I am a longtime Riley Sager fan and anything from this author is an automatic buy from me. THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE follows a widowed celebrity who struggles with alcoholism in the wake of her tragedy. Sheltered from the paparazzi at the family's lake house, our protagonist takes to watching her neighbors across the lake...and senses trouble in paradise.

This title was very, very much inspired by AJ Finn's WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, which was very much inspired by the film REAR WINDOW. As is typical for Sager's work, those references sing through clearly. Bit of a content warning: this book very clearly depicts alcoholism with descriptions of alcohol and its effects on nearly every page.

On the whole, I enjoyed the read and will continue to pick up any of Sager's work, though this wasn't my absolute favorite and I found the twist unexpected and a little jarring.

Casey Fletcher is a famous actress who has become fodder for the tabloids. First her husband died while fishing at their lake house. Then while grieving she spiraled down a dark hole of alcoholism. Finally, after she was pictured downing a bottle of booze in front of a bar, she was exiled to the lake house by her mother to get sober and out of the tabloids for a while.

At the lake house, she continues to drink to oblivion, but was sober enough to save the neighbor, Katherine Royce who lives across the lake with her husband Tom. Katherine and Casey strike up a friendship. Using strong binoculars, Casey begins to obsessively spy on her neighbors. There seems to be problems in the "perfect" marriage. Casey's suspicions are confirmed when her friend, Katherine, disappears without a trace. In searching for the truth, Casey realizes she too must search for her own truth.

I am a huge Sager fan, so I was beyond thrilled to get early access to this one! In true Sager style, he shocked me with twists I didn’t see coming in the slightest. This one did fall a bit flat for me as the first 50% was a bit slow and I struggled to get hooked but right on the 50% marker I was unable to put it down. The twists, the twists, the twists, they just kept coming! There were a few bits I felt were a bit repetitive but I still overall enjoyed the novel. The second half felt like a very unique plot line and I could not wait to figure out where the heck he was leading me. I absolutely loved the back and forth between before and now, I though it made the mystery element that much more intense. And I always love an unreliable narrator! I cannot wait to get a physical copy to add to my collection. I am already looking forward to what he does next!

Casey has fallen far from the spotlight as a famous actress. Now she spends her time drinking, a bit excessively if she’s honest, and watching her famous neighbors on their exclusive lake. While looking out on the lake, she noticed a body and quickly goes to help aid whoever is in the lake. She quickly realizes it’s Katherine Royce, her ex-super model new neighbor. After saving her life, Casey is even more intrigued into their lives. But as she watches, she realizes the it couple make not be as perfect as they seem and when Katherine vanishes, Casey is unable to stop digging into the happenings at the lake. But what she is about to discover is something she never even remotely thought possible. Now, she will have to confront not only her past but also the present dangerous situation she has found herself in. With twist after twist, Sager is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Thank you to Dutton and Netgalley for early access to one of my most anticipated books of 2022.

I was on board with this until one of the twists and then this just became something that I really wasn't into. I think some people will enjoy it but it just became the type of book I don't normally pick up. Maybe it needs to be marketed differently. Oh well.

Ho.ly.buckets! I've been a Riley Sager fan for a few years, and appreciated the ride previous titles have offered, but this is my first 5-star of his. WHAT.A.RIDE! This was such a riveting page-turner for me, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. The book is told in two timelines ("before" and "now") and they're seamlessly blended throughout the book. The first half of the novel feels very Rear Window/The Woman in the Window-esque (I love the film Rear Window and the book of TWitW) but Sager injects enough backstory and character development to keep it fresh, as he races readers toward the intriguing second half and ending.

Many thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview and review this ARC!

I enjoyed Riley Sager’s earlier novels, but I was really disappointed by his last book, Survive the Night. I wanted to give him another chance, but I was skeptical upon reading the blurb for this one. If you’re going to come out with a new take on Rear Window in 2022, you better be bringing something innovative and exciting to the table. Unfortunately, what we get here is just the same tired trope of an emotionally damaged woman with a drinking problem who thinks she witnesses a crime, mashed up with a poorly-executed, deeply ridiculous supernatural/horror plot. So really, it’s two disappointing stories for the price of one. This was a big miss for me. I may be done with Riley Sager.

I had enjoyed The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager. so I requested this book. I ended up being hesitant to read The House Across the Lake because of the low reviews here on NetGalley. Especially after I checked my GoodReads and realized the last Sager book I read, Lock Every Door, I had given it almost the same review people were giving this book - heroine making dumb decision after dumb decision. Also in my review on Lock Every Door was that it felt like it would end up having a supernatural spin to it but didn't; if it had, I likened the plot would have been derivative of The Skeleton Keys but the actual ending didn't quite land for me either.

On to The House Across the Lake... ***SPOILERS***

The big screaming red flags of unreliable narrator (was this her third or fourth bourbon of the night?) and the hoping to be self-aware outright references to Rear Window immediately made it feel like if it really was the husband, the book would be rather derivative of...shocker...Rear Window. I started to suspect maybe Katherine had planted the seeds of discontent and illness with Casey and planned to frame her husband for her disappearance. That would have been rather derivative of Gone Girl but I would have preferred it to the actual spin of the story. My observation of Lock the Doors ends up being fully embraced here - Sager goes FULL supernatural but man, does it not pay off. What a weird last quarter of the book. It was clear from Casey's refusal to really look at the last day of her husband's life and refusal to go into the basement for no discernible reason that she had something to do with Len's death. I wasn't surprised at all by this reveal. The deliberate obscuration of details involving the disappearance of the three women around the lake and Casey's involvement is frustrating - yeah, we knew she was an unreliable narrator but since we are reading from her perspective, it reads as the author trying to be coy about details and it doesn't work. The referring of the person being held captive by Casey as "he" in order to obscure the actual identity of the person being held feels like a feint. Then the ending with the husband actually being the attempted murderer?! It's trying to be a shocker double reveal but just doesn't work other than to tie up the loose ends of Len. I wouldn't recommend this book.

In this chilling thriller we are introduced to Casey Fletcher, an actress who recently lost her husband in a boating accident. She is forced by her mother to stay at her families peacefully quiet yet eerily isolating lake house where there are only five houses and only three of them are currently occupied. While she is there she spends her time drinking to forget and after boredom takes over she picks up her late husbands binoculars and spies on the famous couple across the lake. What she see through the binoculars has her concerned and once the wife disappears she decides to investigate.

I have yet to find a Riley Sager book that disappoints and this is no different. He has such a way with keeping his readers on the edge of their seats as they try to figure out who the killer is and what their motives were behind the murders. This story had me second guessing myself and still I had no idea when it came to the big reveal. This story had so many moments where I had to put the book down because I couldn’t bear to read what might happen next and the many twists and turns in the second half of the book had my head spinning. I didn’t really connect with the main character until about half way through when she went full throttle with her own investigation and we found out what secrets she’s actually hiding. After discovering everything she’s been through I was rooting for her to solve everything and live to tell someone what she found. This was a fast read for me because I just had to find out what happens next whenever a chapter would end and I because I read it so fast all I can do now is patiently wait for Riley Sager’s next novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the digital copy of this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read everything Riley Sager has released up until this point and I’m so excited to see that he finally went there with this one!

We have our typical ‘woman watches couple across the way and someone goes missing’ troupe, but wow there were many twists and secrets revealed by the end.
Our main character, Casey, is dealing with having recently become a widow by staying at her family’s lakeside home. While there, she starts casually spying on the famous couple across the lake (Katherine and Tom Royce) and sees some things she probably shouldn’t. One day, Katherine is just gone and that raises some red flags for Casey. This begins the journey of obsession and suspicion in trying to find out where Katherine is and what happened to her.
Right off the bat, I know our MC won’t be everyone’s favorite. She is pretty unreliable and makes many irrational choices throughout the story. That being said, I still found myself rooting for her.
One very strong aspect of the novel has got to be the setting. The author did such a great job in describing the lake and the expensive homes that sit on it. It was completely immersive and added so much to the story.
I just had so much fun reading this, I didn’t want to put it down.

*thank you NetGalley for the E-ARC and all opinions are my own*

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Another perfect gem from Riley Sager. I'd read anything he wrote. Haunting and shocking. The atmospheric tones were everything. I loved every minute of it.

Having read Survive the Night and Final Girls I was excited to have the opportunity to read The House Across the Lake. ( Thank you Netgalley!)
This held my attention and had me wanting to read more however the unique inclusion of possession took the plot way over the top. Plus,most all of the characters are stereotypical, ie, the alcoholic/widow, the broke husband freeloading off of his supermodel wife and the hunky cop-next-door who is in AA .
This said,Riley Sanger does have a wonderful talent for composing unique, twisty books.
Unfortunately, this title was not my favorite Sager read.

This is not a drill! Riley Sager’s latest book is an edge-of-your seat thriller full of chilling twists and turns to the very last line, and I LOVED IT!

Going in blind is an absolute must with this one, so this will be a quick take review.

The main thing you need to know here is that Riley Sager is going to cause you to second guess yourself over and over again. I’m tickled now at my push and pull of trying to determine if I’d guessed the outcome. Because no. I wasn’t even close—and I promise you, you won’t be either. You will not see it coming, and it will be utter and delicious shock.

Unexpected is the word of the day, my friends.

Other Things I Loved 🌿

🍁The secluded lake, autumn in Vermont vibe
🪟The nod to Hitchcock
👩‍🦳The Taylor Swift references (I see you, Riley Sager Swiftie)🧣

Riley Sager has cemented his place as THE preeminent thriller writer in my book. The House Across the Lake is a five-star absolute must read, and you don’t want to miss it.

Available June 21. This is an easy pre-order decision.

My thanks to @NetGalley and @DuttonBooks for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

wanted to love this. It was my most anticipated book and I loved the first 3/4 of the book. The end just didn’t work for me. With that being said it could work for others and Riley Sager is still one of my favorites!
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I would say go in knowing as little as possible and enjoy the ride with this one.
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Thank you #dutton for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review .

This book was everything!! Read it in one sitting. I’m a ride or die Riley Sager fan, but this is one of my faves of his in quite some time. The beginning was a little confusing, because the ‘spying on your neighbors’ trope is getting overplayed in the genre at this point, but I should not have doubted the ride because BOY did things get crazy. No spoilers, but I’ll be shocked if you can see where this one is headed. Nuts in the best way. Is it summer 2023 yet? I need the next book!

Well, THIS was a ride! I devoured 75% of The House Across the Lake thinking it was just a standard mystery/thriller. WOW was I wrong! I did not see any of the twists in the last chapters coming. My HS students are going to eat this up!

Riley Sager had become one of my absolute favorite authors! I was so excited when I saw The House Across the Lake! The book lived up to all my Riley Sager standards. I flew threw the book in a matter of hours. I came into the book thinking it was going to be a unreliable narrator/thriller/murder mystery, which it was definitely all those things but then it took a supernatural twist I definitely did not see coming! Not many authors can add in supernatural and make it believable, but Sager can! Do yourself a favor and get this book asap! You won't be disappointed! 5/5. For me! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a honest review!

I have read every single book by Riley Sager, and I can honestly say that I think each one is just a little bit better than the last. I had a difficult time putting this book down at night in order to go to bed.... At first, I believed it was just a murder mystery/missing person/thriller book.... but then in came the supernatural twist, and WOW. First of all, I wasn't expecting it, and second of all, it made me rethink EVERYTHING I had just read. I was invested in these characters- hoping Casey would get sober and reclaim her career; praying Katherine would be found safe and sound and... as HERSELF; that the evil men would get their just punishments.... I just felt like I was right there, on Lake Greene, along with all the major players. I can truly say that I will be recommending this book to anyone and everyone who will listen!

Casey has been through a lot. She lost her husband, lost her job as an actress, and lost her will to stay sober. Her mother suggests she spend some time at the family’s lake house to heal, but Lake Greene has other plans for her. Casey befriends Katherine, who lives across the lake, after Katherine has a horrific near drowning incident. Casey has concerns about Katherine, so she uses binoculars to check in on her. What she sees though is disturbing, especially when Katherine goes missing the next day. Casey is in over her head when she decides to investigate and finds that the ghost stories about Lake Greene may not be stories after all.
Riley Sager knows how to write a suspense novel, and readers will appreciate his take on the supernatural. Sager’s Home Before Dark leads readers in with some supernatural elements, but this novel begins like any other novel about a drunken voyeuristic woman and turns into much more. The plot was a little slow, and there was a lot of build up for a rushed climax. Ultimately though, while this is not Sager’s best, it is definitely worth the read.

I have read everyone of Riley Sager’s books and I would go so far as to say that he has never let me down. I find these books compulsively readable, exciting, and the perfect page turners before bed. This one was no exception, and actually managed to trick my hard-boiled detective brain. Even with clues throughout, I still wound up at the wrong place and was uniquely surprised when the story came to a close. His best since Final Girls and Lock Every Door. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend.