At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope,
Stabbed her father with a knife,
Took her mother's happy life.
"It wasn't me," Lenora said.
But she's the only one not dead.
The plot: Maine, 1983. Kit McDeere is a home-health aide who made a serious mistake with her last patient. So when her employer offers her the chance to become the caregiver to Lenora Hope, the woman accused of killing her entire family decades ago, Kit has no choice but to head to Hope's End. Even though the thought of caring for a murderer disturbs her. The stately mansion sits on the cliffs overlooking the ocean; it's dilapidated now, and slanting towards the sea as the ground beneath it slowly erodes. Besides Kit, there are three other employees at Hope's End: the housekeeper, the maid, and the groundskeeper. As for Lenora, she's partially paralyzed from a series of strokes, can't walk, can't speak, and can only move her left hand. To communicate, she taps once for no, twice for yes. But she can also tap out sentences on her typewriter. Kit finds Lenora secretive and hard to read. She's also very curious to know the truth about what really happened. So when Lenora types out the message: i want to tell you everything, Kit gets quickly drawn into Lenora's past and all the hidden secrets surrounding the murders of her family. And she starts to wonder if Lenora didn't kill her family, who did?
My thoughts: I love a thriller with an unexpected twist in it, but sometimes a book can have too many of them. And then they just muddle the story line and ruin the suspense. Like in this book. There's not just one plot twist at the end, there's three. And the first one completely flips the narrative. I felt that it made the big reveal about the truth of the Hope murders that followed it convoluted and confusing. The second big twist involved Kit and felt way too coincidental and unbelievable; and the very last twist not only felt tacked on and unnecessary, but completely implausible. Which was too bad, because I was enjoying the book up until then. It's compelling, and the setting is atmospheric. And even though I didn't really love any of the characters, I was still liking the book. But all those twists at the end, one right after the other, left me feeling nonplussed and dissatisfied. I just couldn't buy into them all. So while I normally love Riley Sager's novels, I found this one disappointing and less than stellar.
Happy Reading!
Sounds like this one could have been helped by the less is more train of thought. Sorry this one did not live up to the others by Sager.
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed, because I usually really love his books.
DeleteHmmm....I have very much enjoyed other books by this author as well. However, I'm finding that I am a bit weary of some of the tropes and plot devices being used in so, so many books these days. I do have this one on my Kindle. We'll see how it goes when I get to it.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone but me a little tired of the 'old friend/college group/ work group/whatever group' on an island or in an isolated mountain hotel, etc.? I'm very much waiting for the next 'cool' thing in mystery tales. Just like the 'Gone Girl' thing got old, so have some other things. Oh well. Just me complaining. Maybe I should just stick to police procedurals from series I love for a while. LOL
You might like this one a lot more than I did. It's got pretty high ratings on Goodreads. And I know what you mean about that trope of friends reuniting on an island or other isolated setting and then having a murder take place...it's been done to death! (Pun not intended.)
DeleteI was caught up in the fun of this one, but I definitely agree that the many twists at the end went a bit too far. The atmospheric setting was what truly made this one for me.
ReplyDeleteIt was an awesome setting! And if there had only been the one big twist that kind of blew your mind, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. But the thing with Kit's dad just felt too coincidental to me, and then the whole twist right at the end? Too much. But I do like Sager's writing.
DeleteI read and enjoyed "The House Across the Lake" but I can't recall any others of this author that I've read and it doesn't sound like this one would be a good choice to continue reading him. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI much preferred his books Home Before Dark, Lock Every Door and The Last Time I Lied. But I don't recommend Survive the Night or Final Girls. They're frustrating reads, too.
DeleteYeah, one of Sarah Waters' books, although an amazing book, had so many twists that quite frankly I was exhausted by the end of it. You can have too much of a good thing.
ReplyDeleteExhausted is a good way to describe it. The first twist left me reeling...and he should have stopped there. It was enough.
DeleteThat's a bummer. I agree with you, though, that too many twists can ruin the suspense. I enjoy a good twist or two, but many more than that and it starts verging into "unbelievable" territory.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's totally what happened in this book. At least for me.
DeleteSounds like "too much of a good thing" when it comes to the way that plot twists were handled in this one. It almost becomes cartoonish after a while, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteThe first twist would have been enough...it was big and unexpected and good...but then he kept adding more twists, and those just had me shaking my head in disbelief.
DeleteOh that's too bad the ending on this one was so muddled. I'm on the waitlist for the audio and I'm looking forward to it but will keep my expectations in check - especially when it comes to the ending.
ReplyDeleteIt might not bother you like it did me. But I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts on this one once you've read it!
DeleteI love the Maine setting and Riley Sager is an author I have been wanting to read but too many twists seem to be the case with thrillers these days. I had a similar experience last year with The Wife Between Us, too many twists in that one too for my taste.
ReplyDeleteHe's written other books that are better. I recommend starting with one of those. Like Home Before Dark or Lock Every Door. :D
DeleteRiley Sager is one of those authors I've ben wanting to try. That's a bummer though. Too many twists... I can definitely see that taking you out of the story. You reach a certain point whrre it gets hard to overlook the implausible...
ReplyDeleteIf he'd stuck with just one big twist, I would have been fine; but three in a row? Too much!
DeleteI had fun with this one. Definitely not believable :) I loved this setting.
ReplyDeleteThe setting was very atmospheric! But the ending was a little too unbelievable for me. :D
DeleteYeah, the poem at the beginning really sucks you in! Too bad with all the plot twists.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun premise for a thriller, but the ending was just too implausible for me.
DeleteHave a beautiful day. Regine
ReplyDeleteThank you, Regine. :D
DeleteThis book was pure madness. It was a lot of fun on audio, I'm not so sure if it would've been the same experience if I had read it in paper because I tend to pick up and put those down so many times.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely some crazy plot twists at the end of this one! :D
DeleteI am sorry this one was disappointing. I haven't read anything by Riley Sager, but hopefully one of these days. I won't start with this one.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people liked this one, but it didn't work for me. I prefer some of his other thrillers over this one.
DeleteYes, this was a disappointment to me, too. The ending was unbelievable to me. The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James felt like a similar story but was way better, IMO.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who found the ending to this one completely unbelievable. And I liked The Book of Cold Cases, too. That one was very well-written. :D
DeleteLark, I know what you mean about this book. I totally agree! I keep buying Sager's books, but they wind up being a mixed bag for me. And yet, they can be fun reads. LOL!
ReplyDeleteThey can be fun reads! But you're right about them being a mixed bag. I've read six of his books now--loved three of them, found the other three kind of disappointing.
DeleteSounds like too much at the end! Big bummer!
ReplyDeleteFor me it was...I was pretty disappointed.
DeleteDang, too bad you didn't like this novel so much because the plot sounds AMAZING!!!
ReplyDeleteI know, right? Such a great premise! And the setting was SO atmospheric. He just went a little too far with all the twists at the end for me.
DeleteBummer. I was hoping that this one was a great read since I was quite disappointed with his previous book. Still think that his earlier books are the best.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people really loved this one, but the twists at the end were just too unbelievable for me. You might respond differently.
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