Member Reviews

Riley Sager has become my go-to thriller/mystery author. I love the elements of Old Hollywood movies like Rear Window that come into play here, it was a little predictable but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

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I would give this a solid 4.5 stars! I’ve read almost all of Riley Sagers titles and I think this one is my favorite yet!!! I would describe it a little bit like “Woman in the Window meets My Best Friends Exorcism.”

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I think this is the end for me and Riley Sager....this was overall meh.....Maybe if this was my first time reading one of his books and I was not familiar with others in the genre I would have enjoyed this more. I think the synopsis alone should have alerted me to the fact I was not going to enjoy this but alas....I did like our setting for this story but honestly not much else. Our main character is your typical alcoholic voyeur who makes that most asinine decisions. I could definitely tell this was written by a man by some of the comments and actions the female lead makes....This book was also trying to be too many things at once and ultimately it just became a hot mess. The first half of the book was literally the Woman in the Window but boring and repetitive. I can only read so many pages about our main character's drinking habits before my brain goes numb. Then all of the twists were easy to spot and one just did not work for me i.e the supernatural element. Overall, I think this will be the last book from Sager I read....I just feel like his writing and storylines have become lazy and unoriginal.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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WTF did I just read?!

Seriously.

The twist towards the end of the book completely ruined it for me, but to be honest, I wasn't loving the first half of the book either other than it was a quick read.

They can't all be winners I guess.

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I love suspense novels and plot twists. I love him like you can't imagine. And I loved this wild, psychological, charming, and unnerving ride more than I anticipated.

Although the book’s first half suggests a traditional approach to detective stories, mixed with the modernity of Hollywood, technological millionaires, and supermodels, the second half is disruptive to the reader. It is a blow that no one can recover from until it ends.

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I really struggled with my rating for this book. Riley Sager is hit or miss for me, and The House Across the Lake was somewhere in the middle. I ended up with 3.5/5 stars for this one.

The beginning of the book is a slow burn. There wasn’t much action going on besides Casey saving Katherine from drowning. This incident causes Casey to grab some binoculars and spy on Katherine and her husband, Tom’s house across the lake. The biggest problem with the beginning for me was that I’m over the alcoholic woman spying on neighbors thinks she sees something bad happen, but because she was drinking doesn’t know if it’s real trope! It’s just overdone.

Once the book picks up pace, there were so many great curves thrown in, and honestly I didn’t see any of them coming! With only a handful of characters that could be suspects I think I blamed everyone at least once and hoped it wasn’t certain characters more than others. Sager did a great job with shocking me throughout the last third of the book!

I listened along to the audiobook while reading this one, and I do think that affected my rating. The choice of narrator for this book was wrong. Her voice sounded too old for Casey and the audiobook just didn’t work for me. I really think my rating would be higher if I had just read the eARC alone.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton, and PRH Audio got advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

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I was into this book for the first half, but then it took some turns (which, to be fair, I did not see coming) that were just way too over the top for me.

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The House Across the Lake hooked me from page one and kept me hooked until the very end! I could not put this one down!

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Sager is a favourite on Bookstagram so I was really excited to be given access to the arc of his latest novel, The House Across The Lake (my first Sager). But prior to starting, I accidently began to see that die-hard fans were not impressed with this one. And I had those thoughts in my head the whole time. But the further into the novel I got, I was sold. I didn’t see what the issue was. I was so into it. Then I got to the part that I think is what annoyed the fanbase so I’ll assume this is not a usual theme of Sager’s. Perhaps he was experimenting and putting his creative hat on, ey?

While I didn’t love that part; it felt a little too out there resulting in a meh feeling from me, I did love the rest of the book. The characters were well written, the plot hooked me in from the start, I loved the double timeline and the way they eventually married and the setting was utilised well. All in all, a good first Sager experience. I’m happy and will one hundred percent give his other books a go.

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The House Across the Lake was my first Riley Sager novel, and I am HOOKED!

I will say that I was not expecting it to take such a supernatural turn. I actually had to put the book down and digest that part before picking it up the following night.

The House Across the Lake kept me engaged and I just had to figure out the ending. While some of the characters were a little less than believable, that's the whole point of reading, right? To escape a bit?

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Review: Ugh, I really wanted to enjoy this one. Like really really wanted too, and I did but to a point. A point in which this book took a really weird turn and just kind of lost me. This is my first Riley Sager book, so I am unaware if all of his books kind of follow the same vibes (trying not to spoil anything). I am willing to give another one of his books a try. So if anyone has any recommendations on one of his I should try, please let me know! Overall, this was a miss for me, but I am thinking I just don’t enjoy *SPOILER*..........................paranormal aspects in thrillers.
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Recommend: Going to have to pass on recommending this one, friends.

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This was quite the twisty tale. Creepy. Lots of bizaare plot twists. Kept me guessing. I really liked the main character despite her dysfunctional ways. Loved the setting. Wasn't a fan of the paranormal aspect of the story. I've read all this authors books and he never fails to creep me out.

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This was a great book that started fast and was unstoppable. It took a turn towards the end that was a little too predictable for me, but I still enjoyed the story. If you enjoy fast-paced thrillers, then this is your book.

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A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hmm...I guess I would call this a serviceably entertaining if uninspired read, at least up to a point before things took a turn for the weird, then weirder...I have to admit that I was sorely disappointed by Sager's latest and expected a much more unexpected thriller.

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Riley Sager wrote my favorite thriller book of all time, The Last Time I Lied, so I was really excited to get an advance copy of his newest book. Sadly though, it didn't live up to my expectations.
After seeing the title and synopsis, I was already worried that it would be too similar to other books (The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window, etc). Not only was it similar, but the parts that were different were also cheesy and over the top.
The plot twists are always the best parts of Riley Sager's books but I guess half of the plot from the synopsis. Overall this was just kind of a mediocre thriller with none of the talented twists Sager is known for.

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Riley Sager is a must read for me I have loved all his books and I’m alway recommending his books to any mystery/ thriller fan! I felt like this book was a mix of Alfred Hitchcock Rear Window and I was here for it!
Do we ever know what’s going on behind the closed doors of our neighbors, especially when we decide to grab a pair of binoculars and watch their every move.. how much is to much spying?!
Casey Fletcher was a successful film and Broadway star until her husband’s tragic death about a year ago, now she drowns her sorrow in endless glasses of bourbon or really any type of alcohol. Her binge drinking led her getting fired from her recent Broadway production , and to make matters worse her picture of her downfall has been splashed all over the Internet. Her mother, a Broadway star herself , has given Casey a choice she either enters rehab or spend time at their secluded lake house in Vermont on Lake Green, Casey chooses the lake house. Drinking even more and finding her husbands binoculars she begins to watch her neighbors a famous couple a former model Katherine and her husband Tom a tech mogul.
One morning Casey sees a body floating on the lake. She ends up saving Katherine from drowning, soon they become friends. Casey becomes more and more convinced that something is not right with their marriage the more she watches them.
When Katherine just leaves one day Casey knows something is off, especially without Katherine saying goodbye, Toms behavior becomes more and more suspicious and through her binoculars Casey begins her own investigation what’s really happening at the house across the lake? Wow I could not put this book down, and the twist had me shocked!!

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"The House Across the Lake" is a solid summer thriller! I thought the book started off a little slow but once it picked up I couldn't put it down. I just wish authors would move away from the trend of making every female, unreliable narrator an alcoholic. I enjoyed the twists and turns in this book. The past and present narration had me questioning everything I thought I knew! Overall, this book was a fun thriller to dive into.

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I decided to not continue reading this book, it felt to me like Sager watched that spoof with Kristen Bell on Netflix unironically and decided he needed to get churn out another novel before it was too late. It was very disappointing because I loved his last two books even if they were formulaic they were gripping and the main characters and their circumstances were more palpable. I think the problem here is that everything about the main charcter is so detached that I couldn't care less, after a while it just felt like I was reading a comedy and a guy with a scream mask was about to stab the silicon implant off of Carmen Electra's boob.

hope the next one is better.

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Hi! The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager is a psychological suspense thriller that I LOVED. Interesting and dark right from the first page, I was hooked. I ended up finishing it at 2 a.m. because I literally couldn't put it down despite it creeping me out at times.

I recommend this book to everyone that enjoys thrillers, I promise it won't disappoint. I recommend going in blind other than reading this review but please do look up the trigger warnings beforehand. Keep reading to know more about what I loved in this read!

Why you should read it

Now- you need to know it's the perfect escapist read. It's so easy to forget where you are and simply get engrossed in the story. It has moments that will send chills down your spine, moments that will make you smile, moments where you'll have a chilling revelation and moments where you simply can't figure out what happens next.

I really enjoyed reading about the characters and loved how diverse and interesting their personalities were. I loved the main characters, got goosebumps on my arms as I read about the extra twisted ones and I felt for all of them.

Lastly, the emotions. For thrillers- it's especially important for me that I feel connected to both the story and the characters. And I was in this book. The writing style conveyed everything amazingly and induced the right emotions, at the right times. The backstories, the personalities, everything about the characters was built around them so well that every piece in the story just fits amazingly. It actually makes some of the sub-plots obvious in hindsight and makes you have that aw shit moment when everything clicks in place.

I genuinely cannot convey how much I loved reading this story. Creepy and dark but in a quite different way, it's right up every thriller lover's alley. Packed with sharp characters, psychological suspense and gasp-worthy plot twists, this book is so worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! This read was published earlier this year.

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4.3 STARS

Casey can’t stop herself from watching her neighbors across the lake. When her neighbor goes missing, she can’t help but start investigating what’s really been happening at Lake Greene.

Casey lost her husband in an accident at their lake house a year ago. Now that she is back at the lake she is confronting the reality of what happened to not only her husband but a string of murders in the area.

MY THOUGHTS:
🔪So, I was hooked immediately and I would say it’s pretty fast-paced. I really enjoyed this book and though there were definitely cliché aspects, like even the title, there are things I did not see coming.

🔪It felt like a very classic but engaging neighborhood thriller with some wild twists.

Yup, I recommend this one!

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