I've been a big fan of Riley Sager's thrillers in the past and was quite looking forward to this new summer suspense story set at a lake house in Virginia but sadly I found the ending a little too out there for me.

The story had a great premise, a woman grieving her husband who likes to drink a LOT too much witnesses something she thinks is foul play at the house across the lake. Determined to investigate on her own she digs into the husband's past, not realizing there's MUCH more to the story than meets the eye.

I will say the book gives off STRONG Woman in the window vibes right up until about the halfway mark where things pivot in a crazy/weird/strange direction I was not expecting and didn't exactly love. Throw in a few more unexpected twists and thriller lovers or die hard fans of the author might still really enjoy this one. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy!

The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager

Casey Fletcher a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press has retreated to the peace and cloud of her family‘s lake house in Vermont. Armed to the pair binoculars and several balls of liquor she passes a time watching Tom and Catherine Royce the glamorous couple who live in the house across the lake they make for a good viewing. I liked the characters, each flawed, but likeable.

That’s all I’m gonna say about the book as I don’t wanna give anything away.

I have often sat on a bench and watched people go by and tried to guess what they’re doing and what’s going on. I realize from this book you could never know what’s really happening even though you have a Birdseye view from across the lake , or a bench.

It is definitely a necessary read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What's going on in the house across the lake?
After a bout of bad press and recently losing her husband, Casey unpacks for a stay in her family's Vermont lake house. Spending her days draining her liquor stock, Casey stumbles across her late husband's binoculars and finds herself engrossed in the the lives across the lake from her. The more she learns about the happy couple across the lake, Tom and Katherine, the more she realizes their marriage may not be as perfect as it seems. Suddenly, Katherine disappears and Casey becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. In her investigation, she uncovers truths she never expected to find. Will Casey find out what happened to Katherine or is that one truth that will stay hidden?
I've been wanting to read Riley Sager's work for a while now; I'm glad that I finally had the chance to and started with The House Across the Lake. Although I felt like it was kind of slow to start in the beginning, I loved it overall. There were so many small details that were important to the main idea, not a single one getting missed. The amount of twists and turns had my head spinning; Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I was quickly proven wrong. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job with voicing all the characters and emitting a suspenseful feeling. I can't wait to read more work by Riley Sager. Add this thriller to your TBR if you haven't already!
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and Edelweiss+. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Can you really know what is going on in someone else’s life just by watching from the outside? Perhaps, but in the case of The House Across the Lake, the answer is a solid no. When troubled actress Casey Fletcher witnesses the lives of her neighbors both in person and through their windows, she worries that something bad is happening in the house across the lake, but has she put the pieces together in the right way? Or has her troubled past and alcoholic present clouded her judgement?

Riley Sager’s latest novel, The House Across the Lake, is another solid entry into the psychological thriller genre. While the book follows Sager’s usual formula of a female protagonist in a desperate and confusing situation, the main character in this latest book might not be as relatable as in past books. Casey Fletcher is the actress-daughter of beloved film star Lolly Fletcher (I was instantly reminded of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher). Casey is spirally out of control after the death of her husband and is ordered by her mother to sequester in the family’s lake house. The house is located on an exclusive lake in New England that has only a handful of vacation homes, and being off-season only a few are occupied. Of particular interest to Casey is the house across the lake which has been recently purchased by app developer Tom and former supermodel wife Katherine. Casey has a perfect view of their mostly glass house from her porch, a pair of high-powered binoculars left behind by her birdwatching husband, and too much time on her hands which proves to be a dangerous combination. Convinced that Tom has done something sinister to Katherine, Casey tries to help. But is Casey right, or is she causing problems where none exist?

To be honest, I initially had trouble getting into this book because the ability of all the characters to just languish in their fancy lakes homes whenever they were stressed was off-putting to my burned-out self. I will say that even in the end I was not terribly sympathetic to anyone except maybe the handyman. However the twists and turns, right up to the end, kept me interested and made for an enjoyable escapist read. If you’d liked Sager’s other books, or authors like Lucy Foley or Ruth Ware, then give this a read.

I absolutely loved Final Girls and Home Before Dark so I was excited to get my hands on the new book by Riley Sager. The House Across the Lake tells the story of Casey Fletcher-an actress who tragically lost her husband and has been sent to the cabin on Lake Greene to avoid any more bad press after her alcohol fueled outbursts made for perfect tabloid fodder. Her neighbors on the lake include a handsome stranger next door and Tom and Katherine Royce, Katherine being a super well known model Casey strikes up a friendship with Katherine after she saves her from drowning and with nothing to do on the lake she takes to checking up on her new glamorous neighbors across the lake with her binoculars but she starts to witness things that don't seem right and then Katherine disappears. This book kind of reminded me of Girl on a Train with the whole "did I see what I think I did or was it the alcohol?" thing going on. I was liking the is it all in my head groove going on but then the book takes a nose dive into the supernatural that just didn't work for me at all. I will still recommend to patrons but this was not my favorite book by this author.

Casey Fletcher is a former NYC actress and a recent widow. She is trying get some peace, quiet and relaxation at the family lake house on Lake Greene in Vermont. She also drinks too much with a penchant for bourbon. With plenty of time on her hands she takes to spying on her good looking neighbors across the lake, Katherine and Tom Royce. When one day Casey saves Katherines from a drowning incident, the two women become friendlier. Before long Casey is thinking that the couple across the lake isn't the perfect, happy couple she initially thought they were. She begins to wonder if perhaps Katherine should fear Tom.

This is one of those thrillers with an unreliable narrator that starts out a bit slow but, I still remained engaged and kept wondering what the heck was going on. The set up, think The Woman in the Window, AJ Finn or the movie Rear Window. Yes, it is a style that has been overused and, in the end this book had more twists than I could have anticipated -- yes, some were a bit much.

This was a combo read/listen and although Bernadette Dunne has been a terrific narrator that I've enjoyed in the past, she was inappropriate for the voice of the younger Casey. Bernadette, although a great reader, she has a raspy voice that makes her sound like an elderly woman. After a while I found it necessary to switch to the print edition. Overall, this was an okay read but, it did not wow me by any means.

This is my 8th book read from my initial 20 Books of Summer list.

Rating - 3.5/5 stars

This is a nicely paced, twisty read. That said, there is also an element of predictability. But overall, I enjoyed this book as a first time reader of Riley Sager.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't my cup of tea. I have read one other Riley Sager book and didn't really enjoy it, but thought I would try again. I don't love the way he writes female characters and in both titles I didn't enjoy the plot twists. I love thrillers but there is something about the writing style I just don't connect with.

I was so excited to finally read a Sager book but unfortunately this one was a let down. The plot just didn't make any sense. Sager starts off with the whole "spying on your neighbor" trope and then out of nowhere the plot becomes paranormal. I didn't mind the paranornal angle, I just felt like the execution of the plot was poor. Also none of the characters are even likable. I might go back and read his older stuff

Kudos to authors for taking risks. For throwing in a twist that NO-ONE SAW COMING. For doing things a bit different. For having the courage to not write that SAME thriller that everyone else does.

This one's at the top of my Sager list now- I've read them all, and it's hard to pick favorites, but I got to the ending and I WAS SO MAD I got fooled. OK, let's be honest - this one fooled me MULTIPLE times. I always guess the big twist and Mr. Sager, you done me dirty. And for that - I applaud you. Bravo.

Review of The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I had very mixed feelings about this one. I was vacillating between 3-3.5 stars for this one. So the very beginning started strong for me. Loved the setting. Then there was a long stretch where I contemplated briefing not finishing but then it picked him for me and I loved the ending. I know a lot of folks hated the ending so much and I know it is behind realistic but I loved it. I said what I said. Yes I am just as tired of the overused alcoholic unreliable main character as everyone else and she annoyed me to no end at times but overall her heart was in the right place and I ended up really liking her by the end. I do hope the next book is more in the vein of final girls and other earlier novels though…

Thank you to @netgalley for the early copy!

I liked this thriller! I found the second half extremely bingeable and full of twists which came off as authentic and sent the book in a direction I didn’t expect. Loved going back to all of the previous details after reading it all. The setting was perfectly *Vermont lake*

As a reader, I am a bit tired of the unreliable, drunk woman main character. This didn’t make or break the book for me but it definitely wasn’t my fave part. I also wish there was more closure/details with Casey’s family and Boone.

Overall a great summer thriller!

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the opportunity to read Riley Sager's The House Across the Lake which was not really my cup of tea. I really didn't care for the protag and felt the constant lists of all the alcohol being consumed unnecessary and annoying. The whole story was too unbelievable for me.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the author’s previous books, and this was definitely not at all what I expected. Which is usually a good thing but in this case I’m not sure. A lot of the story was too focused on the narrator’s alcohol consumption and didn’t add to the story in any way. You would think it would have made them an unreliable narrator but nothing in the story indicates that.
It was an usual story, I’ll give it that at least.

This is my second book by Riley Sager and I definitely enjoyed it.
If you like twists and turns for suspenseful thrillers, then you need to read this!

LOL. That should be the review, that's it. This is the nail in the coffin for me and Riley Sager's work. Listen - I actually do dislike negatively talking about an authors work, because I know this is a me issue - the writing just doesn't work for me. I rate my thrillers by eye rolls and maybe it's because I've read too many or I'm just too picky, but my eyes get stuck in the back of my head reading his books. Yet I keep torturing myself reading each one that comes out and they're worse than the last and I KEEP DOING IT. So this is my declaration for everyone to hold me accountable - I'm done wasting my time.

The first half of this book is the main character describing how much of an alcoholic she ISN'T, because she knows she's a drunk and it's because of her life and her past that she drinks. But she doesn't have a problem. And she's sad. We get it. The second half (was it even half?) was packed full of constant WTF is happening in the worst way moments, with the main character making ridiculous bone head decisions but not because she's drunk, no she just had a few drinks to take the edge off. This is very common of Sager's female main characters - absolute morons with zero good decision making skills. When I got this arc, there was an email along with it saying please don't spoil the twist because it's SOOOO GOOD AND SOOOOOO AMAZING. I'm not even commenting on the twist in fear of my eyes permanently leaving my body because they're sick of rolling into the back of my head. I've just had enough.

Clearly after looking at other reviews, I'm in a huge minority here with the amount of dislike I have for this book. I'm not even going to suggest you go read it because I'm not being held responsible for wasting someones time like that, but hey - check out other reviews and see if they entice you! Adios, Sager

LOL. That should be the review, that's it. This is the nail in the coffin for me and Riley Sager's work. Listen - I actually do dislike negatively talking about an authors work, because I know this is a me issue - the writing just doesn't work for me. I rate my thrillers by eye rolls and maybe it's because I've read too many or I'm just too picky, but my eyes get stuck in the back of my head reading his books. Yet I keep torturing myself reading each one that comes out and they're worse than the last and I KEEP DOING IT. So this is my declaration for everyone to hold me accountable - I'm done wasting my time.

The first half of this book is the main character describing how much of an alcoholic she ISN'T, because she knows she's a drunk and it's because of her life and her past that she drinks. But she doesn't have a problem. And she's sad. We get it. The second half (was it even half?) was packed full of constant WTF is happening in the worst way moments, with the main character making ridiculous bone head decisions but not because she's drunk, no she just had a few drinks to take the edge off. This is very common of Sager's female main characters - absolute morons with zero good decision making skills. When I got this arc, there was an email along with it saying please don't spoil the twist because it's SOOOO GOOD AND SOOOOOO AMAZING. I'm not even commenting on the twist in fear of my eyes permanently leaving my body because they're sick of rolling into the back of my head. I've just had enough.

Clearly after looking at other reviews, I'm in a huge minority here with the amount of dislike I have for this book. I'm not even going to suggest you go read it because I'm not being held responsible for wasting someones time like that, but hey - check out other reviews and see if they entice you! Adios, Sager!

Okay, this was one twisty ride and I was totally here for it. I was very apprehensive about even reading this one because I feel that the “drunk female MC” trope is so over-done. However, this was way different then The Woman in the Window (a book that frustrated me to no end) so I enjoyed it waaay more then I expected to!

With that being said, I did feel that it took a long time to end after the big reveal. For the last 50+ pages of the book I was like “okaaay, wrap it up, please!” This one didn’t give me the creeps the way some of his others have, but I was pleasantly surprise by this one.

*note: my review for this book will be posted on my instagram page @leannaslittlelibrary tomorrow 7/8

*Unpopular Opinion* or maybe not? 2.5 ⭐️s rounding down.
Riley Sager’s first books made me become a huge fan of his and I will continue to read his work. However, this book was a swing and a miss. The writing felt disjointed and it didn’t grab my attention at any point in the book.
This is not what I want in a thriller. The only reason I finished this book was due to name alone and I kept waiting for something HUGE to happen. The twist at the end, it felt juvenile to me and is something that is found in many of my middle graded readers books.

It was basically full of filler for the first 75% and the last 25% should have been marketed as a middle grade thriller.

Thank you to Dutton and PRHA for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

2.5 stars. This one started out strong, giving just a few characters, but also just enough information to realize you don't know what is going on or who to trust. And then the author switched routes and what was an interesting, suspenseful read, was now just out there and a disappointment.