Thank you to Dutton for an advanced copy of The House Across the Lake.

I just finished it last night and had to sleep on it before forming my review. I had such high hopes for this book because Sager is an auto buy author for me, but I think after sleeping on it, I have decided it was just okay for me. While I don't want to give away any spoilers, the general premise is Casey is an alcoholic who sits in her house on the lake and watches her neighbors through her binoculars. She befriends Katherine, her lake neighbor, who quickly disappears. All signs point to Katherine's husband, Tom, but things aren't as they seem.

I think where the story lost me was when the first twist was revealed. I sort of saw it coming, but it ended up going in a direction / topic that is completely uninteresting to me. After that, I found myself buzzing through the back half of the book. Don't get me wrong, there were some nail biting moments, but overall, it just missed the mark for me.

Since actor Casey Fletcher's husband died, she's been making big mistake after big mistake. She's tried drowning her sorrows in alcohol, and after ruining her show by showing up blackout drunk, her mom and best friend decide it's time for her to get herself together. Casey is sent to the family cabin on Lake Green to dry out--the same lake where her husband drowned. One day, Casey finds her rich and famous model neighbor Katherine face down in the lake, seemingly drowned as well, and manages to bring her back to life. After the rescue, the two women strike up an unlikely friendship. Casey becomes curious about Katherine and her husband, Tom (a social media mogul), and begins to spy on them using her husband's high powered birdwatching binoculars. After seeing some disturbing behavior between Katherine and Tom, she checks on her friend and realizes that she may be in trouble. Katherine goes missing, and of course Tom is Casey's prime suspect, even if the police don't believe it. What Casey finds is even more disturbing than she had imagined. Can Casey save her friend, or is it already too late?

I've read several of Riley Sager's books, and they've always had a great twist. This book is no exception, but it definitely goes in a different direction than any of their other books. Casey is infuriating, and extremely hard for me to like at times. Katherine is charismatic but also erratic at times, and Tom is a charming jerk. If you like Sager's other books, you'll like this one. In my opinion, it was not predictable at all.

I received this ARC courtesy of Goodreads, in return for my honest and unbiased review.

The author atop the genre …

I’ve read 40 thriller/mystery books so far this year and Riley Sager’s writing style stands out to me for the following reasons:

He is a true fan of genre content
He is camp
He likes to pay homage to the greats that came before him


His books are fun!! IMO that is what’s missing from a lot of thrillers, this tongue-in-cheek style of writing. Seriously, look under the surface of what’s going on here.

In the House Across The Lake, Sager puts a spin on Rear Window, which had already been spun into The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window. Yes, yes, we have an unreliable drunk narrator who sees shit when she becomes a creeper.

In this book we are introduced to Casey Fletcher, she’s an actress on a timeout at her family’s lake house. She fell into an alcoholic depression after her husband drowned in the very lake she now looks out to.

One day she rescues her supermodel neighbor, Katherine, who’s drowning in the lake. Drowning is the new stabbing! The two become friends, and Casey starts to spy on her and her husband as one does. One night she sees them fight and Katherine goes missing.

Casey is determined to find out what happened to Katherine. The basic plot sounds similar to the other books, BUT this book is far more twisty and OTT. Casey is a much more savvy and interesting of a character compared to Rachel and Anna.

The ending is WILD and yes you will be like what?? Just go with it. It’s supposed to be fun and if you are looking for a literal thriller you will be upset.

Sager is a fresh dip in a very murky pool.

I received this from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. I think this is one of Riley‘s favorite books that I’ve ever read. I love that he continues to add nods to old movie genres in his books. I think people that love the old movies that are featured, such as Rear Window in this one, will really enjoy being able to revisit a movie that they loved inside of a book.
This book was finished in three sittings and would’ve been finished in two, but I actually had to get up an adult and do some things. However, without giving anything away I will say that I was kept completely entertained, turning the pages, and completely surprised by the turn of events. You should go into this one blind and just not expect anything because the unexpected will happen.

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!