Skip past the soft open spoilers and it would be way better

Weirdly marketed as a thriller, but the only twist is spoiled in the intro so on that front it reallyyyy doesn’t deliver.

Instead it’s a slow-paced whodunnit about a murder that takes place while everyone is asleep, and a man coming to terms with what it means to be a good role model for his daughter. It’s good... But it’s going to disappoint if you hear the soft open spoiler clip and expect that to represent what’s coming.

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Great!

Have listened to a couple books from this author through the audible plus sub and have not been let down. This one felt like a modern and then there were none. I will be getting more from this author in the future.

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1 person found this helpful

twists and turns!

I enjoy Benjamin Stevenson's stories very much. The narration was too "dramatic" for my taste; that style of narration would be better suited to a period romance, in my opinion. Also, the narrator should have been Australian since that was the accent in which it was written.

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And then…

Quick listen, good premise, great writing. Predictable, not super juicy and not enough to make me want to listen again. I don’t regret listening to it and glad it was included. I wish they went deeper into the game of it all.

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Modern Black Mirror-esque locked room mystery

“𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒔? […] 𝑨𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍.”

After loving Benjamin Stevenson’s Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, I was super excited to see that he has two Audible Original short stories - this is the first that I listened to.

I love how Stevenson plays with the locked room mystery and gives it a modern take, focusing on a viral video gameshow on YouTube challenge: the last contestant to remove their hand from the wall will win the house in which they are playing, worth $2 million dollars. Stevenson offers a critique on viral videos and how outrageous the stunts that are pulled can be, as the seven contestants test their willpower throughout the game. Ryan, a single dad who makes some questionable choices and needs to make some money fast, is the character whose point of view we get and who acts as an amateur detective, who I didn't love at first but grew to appreciate. The other characters aren’t overly likeable, although that works well as they fight their way to the finish, with this social experiment exposing more than just selfishness. As Ryan questions back and forth what is real and what is part of the psychological gameplay, I found myself doing the same leading up to some overall great reveals as the pieces are put together (especially if you suspend some belief and just enjoy the ride).

Last One To Leave is a story of desperation, money and mind games. Although it takes a bit to get going, especially for a short story, its Black Mirror-esque premise and overall modern mystery make for an enjoyable listen.

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Maybe

Not sure I liked it or hate it. I am glad it was for free.

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