Riley Sager writes another quick twisty read.
The story: Casey is basically condemned to her family’s lake house alone after drinking herself into getting fired from her acting job. Her drinking is a way to cope with the death of her husband who drowned at the very same lake.

Bored and always drunk Casey starts watching a couple, Tom and Katherine Royce, her neighbors who live in a glass house directly across the lake. Her binocular voyeurism becomes an obsession when she sees things she shouldn’t. One day she saves Katherine from drowning and they begin an unlikely friendship. Tom is a tech star who is a character you’re made to dislike from the start. And I did really dislike him.
Then Casey meets former alcoholic Boone who is staying in a nearby house and the two start a flirtatious, precarious relationship.

When Katherine disappears, Casey is positive that Tom has killed her and enlists Boone’s help in the investigation. Tom threatens her after Casey breaks into his home finding clues that something is very wrong.

Along with Katherine’s disappearance is the mystery surrounding three other girls who went missing from the area which convinces Casey that Tom is a true psychopath.

I get that Casey needed a serious character flaw to allow for a big change, but the drunk beyond comprehension was a problem I would have been happy if it didn’t exist at all. It was replayed over and over. Ok, we get it - she’s a drunk! It became too much.

Then without giving away any twists the story kind of does a 180 into a storyline that didn’t exist through two-thirds of the book. So I found it unbelievable, to say the least.

That being said, the book really packed a punch, it was surprising and had some crazy twists that I loved. Really quick read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton/Random House for a digital review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a WILD ride, probably the most wild Sager book I’ve ever read.

Unreliable narrator and new widow Casey takes to spying on her neighbors across the lake with binoculars. As per usual, people do and don’t take her seriously because of her drinking (hence the unreliable part), but that all gets literally shoved aside about 3/4 of the way into the book when Mr. Sager just begins slapping the reader in the face with plot twists galore. I’m not kidding, one after the other, and it’s absolutely dizzying.

It’s a good story, and while not my favorite Sager, this is one hell of a ride for thriller lovers.

And the ending was absolutely perfect.

This one is going to fly off the shelves and people will be gasping about the plot twists for a long time to come.

**Thanks so much to #NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.**

Thank you to the author, Dutton Books, and NetGalley for the copy!

R E V I E W:
The title of this book is pretty much a giveaway on what kind of thriller trope you would expect to read. Reading this gave me The Woman in the Window vibes because of the spy-on-your-neighbor plot. I’m not really a huge fan of these kinds of stories since i find them dragging to read.

However, I did like the unreliable characters throughout the story. I like when books keep me guessing. I am also a huge fan of the ending because, man, that was a wild ride. The last part of this book totally blew my mind with all the unexpected twists. This was my first time reading a Riley Sager book and I’d say it was a great experience! I cannot wait to read his other books and enjoy his writing.

This review is hard to write. I don’t want to give too many specifics and spoil the plot. Let’s start with did this live up to the feeling I had reading The Final Girls? No. Would I have loved it if I didn’t have such high expectations? Maybe, but probably not. Did I keep picking it up in audio and print every chance I had because I wanted to know what happened? Heck yes. While walking and listening did the book surprise me to gasp out loud? Yes.

Since so many thrillers have unlikeable characters doing unlikable things, I have found a new way to determine their worthiness. Did the book keep me guessing and did I need to keep reading to find out what happened? I’d say yes to both of these.

One of things I can rave about is the homage Sager pays to Rear Window. It is subtle and masterfully done. I’ve always loved how he can take an old movie and weave it into his books for those that know to appreciate and those that don’t aren’t missing out as they read.

At the start of listening, I wasn’t sure I liked listening to Bernadette Dunn narrate, but the longer I listened, the more she really ended up fitting the part. I’m not sure if the more I knew about the character, the more she fit or she grew on me, but by the end I couldn’t imagine anyone else.

“I’ve been watching the lake at a mental remove, which happens when you’ve seen something a thousand times. Looking but not really. Seeing everything, registering nothing.”

Thank you to @duttonbooks and @netgalley for the advanced copy of @riley.sager’s new book “The House Across The Lake”

💭: If you know me, you know I am a HUGE fan of Sager and have absolutely been anticipating this book since it was first announced. I was giddy when I received a copy and spent the day reading it in one sit-in yesterday because I was so excited. It definitely lived up to the hype!

I love a book with two different time perspectives (this book jumped back and forth from “NOW” to “BEFORE”.) It also led me guessing the entire time and through all my theories and guesses about the book… none of them were what I thought and when the end came… it as definitely NOT what I was expecting or could have ever guessed 👀 If you think you know what’s gonna happen… you don’t.

Personally, I’m also a big fan of an unrealizable character (Casey, the main character, struggles with drinking which may often have us questioning what she REALLY saw).

If you’re a fan of “Women in the Window” and unique thrillers, you’ll definitely enjoy this one!

You can read it yourself on Tuesday, June 21!

Crushingly disappointing. Not only is the story in this book uninspired, shamelessly borrowing from other tales including Rear Window and The Girl on the Train, but it never fully grabbed my interest and transformed into the page-turner that I expected it to be. Telling the story in a dual narrative from two different time period does it no favors, and in the final act this format muddles the unfolding events. But by far the worst aspect of the book is the preposterous twist it employs in the third act to reframe everything that precedes it, a device that I found cheap and unnecessary. I hope that Sager bounces back from this dud and pens something much better for his follow-up.

Simply put, I wasn't feeling this one. However, I shall keep praising Riley's previous thrillers. I'm crossing my fingers that his next thrillers revive the intrigue I once had for him. I appreciate getting an early copy of Riley's next summer thriller from the publisher and Netgalley.

Riley Sager is hot on waiting lists in libraries those days. His thrillers are fun, entertaining and kind of spooky all at once. The perfect summer read but also a favourite throughout the year.

I've only read one other book from this author and it wasn't a favourite. The House Across the Lake completely changed my mind. I had no idea on what to expect but needless to say I freaking loved it. the twist at the end, the way the author hooked me from the very first page. I have to say though, there's a bit of supernatural stuff I did not see it coming and I was not happy about it at first. Eventually everything made sense and the end!!! Ohh, please go read it. Right now!

A fantastic, twisty, and creepy thriller. Every time I thought I had it figured out, I didn’t. This was one of the least predictable mysteries I’ve read in a while.

Casey Fletcher is banished to her family's lakehouse to try to cope with issues following her husband's sudden death. The glass house across lake, belonging to the Royce's, offers the perfect secondary distraction to the bottles of liquor she's downing to try to mask her pain. As Casey quickly learns, some things are not as they seem on Lake Greene...

it was a slow start but WOW! as soon as the 60% mark hit, it was non-stop intense action. i couldn't predict anything that happened. this is definitely my new favourite riley sager <3

Another great read from Riley Sager! Honestly, this novel really surprised me. I did not see it coming and I feel like it’s pretty different from his last books. I really enjoyed it and couldn’t quit flipping pages late into the night. Thank you netgalley for my free copy!

Riley Sager's books to date have all been subversions on typical thriller and horror themes. This sixth book is a twist on Rear Window, with an alcoholic widow spying on her neighbors and suspecting pretty much everyone of murder.

I liked this book, then I hated it, then I loved it. It's twists all the way down, and each one made me rethink what I thought the book even was. Which I guess is ideal for a thriller, so I'm giving it 5 stars.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An unreliable narrator. A missing woman. Rear Window vibes. The newest Riley Sager book is, in my opinion, the best one yet. I couldn't put it down! Highly recommend, especially if you're on vacation.....near a body of water.

OH MY GOD.

I freaking love Riley Sager. And in case I forgot… this book helped remind me.

The last 10-15% of the book literally left me with my mouth agape and in shock. AHHHHH.

This was such an interesting storyline and as with most great thrillers, it SHOOK ME with the plot twist. I seriously thought I was so clever and had everything figured out lol. Guess not 🤣

My favorite thing about Riley’s books is that there is always a hint of romance and I just absolutely love that.

Y’all need to read this. It’s wild and you are so NOT ready to read about what happens across the lake.

Thanks to Dutton for my first Riley Sager ARC!

First, I want to say that I’m a Riley Sager fan, beginning with Final Girls. I’ve enjoyed all of his novels, right up until The House Across the Lake. Unfortunately, this one flopped in a big way for me. The synopsis drew me in, and, when I saw people calling this his best plot twist yet, I eagerly started reading. I was completely captivated right up until the basement scene. I’m keeping this spoiler free, but what in the world? Really? That’s the best twist yet?

Now, having said all that, there’s still a lot to love about The House Across the Lake., like I New England lake setting and a unidentified serial killer. I always enjoy Sager’s dialogue and his pop culture references, but it wasn’t enough to save this one for me. Bonus points for Casey being a Nightingale camper and the Royces living near the Bartholomew, but, again, still not enough.

I'm not sure what happened here. I have read all of Sager's previous books and enjoyed them to varying degrees. The narrative of "The House Across the Lake" meanders, and has such an unbelievable twist it feels lazy and sloppy. All the characters are one dimensional, with the quintessential traits that feel like an author merely ticking off boxes. Casey Fletcher, because of an alcohol addiction is set up to be our unreliable narrator. She sees a crime from across the lake, and tries to figure out (and convince others) that this crime occurred. (All the while keeping her own secrets.) And this is another backstory that isn't developed enough for the reader to actually feel any investment in. I am uniquely disappointed by an author that had been an automated read for me in the past. None of the themes in "The House Across the Lake" feel fresh or have a unique enough point of view to justify its existence.

Riley Sager’s specialty seems to be writing about damaged women with alcohol issues and this book is no different. This time, we’re in a Rear Window heavily inspired scenario. An alcoholic actress, Casey Fletcher, has been sent by her mother to recuperate and pull herself together on their lake house. Her husband passed away a year ago and she is still reeling from the loss. She takes to spying on her neighbors with a pair of highly effective binoculars and sees a woman struggling in the lake, whom she saves. Turns out, she’s just saved Katherine Royce, a neighbor across the lake and former model. As Casey begins spying on her, she gets the feeling that all is not well with Katherine’s relationship to her tech tycoon of a husband. And when Katherine disappears, Casey is convinced she knows who is behind it. But the overindulging of bourbon makes for an unreliable narrator in this story that takes a twisty turn into Sarah Pinderborough territory. What does it mean to be a man who writes books about women’s trauma? If that’s your jam, you will love this book. Thank you to Dutton and to NetGalley for the advanced review copy of this book.

I went into this with one hope and one hope only:
1. Please be better than last year's "Survive the Night"

And it was! But it still wasn't very good.

I keep saying after every Riley Sager book I read that this is where our relationship ends, yet this is my fifth time reading one of his books so I think it's safe to assume I'll keep coming back. At least to drag the man.

As is usual with Sager's books, our main character is a women with a lot of trauma. There is nothing Sager likes more than writing about women who have experienced as many hardships as their life could possibly have thrown at them. Casey, our protagonist, pulls a Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window and sits with a pair of binoculars to observe the world around her. She watches this one couple frequently and ends up befriending the woman in the relationship. Through this she learns of their not so perfect marriage and one day, Katherine vanishes.

The ending is...a lot. It's better than the "it was all a movie" ending of Survive the Night, but it's on the weaker side for me. I just can't give good ratings to men who exclusively write about women going through some severely f***ed up events. It's a bit more disturbing than the events themselves.

I'd give it more of a 2.75 rating.