The Only One Left: the chilling, gripping novel from the master of the genre-bending thriller

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and this is a new author for me; however I’m going to read all his books because I enjoyed this so much. I’d been reading a spate of very boring books that took me forever and I was looking for something really gripping. This was it. The characters were very well developed and intriguing.; I loved some and hated some but they were all well drawn. I loved the setting which was gothic and creepy. The plot, however, just kept me reading; it was impossible to put down. The twists were many and I worked out one of the big ones early on because of clues but had no idea about the rest. I will say it was a bit far fetched but I certainly didn’t care because I was reading it to be entertained and it certainly did that. The writing was also very good quality throughout. This book was just what i needed and I can’t wait to read more by this author. I loved it.

Rating: 4.5 ✨ Oh my gosh this book was so good! I haven’t read a thriller with this many twists in so long. The pacing is really good, I never felt like I was bored or just waiting to find out what happens next. The perspective of the main protagonist is really clever and there are so many parallels between their story and the murders in 1929 which I loved. It’s creepy, twisty, and has this dark atmosphere that I just can’t explain that set the scene so well. It also had me feeling surprisingly emotional at times and touched on some pretty tragic themes. The end of the book is absolutely crazy, so many reveals, twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and the backstory fits it all together perfectly. This was my first time reading a book from this author and I’d definitely read more after this 🔪 If you’re a thriller lover, this book is for you!! ‘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.’

I really enjoyed this book and devoured the second half in no time at all. The twists will keep you guessing from start to finish. Excellent descriptive writing, great character development and a story that will keep you hooked until the end.

Good read, getting better half way through the book. BUT disappointing and far fetched ending.

I have never read a book by this author before and chose to read it as part of a book of the month discussion with a group of other readers on social media. It is one that I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. Kit has been given no option but to be a live in carer to Lenora. Under suspicion over a death of a patient in her care she has recently returned to work. If she wasn’t to do this, there would be nothing else and her situation has become unbearable at home with her father. Lenora is a local ‘celebrity’ a woman accused of killing her family decades earlier and who lives with just a handful of staff, most of who had worked there at the times of the deaths. Kit seemed to have a pretty decent relationship with Lenora straightaway and encouraged her to use a typewriter to tell her what happened when her family died. She wasn’t convinced that Lenora was responsible and antagonised the other members of staff by asking questions. However, she soon realised that she could be in danger. Nothing would have got me into this house. The description of the tilting and creaking floors, the cracks in the walls and ceilings that appeared overnight and the fact that it was getting closer daily to falling into the sea. Every reader would realise early on what its eventual outcome would be. Just a matter of when. None of the characters were particularly likeable although I was intrigued by them. I wanted to know what had happened to Lenora and whether she was responsible for her families deaths. The flashbacks slowly revealed the toxic relationships within the family and it was no surprise that there would be violence. This book being set in the 1980s did take some getting used to. It is easy to forget that there hasn’t always been mobile phones or audio books and when Kit was told that one of the other employees recorded herself onto cassette tape for Lenora to listen to seemed at first a little odd. There were a lot of twists in the novel, all a surprise and most of them all at the same time. However, this was a very entertaining read and I loved its ending.

Kit is under a shadow at work after being suspended for six months, on returning she is given a job she would rather not take but has no other option but to take it. There have been lots of rumours over the years and speculation as to what really happened surrounding the death of three of the Hope family. I have to say it certainly had me intrigued. The setting of the big house right on the cliff edge really helped set the scene as well as adding tension to the story. I had no clue what to expect when Kit starts her new job. I was eager to find out the truth about that night and not in my wildest dreams could I ever have imagined what actually did. Everyone seems to be hiding something and you don’t know who to trust. The sense of danger is there with every page turned and whilst I was eager for the truth, I was also worried for Kit’s personal safety as she gets closer to it. All I can say is nothing is as it seems. The Only One Left was a real mess with your head read. There was one part that I had to go back and reread as there was no way I thought I had read it right and thought it might have been a misprint. It wasn’t and the twist totally blew my mind. In fact when the twists hit, they just don’t stop. I just loved everything about it, the pacing, the plot and not forgetting those twists! A truly eerie, nail-biting read that is guaranteed to give you goosebumps!

I read this based on others' reviews, and was not disappointed. There are so many twists to this book that I never saw coming. My jaw literally dropped at some of them, and i actually gasped out loud a few times. Excellent book. Highly recommended.

Really enjoyed this book. Felt it was creepy and had the right amount of tension to keep me guessing and the twists, right at the end, left me shocked!! I loved the ending 🙏🏻 the only reason I did not give 5 stars is because I felt it dragged on a little bit in the middle but saved itself at the end! Great book and I've always enjoyed this author 😀