REVIEW: The Only One Left (book) by Riley Sager

The Only One Left is a thriller. I bought my copy new.

Review:

It's 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere wishes she hadn't been assigned to take care of Lenora Hope. The woman is infamous. Although it was never proven that she killed her whole family back in 1929, nearly everyone is convinced she did it, to the point that there's even a schoolyard chant about that night. But it's not like Kit has much of a choice, considering how things went with her last assignment. 

Lenora isn't at all what Kit expects. A series of strokes has left her mute and unable to move anything but her left hand. She never leaves her room, and her only form of entertainment seems to be the tapes that Jessie, one of the household staff members, records of herself reading various novels. Hope House, too, isn't what Kit expects. It's enormous and was likely grand in its prime, but now it's a crumbling mess.

Gradually, Kit adjusts to her work and figures out how to communicate with Lenora. There's a typewriter in Lenora's room that she's able to use, with help, and, little by little, Lenora starts telling her the story of what happened the night her family was killed. Kit has no idea whether it will be a confession or a revelation about the true murderer. It chills her, as does the evidence that something strange is going on at Hope House.

REVIEW: The House Across the Lake (book) by Riley Sager

The House Across the Lake is a thriller. It could also be considered horror. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Casey Fletcher is a widowed actress whose drinking problem, acquired after her husband's death, has all but ended her career. Her mother has banished her to the family vacation home by Lake Greene, but since that's also where Casey's husband, Len, drowned to death, it's questionable whether she's any better off there than she was when she was in the public eye.

Casey is trying out Len's old binoculars when she sees someone drowning in the lake. Thankfully, she gets there in time to save famous model Katherine Royce's life. Katherine and her husband Tom have recently moved into the house across the lake from Casey's, and Casey finds herself spying on the couple. Gradually, she comes to the conclusion that there's something going on in the Royce household, and when Katherine seemingly disappears, Casey is sure Tom had something to do with it.

REVIEW: Final Girls (book) by Riley Sager

Final Girls is a thriller. I bought my copy brand new.

Review:

Ten years ago, Quincy and several of her college friends took a trip to Pine Cottage. Only Quincy made it out alive. Although she has very few memories of what happened there, she remembers her first meeting with the stranger who killed all of her friends and almost got her too. She also remembers running for her life until she was saved by Coop, a young cop. She considers her lack of memories about everything else to be a blessing.

Now Quincy has an almost-fiance named Jeff and a popular baking blog. Things aren't perfect, but she's doing okay...until she learns that Lisa Milner has committed suicide. Lisa, Sam, and Quincy are part of a group the press has dubbed the "Final Girls," young women who each survived horror movie-like massacres. Lisa was the first and reached out to Quincy after Pine Cottage with offers of advice and support. Quincy only ever spoke to Lisa on the phone, and that was a while ago, but it seems unthinkable that she'd have killed herself. While Quincy is still trying to process the news, she's approached by a familiar-looking woman: Samantha Boyd, the "Final Girl" who dealt with her gruesome experience by disappearing. 

REVIEW: Home Before Dark (book) by Riley Sager

Home Before Dark is a combination of horror, thriller, and mystery. I bought my copy brand new.

Review:

When Maggie Holt was five, she and her parents spent 20 days in Baneberry Hall before they suddenly left the place and never went back. Maggie's father wrote a book about their experience, House of Horrors, that has haunted her her whole life, coloring her relationships and memories. Maggie can't remember her time at Baneberry Hall, doesn't personally believe in ghosts, and is convinced that her father lied about the haunting because their family needed money. However, neither of her parents would ever give her a straight answer about what really happened there.

When her father dies of cancer, Maggie discovers that one of the things he's left her is Baneberry Hall, which she hadn't realized he still owned. Maggie plans to renovate the place and sell it after figuring out as much of the truth as she can.

REVIEW: Lock Every Door (book) by Riley Sager

Lock Every Door is a thriller. Or maybe a modern gothic? I bought my copy brand new.

Review:

Jules has hit rock bottom and has run out of options. She's been crashing at a friend's place ever since she caught her boyfriend cheating on her. No boyfriend, no home, and also no job. It's desperation that prompts her to respond to an ad for an apartment sitter, and once she sees the building she's sure she'll be turned down. The place is in the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most famous buildings and the setting for Jules' absolute favorite book.

It's like a dream come true. For three months she'll be making $4,000 a month to live in an amazing apartment. The only catch seems to be the rules that all apartment sitters are required to follow: no spending the night away from the apartment, no visitors (not even family members, not that Jules has any anymore), no talking to the residents unless they say something first, and no mentioning the Bartholomew on social media. Okay, so maybe the setup seems a little fishy, but rich people are weird and it's not inconceivable that they'd be willing to pay someone to watch out for an apartment and their stuff. Plus, that $12,000 would really help Jules out.

Unfortunately, the building has secrets, and it doesn't take long for it to turn into Jules' worst nightmare.