit convoluted. I feel like the author was trying to have too many coincidences and twists for the final reveal at the end. I thought two or three separate times that the book would be over after this chapter, but it just kept going. 

3 Terms That Describe This Book: Fast-paced, gothic, compelling 

3 Relevant Fiction Works:

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

Shea Collins is presented with the opportunity to interview Beth Greer, a woman acquitted of two cold case slayings, she senses something isn't quite right. She feels like she may be in the presence of a manipulative murderer. 

Appeals: creepy, atmospheric, and suspenseful 

The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

Sadie is unnerved by her husband's inheritance of a decrepit coastal property and the presence of a disturbed relative. Sadie further uncovers disturbing facts about her family's possible role in a neighbor's death. 

Appeals: creepy, atmospheric, and suspenseful 

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware 

When a high-paying nanny job in the Scottish Highlands ends with her imprisonment for a child's murder, a young woman struggles to explain the events that led to her incarceration to her lawyer. 

Appeals: compelling, menacing, suspenseful 

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works: 

The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of a Century by Sarah Miller

This is a linear narrative of the murders and subsequent trial of Lizzie Borden. The book features newspaper clippings and photographs - even from the murder scene. Any true crime fan would enjoy this read. It has high ratings on Goodreads and StoryGraph. This is actually targeted at young adults, but this is a perfect starting point for someone who does not know a lot about Lizzie Borden. A lot of the reviews mentioned that they had no idea this was written for teens (I didn't either, but it sounds worth my time reading).

Appeals: narrative nonfiction, true crime, fast-paced 

The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson 

Robertson's book is one of the most in-depth books about the legal proceedings of Lizzie Borden's alleged crime that I've come across. Some of the reviews note the thoroughness, but it is a good compilation of research. 

Appeals: compelling, comprehensive, fast-paced 

The Remarkable True Story of Florence Kinrade: Lizzie Borden of the North by Frank Jones 

This book only has 10 ratings on Goodreads, but it sounds promising. A lesser-known story of Florence Kinrade, a young woman from Ontario from a wealthy family who was accused of murdering her sister. There are many parallels to Lizzie Borden's story. 

Appeals: gritty, compelling, true crime

Similar Authors and Works: 

Grady Hendrix both write similar novels in terms of horror and gothic elements. I would say that Hendrix is the horror alternative to Sager's thrillers. I'm currently listening to How to Sell a Haunted House and they both create the same creepy and atmospheric settings. While How to Sell a Haunted House has creepy puppets and The Only One Left has a decrepit mansion as the atmosphere. 

Ruth Ware and Sager both write intricately plotted suspenseful novels. They often both have women at the center of their books, who are flawed. Narrators are frequently unreliable and there are plenty of twists and turns that'll keep you guessing until the end. 

Alice Feeny and Sager both write creepy novels that are full of psychological suspense. I have not read anything by Feeny, but she has been on my list for a while. From what I've heard about her books and looking at reviews, I could see them being similar.