Thank you so much @duttonbooks for my early copy! I always love Riley Sager books and look forward to them each year so I jumped and dropped everything at my chance to read this one back in February. It reminded me of a couple other books put together, but I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t say which ones. If you want to know dm me.

I was able to guess some things, but definitely not all. I would love to see this made into a movie.

I flew through this one, especially the last half. Back to waiting for the next book!

This one just released this week, so if you are a @riley.sager fan definitely pick this one up!

Just because a book has plot twists, doesn't mean that it makes it a good book. While it held my attention, I was just annoyed by the characters the whole time. When you figure put all the plot twists, you realize that there it makes no sense for them to exist because the main character seemed it think and believe when the reader is meant to believe. Of course, you don't want to give away the twists easily, but the main character thought about the situation and seemed like she was trying to figure everything out herself, like everyone else, instead of already knowing some information. I did appreciate the "no body, no crime" quote in the beginning of the book.

Wow wow wow wow! I was pretty skeptical about this book. I was such a big fan of Riley Sager in the past, but his last release, Survive the Night, was not my cup of tea at all. This book sounded like it was going to be just another Rear Window retelling. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love an unreliable narrator and a pair of binoculars, but this book was so much more.

Casey Fletcher escapes to her family's lake house to grieve the loss of her husband. While there, a new family moves in across the lake, and in one of Casey's drunken stupors, she picks up a pair of binoculars. She quickly becomes intrigued with the semi-famous and rich couple across the lake. When the wife goes missing one day, she is immediately suspicious of the husband because she has witnessed some troubling encounters between them from across the lake and through the binoculars. It all leads up to one BIG twist that totally worked for me! I've seen multiple reviews and it seems as if this twist works for you or it doesn't - and there really isn't an in-between. For me, Riley Sager novels are the perfect book to dip into during these hot summer months when heavier and deeper books are harder to focus on. They are the perfect book to read poolside, lakeside, or inside in some cool AC. My only complaint in this one was Casey's excessive drinking - my goodness, it was ridiculous! Other than that, this one is a great companion for the last half of your summer!

Riley Sager is consistently one of my go-to authors. Although not my favorite, The House Across the Lake has the twists and turns that I’ve come to expect in a Sager novel along with some paranormal elements that added to the suspense. The characters are always carefully crafted and get the reader invested right away.

Greatest book I have read in a long time. Twists and turns the whole way through. Looking forward to reading more by this author. Hoping this character appears again.

Although I am getting a little tired of the “woman who is crazy due to substance use problems” storyline in thrillers, the twists and reveals in this book were surprising and that made for a good reading experience. It was not my favorite Sager book but it was what I needed it to be. Fast paced, entertaining and thrilling.

An engaging tale of deceit & murder. Readers who have enjoyed 'The girl on the train' and 'The woman in the window' might like this book. It has both pros and cons -

What works?

- I am usually pretty good at finding clues and unraveling the twists before it is revealed. But, I did not see most twists in this book! It made for a fantastic mystery read! (Gave me goosebumps)

- The characters are flawed but sharp & sympathetic. Especially Casey, despite being an alcoholic drowning in her sorrow, she still manages to fight for others.

- The book's location setting is perfect, making it creepy & mysterious.


What does not?

- The pacing of the book is a huge issue. Most of the story's twists and notable progress occur only after 60% of the book is completed.

- A supernatural element is introduced pretty late in the book, jumping out of nowhere. If only there had been a forewarning, it would have made the twist more believable.

Riley Sager is an automatic read for me. Although his last book wasn't my favorite, this one was a lot more satisfying for me. I always enjoy a big of supernatural/paranormal in my thrillers, but I can see why this might be a bit too weird for some people. At the end of the day, it kept me turning pages, made me want to see what happened next, and was an entertaining time.

If you've read a Riley Sager book, you'll know that this has the same level of thrill and suspense as the others. Riley's books are an automatic read for me since I became a fan, and this book is the perfect summer mystery read!

This was one of those books where I didn’t love nor did I hate. It was just a great plot line that just fell flat on the pages. It’s such a shame because Riley Sager is one of my auto-buy authors and this one just wasn’t up to the likes of Home Before Dark or Lock Every Door.

I did enjoy the paranormal elements he injected. The pace was good, his writing is great as always, great setting, loved the cover - it was the unreliable narrator, the characters were not my favourite and the fact that besides the beginning, the book was just ok. Pretty much all the twists were just thrown in the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Here’s hoping his next one is better!

I had high hopes for this book after reading my first Riley Sager book, Survive the Night, last year. This book was very mysterious and intriguing at the beginning, but I lost interest at the twist. Highly unbelievable with supernatural elements.

I’m a big Riley Sager fan. I’ve read all his books and will continue to read his books, but….this one did not work for me. The story felt like I was reading a mix of Woman In The Window and Girl On The Train with a side serving of Behind Her Eyes and The Drowning Kind. The feeling of “been there, done that” resonated so strongly throughout the book that I felt woefully disappointed.

Quick thoughts:
✨Cliché characters - traumatized MC who uses alcohol to cope, a hunky neighbor with a shady past, and a rich asshole white guy with a gorgeous wife. Not much character development - what you see is what you get.
✨Please!!! No more drunk unreliable narrator! Substance abuse as a character trait is outdated.
✨Love the idea of a creepy lake that oozes atmospheric, spooky vibes. Gimme more paranormal and less of Casey drinking bourbon while spying on the rich neighbors. Again, the unreliable character spying plot is repetitive and overdone. 🥱

I realize I won’t love every book my auto-buy authors write. So even though this one didn’t work for me, I’ll surely pick up his next summer’s thriller.

The House on the Lake was your pretty typical Riley Sager book so if a person has liked Sager's books before, and if they don't mind a little touch of the supernatural in their mystery, then I think they would really love this book. I've seen some pretty negative reviews since I started reading it and I think the problem lies in people not realizing Sager has a tendency to add a touch of the paranormal and, if you don't like that kind of thing and aren't expecting it, it could lead to one not liking the book.

Me, though. I like the little twist that Sager typically adds to the book and was able to suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy the book. It was creepy and atmospheric and had me guessing. The "twists" weren't entirely obvious but also weren't so entirely out of the blue other than, as I said, the surprise if you weren't guessing there may be more than meets the eye.

Loved this! The twists really surprised me but what I loved most was the bit of humor, especially in the first half. It reminded me a lot of Rear Window which I love. I loved that the main characters were a little older, not teens or just out of their teens, definitely old enough to know what they were doing. Riley Sager can tell a story well!

A new Riley Sager book has become a bit of a summer tradition for me and I look forward to it each year.

Twisty and entertaining, great for The Woman in the Window.

Riley Sager is an automatic read for me, I never know what is going to happen in his books because there's always an unexpected twist. The errieness and sinister descriptions of the lake were very well done. I knew there was a big twist coming but I had no idea what was going to happen and it was definitely different. I love how Riley Sager pulls in Alfred Hitchcock movie themes in his books, it's always a cool element that he adds.

I'll be honest, I haven't read a single review for this book because I wanted nothing to cloud my perception. I've been a fan of Riley Sager's books for years and take reading his books very seriously lol

When I first started The House Across the Lake, I was skeptical. I was not the biggest fan of Survive the Night so I was terrified I was not going to like this one. Thankfully, I was wrong.

The storyline did start off a little slow, but the thing I love about RS is how readable his books are. His thrillers just flow like an easy reading romance, but still have a ton of characters and action. The more I read, the more I saw I was not just reading another domestic mystery.

I REALLY enjoyed the twist in this one. I didn't see it coming and had no clue what was going to happen next. The ending was explosive. I loved the touch of the paranormal, as this is what I loved most about RS's other books. I appreciated the use of a stronger female character who was still flawed. There are a ton of alcoholism references throughout the book so that's a trigger I need to mention.

I don't want to spoil anything for you, but definitely recommend this one for my thriller lovers. I really enjoyed The House Across the Lake and can't wait to see what's next for this author.

The 🏠 Across the Lake

This is my first Riley Sager book and I wasn’t disappointed! It gave me major Woman in the Window vibes and had a very unexpected - and interesting - twist.

I listened to this book on audio and have to admit that I was a bit confused at first because the voice of the narrator made me think that the main character was much older than she was supposed to be. Nevertheless, I liked the audio version and finished this book quickly! Thanks to @thebookstabookclub for encouraging me to pick this one up and to #NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I liked the characters and the fast pace of this book, and I’m looking forward to reading more by Riley Sager! Just a note that there are a number of trigger warnings for this book, including death of a spouse and alcohol abuse.

Author: @riley.sager
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Vibes: 🏠 💦 🚤 🍷 🥃 🌅

It was bound to happen, I mean not everything an auto buy author puts out is going to be a winner.

Did I hate it? No. Was it a suspenseful summer story? Yes. Was it worth it? Probably not.

Riley Sager will always be an auto-buy author for me. His stories weave a narrative that always have me gripped and wanting to know more.

I found this one to be super obvious. Yes, trope-y, main character addicted to alcohol after experiencing a trauma, I’m shook. (That was dripping with sarcasm btw).

But it does take those familiar plot lines and twist them. I do remember being thoroughly surprised.

So while this one is definitely not my favorite by him, I will forever be part of the #sagersquad.