I mean, here's the thing: I'm still probably more likely to recommend my least favorite Riley Sager book than I am a lot of other books I read. I really enjoyed a lot of parts of this book- the Rear Window references, Casey's backstory and messy present- but the paranormal part just didn't really work for me. I had a hard time with the buy in of how these circumstances worked, but I will say that it did make for some engaging turns in the story that I enjoyed.

So this was, hands down, my most anticipated book of the year and, y'all, it did not disappoint!! This is why Riley Sager is one of my favorite thriller authors! Books like this!

I will start this by saying, I think this is a very *specific kind* of thriller book and I don't think this book will be for everyone. This is more of a supernatural thriller. If you're going into this looking for some of Sager's earlier works (like Final Girls), you will not find that. This is a much different beast. (Personally, I think this one is miles better than Final Girls but that's just me?)

What I loved most about this one is the setting. I could feel this fall Vermont lake house IN MY BONES and let me tell you, I wanted to be there. It felt too real and honestly just made me wish it were fall??? The setting could've been a character of it's own, tbh.

But I also really loved the way this one unfolded. There were a lot of hints about what was happening but the big twist was still incredibly well done. I also really liked the main character. I don't always love Sager's main characters but Casey really owned her flaws and I loved that.

I also loved the Rear Window vibes! I loved watching this story unfold from afar until all the action snuck up and was right in your face.

So this was everything I wanted and more. I absolutely loved it and already can't wait to read it again!! I'll definitely be picking up my own copy! (Hopefully it's a BOTM selection next month? So all my Sager books match???) Highly recommend if you're a fan of supernatural thrillers!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!

Casey Fletcher is an actress who has done, as many of us, and turned to drinking as a way to cope with a personal tragedy. At first, Casey is able to maintain both, but soon she begins to spiral, and she can no longer live both lives. That of an actress, and the life of an alcoholic.

Casey decides to relax and get her life back on track, and she decides to get away to a cabin. There she meets a couple across the street she finds interesting as she watches their life unfold. Note, this reminded me of The Girl on the Train. When Katherine, the neighbor she has been watching every day almost drowns, Casey is able to save her, they become friends. Then Katherine disappears. Yet again, makes me think of The Girl on the Train.

Here is how I feel about this book. I LOVE Riley Sager. This book reminded me of another so much, but then when you think you have it figured out, there is a twist. You need to go into it with an open mind and leave other books behind you. This may not have been my favorite book of his, but I loved it just the same. I highly, highly recommend this book because you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars!

Riley Sager does it again with a fast-paced thriller full of plot twists! I quite literally finished this one in two sittings, it was THAT addicting.

I found myself really liking Casey, she had much more depth than you're typical dumb thriller character. Dealing with the loss of her husband, albeit in a rather unhealthy way, it was interesting to see how she handled the situations presented to her. Sometimes I have issue with how Riley Sager writes his characters... they seem to fall a bit flat for me. However, this story kept me on my toes, and I definitely spent the majority of the book overthinking all of their flaws to try to figure out the twists!

At times, the writing felt a bit gimmicky. There would be random inserts of "hip" lingo/name brands, cheapening the storyline for me. It felt a little similar to his last book, Survive the Night, which I didn't really care for. I'm looking for him to get back to his old ways of writing (HOME BEFORE DARK, THE LAST TIME I LIED) because I absolutely loved those!

Overall, if you want a quick page-turner that will keep you on your toes, this one's for you! It's a really good summer thriller, and I love the lake vibes throughout the book. Would definitely still recommend to anyone who wants a quick read.

I wanted this book to work for me. The cover is what really pulled me in. The plot seemed like something I’ve seen/read before but I was hopeful that Sager could put some twist on it making it feel fresh and new… unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

The writing is never an issue for me with Riley Sager. It’s always fantastic and compelling. What did not seem to work for me was the pace and the plot twists. It seemed like I was waiting and waiting for something to happen that was going to change my mind, and while the twists are wild, I found them more outlandish than entertaining.

I really enjoyed some aspects of this book though. The setting was great and the writing really puts you right on this lake. I just wish that I enjoyed this book more. I feel like instead of a twist on an already told story wasn’t given. It was the same old song and dance.

Well I feel cheated. If an author is going to use what this one did to end a book, I want have even the smallest chance at predicting it. This was entertaining in the beginning- I didn’t even mind the overused alcoholic troupe- but went to crazy town. It feels like at this point Sager will but whatever on the page. Maybe take a summer off next year and regroup. I also hate how he writes female characters- maybe try writing a male MC for once.

I enjoyed this, however it reminded me of another book for the first half, which made it very difficult to get into. The second half did bring it home, but the similarities between this a and another book distracted me for much of it.

I really did not enjoy this book at all. I felt that the book duplicitous to avid readers of thriller/mystery and horror readers. It was like 2 or 3 different books in one, it was not as fresh or innovative to me in terms of its execution.

I definitely have mixed feelings on this one. I’m starting to feel like Riley is a hit or miss author for me. I absolutely loved the first three I read… The Last Time I Lied, Final Girls and Lock Every Door. But then I unfortunately didn’t love the last three the same way.

I had high hopes for this one. As always, I did love the writing. And I did love the twist at the end. The story itself though fell a little flat for me.

Overall, 3.5 stars for me rounded up to 4. I enjoyed it but didn’t love it. .

I’ve been going back and forth on this book for about a week now and overall the story premise has a real Alfred Hitchcock “Rear Window” kind of feel. That part I really liked but I had a hard time relating to the central character. Mystery/Thriller lovers will like this book and that’s what I’m going to take into consideration for my rating. For me personally, this story was a 3 star read for me. As a bookseller, I can see a lot of people that will enjoy this book so therefore, I’m going to give the book 4 stars.

Riley Sager is a talented writer, and I will continue to read him. Unfortunately this story didn’t do it for me but will definitely be a book many others will enjoy.

Thank you to #netgalley and #penquingroupdutton for allowing me to read the eARC of this book, All opinions expressed above are my own,

I would like to thank Dutton for the opportunity to read and review this book. This book started out a bit slow for me, but as I was moving forward it became a really slow burn because once things came together boy did they come together!! As usual Riley Sager writes such gripping, crazy, edge of your seat stories that keep you guessing. This one had me surprised several times, not what I was expecting! I love a book that keeps me guessing and this book had that! Casey is grieving her husbands death, has turned to the bottle for comfort and her life is falling apart. She goes to the Lake House at her mothers insistence to try to pull herself together. Things start getting weird when she finds herself using her deceased husbands binoculars to spy on a new couple who have bought the super modern home across the lake. I love a strong character who won't give up when they believe they've seen something that needs investigating, and Casey doesn't disappoint! If you like a thriller that's full of surprises this book is for you!

I have a lot of mixed feelings surrounding this one. It was very slow to start and the events felt very repetitive for a decent chunk of the book. Mainly, the FMC was always drunk, spying on the neighbors, and making one bad decision after another.

The overall premise of the book was all too reminiscent of not one but two other very popular thriller books. While that didn’t sit well with me at first, I will admit Sager’s writing kept me captivated. Once the action started (not until around 70% through) I had one theory after another, so he definitely kept me guessing through the end.

If you’re a Sager fan already, it doesn’t hurt to give this one a read. But if you haven’t read any of his work yet, well I wouldn’t start here.

Oh wow, another Riley Sager (interesting pen name that could be both sexes) about women who get murdered (albeit all young and hot) and of course, the murderers are all male. I did love the setting and atmospheric writing describing the homes and the lake. I also loved the superficial twist at the end (reminded me of Layla by Colleen Hoover). I, however, cannot shake this feeling of sexism as I was reading this. I am actually going to a Riley Sager book signing tonight and am excited to see how he acts, and if he makes note of always writing from the female perspective. I did devour this novel though in one day and probably would have loved it if I had not already read all of his prior works.

I really didn’t like this. The unreliable female narrator trope is so tired. I wish he had more original plotlines.

Creepy, curious and haunting, this story involves layers upon layers of detail. And while I anticipated the first plot twist, I did not foresee the second, or the third! Although I'm normally not a fan of magical realism, Sager kept me so enthralled that I read the book in one sitting.

When I received the email from Netgalley saying that I received The House Across the Lake I was absolutely ecstatic and so excited to read it.

This is my third Riley Sager book and he truly knows how to write a plot that would not work with every storyline. He also knows how to pull off anything. It is hard to not give anything away because when I say there are many twists and turns, I truly mean there are tons of twists and turns.

Casey has had a streak of bad luck and she decides to go to her family's lakehouse. She ends up one day saving her neighbor Kathrine when she begins to drown in the lake. They strike up a friendship and Casey becomes obsessed with watching and knowing who Tom and Katherine really are, that is until Katherine goes missing.

In normal Riley Sager perfection he builds the suspense and builds the story up so much and at the end comes every twist and turn that Sager does so well.

If you have not read a Riley Sager book, you absolutely need to, he knows how to write a great suspense story where you want to yell at the characters to stop. He knows how to write the OMG moments where you have to put down the book and let it sink in what just happened and what he just threw at you as the reader.

Thank you Penguin Group and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Dutton for an advanced copy of The House Across the Lake.

I just finished it last night and had to sleep on it before forming my review. I had such high hopes for this book because Sager is an auto buy author for me, but I think after sleeping on it, I have decided it was just okay for me. While I don't want to give away any spoilers, the general premise is Casey is an alcoholic who sits in her house on the lake and watches her neighbors through her binoculars. She befriends Katherine, her lake neighbor, who quickly disappears. All signs point to Katherine's husband, Tom, but things aren't as they seem.

I think where the story lost me was when the first twist was revealed. I sort of saw it coming, but it ended up going in a direction / topic that is completely uninteresting to me. After that, I found myself buzzing through the back half of the book. Don't get me wrong, there were some nail biting moments, but overall, it just missed the mark for me.

Since actor Casey Fletcher's husband died, she's been making big mistake after big mistake. She's tried drowning her sorrows in alcohol, and after ruining her show by showing up blackout drunk, her mom and best friend decide it's time for her to get herself together. Casey is sent to the family cabin on Lake Green to dry out--the same lake where her husband drowned. One day, Casey finds her rich and famous model neighbor Katherine face down in the lake, seemingly drowned as well, and manages to bring her back to life. After the rescue, the two women strike up an unlikely friendship. Casey becomes curious about Katherine and her husband, Tom (a social media mogul), and begins to spy on them using her husband's high powered birdwatching binoculars. After seeing some disturbing behavior between Katherine and Tom, she checks on her friend and realizes that she may be in trouble. Katherine goes missing, and of course Tom is Casey's prime suspect, even if the police don't believe it. What Casey finds is even more disturbing than she had imagined. Can Casey save her friend, or is it already too late?

I've read several of Riley Sager's books, and they've always had a great twist. This book is no exception, but it definitely goes in a different direction than any of their other books. Casey is infuriating, and extremely hard for me to like at times. Katherine is charismatic but also erratic at times, and Tom is a charming jerk. If you like Sager's other books, you'll like this one. In my opinion, it was not predictable at all.

I received this ARC courtesy of Goodreads, in return for my honest and unbiased review.

The author atop the genre …

I’ve read 40 thriller/mystery books so far this year and Riley Sager’s writing style stands out to me for the following reasons:

He is a true fan of genre content
He is camp
He likes to pay homage to the greats that came before him


His books are fun!! IMO that is what’s missing from a lot of thrillers, this tongue-in-cheek style of writing. Seriously, look under the surface of what’s going on here.

In the House Across The Lake, Sager puts a spin on Rear Window, which had already been spun into The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window. Yes, yes, we have an unreliable drunk narrator who sees shit when she becomes a creeper.

In this book we are introduced to Casey Fletcher, she’s an actress on a timeout at her family’s lake house. She fell into an alcoholic depression after her husband drowned in the very lake she now looks out to.

One day she rescues her supermodel neighbor, Katherine, who’s drowning in the lake. Drowning is the new stabbing! The two become friends, and Casey starts to spy on her and her husband as one does. One night she sees them fight and Katherine goes missing.

Casey is determined to find out what happened to Katherine. The basic plot sounds similar to the other books, BUT this book is far more twisty and OTT. Casey is a much more savvy and interesting of a character compared to Rachel and Anna.

The ending is WILD and yes you will be like what?? Just go with it. It’s supposed to be fun and if you are looking for a literal thriller you will be upset.

Sager is a fresh dip in a very murky pool.

I received this from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. I think this is one of Riley‘s favorite books that I’ve ever read. I love that he continues to add nods to old movie genres in his books. I think people that love the old movies that are featured, such as Rear Window in this one, will really enjoy being able to revisit a movie that they loved inside of a book.
This book was finished in three sittings and would’ve been finished in two, but I actually had to get up an adult and do some things. However, without giving anything away I will say that I was kept completely entertained, turning the pages, and completely surprised by the turn of events. You should go into this one blind and just not expect anything because the unexpected will happen.