Riley Sager is a hit or miss author, and I’m afraid this one is a miss. It’s another Rear Window type of story, with a female protagonist escaping her tragic past and drinks a lot. The second half of the story goes crazy to a-whole-of-crazy. Unfortunately the execution just didn’t work for me, and the supernatural aspect was disappointing.

I have loved this authors previous work and the synopsis sounded absolutely fantastic.
Upon starting the book I was hooked on this page and could not put the book down
Unfortunately, the supernatural twist did ruin the book for me
I am not a fan of supernatural and I think I had I have known it had this element I would not have requested the book or proceeded to read the book

I will not be posting my review online, as I do not want to ruin the twist or put others off reading the book.

In the whole. I felt it was a good book. But the supernatural Element was not something I expected

I enjoyed this book, but no as much as Mr Sager's usual works. The ending, for me, was very confusing and felt like another random story had been intertwined.

I didn't quite know how to feel about this book; on the one hand I read it within a couple of days and found it hard to put down but on the other hand it didn't really wow me either. So take from that what you will.

On the surface The House Across the Lake is a pretty regular, run of the mill mystery / thriller story but Riley Sager takes this narrative and throws in plenty of twists and turns. One of which I definitely didn't see coming which I love! Usually I always guess what will happen so it was a nice change to be genuinely surprised. There was a supernatural element which felt a little shoe horned in - I would have much preferred this to be left out of the story altogether as I feel it was stronger without it - but I know some readers may enjoy this.

I feel like the whole 'unreliable alcoholic female narrator' thing has been done time and time again and personally I'm a bit tired of this trope, so some chapters dragged a bit. The Girl on the Train did it and various other media since has employed this sort of character and I'm over it. However, I did like the exploration of Casey's career as an actress and how the intrusive media presence and expectations can add pressure and have severe negative impacts on mental health etc.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this one - but I would still recommend it to fans of the genre.

As a big fan of Riley Sager (absolutely loved Home Before Dark and Final Girls), this was an anticipated 5 star read for me - unfortunately, it was a 3 star for me.

In this book we join Casey, a widowed actress who has headed to the lake to get away from bad times and bad publicity. She begins watching the couple across the lake - Tom (a tech innovator) and Katherine (former model).
Casey becomes friends with Katherine after saving her from drowning. She begins to have concerns with Katherine and Tom's marriage and then when Katherine disappears, Casey becomes determined to find out what happened to her.

I enjoyed the twists and curveballs with a supernatural edge but I just felt something was missing. I didn't feel able to connect with the characters. But it certainly was an interesting read.

Usually, I love a Riley Sager novel. They’re dark, twisty and thoroughly gripping and I really look forward to them. However, regular readers may or may not remember that I was really disappointed with the ending of his last book, Survive The Night. I even said in my review that it would take me a while to forgive him for it. Yet here I am again, reviewing a new Riley Sager book!

Having been recently widowed, retired actress Casey Fletcher is hiding out at her family’s lake house in Vermont. She really has nothing to do with her days other than spy on the young, wealthy couple Tom and Katherine Royce, who have just moved in to the house across the lake from hers. When Casey saves Katherine from drowning, the two women form a friendship and Casey realises that Tom and Katherine’s life perhaps isn’t as happy as it seems. Then Katherine disappears and Casey becomes determined to find out what happened to her -a quest that will bring Casey more truths than she bargained for.

'I think he did it, but I just can't prove it.' -Taylor Swift, No Body No Crime

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw this as the opening quote. Knowing Taylor’s character in that song helped define who Casey was for me. It certainly didn’t give everything away though, as I was still blindsided by the direction the plot went in.

There is some classic pathetic fallacy used by Sager with the violent, unexpected storm. Of course, I knew the book was a thriller but the storm goes a long way to creating that dark, unpredictable setting that this story has to be told in. You know some bad stuff is about to go down, when a storm hits!

The lake houses are very much a closed community. Even the residents who don’t spy on their neighbours seem to know everyone else’s business. Therefore, I saw everyone in the book was a suspect for Katherine’s disappearance. Every time I read a book set in a New England lake house, I want to pack everything up and experience it for myself because they always seem like such idyllic, serene places, despite them apparently being the perfect environment for evil to lurk.

Casey talks about her late husband Len a lot and we get a glimpse into what that relationship was like. As the book progresses, Casey’s voice changes when talking about her marriage and we start to see the darker side of it. I spent a lot of time trying to connect Len’s death to the main storyline and until everything came together, I couldn’t make the pieces fit. Therefore, I was utterly floored, when the plot took the bizarre turn it did.

I can’t talk too much about the actual events of the book, as it’s a thriller that you really need to discover for yourself. While the plot twist was unexpected, I don’t think it was necessarily out of place. I can see how some readers would hate it and want a solution that was dare I say, cleverer. However, I was thoroughly entertained by The House Across The Lake and was left in a much more satisfactory mood than I was with Survive The Night. I’d be really interested to see what other Riley Sager fans think, so let me know your thoughts!

This is not the first book I read from Riley Sager, and I was happy to find out it is another fast paced thriller I couldn’t put down. The plot is intriguing and I was invested in the story, wanting to see where it would go. The story is full on twists and turns and has also an element of the supernatural to spice up the mystery. The only problem I can point out it that the private detective felt a bit flat character to me and very stereotypical. But overall it was a very good book and I’d definitely recommend this book.

A thriller that kept me on the edge, surprising and never stopping being entertaining.
Well plotted and well told, a true page turner.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

What’s the last book that left you thinking “what did I just read?!?” In a good way ?

The House Across the Lake
by Riley Sager

Casey Fletcher is an actress, an alcoholic and is recently widowed. To escape all the bad press she got herself, she retreats to her cabin by the lake. In her solitude, she drinks and watches her neighbours with binoculars for entertainment.

The characters around the lake are unique and all become a suspect when suddenly Casey's neighbour, a famous model - Katherine goes missing.

This is my first book by the author and it's an amazing experience!! I thought the book will be like rear window (brilliant Hitchcock movie) or the women in the window book. The book started out similar and led me to believe it will be the same for some chapters!! Then the book took some great twists and turns, hooked me till the last page 🤩 to some very unexpected events

A psychological thriller that you think you know how it will go but seriously, you will be thinking "what did I just read?" by the end.

Thank you @duttonbooks @netgalley @riley.sager for my copy ❤️

This was amazing! A definite 5 star read! The book is easy to read and fast paced which I love when reading a thriller as it makes you want to keep reading. I thought the story itself was brilliant! There are a lot of plot twists which I loved. While reading I often thought the story was going to go a certain way but then it would be hit with a plot twist that I didn’t expect. The characters are well written and interesting too.

This book started off really strong for me and instantly played on my own fear of not knowing what’s below you in water. Making me feel both claustrophobic and fear of the unknown openness. The imagery instantly hit me and it set the book off to a great start for me, making me excited for how this was all going to work and where the book could go from there. I was excited for the writing and for the adventure I was about to embark on.

I did enjoy both the writing and the overall story, but I did also find this to be repetitive and could have benefitted from being a little shorter and more condensed. There were sectioned that shocked me and I wasn’t expecting, which was fantastic and left me with a positive attitude towards this book. But because of the main characters alcohol problems, there was so much focus on alcohol, that it became a little daunting to constantly be reading and distracted me from the main story.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, more than I thought I would but it wasn’t until the latter half (once it stopped being so repetitive), I really started to enjoy it. The ending was unexpected and I did like the weirdness of it.

Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me, I have previously read and really enjoyed books by this author but I feel like this one was just a whole bunch of ideas thrown into one book.

WOW!!!!! Hooked from the first page and read this book in one sitting… Full of tension and suspense. A real page turner

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book. Riley sager is an author whose work i will always purchase and read. However i was disappointed by this and i have had to dnf this book, i was bored and found myself not wanting to pick it back up. i will try again in the future.

This book had me stumped. Sitting smug and thinking I had it all thought out, the author put me in my place. Finally we have a thriller that will keep you your toes.

I could not stop thinking about this book! I instantly fell in love with the characters and the way the writing is done makes you like a character one moment and then hate them the next. I had so many theories and none of it was what I expected!
This was such a quick read and a very good thriller read. The friendship dynamic I absolutely loved.
Everyone needs to read this book! I definitely want to read other books that this author has written!

Firstly there was nothing happening

Then suddenly there was way to many things at once happening and all out of no where and it was bonkers and most it in a really bad way.

Sorry, but it's a no from me

My favourite one by Sager yet. people will really enjoy this when October / spooky season comes around. Very atmospheric!

This surprised me.
Casey a down on her luck actress who turned to drink when her husband past is exiled to her lake house to hide away from the eyes of the press.
Things are boring on the lake and Casey picks up a new hobby. Watching her across the lake neighbours, Katherine an ex model and Tom who own a social media app that’s just getting it footing.
The thing is what Casey sees doesn’t look like a perfect marriage, far from it and when Katherine just up and vanishes Casey can’t stop until she finds answers.
*****
This was a ride! I went in expecting an average run of the mill thriller but was pleasantly surprised by the route this took. The characters although none overly likeable (besides the one your meant to like) are well written and important to the story. Also the unreliability of everything in this book keeps you on edge to make sure your not being led astray.
Although I could have done with less time hearing about Casey’s drinking habits I totally get why it was there lest you forget also it’s realistic because just like we get told every few pages about her drinking is a reminder that her day revolves around this.
The twist well I did not see that coming, there’s more than one story line going on in here and the first reveal was good but the second was even better.
Overall I had a good time with this, I haven’t seen the best of things so far but I for one recommend if your looking for something fast paced, with an unreliable narrator and that takes it to a place you don’t see coming.
Great pick hope you like it!

4.5 stars

I read my first Riley Sager thriller - Survive the Night - last year and loved it. I knew then I’d be reading more from this author. My most recent read is The House Across the Lake which follows the story of actress Casey Fletcher.

Casey is exiling herself at her lakeside family home having recently disgraced herself with her drunken behaviour. There she spends her days drinking and spying on her neighbours across the lake.

I don’t have much experience with thrillers and certainly haven’t read authors like Hitchcock and King to comment on the likeness that Riley’s novels are compared to. What I do know though is this: this had me hooked. Even when it did take a turn into paranormal (where I have even less reading behind me) I went with it.

Which Riley Sager would you suggest I try next?