Riley Sager's upcoming novel, The House Across the Lake is a fun and twisty thriller that plays with familiar thriller elements and then spins them around in a way that will leave the reader's head spinning.

Casey Fletcher, an actress and recent widow has gone to her family's lake house to escape the media spotlight after a public humiliation. While drinking from dusk until dawn she watches the lake, the site of her late husband's drowning. One day while gazing at the water she sees her new neighbor, supermodel Katherine Royce drowning. In spite of her fear of the lake Casey plunges in and manages to save the woman. Over the next couple of days the two women forge an unlikely friendship. Casey is soon watching her new friend and her husband through a pair of binoculars in the their house situated on the other side of the lake. A voyeuristic obsession soon overtakes Casey and the activities of the couple across the water fuels her every moment. When Katherine suddenly disappears, Casey immediately suspects her media mogul husband of murdering her and sets out to prove it.

As usual, Sager takes his inspiration from classic film, in this case Hitchcock's Rear Window. The recognition of this creates a huge element of fun in the beginning of the novel, but as usual Sager puts his own spin on things and takes the reader in directions they will never see coming. Casey makes for an ideal heroine. She is her own worst enemy and clearly is aware of it but is unwilling to change. At the same time she is smart, funny and lovable and the reader roots for her until the bitter end.. The novel is a fantastic example of how to create and build suspense. Sager takes the time to let the characters and tension develop before the pivotal moment of Katherine's disappearance and that makes for an enormous payoff. The twists in this novel are more unexpected than any I can remember reading in a long time. I could not have predicted the events of the last third of this novel- I was stunned and thrilled in the best way possible.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and will continue to read everything that Sager writes. No other thriller author surprises and delights me such a consistent fashion. He has firmly established himself as the king of the modern suspense thriller with this one.

Having been a long-time fan of Riley Sager, I couldn’t wait to read his latest mystery/thriller. This one didn’t disappoint; I couldn’t put it down!

Casey Fletcher is a famous actress from a famous family. Having recently lost her husband, she dulls her pain with alcohol and lots of it. Her mom sends her to the lake house to get a grip on her drinking out of the spotlight. But instead of stopping her drinking, she drinks more. Bored and drunk, she starts spying on her neighbors with high powered binoculars. Good thing she does, because she sees someone drowning in the lake and takes the boat out to save them. It is her new neighbor and famous model, Katherine Royce. Katherine has no idea how it happened, she is a great swimmer but something felt wrong and then she woke up with Casey pulling her out of the water. The two become fast friends. When Casey’s new friend Katherine goes missing, She will do whatever it takes to find her.

Sager fans will love this, mystery/thriller fans will love this. If you like this genre, you will love this! It is a slow burn with so many crazy twists and turns.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley.

This may just be the best sager book yet, full of suspense, mystery, i loved the now and then aspect, it was a total surprise when the now aspect voice was revealed totally didn't see that coming.

I am a fan of Riley Sager’s books so I was thrilled to receive an early copy. The writing is similar in that we have a female protagonist, Casey Fletcher, who is a bit flawed with secrets. Casey is grieving the loss of her husband & numbs the pain by drinking while spying on her new neighbors, Tom & Katherine Royce. This is a slow burn with some crazy unbelievable twists! Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley. This is my honest review.

What a crazy book! I actually found myself going back at times because NO WAY that just happened. This was probably the most twist filled of Riley Sager’s books. Thoroughly enjoyed and can’t wait to recommend to friends!

I was really enjoying this book until about 80% in. Then the twist came. And the author lost me...and then lost me again. The twist itself was hard to grasp, but what happened after was even harder. It just wasn't a book for me.

I have so many mixed feelings about this book, and I keep going back and forth as to whether I liked it or not. I have been asked to not have any spoilers in my review, which makes it a little hard.

Casey is an former actress and alcoholic who lives alone in her family's lake house. Across the lake a former famous supermodel comes to stay at another lake house with her husband. Casey begins to spy on Katherine and her husband. She goes from rescuing an almost dead Katherine to being in the middle of a possible murder, but things are definitely not what they seem when it comes to every character in this book.

I was pretty intrigued by 75% of the story. It's when the first big twist came that I kept trying to decide if I liked it, or if I thought it was really really dumb. I keep going back and forth, which is why I give it 3 stars. What I find odd about it is that I have read all of Riley Sager's books, and this feels so much like a debut novel compared to how amazing I found some of his other work, specifically The Last Time I Lied and Home Before Dark.

The House Across the Lake is a quick read that I did find fun and intriguing to a point, but I think I was looking forward to a different type of twist. My least favorite part was the last page....the very ending. I don't really want to spoil it, but the way it ended is just so tacky and has been done so many times. I was craving something more exciting.

I still like Sager, though. There is a comfort I find in his writing, and I am sure this is going to impress a lot of people. It is fun,. but you may not like the big twist if you aren't into a certain genre of genre.

Thank you to Net Galley, Dutton and Riley Sager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I'm still looking forward to his book in 2023!.

You might think you know where this book is going with the unreliable, drunk protagonist, but you are in for a surprise!
Seriously - WTF did I just read??!!!??
It started off slowly with the same trope we're used to seeing, but with a mind-blowing twist that I did not see coming!
Sager fans will not be disappointed!

Riley Sager is one of my favorites so I’m sure this book was a real goodie.

My Early Reader’s copy from NetGalley was just a real mess! 3 times my copy reverted back to location 1205. It did that every time it got to location 24xx. Consequently, I read the same thing 3 times, but quite frankly assumed that the author/publisher had deliberately repeated in order to … well I don’t know. But then the last time, my copy jumped to Location 45xx. I just went on reading as I was so confused by that point I wasn’t sure what was what. And I finished it. I thought maybe all the NetGalley copies were that way, but apparently not since no one else mentioned it.
I appreciate my copy from NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin Group Dutton, but really can’t review the book because it was not put together correctly – and I never saw location 24xx up to wherever it skipped to around 4500.

4.5 Stars!

Holy - what the eff did I just read goodness!!! Having been a long time fan of Sager, he is one of those authors that I drop everything and start as soon as his book lands in my hands and he rarely lets me down. The House Across the Lake has some great twists and turns and in an effort to stay completely spoiler free, this review will be very ... brief.

Sager fans will love it, thriller fans will love it (probably), and there's something for everyone, so enjoy the bananas ride!

I really REALLY wanted to like this one. I was a fan of some of Sager’s other books, so I was super excited to read another. This one was just disappointing all around. It was incredibly slow with not much happening until the final 20% or so. And the big twist was just meh. I’ll definitely still be reading more of his work, but this one missed the mark. If you’re a fan of Sager’s work like I am, I’d recommend skipping it; you won’t be missing anything.

This may be my new favorite of his. It's very smart and is just incredibly good. It works in the genre and then turns everything on its head three or four times.

We know this story and the tropes and see the story hit every beat until, as I said, it flips everything. And then it does it again. Even if that hadn't happened, this would've been a very fun book. Now, though? It's a must-read. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and PRH for the advanced reader copy! I’m a big fan of Riley Sager and the way he subverts every twist and trope for thrillers, and was curious how this would play out.

Unfortunate timing that Netflix just released the parody The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, since there is very obvious and absurd overlap. And unfortunate as well that the twist in this book is also basically bonkers and not even remotely believable. That was a big let down, and one I thought Sager could have entirely avoided with a different sub plot.

BUT, I did enjoy the rest of the book as a slow burn and the cast of characters including Boone, Eli, and Marnie. I devoured the book in less than 24 hours, even with its frustrating final third, as it’s easy to get sucked into and to not know exactly when the big twist is coming.

If you’re looking for your first Sager book to read, then I highly recommend Home Before Dark instead.

Casey Fletcher is an actress that is having a tough time lately. She recently lost her husband and she is running from a streak of bad press. She decides to hide out in her family’s lake house in Vermont. She finds herself passing the time with a steady stream of liquor and peeking through the binoculars aimed at the house across the lake. There is an interesting couple living there that keeps her entertained. Until one day when the wife, Katherine, is seen struggling in the lake. Casey comes to her rescue and they be come fast friends. All goes well until Katherine suddenly disappears?! Casey is determined to find out what happened to her!

Riley Sager has penned another big hit with THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE. I absolutely loved this book. I would say it rivals some of his best titles. In true Sager fashion, you are led on a journey of twists and turns that you cannot possibly predict. I read it in less than 24 hours and each time I had to put it down, I was still trying to solve the mystery in my mind. I think Sager fans and thriller fans will really enjoy this one! It deserves each and every star!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dutton Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

I do not like books that flash back and forth in time as it detracts form the flow of the story. But that said, I did like the storyline. This book is so filled with twist and turns that you never know what is going to happen next

I’m usually a huge fan of Riley Sager, but this book really missed the mark for me. I couldn’t help but compare it to other thrillers such as “The Woman on the Window”, The Girl On the Train”, and even the recent satirical Netflix series starring Kristen Bell. I kept waiting for Sager’s trademark horror & suspense element to appear, and it didn’t come until the very end of the book. At times this book didn’t even feel like it was written by Sager. By this point I had grown tired of the story and the pacing and considered skimming to the end, and knowing how the book ended, I wish I would have.
The big “twist” felt ludicrous and came out of nowhere, and the second twist felt like something from a Lifetime movie. The elements of the first twist would have made for a much more interesting book if it was a bigger plot point throughout. I had a hard time connecting to the characters, as they felt very one dimensional and underdeveloped.

Wowser. I am a Riley Sager fan, for sure. I struggle with thrillers because they take A LOT to surprise me. This one was surprising. There were quite a few twists and I can tell you that I honestly guessed none of them. Now, the big one I didn't guess because it was almost completely unbelievable and not at all what I would expect from this author/genre. It was too much for me: That being said, there are a bunch of times in this book where I went “wait, what?” And had to go back and Reread a previous chapter to make it make sense. **mind explode**.
Pros: awesome creepy atmospheric setting, like almost all of Sager’s books. A nearly abandoned lake community. Before/now timeline that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Compulsively readable. An ending you don’t see coming.
Cons: the main twist is just a bit too out there. The “unreliable narrator because she’s drunk” trope has been done sooo many times… and in this case it really doesn’t add to the story much.

A good story that keeps you guessing though it gets a little unbelievable in spots. Lots of twists and turns.

It’s just after 1 am and I just finished this book. This was the first book I’ve read by Riley Sager though I have a few on my shelf I’ve been meaning to get to. I wasn’t sure about the book until about halfway through when EVERY bit of a rollercoaster started and I couldn’t stop reading. I had no idea where it was all headed with so many twists and turns and unbelievable events. It definitely kept me up late these past few nights and I am grateful to have gotten my hands on a copy before release. Just so that I can tell y’all to put this on your TO READ list like, yesterday.
Can’t wait to read the rest of his books

WHOA. WHOA. That just happened.

What a twisty thrilling ride this is! This is absolutely Riley Sager at his best.

I can’t say much more about it, because I don’t want to give away any hints, but I will say that I was completely captivated from the first page and loved everything from the setting to the characters, and through all the twists and turns.

Riley expertly makes the lake such a chilling main character right from the intro and I am here for it. This was amazing!