FULL REVIEW WITH SPOILERS
The Only One Left
By: Riley Sager
I really, really wanted to love this book. I am a huge fan of Riley Sager and this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. His books are out there and border on the unbelievable, but that’s why I usually love them.
This book, however took being out there way too far. I did not mind some of the twists and revelations that seemed unrealistic. There was however one massive plot hole that was patched in the most unrealistic way and, quite frankly, it ruined it for me. I try to keep my reviews spoiler free, but this book is going to be the exception. The spoilers are below, please stop reading at that header if you do not want spoilers.
So we are following Kit, who has a rocky past as a caretaker as she takes on a new patient after a six month suspension. She is trapped in taking the position as nowhere else will hire her after past problems. Her new patient is Lenora Hope, who was accused of killing her parents and her sister 54 years earlier, but was never convicted. The previous caretaker left abruptly and Kit takes it upon herself to learn what happened 54 years ago and to the previous nurse.
There are lots of twists and turns throughout this fast read, and, as always with Riley Sage, nothing is quite what it seems. It was true to form for him except for that one little issue in the spoilers below. I ended up giving it 3 stars, but it was incredibly hard to rate.
SPOILERS:
You have been warned multiple times at this point, if you keep reading and you didn’t want spoilers, that is on you now. Carry on….
The huge plot hole for me was that for the story to work, Virginia, who we spend most of the book thinking is Lenora, but be incapacitated so that her sister, the real Lenora, can contain and control her. Fine, that part does not bother me, these are the sorts of plot holes Sager usually fills in in some outlandish, but believable-ish way. It is one of the things I really like about his books.
Nope, not this time, and what he did to deal with this issue was facepalm worthy. So Virginia has just given birth to a baby boy out of wedlock and her father wants the baby gone. She has allied with Ms. Baker who convinces Mr. Hope to let her take the baby so no one will ever know it was Virginia’s baby. Cool, we are still making sense, I am with it at this point. Virginia is absolutely determined to keep her baby and goes to her father. Her mother shows up too, there is fighting and ultimately Virginia kills them both. I am still with it and fine with what is going on here, he hasn’t lost me yet.
Even though she knows that Ms. Baker has her baby and the baby is safe, she has quite literally committed murder to be able to have her baby, she decides to….go hang herself????? The logic train has left the station and we are officially entering crazy town. No, just no. I cannot make sense of a woman so determined to raise her baby that she will commit murder to do so immediately trying to kill herself so she never gets the chance to meet her son. Absolutely not, I just can’t with that.
Then, somehow, Sager makes this nonsense worse. Virginia can, in fact, move and communicate after some unknown amount of time recovering from her botched suicide. At no point does she make an effort to find her son. She pretends she is incapable of movement and speech for some completely unknown reason. She killed her own parents to be with her son and never tries to actually do so once she is able to. It is beyond comprehension and it ruined the story for me.
Here is how I think Sager should have patched this plot hole that would have made a lot more sense. Once Virginia has killed her parents, Lenora should have discovered it and in her own fit of rage attempted, and failed, to strangle Virginia. The same level of incapacitation could have been achieved and the whole thing would have made much more sense. Virginia doesn’t attempt to end her life and her chance to see her son. Even when Virginia is able to move, we at least have a reason as to why she pretends to be incapacitated: she is terrified of the sister who tried to kill her. More could have been done in terms of Virginia trying to find her son, but at least this simple change would have kept the story on track and somewhat logical.