First, I want to say that I’m a Riley Sager fan, beginning with Final Girls. I’ve enjoyed all of his novels, right up until The House Across the Lake. Unfortunately, this one flopped in a big way for me. The synopsis drew me in, and, when I saw people calling this his best plot twist yet, I eagerly started reading. I was completely captivated right up until the basement scene. I’m keeping this spoiler free, but what in the world? Really? That’s the best twist yet?

Now, having said all that, there’s still a lot to love about The House Across the Lake., like I New England lake setting and a unidentified serial killer. I always enjoy Sager’s dialogue and his pop culture references, but it wasn’t enough to save this one for me. Bonus points for Casey being a Nightingale camper and the Royces living near the Bartholomew, but, again, still not enough.

I'm not sure what happened here. I have read all of Sager's previous books and enjoyed them to varying degrees. The narrative of "The House Across the Lake" meanders, and has such an unbelievable twist it feels lazy and sloppy. All the characters are one dimensional, with the quintessential traits that feel like an author merely ticking off boxes. Casey Fletcher, because of an alcohol addiction is set up to be our unreliable narrator. She sees a crime from across the lake, and tries to figure out (and convince others) that this crime occurred. (All the while keeping her own secrets.) And this is another backstory that isn't developed enough for the reader to actually feel any investment in. I am uniquely disappointed by an author that had been an automated read for me in the past. None of the themes in "The House Across the Lake" feel fresh or have a unique enough point of view to justify its existence.

Riley Sager’s specialty seems to be writing about damaged women with alcohol issues and this book is no different. This time, we’re in a Rear Window heavily inspired scenario. An alcoholic actress, Casey Fletcher, has been sent by her mother to recuperate and pull herself together on their lake house. Her husband passed away a year ago and she is still reeling from the loss. She takes to spying on her neighbors with a pair of highly effective binoculars and sees a woman struggling in the lake, whom she saves. Turns out, she’s just saved Katherine Royce, a neighbor across the lake and former model. As Casey begins spying on her, she gets the feeling that all is not well with Katherine’s relationship to her tech tycoon of a husband. And when Katherine disappears, Casey is convinced she knows who is behind it. But the overindulging of bourbon makes for an unreliable narrator in this story that takes a twisty turn into Sarah Pinderborough territory. What does it mean to be a man who writes books about women’s trauma? If that’s your jam, you will love this book. Thank you to Dutton and to NetGalley for the advanced review copy of this book.

I went into this with one hope and one hope only:
1. Please be better than last year's "Survive the Night"

And it was! But it still wasn't very good.

I keep saying after every Riley Sager book I read that this is where our relationship ends, yet this is my fifth time reading one of his books so I think it's safe to assume I'll keep coming back. At least to drag the man.

As is usual with Sager's books, our main character is a women with a lot of trauma. There is nothing Sager likes more than writing about women who have experienced as many hardships as their life could possibly have thrown at them. Casey, our protagonist, pulls a Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window and sits with a pair of binoculars to observe the world around her. She watches this one couple frequently and ends up befriending the woman in the relationship. Through this she learns of their not so perfect marriage and one day, Katherine vanishes.

The ending is...a lot. It's better than the "it was all a movie" ending of Survive the Night, but it's on the weaker side for me. I just can't give good ratings to men who exclusively write about women going through some severely f***ed up events. It's a bit more disturbing than the events themselves.

I'd give it more of a 2.75 rating.

The House Across the Lake is this summer's newest thriller by Riley Sager. Casey is having a difficult time right now. She's a new widow who lost her acting job due to her problem with alcohol. She retreats to her family's lake house in rural Vermont to determine what she needs to do next in her life. She becomes friendly with another lake neighbor who suddenly disappears. Only Casey seems to think she's disappeared. The neighbor's husband insists all is well with his wife. A couple other neighbors round out the cast of characters and leave the reader wondering just who to believe in this twisty tale. Read and enjoy!

After the unexpected death of her husband, Casey Fletcher retreats to the family lake house to drown her sorrows and avoid the public eye. To pass the time, Casey arms herself with bottles of liquor and a pair of binoculars to watch the house of power couple Tom and Katherine Royce across the lake. When Casey saves Katherine from drowning, they strike up a friendship. But as Casey continues to get to know Katherine and watch the house across the lake, she realizes things aren’t always as they appear.

Fans of Rear Window or The Woman in the Window, this is the book for you! My first Riley Sager did not disappoint. I flew through this book and hardly ever put it down because I was dying to know what Casey would see next! I saw a few reviews saying they were tired of reading the alcoholic MC trope, but I haven’t read very many of those so it didn’t bother me much. I will say that having so many chapters starting with Casey needing another drink did become distracting over time. BUT THE TWIST. RILEY SAGER YOU GOT ME GOOD. It was a really bizarre twist that I didn’t see coming. My shoulders were up to my ears I was so tense! Thank you so much to Dutton, Riley Sager, and NetGalley for my e-ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book

This author is a hit or miss for me, and unfortunately this book was a miss. I found it slow and kinda boring tbh, and the big “twist” was disappointing.

I’m really sick of reading his books about helpless woman that are too emotionally or mentally unstable and put themselves in dumb situations. None of his characters are relatable or make any sense. I absolutely loved Home Before Dark, but they just keep getting more cringy.

I don’t want to give much of the plot away, but if you liked Survive The Night, this one’s for you too.

But if you didn’t, I say skip it.

Riley Sager does not disappoint in The House Across the Lake. The hook gets you right from the start. Halfway through I thought I had it figured out, I didn’t. Then 3/4 of the way through I had it figured out again, nope.
Casey, the main character, though famous is very relatable in her flaws, her demons, and her grief. The story flows and keeps you guessing and makes you question what genre you’re reading multiple times.

Book Review:

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Alright, I've said it before but I love the plot twists in all of Sager's books. I went into this book knowing that things wouldn't be as they seem and yet I still audibly gasped as things are revealed and the plot shifts to follow.

I looked that the story is creepy without be overwhelmingly so. And that somehow being almost alone living out on the lake can be both peaceful and weird at the same time. I loved the paranormal aspects that come to light. I loved the voyeurism that is inevitable with a house made of glass. So good!

Find out for yourself what happens while Casey Fletcher hides out at her family lake house and meets the new neighbors across the lake, Katherine and Tom Royce.

The House Across the Lake releases June 21st!

Thank you @netgalley and @duttonbooks for this advanced reader 🤓

#BookReview #Bookstagram #RileySager #TheHouseAcrossTheLake #DuttonBooks #Netgalley #BookishLife #Reading #Instabooks #BookPhotography #BookRecommendations #Bibliophile #GirlsWhoRead #BookNerd #Thriller #ThrillerBooks

THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE is Riley Sager's sixth thriller and yet again uses an unreliable female protagonist, but this time, she's got a drinking problem! This book is my least favorite installment by the author and will be hit or miss with fans alike.

I can't really dive into the plot without giving away the twist/s (which I figured out pretty early on in some aspect) and the publisher is acting like this is the next great twist to come to mystery / thriller fiction novels. That being said, the story focuses on Casey Fletcher, a widowed actress who has received criticism in the media by her behavior following her husband's death. Casey is trying to live a reclusive life in rural Vermont at her family's house where she drinks away her grief, but after saving her supermodel neighbor Katherine from drowning, her life is forever changed. Katherine and Casey forge a friendship where subtle clues about Katherine's marriage begin to worry Casey, especially after disappearing after a fight with her husband.

I have to give praise to the author for continually entertaining with his writing, because the book is actually really well written. I just feel like this book, just like Survive the Night (which I really enjoyed) have been stories already told. I can't deny that this book is fun and will entertain readers, and I will say that I appreciated the author's journey into a different kind of twist.

5 stars! What. A. Ride! I’m a big fan of this author and this lived up to my expectations.

What I liked ~
•the beautiful (yet eerie!) lake setting with the combination of old and modern homes
•a fantastic cast of characters that all played important roles in the plot
•twists & turns! So fun (and creepy!)
•if you liked the books The Woman in the Window, Stillhouse Lake and the movie Rear Window, you’ll love this. The movie is even referenced in the book. My favorite Riley Sager book to date is Last Time I Lied and while totally different ~ the setting is reminiscent of the woods & lake.

What I didn’t like ~
•5 star books from me mean there isn’t much I didn’t like.
•one thing (but it’s a spoiler so I’ll refrain from TMI!) which is a personal fear of mine (and probably most people!) is hard to read about in detail. But also kind of why I love thrillers!

This book just reiterated my appreciation for this author and makes me want to read more! I’ve read 4 of his books now. Will definitely add more to my TBR!

Book 38 of 2022
Read June 13-17

A compelling read, with characters that have depth enough to keep reading. Good pace and interesting twists.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
My first Riley Sager did not disappoint. It was a bit slow at the start and the long chapters didn’t help with that. It picked up nicely around the halfway point with some unexpected twists. Getting me on the edge of my seat and wanted to dig deeper and deeper. I loved the setting of the Lake as it makes for perfect mysteries. I wasn’t a big fan of the heavy alcoholism element but it did blend into the story nicely, adding to the story. Overal a very quick read!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Quick read 🤓
Hidden secrets
Surprising plot twists

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘺 𝘍𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺’𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵. 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘰𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘺𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴—𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘮’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦, 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵, 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨.

This fast-paced novel reminiscent of both Paula Hawkins’ The Girl On The Train and Sarah Pinborough’s Behind Her Eyes has plenty of surprises in store for any fans of thrillers with a paranormal twist.

Casey Fletcher is an actress living in exile on Lake Greene, in the Vermont hideaway of her mother, beloved musical theater icon Lolly Fletcher. Fourteen months ago, Casey’s husband Len fell into that very same lake and drowned. Since then, Casey has been an alcoholic wreck, losing her starring role in a hit Broadway play and becoming hot, messy tabloid fodder instead. Her concerned mother, as well as her cousin and manager Marnie, shunted her off to the lakehouse to dry out, threatening her with a stint in rehab otherwise. Joke’s on them, though, as Casey still has access to enough alcohol to help numb her lonely days up on the lake.

Aside from copious drinking, Casey amuses herself by spying on the few neighbors still living there during the off-season. Eli Williams is a former best-selling novelist who functions as the small community’s neighborhood watch. Boone Conrad is the guy temporarily living at the absent Mitchells’ while he does some light repair work on their house. Most interesting to Casey though are Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple who live directly across the lake from her in a big, modern house with floor to ceiling windows that face the water.

At first, spying on them is just a harmless, if guilty, pleasure. But after Casey fishes a nearly drowned Katherine out of the lake one evening, resulting in the two women striking up a quick friendship, she starts to feel more protective of the retired supermodel whose marital issues are becoming more and more distressingly obvious:

QUOTE
I lower the binoculars, unnerved by what I just saw, although I can’t articulate why. I want to think it stems from getting yet another unfiltered glimpse of someone else’s life. Or maybe it’s simply guilt over convincing myself it was okay to yet again watch something I was never supposed to see. As a result, I’m turning what I saw into something bigger than it really is. The proverbial mountain out of a molehill.

Yet I can’t shake the way Katherine reacted the moment she realized Tom had entered the room.

Lifted out of her chair.

Panic writ large on her face.
END QUOTE

When Katherine disappears a few days later without returning any of Casey’s calls or messages, Casey begins to worry that Tom has done something to her friend. Unfortunately or otherwise, all she has is circumstantial evidence. Perhaps Katherine really did take off for the city as Tom claims, after one marital spat too many, and isn’t answering her phone in an attempt at digital detox. The local police are sympathetic but skeptical of Casey’s allegations, even if she does have one unexpected ally in her corner, when Boone comes to her rescue after a risky investigative excursion:

QUOTE
“How did you know I was there?”

The answer, I realize, is gripped in Boone’s right hand.

The binoculars.

Handing them to me, he says, “I borrowed them after I saw you walking past the house. I knew what you were up to and ran onto your porch to keep watch.”

“Why didn’t you stop me from going?”

“Because I was thinking about doing it myself.”

“But you just told me it was stupid and dangerous.”

“It was,” Boone says. “That doesn’t mean it wasn’t necessary.[“]
END QUOTE

As Casey and Boone team up to get to the bottom of what happened to Katherine, they discover unnerving connections to the disappearances of three local women over the course of the past few years. Could Katherine be the latest victim of a serial killer preying on the less fortunate in their secluded, well-to-do area? Lake Greene hides more than one secret in its murky depths, as a looming tropical storm threatens to unleash even more havoc than the lake’s inhabitants have created for one another and for themselves.

I greatly admire the way Riley Sager plots and foreshadows his twisty narrative as Casey must untangle multiple webs of deception in order to discover the ultimate truth of what’s going on. I do admit that as a fan of both mystery and horror novels, I prefer when paranormal elements are clearly marked as such before I get into a book, a legacy of my grounding in and admiration for the fair play mystery tradition. That said, the non-paranormal plot reversals in this are excellently done, and the supernatural itself dealt with aplomb. While I did find some of Casey’s choices, particularly while under the influence of alcohol, maddening at best, I did admire the way she rolled with the punches, and particularly her newfound determination at the end of the novel. Definitely recommended for people who enjoy a good spooky mystery, or perhaps a good mysterious horror thriller.

My first thoughts as I started this book were, “we’ve got another drunk and we’re gonna blame everything on substance abuse.” And then I kept comparing it to Rear Window and Woman in the Window and was prepared to give up on the book altogether. Well, I couldn’t have been MORE wrong about my initial thoughts. This was an insane story and the twist is one I never would’ve guessed. I love when that happens!! Fans of Sager will be THRILLED over this new one!

3.5 stars (rounded up) because it only got exciting around 60% in

Actress Casey Fletcher is laying low at the family lake house he husband drowned here and she is now drinking heavily and watches the neighbors thru binoculars to pass the time. Across the lake lives former model Katherine and her husband Tom. Things start getting crazy when Casey spots Katherine laying face down in the lake. Stories say the lake is haunted and with lots of twists and possession, the story gets deeper and deeper into murder and deception.

Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a career ending foolish act, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Her only companions in her exile are her well stocked liquor cabinet and a pair of binoculars. Her voyeuristic glimpses into her neighbors' lives lead her to save Katherine Royce, a former model, from drowning in the frigid waters of the lake. As she gets to know Katherine and her tech innovator husband, Tom, Casey begins to think all is not as perfect as it appears in their lives. Riley Sager takes us on another psychological suspenseful thrill ride filled with sharp, twisty turns that will keep you feverishly turning the pages until the very shocking end. I had a very hard time putting this book down! I highly recommend this addictive, eerie mystery!

Happy Thriller Thursday! When Riley Sager puts out a new book I dont ever wonder if it will be good. I know it will! Every single one of these books was so good. My top favorite that almost lost its place to authors new book is #thelasttimeilied I loved them all but this one has been my favorite for a long time.

I read #thehouseacrossthelake and its a crazy one! 🤯🤯At one part of the book I screamed out "I Knew It!" Then a seconds later I realized I didn't know anything 😄I was suspicious of every single character. The twist all come together and it's craziness.Guys If you havent already pre ordered your copy. You definitely should!! I did from @murderbooks and my copy will be signed 😊

Ugh, I keep trying with Sager books and they keep letting me down. This one was going along fine until about 75% of the way through when the paranormal stuff developed. He lost me there. Feels like he has to stuff every plotline he can into his books and it ruins them for me personally.