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A review by lovelymisanthrope
Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was really excited to pick up this new release to enjoy during spooky season.
"Last to Leave the Room" is a science fiction mystery about a scientist and a mysterious door. Dr. Tamsin Rivers is a highly successful and regarded scientist who is on the team to help uncover why the city of San Siroco is sinking. During her time working at home, she becomes fascinated with the dimensions of her basement because they do not make sense given her home's blueprint. While she is studying the basement she discovers a door that she did not notice before, and from the door emerges a doppelgänger of her.
I had really high expectations that I was going to love this book, unfortunately, I did not really get into the story. Tamsin is an interesting point of view to read from because I found her to be really unlikeable. She is so driven by her work; she comes across as detached from humanity and oftentimes she is cruel to those around her. Her mind is impressive, and I enjoyed seeing such an intelligent woman, but I ended up not being invested in her story, and unfortunately just not caring what happened to her.
I do think the author explored Tamsin's descent into madness quite well. She slowly seems to be losing her mind, and it greatly impacts her ability to function as a "normal" human, and to adequately complete her work.
Ultimately, the idea of a doppelgänger was a disappointment to me. I felt like Tamsin should have been more shocked to find a clone of herself, and especially as a scientist, she would have realistically handled the situation differently. I think more realistically she would have taken the clone into her office so the team could have studied what was going on.
Overall, this book felt mediocre. I would probably recommend this to a very specific audience, and I will likely pick up more from Caitlin Starling in the future.
"Last to Leave the Room" is a science fiction mystery about a scientist and a mysterious door. Dr. Tamsin Rivers is a highly successful and regarded scientist who is on the team to help uncover why the city of San Siroco is sinking. During her time working at home, she becomes fascinated with the dimensions of her basement because they do not make sense given her home's blueprint. While she is studying the basement she discovers a door that she did not notice before, and from the door emerges a doppelgänger of her.
I had really high expectations that I was going to love this book, unfortunately, I did not really get into the story. Tamsin is an interesting point of view to read from because I found her to be really unlikeable. She is so driven by her work; she comes across as detached from humanity and oftentimes she is cruel to those around her. Her mind is impressive, and I enjoyed seeing such an intelligent woman, but I ended up not being invested in her story, and unfortunately just not caring what happened to her.
I do think the author explored Tamsin's descent into madness quite well. She slowly seems to be losing her mind, and it greatly impacts her ability to function as a "normal" human, and to adequately complete her work.
Ultimately, the idea of a doppelgänger was a disappointment to me. I felt like Tamsin should have been more shocked to find a clone of herself, and especially as a scientist, she would have realistically handled the situation differently. I think more realistically she would have taken the clone into her office so the team could have studied what was going on.
Overall, this book felt mediocre. I would probably recommend this to a very specific audience, and I will likely pick up more from Caitlin Starling in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail