The Only One Left by Riley Sager

 

Hello everyone. I hope you are having a nice day.

Picture this, the air is cold, snowing slowly.  People are a bit nicer.  Everything sparkles and smells good.  It is Thanksgiving, you're in New York City.  Your mom is in charge of getting the Santa for the Macy's parade.  Someone volunteers to replace the drunk father Christmas she's just fired, and this Santa is very special.  He is everything Chris Kringle should be. When you are fortunate enough to meet this new hire, he tries his best to convince you that there is a real Santa and, in fact, it is him.  Yet you've been taught not to believe but this kind man works his magic on little ole' you. Before you know it, you have a new house, a new dad, and a snazzy holiday cane.  Heard this story before?  Of course not, I just made it up.  Okay, stop giving me that look, it is the movie Miracle of 34th Street.  Right now, I am the little girl and Riley Sager is Santa. First, he gave me a huge gift, not as good as a house but still worthy of a holiday gift.  In addition, he has convinced me that "yes, April, there are still great thrillers out there!"

I recently read The Only One Left by Riley Sager.  This is the story of Kit McDeere, a young woman who is a caregiver   She has been given her next assignment, taking care of an elderly, mostly paralyzed, stroke victim, Lenora Hope.  Lenora lives in Maine, in an old falling down mansion, on an oceanfront cliff.  As Kit tries to settle into her creepy new setting, she finds that Lenora can communicate by moving her left hand only, knocking for yes and no.  Eventually Lenora indicates that she wants to use the typewriter in her room.  She is able to give actual worded answers.  What she has to say is quite interesting since Lenora is famous, there is even a song about her.  Well, more like a chant.  Why? Because approximately 50 years ago Lenora killed her parents and younger sister (think Lizzie Borden). There was never enough proof to charge her with their murders.  Now the broken, elderly woman wants to confess everything and tell Kit exactly what happened that horrific night in 1929.

I am both a slow reader and a sporadic one. I can read with the TV on, or people talking around me (or to me!).  I usually read about 10 pages at a time before putting a book down.  Not with this book though.  I sat down and read.  I couldn't stop. I read 200 pages at one time.  Me!  The setting for the story is so isolated and spooky, described in a way that I could feel the mansion's walls crumbling around me.  The interesting characters had me liking them one moment then doubting everything that came from their mouth in the next.   Nothing in this story is on solid ground, right down to the floors of the mansion.  I felt completely off balance and I loved it.  Although the majority of the books I read are thrillers, I have NEVER read a story with so many twists.  Riley Sager hits the reader with a major twist that I thought was the big one, but I was wrong.  They kept coming and coming, twist after twist. It was fantastic.  So fun, such a great roller coaster ride from the beginning to the very end.  Don't let your guard down, don't undo your seatbelt, no matter which twist is just revealed, Sager is far from over.  Great fun and shouldn't be missed!

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 Spectacular by Fiona Davis

 

Hello everyone. I hope your day is perfection.

When you are from New York State (notice I capitalize "state" as we consider it a specific place) and we say we're going to the city it doesn't mean Buffalo or Syracuse.  Going to the city means New York City. When I was a kid, we got all "the city" TV channels, along with small town locals. There is a downside to that...Crazy Eddie commercials.  Don't know what they are?  Count yourself lucky!  They were commercials for this guy that sold small appliances.  He was loud, gruff, and screamed at the camera.  He ended each commercial with "Crazy Eddie, his prices are insane!" You can see them on YouTube, but don't say I didn't warn you. 

My parents went to the city often, leaving us kids at home.  Sometimes we would go as a family. One time I went alone with my parents, no sisters. They wanted me to experience something very special, The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular.  The building itself is amazing, but I don't remember it.  What I do remember is the music, beautiful, room filling, and live.  I remember the stage actually being three stages and they moved up and down.  Most of all, I remember the Rockettes.  They were so pretty and smiling.  They danced perfectly in sync. The costumes were like the best Christmas decoration you could ever imagine, full of color and sparkle. It was wonderful and many decades later, I still remember it.  What a fantastic tribute to those women, that decades later, a little girl (now practically old lady) still remembers them.

I recently read The Spectacular by Fiona Davis. This is the story of a young dancer, Marion, in 1956 who goes through the exhaustive audition process to win a spot as a Radio City Rockette.  She is shunned by her father who wants her to have the life of a lady, married, at home, having a family.  Marion wants to dance and experience independence.  The book includes a cast of interesting characters including a young doctor specializing in mental health.  He believes he has developed a way to profile criminals by their behavior and the clues they leave behind.  This proves useful as he and Marion are pulled into an investigation of a bomber who has been terrorizing the city for 16 years yet remains at large.

This book is historic fiction, but don't let that scare you off. The story is completely engrossing.  Loads of research has been done into Radio City's workings and what it takes to be a Rockette.  In addition, the history of the bomber is real.  This adds a mystery/thriller component to the tale of a young woman trying to follow her heart and live her life and not the one that others want for her. The book reads smoothly and moves along with just the right amount of description to transport you to 1956 Manhattan. You'll cheer for Marion and cry for her, this is the complete storytelling package.  You can kick up your heels for this book, a delight from beginning to end.

Now would be the perfect time for Crazy Eddie as this book is insanely good!