Maureen 's Reviews > The Only One Left

A spooky mansion frozen in time, perched on the rocky cliffs, and slowly crumbling towards the churning waters of the Atlantic below - this is Hope’s End, the home of elderly Lenora Hope, the only surviving member of her family. Her mother, father, and sister were murdered in a blood fest one night in 1929, with Lenora being the main suspect. However, she completely denied it and the evidence wasn’t enough to convict her, but the townspeople have always believed that she’s guilty, and her reputation is reduced to a schoolyard chant, much like the infamous Lizzie Borden -

At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope
Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life

It’s now 1983, and Kit McDeere arrives at Hope’s End as a caregiver to Lenora. It isn’t a job that she wants, but after one of her patients died in suspicious circumstances, well it’s a case of beggars can’t be choosers. To say she’s apprehensive is an understatement, Kit has grown up with the stories about Lenora and understandably, that makes her anxious. She’s even more anxious when she discovers that Lenora’s previous caregiver, Mary, left the house in the middle of the night and hasn’t been seen or heard of since!

The creaky old mansion is the perfect backdrop for this creepy story, and I hadn’t a clue what was really going on, who or what to believe, but of course that made it all the more interesting! With twist after twist towards the end, Sagar has created a story of mystery and suspense that ensures the pages keep on turning ever faster.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *