This was my first Riley Sager book, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I've seen a lot of hype around this author across social media platforms.

In "The House Across the Lake," actress Casey Fletcher is holed up at her family’s Vermont cabin to try to get her life back together. She’s an alcoholic and had a very public meltdown after her husband’s death. She becomes obsessed with watching the house across the lake, where her neighbors Tom (a tech startup bro) and Katherine (a supermodel) live. Katherine disappears and Casey is convinced Tom had something to do with it. ⁣

⁣This kept reminding me of “The Woman in the Window,” to the degree that I was kind of bothered by it. There’s a jaw-dropping twist about 70 percent of the way through, and there’s no way you’ll see it coming. But it’s the twist itself that is very polarizing. This book is very readable — it’s the plot that had me scratching my head. I love the autumnal vibes in this one, particularly as I sit in the soup bowl of Florida summer. 🫠⁣
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I did not care for the way the book handled Casey’s addiction. While the character is obviously an alcoholic, it didn’t feel adequately addressed to me.⁣

Overall, I think I had mixed feelings about this. It was an enjoyable read but the supernatural element isn't something I typically look for in thrillers.

This was entertaining!
I was a bit hesitant about this book after "Survive the Night", but I was not disappointed. The beginning is a bit slow as we learn about the characters. But once the plot begins to thicken it gets better! I thought it would be a very cliche book, but it was not! The plot is not one of a kind, but the plot twist was good!

Sager seems to be hit and miss with me. This one wasn't able to capture my attention and it felt the same as one of his other novels. I once again am not crazy about the way that Sager writes women, the instincts and the behavior always feels off to be. I actually really enjoyed Survive the Night, so I was hoping this one would be the same. Unfortunate.

Sager’s latest takes us to a wealthy New England lakeside where Casey Fletcher is recovering from the death of her husband. She becomes intrigued by the happenings in the house across the lake until she witnesses strange events, which lead her down a dark and sinister path.

I liked the descriptions of remote lake setting and the voyeurism. There is a supernatural element that was a little weird and implausible for me. There were several unforeseen twists and the revelation of secrets that definitely boosted my enjoyment of this. Those who like horror with supernatural elements and lots of twists will like this best.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton and the author for the advance copy. I chose to read this book because I enjoyed Sager’s earlier novels and recall them as page-turners. This one took me a lot longer to finish as it is on the slower side as far as pacing. It felt like it took forever for things to get interesting and, they did eventually so it was worth the wait.
The main character, Casey, is not a likeable character and that usually makes a person more interesting to me. I did feel like the nonstop commentary on her alcohol consumption a bit tiring. This character is one I’ve met in many other books. The lake setting was lovely and well described as a remote and eerie location where all kinds of evil could happen. However, I didn’t get any of the scary vibes I got in Sager’s earlier work.
Maybe this book was a bit rushed? I think a tighter editing would have made for a more efficient read.
The plot started off like something I’ve read before, but the supernatural twist was unexpected, and I love when an author can pull that off on me. If you can suspend reality you’ll like this; if not, this book is not for you. Maybe this book was a bit rushed? I think a tighter editing would have made for a more efficient read.
If you haven’t read this author before, I’d recommend you start with one of the earlier novels. Home Before Dark is my favorite so far.
Although this wasn’t a 5 for me, I’ll definitely pick up Sager’s next novel as he is an excellent story teller and I can see from this novel that he’s not afraid to push the boundaries of the traditional thriller.

I’ve said it before, but one thing I look forward to every summer is a new thriller by Riley Sager, and this summer is no exception. Sager’s latest, The House Across the Lake, treads some familiar territory as an homage of sorts to Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, but then takes a surprising twist.

Our protagonist is Casey Fletcher, an actress whose life took a downward turn with the death of her husband. Casey seeks solace from her grief in alcohol, and after some very public incidents, she has agreed to retreat to her family’s lake house – at her mother’s insistence. The problem is that the lake house is also the scene of her husband’s untimely death, and Casey has no intention of curbing her drinking.

Casey develops a fascination with her neighbors across the lake – supermodel Katherine Royce and her multi-millionaire husband Tom. What starts out as a way to pass the time becomes a borderline obsession as Casey discovers that the picture-perfect couple may not be as perfect as they seem. And then Katherine disappears.

The story is entertaining, if predictable for the most part – right up until the twist that marks it as different from Sager’s past novels. It definitely caught me off-guard, and I like a thriller that I can’t figure out all the answers to. It’s a quick, fun read, and I devoured it in one day in my backyard hammock. I highly recommend it, and can’t wait to see what Sager does next!

What? This is a fine book, though not Sager's best work at all. I do appreciate him trying something different with this one, and I was not expecting an actual paranormal twist. I'm just not sure it was done well, which surprises me because in the past, the maybe-paranormal aspects have been so good.

I will say, I went into this expecting it would be just a Rear Window retelling, but it's actually quite different to props to that.

Also I get a good chuckle at the idea that all of these people were celebrities. I would eat that gossip rag up.

Riley Sager, you've done it again.

I started out with this novel as being very skeptical. It felt very Rear Window-esque and as much as I love a good Alfred Hitchcock film, I didn't need a novel in the same vein, especially by an author that has absolutely wowed me in the past. I even went at well as to tell my book bestie that I felt that I wouldn't be rating this as highly as I've rated Sager's books in the past.

And then the twist happened.

Suddenly this book became VERY different, and I was all in. Going into this book, I didn't realize that there was a paranormal level to it, and I'm so happy I didn't know that because when the other shoe dropped, my mouth was hanging open and I positively had to know what the heck was going on.

I know this book probably won't be everyone's favorite, you have to have an open mind and be ready for a really killer twist. But I absolutely loved it and once again I'm reminded of why Riley Sager is one of my favorite authors.

If you're ready for a wild ride, you need to check this out.

A woman escapes to her lake home to heal after not only the death of her husband, but also bad press after a meltdown. After noticing new neighbors, she becomes obsessed with watching them across the lake. As she gets to know them, she realizes all is not right with the people and their marriage.

It started off as a good, suspensful novel but then moved into a rather strange horror type story. I found it to be a little too odd for my taste and not what I was expecting.

** 1/2 rounded up!

Rear Window has always been my favourite Hitchcock movie, so I was very excited to read something inspired by that story, but I was a bit disappointed with this one.

Casey Fletcher is the troubled daughter of a famous and beloved actress. Although Casey is an actress in her own right, she is now reeling from the sudden drowning death of her husband and has taken to drink to dull her pain. After some particularly bad coverage from the paparazzi, Casey's mother packs her off the lake house to sober up. Instead, Casey spends her time drinking non-stop and staring at the house across the lake that took her husband's life. After seeing something she shouldn't have, she suspects something bad has happened to the woman who lives in the house...

Where Rear Window was delightful in its unexpected peeks into the lives of others (good, bad, sad, and dangerous) and brought characters together, this book instead emphasizes Casey's isolation, addiction, and depression for most of the story. It felt like The Woman on the Train, The Woman in the Window, and every other thriller you can easily find on the bestseller lists of the years gone by.

Then, the ending.

Most of my complaints have to do with the ending and the denouement of the story, which I don't want to spoil here. Suffice it to say that I felt like some of the elements at the end felt out of place and even a bit cheesy.

Altogether, I feel a bit mystified by this book. It kind of feels like two novels mashed together, and I'm not sure which one I wanted in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

not what I expected…felt like a cross between behind her eyes and the girl on the train/the woman in the window - like I didn’t anticipate the twist to be what it was but it also felt out of place for some reason that I can’t explain?? I liked the pacing of it and the female characters did not seem so doorknobby that a lot of these types of stories portray them to be but in the same sense it was kind of predictable all the way through. Not bad, not awful, but not anything completely memorable

Love the world in this - very vivid landscape setting, along with seamless forays into using Instagram and contemporary social media platforms to hold up the story. The use of social media does not feel forced or stale. The narrator - Casey Fletcher - is equal parts inquisitively entertaining and utterly depressing, both of which make sense for her. Sager does a fantastic job of building up Casey's character slowly but surely, almost like a house of cards, or a super unwieldy jenga tower. Side characters are not as well drawn out as Casey, but that seems to be by design, as Casey's descent into depression, paranoia, and alcoholism takes center stage for the reader.

This book will definitely be a hit or miss. For me, it was a hit. The twist was something I could not have anticipated. I also do enjoy an unreliable narrator, and Casey is just like that. The pace in the beginning was a bit slow but it didn’t bother me. This is my first book for the author and I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting more of his books.

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The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
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My thoughts— Riley has done it again! What a fascinating thriller ala Rear Window about watching your neighbors on the lake! This one kept me guessing until that reveal! Wow! I highly recommend! Thank you so much to @netgalley for my advanced readers copy!
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Synopsis— Be careful what you watch for.
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Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of bourbon, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing—a tech innovator, Tom is powerful; and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous.
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One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other—and the longer Casey watches—it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage isn’t as perfect as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey immediately suspects Tom of foul play. What she doesn’t realize is that there’s more to the story than meets the eye—and that shocking secrets can lurk beneath the most placid of surfaces.
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Packed with sharp characters, psychological suspense, and gasp-worthy plot twists, Riley Sager’s The House Across the Lake is the ultimate escapist read . . . no lake house required.

I couldn't stop reading but the ending was disappointing. It feels like three separate stories stomped together. I kept anticipating a great twist that just fell flat.

I've been a big fan of Riley Sager's thrillers in the past and was quite looking forward to this new summer suspense story set at a lake house in Virginia but sadly I found the ending a little too out there for me.

The story had a great premise, a woman grieving her husband who likes to drink a LOT too much witnesses something she thinks is foul play at the house across the lake. Determined to investigate on her own she digs into the husband's past, not realizing there's MUCH more to the story than meets the eye.

I will say the book gives off STRONG Woman in the window vibes right up until about the halfway mark where things pivot in a crazy/weird/strange direction I was not expecting and didn't exactly love. Throw in a few more unexpected twists and thriller lovers or die hard fans of the author might still really enjoy this one. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy!

The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager

Casey Fletcher a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press has retreated to the peace and cloud of her family‘s lake house in Vermont. Armed to the pair binoculars and several balls of liquor she passes a time watching Tom and Catherine Royce the glamorous couple who live in the house across the lake they make for a good viewing. I liked the characters, each flawed, but likeable.

That’s all I’m gonna say about the book as I don’t wanna give anything away.

I have often sat on a bench and watched people go by and tried to guess what they’re doing and what’s going on. I realize from this book you could never know what’s really happening even though you have a Birdseye view from across the lake , or a bench.

It is definitely a necessary read.

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What's going on in the house across the lake?
After a bout of bad press and recently losing her husband, Casey unpacks for a stay in her family's Vermont lake house. Spending her days draining her liquor stock, Casey stumbles across her late husband's binoculars and finds herself engrossed in the the lives across the lake from her. The more she learns about the happy couple across the lake, Tom and Katherine, the more she realizes their marriage may not be as perfect as it seems. Suddenly, Katherine disappears and Casey becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. In her investigation, she uncovers truths she never expected to find. Will Casey find out what happened to Katherine or is that one truth that will stay hidden?
I've been wanting to read Riley Sager's work for a while now; I'm glad that I finally had the chance to and started with The House Across the Lake. Although I felt like it was kind of slow to start in the beginning, I loved it overall. There were so many small details that were important to the main idea, not a single one getting missed. The amount of twists and turns had my head spinning; Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I was quickly proven wrong. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job with voicing all the characters and emitting a suspenseful feeling. I can't wait to read more work by Riley Sager. Add this thriller to your TBR if you haven't already!
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and Edelweiss+. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Can you really know what is going on in someone else’s life just by watching from the outside? Perhaps, but in the case of The House Across the Lake, the answer is a solid no. When troubled actress Casey Fletcher witnesses the lives of her neighbors both in person and through their windows, she worries that something bad is happening in the house across the lake, but has she put the pieces together in the right way? Or has her troubled past and alcoholic present clouded her judgement?

Riley Sager’s latest novel, The House Across the Lake, is another solid entry into the psychological thriller genre. While the book follows Sager’s usual formula of a female protagonist in a desperate and confusing situation, the main character in this latest book might not be as relatable as in past books. Casey Fletcher is the actress-daughter of beloved film star Lolly Fletcher (I was instantly reminded of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher). Casey is spirally out of control after the death of her husband and is ordered by her mother to sequester in the family’s lake house. The house is located on an exclusive lake in New England that has only a handful of vacation homes, and being off-season only a few are occupied. Of particular interest to Casey is the house across the lake which has been recently purchased by app developer Tom and former supermodel wife Katherine. Casey has a perfect view of their mostly glass house from her porch, a pair of high-powered binoculars left behind by her birdwatching husband, and too much time on her hands which proves to be a dangerous combination. Convinced that Tom has done something sinister to Katherine, Casey tries to help. But is Casey right, or is she causing problems where none exist?

To be honest, I initially had trouble getting into this book because the ability of all the characters to just languish in their fancy lakes homes whenever they were stressed was off-putting to my burned-out self. I will say that even in the end I was not terribly sympathetic to anyone except maybe the handyman. However the twists and turns, right up to the end, kept me interested and made for an enjoyable escapist read. If you’d liked Sager’s other books, or authors like Lucy Foley or Ruth Ware, then give this a read.

I absolutely loved Final Girls and Home Before Dark so I was excited to get my hands on the new book by Riley Sager. The House Across the Lake tells the story of Casey Fletcher-an actress who tragically lost her husband and has been sent to the cabin on Lake Greene to avoid any more bad press after her alcohol fueled outbursts made for perfect tabloid fodder. Her neighbors on the lake include a handsome stranger next door and Tom and Katherine Royce, Katherine being a super well known model Casey strikes up a friendship with Katherine after she saves her from drowning and with nothing to do on the lake she takes to checking up on her new glamorous neighbors across the lake with her binoculars but she starts to witness things that don't seem right and then Katherine disappears. This book kind of reminded me of Girl on a Train with the whole "did I see what I think I did or was it the alcohol?" thing going on. I was liking the is it all in my head groove going on but then the book takes a nose dive into the supernatural that just didn't work for me at all. I will still recommend to patrons but this was not my favorite book by this author.