The Only Ones Left by KE Jennings

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MWSA Review

The Only Ones Left is an intriguing and, at times, thrilling story of a woman and her young son who believe they are the last people on Earth after everyone, including her husband, disappears without explanation.

It is not a new plot (see The Twilight Zone Episode 1, Season 1, "Where is Everyone"), but it provides some unique twists with a nod to modern times. Malia is trying to live as normal a life as possible despite their circumstances. There are some chill-inducing encounters with "Shadow Man" and the red-eyed crow. When Malia is contacted by one other survivor of the apocalypse, an online relationship develops. Ian lives in Australia, Malia in the U.S. Ian has to figure out how to travel halfway around the world to reach her. I was stunned by the ending, as it left a lot for the reader to interpret and provided more questions than answers.
This was a dark thriller that was a good read...but left me a bit in the dark. Perhaps there is a sequel in the works.

Review by James Elsener (March 2025)
 

Author's Synopsis

Malia lives with Cole, her little boy. They are always together and live a very quiet life because absolutely everyone else in the world has gone, including Malia's beloved husband Josh. Malia can't think too deeply about what has happened, or why she and Cole are the only people left on the planet. The thought scares her, so she lives what she perceives to be a 'normal' existence until one day, she is messaged by someone on defunct social media channels. In a desperate attempt to connect to this man, Malia strikes up an online friendship with Ian, in Australia. That's when even more strange and unnatural things start to happen. Dark entities and crows begin to threaten Malia and Cole's very existence, which Malia desperately tries to cling onto while Ian is trying to get to her and her son. Will he make it? Will Malia and Cole survive and who are the dark entities that threaten then only ones left?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime

Number of Pages: 208

Word Count: 62805