Editorial Content for The Last Room on the Left
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Reviewer (text)
When Kerry signs up to live for a month as a caretaker at a roadside motel in the Catskill Mountains, she is looking forward to some peace and quiet away from the city, an escape from her mixed-up life, and the time to write a book that she is under deadline to finish. But what she gets is nothing like what she had envisioned.
Soon after arriving at the motel in the middle of a blizzard, Kerry enters the room that is supposed to be for her (“the last room on the left”). But it’s filled with clothes and personal belongings from its previous occupant. Instead of staying there, she puts her stuff in the room next door. While arranging things, the power goes out, and she finds a dead body nearly buried in the snow.
"Just when you think you have it all figured out, Konen throws a big monkey wrench into the works, twisting everything and making you wonder if you might be losing your mind."
Kerry reports the incident to the police, but by the time they arrive, the corpse isn’t there. The cops look at her like she has been hallucinating, and with her history of alcohol abuse, she almost convinces herself that she didn’t really see what she thought she saw. But when she spots the body again, this time in a new location, she's sure that it's not just her imagination playing tricks on her.
Kerry recognizes the dead person, or at least she believes she does, which leads her to wonder what is really going on. How did this individual end up here? Who killed her? Is the culprit still around? Why was the body moved? Is she losing her mind, or is something sinister happening that might make her the next victim?
The first seven chapters of THE LAST ROOM ON THE LEFT are told exclusively by Kerry in the present. Leah Konen then switches gears and takes us back in time through the eyes of another character. This back-and-forth continues until almost the book's conclusion when the storyline is partly told from the third character’s point of view.
The way the story unfolds should keep you guessing pretty much all the way to the end. Just when you think you have it all figured out, Konen throws a big monkey wrench into the works, twisting everything and making you wonder if you might be losing your mind.
Teaser
Kerry’s life is in shambles. Her husband has left her, her drinking habit has officially become a problem, and though the deadline for her big book deal --- the one that was supposed to change everything --- is looming, she can’t write a word. When she sees an ad for a caretaker position at a revitalized roadside motel in the Catskills, she jumps at the chance. It's the perfect getaway to finish her book and start fresh. But as she hunkers down in a blizzard, she spots something through the window: a pale arm peeking out from a heap of snow. Trapped in the mountains and alone with a dead, frozen body, Kerry must keep her head and make it out before the killer comes for her too. But is the deadly game of cat-and-mouse all in her mind? The body count begs to differ.
Promo
Kerry’s life is in shambles. Her husband has left her, her drinking habit has officially become a problem, and though the deadline for her big book deal --- the one that was supposed to change everything --- is looming, she can’t write a word. When she sees an ad for a caretaker position at a revitalized roadside motel in the Catskills, she jumps at the chance. It's the perfect getaway to finish her book and start fresh. But as she hunkers down in a blizzard, she spots something through the window: a pale arm peeking out from a heap of snow. Trapped in the mountains and alone with a dead, frozen body, Kerry must keep her head and make it out before the killer comes for her too. But is the deadly game of cat-and-mouse all in her mind? The body count begs to differ.
About the Book
The caretaker at an isolated mountain hotel finds herself fighting for her life --- and sanity --- in this twisty, addictive thriller.
Kerry’s life is in shambles. Her husband has left her, her drinking habit has officially become a problem, and though the deadline for her big book deal --- the one that was supposed to change everything --- is looming, she can’t write a word. When she sees an ad for a caretaker position at a revitalized roadside motel in the Catskills, she jumps at the chance. It's the perfect getaway to finish her book and start fresh.
But as she hunkers down in a blizzard, she spots something through the window: a pale arm peeking out from a heap of snow. Trapped in the mountains and alone with a dead, frozen body, Kerry must keep her head and make it out before the killer comes for her too. But is the deadly game of cat-and-mouse all in her mind? The body count begs to differ.
Audiobook available; read by Karissa Vacker, Erin Bennett and Julie Webster
