The Only One Left

The Only One Left is the first book by Riley Sager that I am reading, after hearing so much about his books. I was intrigued because of its gothic, Rebecca like mystery narrative.

There was a lot about it I enjoyed. The prose it self was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the way he not only brings out the emotion of scene but also somehow makes it part of the scenery.

The book starts off quite slow, and typical for a modern thriller - a woman with a “past” is thrown into a new job which she is clearly uncomfortable with but has no option but to abide by it. Few days after starting her new job, she uncovers a mystery regarding the one she is caring for.

There definitely are some twisty plot twists in the novel. If you've read enough, you can see some of them coming. But some of the plot twists tend to stretch what is believable, and that didn't really help in the enjoyment of the book.

It's definitely an intriguing book, its gothic setting and prose are definite plus points, but it's the second half and the reveals related to the mystery at heart that disappointed me.


** SPOILER**

I'm not a fan of books where the protagonist has a coincidental connection to the mystery at heart. But it wasn't just that, even the previous Caregiver had a connection to the mystery and the woman (women?) at the heart of it.

All of these connections seemed a few too many to be plausible.

Which led to my diminished enjoyment of the book.
** SPOILER**