The Only One Left by Riley Sager: A Cliffside Murder Suspense Thriller

I would describe The Only One Left as the perfect checklist thriller. What I mean by that is that it contains a top-tier selection of all the things needed to make a rip-roaring thriller. I also love that as it’s set in the 1970s, this is reflected in the design of the cover – really captures that era.

Opening sentence: We’re at the typewriter again, Lenora in her wheelchair and me standing beside her as I place her left hand atop the keys.

The thriller checklist

So, what is the thriller checklist? Well, in my humble opinion:

Isolated setting – in The Only One Left the action is set not only set in the 1970s with no mobiles to easily communicate with, but also in a huge mansion (unsubtlety named Hope’s End) perched on the edge of a cliff (in Maine, USA) with no other houses around for miles. Isolated 101.
A little bit Gothic – following on from the isolation and rocky, windswept cliffs, we have the echo of a murder dominating the scene and a nod to The Fall of the House of Usher with a house that is literally reflecting circumstances and crumbling.

A mansion teetering on the edge of the ocean. Inside of which is a woman most people assume murdered her family.

Unreliable narrators – we have several of these. Our main narrator Kit McDeere is slow to reveal her truth and Lenora Hope, the lady Kit is employed to look after is a conundrum to say the least. Kit is home-help for Lenora as Lenora can pretty much only move her left hand. She’s also the only surviving member of her family after the others were brutally murdered years ago.
An unexplained death – When Mary, Lenora’s former nurse goes missing, and is then found bashed against the cliffs below the house, it’s clear there must be a murderer in the midst.
Several, but not too many, suspects – Due to the aforementioned isolated setting, the cast of characters is small so literally everyone is a suspect of Mary’s murder. But then there’s the bigger murder suspect looming over everything – the fact that it’s widely believed Leonora was actually the one to murder her family – but got away with it.

If she was innocent, she would have told her story decades ago.

A race against time – literally, the cliff is crumbling, so it’s debatable how much longer Hope’s End will remain standing. But also Lenora is an old lady, if she’s going to tell Kit what really happened, time is running out…
Not one, but several, rug-pull moments – I won’t go into these here as no spoilers but the twists KEEP coming – lean into them and enjoy.
Satisfying ending – all of the plot strands come together and although a potentially a little mad, you at least get a clear narrative ending.

I came across The Only One Left as it popped up on so many must-read reels on Instagram. Sometimes these hyped books don’t live up expectations but The Only One Left really did. If you love thrillers, this is a great, truly engrossing read. The pace and tension never lets up and the twists keep coming. Excitement on every page.