theoriginal_djwood's Reviews (40)

After reading 3 of his books I decided I wanted to go back to the beginning and read his first novel. After all, I love the slasher genre so of course I’ll love Final Girls! Well I didn’t love it but I liked it. Having now finished my 4th Riley Sager book, I’m disappointed that so far this is his THIRD unreliable narrator. I purchased The Last Time I Lied and fingers crossed it’s a good one. If not I’m taking a break from Riley. Aside from The Only One Left (loved it!) his books are riddled with repetition. I do not need to be spoon fed over and over the same drivel.

BUT I will say Riley Sager is a master of twists. I never know (for the most part) what the hell is going on. And if I DO see a twist coming there’s always a crazier one not far behind.

I’d like to give The Only One Left 4 1/2 stars but that isn’t an option. So I’m rounding up to 5! Initially I wanted to give it full 5 stars, if only it weren’t for one little problem; there are actually TOO MANY twists. What a great problem for a book to have! Unfortunately, I sometimes found it difficult to keep up with what was happening to who and when the events transpired and what the motives were and how any of it could be possible. BUT it was engaging, crazy, and had a strong, likable protagonist. I will eventually reread it.

I’ve read three of Mr Sager’s books so far. I devoured Survive the Night and The House Across The Lake directly before burning through this one, which so far is my favorite of his novels.

If I could sum The Only One Left in one word it would be OUTLANDISH.

I hope you enjoy reading it and if you have, let me know what you thought!

This was my fifth Riley Sager book and I’m starting to have problems with his writing style.

His twists are always fire so I’m not gonna crap on that. The problem is he writes too much description when unneeded and he doesn’t write enough detail when it IS needed. When he chronicles a character’s journey through a house or, in the case of this novel, a campground the characteristics of the environment feel unclear despite the abundance at which he prattles on.

He also writes his protagonists with near identical troublesome personalities, which so far have all been women. With the exception of Kit from The Only One Left, his leading ladies are either unreliable narrators and/or have serious mental health issues, which wouldn’t be a problem at all if not for the frequency at which Sager uses this trope.

As for this book, The Last Lie I Told…I would definitely recommend it. As with all his books you can guess what you believe is happening but you’re wrong. You’re always wrong. HOWEVER, the person with the most to hide and responsible for the disappearance of the girls in present time became increasingly obvious the further I read.

If this had been my first Sager book I would have marveled at its contents. But I’m figuring out his formula which takes a bit of the fun out of the story.

Alright we are back on track! After two average and redundant stories, Home Before Dark brought me out of my Sager slump. This is my 6th book of his and I was getting a bit bored with his style. This book flipped the script. A book within a book. At first I thought it’d be another run of the mill, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink story. Nope!

Twists and turns are a staple of Sager’s but this book gave me what I found captivating with Survive the Night and The Only One Left: An engrossing protagonist and beguiling, eerie atmospheres.

Maggie’s life has been defined by her father’s bestselling non-fiction novel which told of his family’s three week experience living in a notoriously tragic, haunted house, Baneberry Hall. But is it haunted or did her dad embellish the truth? All signs point to yes, he lied to the world. But when Maggie temporarily moves back to Baneberry Hall searching for answers (she has no memories of their time there) she gets far more than what she was hoping to find. The undead is indeed alive in the walls of her childhood home. Right?

With a who’s who of potential liars and murderers rounding out the supporting cast, Home Before Dark will have you gasping at the end of nearly every chapter. And maybe you’ll check your closet a few times before bed.

Main complaint: The book’s title has absolutely nothing to do with its contents. But when all is said and done it doesn’t change the late night page turning.

This is one of Riley Sager’s better stories. Stop reading this review and go buy it now!