This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

It’s 1954, and Anna Matheson is seeking vengeance. Twelve years ago, she lost several members of her family were killed, and now, Anna has lured the people responsible into the very train where so many people met their demise. If all goes as planned, after an all-night journey from Philadelphia to Chicago, authorities will be waiting to serve justice. But the plan quickly goes off the rails (no pun intended) when it becomes clear that one of the passengers is not going down without a fight—and won’t stop until everyone else is dead. With time running out, Anna has to hunt the killer, even if it means risking her own life.

Imagine Murder on the Orient Express with a dash of the 80s movie Clue, and you have With A Vengeance. This is such a fun fast-paced thriller and the action doesn’t stop.

I didn’t like this *quite* as much as Sager’s other books, and I think it’s because there are so many characters to keep track of. Having 8 different narrators gets a little confusing at times, and I had to double check who was speaking. But Anna herself is totally fleshed out and sympathetic, and I LOVE her backstory.

In true Riley Sager fashion, the twists start coming and don’t stop. Some are more believable than others, but it’s a wild, thrilling ride.

Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and other classic locked door mysteries, this book is not to be missed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for an advanced copy! With A Vengeance publishes on June 10, 2025.

Sager does it again! Using 40’s/50’s noir tropes he places several people on a nonstop train, through a snowstorm, with a killer eyeing vengeance. As they are picked off one by one the reader is left to guess whodunnit and Sager doesn’t miss a beat with many twists and turns that don’t derail the plot. A fantastic read.

Boy oh boy, Riley Sager does not disappoint... again in "With a Vengeance." This locked-room- mystery was the perfect blend of an Agatha Christie novel and a classic who-done-it? Just when you think you've got it all figured out Sagers' twists and turns weave a brilliant story full of red-herrings, unrequited love, revenge and the power of repentance. Definitely a must-read for your mystery bookshelf. Thank you to @NetGalley for the ARC!

Revenge is best served cold, but in this case served every which way on a silver bullet overnight train ride from Pennsylvania to Chicago. Riley Sager’s new book, With a Vengeance, requires you to settle in and get cozy and enjoy the deathly who done it in this fast paced thriller with many sharp turns. The history and characters of the book we’re well thought out and enjoyable. Some of the twists are predictable, tiring and never-ending but it is still worth the read. This is not one of Sager’s best gotchas, so I was missing that jaw dropping part of the story. Overall a good read especially if he is an autobuy,. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the advanced copy.

An invitation to a one way train trip. A personalized note for each of the 6 passengers whom who a part of a sabotaged train. One woman who brought these people together for justice.
I have read the majority of books that Riley Sager has published- and enjoyed them all, including this one. Sager's stories present thrillers with minimal gore and horror, while having a satisfying ending for the reader. This story was no different, but I did feel the ending was a little too unrealistic (Anna getting invited to join the FBI because of her work creating this trip). The pacing of this book was really good, and I didn't feel like anything was dragging along, even those parts that were more backstory for the individual characters. I think the connection to history in this book (set during World War 1 and Hitler, with the plot being centered around sabotaging U.S. troops to 'aid the war effort' and Anna's father accused of being a Nazi) was really interesting, and something that I personally haven't read in a contemporary mystery/thriller book.
I would definitely recommend this book to Riley Sager fans, thriller readers, or even historical fiction readers who want to dip their reading into more mystery/thriller books.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for an e-ARC copy of With a Vengeance by Riley Sager in exchange for an honest review.

The publishing company asked to keep this review spoiler-free, so I will keep it shorter than my other reviews!

This book is a loose rendition of Murder on the Orient Express. It has suspense, sadness, revenge, and plotting... and that was about it. I did not become genuinely invested in the characters. Even though we get their backstory, they felt very 2D for me. They, and the plot, were very one-dimensional and moved in a straight line. This could be interpreted as mirroring the train line's fast-paced movement forward. The author did well in throwing suspicions at different characters and making you think about who the killer may be. However, I was not entirely bought into one person and/or surprised when the suspect was identified.

While I was not captivated by the story, the author writes in a way that is easy to follow. I don't find myself flipping back a few pages, wondering if I missed something. I have had a few misses with Sager and some that I wholeheartedly recommend to others! I still look forward to what he puts out in the future!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc! this is my second riley sager arc and he does not disappoint. the pacing of this book made it very compelling and there was a lot i didnt expect. not overly satisfied with the ending for one reason (cant spoil) but othwrwise really liked this one

Riley Sager has done it again!
As usual, the character development was phenomenal and the story kept you guessing to the very end.
So many times, I thought I had it figured out, but I was wrong every time.
This has to be one of my favorite books of the year and is definitely my favorite book by Riley Sager.
I will be recommending this book to all my customers

Thanks to NetGalley for the Arc.

I’ve read every single one of Riley Sager’s novels and will continue to do so. The way he writes is simple but wildly entertaining.

This is not my favorite of his novels, but it was a fun ride. It’s was very Murder in the Orient Express meets Runaway Jury. I had a great time and I really liked Anna. I heard another review that said they didn’t feel like she was believable or likable but I think as someone who has lost everything and has lived only to seek justice, she was written well. She was focused and driven and her past trauma made her less emotional than I think we would have wanted from a woman in her position. I don’t think that makes her less interesting, but I think it makes her real.

Overall, Sager hit us again with some twists I never saw coming and provided a throughly fun read.

With a vengeance was a very compelling story.
Anna Mathesons life was destroyed 12 years ago, her brother died on a military train and her father was blamed for it all. What unravels is a story about revenge and truth.
A train ride that will take all those to blame for Anna’s family’s downfall, to their own.
I really enjoyed this story, despite it being a slow start and not really knowing what was going on in the beginning I really liked how things were tied up in the end. You get to feel Anna’s grief and how stuck she is until those responsible pay for their crimes, although someone else on the train has a different idea on what revenge should entail. I was really intrigued by how it was going to end and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! Have always enjoyed Riley Sagers book and this one did not let me down! Thanks to netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the arc!!

I love Riley Sager’s book! His last one, Middle of the Night wasn’t my favorite of his. But I really liked this one! It was fun and twisty. Loved the train setting.

I can always recommend a Riley Sager book. This one was not my favorite in terms of characters but I appreciate how every book is different. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this available.

Sager is a beloved author for me. Fans of Agatha Christie will appreciate the locked-room mystery and the duplicitous characters.

Riley Sager does it again. The king of thrillers is back. This book did not disappoint, you need to pick it up!

3.5 stars

With this book, it would appear that Sager is moving away from his spookier mysteries and more into straightforward ones. I think I prefer the ones with the spooky vibe but this might appeal to a wider audience.

I liked this book just fine. Anna Matheson has gathered a group of people together on a train ride. Each one is connected to an event from her past and she is seeking revenge. The train will not be stopping for 13 hours. Her plan does not include murder, so it's a problem when bodies start to pile up and she has no idea who the killer is. This book is very reminiscent of Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.

For the most part, I did enjoy the book. At times it felt very repetitive however, and there were too many twists to keep up with. There was one significant event that made absolutely no sense to me and seemed to only be there to muddy up the waters (a pun, if you've read it you'll know what I mean). The ending wrapped up in a neat little bow which felt a little forced and silly to me after everything that had just transpired over the 13 hours on the train.

For a mystery/thriller it was fine. I was entertained. There were the usual cliches and tropes that you find in these kinds of mysteries but that's to be expected. There were enough moving parts that I did not know who was behind the killings or why. If you want a mystery with an unpredictable ending then this one will likely satisfy you.

I really enjoyed Riley Sager's first several books, but the last few I have not connected with. This one I did not enjoy at all; the characters were wooden and unlikeable, and the events were unbelievable. The ending was rather silly.

If you're in the mood for a heart-pounding thriller, With a Vengeance will keep you hooked from beginning to end. The plot is razor-sharp, filled with twists and turns that never let up, while the characters' motivations are expertly woven into the action. A perfect pick for fans of high-stakes suspense.

Riley Sager has a knack for crafting gripping thrillers that have, at times, left me on the edge of my seat. Sager's latest novel, With A Vengeance, had such promise to do the same but in the end I found myself with mixed feelings.

In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family. Twelve years later, she’s ready for retribution.

Under false pretenses, Anna has lured those responsible for her family’s downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago, an overnight journey of thirteen hours. Her goal? Confront the people who’ve wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them into the hands of authorities waiting at the end of the line. Justice will at last be served.

But Anna’s plan is quickly derailed by the murder of one of the passengers. As the train barrels through the night, it becomes clear that someone else on board is enacting their own form of revenge—and that they won’t stop until everyone else is dead. With time running out before the train reaches its destination, Anna is forced to hunt the killer in their midst while protecting the people she hates the most. In order to destroy her enemies, she must first save them—even though it means putting her own life at risk.

The premise of Riley Sager's With A Vengeance was intriguing. The concept of revenge being executed on a moving train—a confined space with no escape—creates an atmosphere of tension and urgency. While this plot has seems a little played out, Sager does set it just outside the typical narrative. However, it wasn't enough of a new story for it to grip me from the start which is what I was hoping for when cracking open this book.

While Sager does excels at atmospheric settings that become characters in their own right. The claustrophobic environment of the train does contribute significantly to the story's escalating tension that made for an excellent plot device. Each train compartment and corridor becomes suspicious among the passengers—a testament to Sager's adept handling of setting as an instrument for building suspense.

Despite the anticipation for the novel, my enthusiasm quickly dampened as the book moved along. This is in large part to its character development—or lack thereof. While Anna's motivations are well-articulated, many characters felt underdeveloped or simply unlikable. This made it challenging for me to invest emotionally in their stories or care deeply about Anna's quest for revenge.

While Sager's With A Vengeance didn't entirely meet my exceptions–it still possesses enough merit within its pages thanks largely to its setting–it was worth the journey and I am glad I toughed it out to the end. The tale does offer a take on a classic whodunit on the tight space of a train on its way to Chicago–let's say Sager's take on a classic Agatha Christie story–but in the end it was an underwhelming take. As much as I have admired Sager’s previous works, this particular book left me with mixed feelings.

I feel as if I’m forever chasing the high of Riley’s The Only One Left. Anything I’ve read since then by this author just doesn’t compare. I was intrigued at first about a murder mystery on a train a la Agatha Christie style, but the characters are quite unlikable and it just was really predictable with how it unfolded. There are only so many scenarios with a murder mystery on a train lol. All in all, it was ok.

Many thanks to the publisher for an arc of this. All opinions are my own.