First of all, thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for the arc!

You know by his name, that every Riley Sager thriller is going to begin the same: There's a woman, isolated from her family and maybe even society, and spooky stuff starts to happen. Since his marvel of a debut mystery novel Final Girls, each book Sager writes becomes more and more predictable. Fortunately, The House Across the Lake offers a bit more than his previous endeavors.

The novel follows Casey, a semi-retired actress and widow, waiting out her days at her family's lake house. There, she meets her neighbours Katherine and Tom Royce, who quickly become intertwined with Casey's drama. Using binoculars to pass the time, Casey soon sees things across the lake at the Royce's that startles her. From there, mysteries begin to unravel, as do the minds of the characters on the page.

Reveling in more clever twists than Sager's previous endeavours, The House Across the Lake is a fine summer thriller. A certain twist towards the end makes all the meandering almost worth it, and with it breathes a bit of new life into Sager's lack lustre work.

Another Riley Sager hits! Sager shines the most when writing mystery horror blends and this book is no exception. A well plotted mystery with enough red herrings to fill the titular lake.

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐫. 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫!!

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐊𝐄, 𝐛𝐲 𝐑𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡, 𝐬𝐚𝐲, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭? 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥? 𝐎𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝/𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞..

Riley Sager is just that good. The thrills and chills just keep coming, one after another - any one of which could have been a firecracker ending - but they do not stop until the very last page…with a fantastic finale you won’t see coming.

The intensely drawn characters - the young widow, Casey - drowning herself slowly in a bottle(s) of bourbon - and Katherine, the model, whom Casey befriends whilst saving her from drowning. Yes, drowning is a theme, and it’s massively successful. Other fabulously intriguing characters include the model’s creepy husband, Tom, Boone, the hunky neighbor, and Eli, the wise, old neighbor. Casey picks up another bottle of bourbon and pair of binoculars, and the game begins...

Perhaps the greatest character is the setting - that darkly foreboding lake in the midst of a gorgeously colorful Vermont autumn. Filled with a haunting life of its own, Riley Sager has perfected the scary story environment.

I am am punch drunk crazy over this one. I’ll reread it, because every great match deserves a replay.

I was agog with excitement when I received this ARC and am beyond grateful to NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton, and Riley Sager for the opportunity to read this epic tale in exchange for my honest opinion and wholly independent review.

I, like most other Sager die-hard fans, have very mixed feelings about this book. The first two-thirds of the book is very familiar. The general plot has been done so many times before. An alcoholic woman sits in her window watching the couple across the lake, and when the wife goes missing, the heroine becomes convinced that the husband did her in. The plot is clearly inspired by Rear Window, and, unfortunately, a good chunk of the book did not have an original spin on this. 

But then there’s the twist. At first, I was amazed. It was such a clever and shocking twist that floored me. The book is told in two timelines, with the "Now" timeline giving us little snippets of what's currently happening, and the "Before" timeline taking up most of the narrative. Once that twist happened, I was absolutely taken aback by how briliiantly Sager had misled the reader in the "Now" timeline, and I'd been convinced of very specific things that were clearly misdirections. Unfortunately, Sager did not take this twist in the direction that I was expecting. I don’t want to spoil this for readers, but if you’ve read other Sager books, you’ll know that he generally follows the typical script of thrillers. He doesn’t deviate too far from genre norms, or dip into other genres. The twist in this book requires a huge suspension of disbelief, one that he could have prepared the reader for with more thoughtful writing in the first two thirds of the book. Instead of preparing the reader to be absolutely stunned by the nature of the twist, he should have been laying the ground work for readers to find that type of twist more palatable.  

All this said, Sager does have a fabulous writing style, and I was sucked into the way that he describes the setting, the lake, and the faded movie star’s tragic past. But that just wasn't enough for me.

It pains me to give this book 3 stars, because Riley Sager writes like no other and, as a writer, I get serious imposter syndrome every time I read his prose. I love his use of metaphors and description, and he writes heart palpitation-inducing scenes like they’re going out of style. I absolutely love his writing, and I (usually) love his plotlines and clever twists. I feel like I would have enjoyed this book a lot more had I been forewarned that he was going to be going in a completely new direction.

Riley Sager continues to be one of my favourite authors with this new book! The House Across the Lake was a really great read that had me guessing until the end.

Casey, a widow who is just trying to get back to normal, is living in her family’s vacation house in Vermont. She passes the time with a bottle in one hand and a pair of binocular in another, spying on the new neighbours across the lake. As she starts to see a not-so-happy marriage and then when the wife disappears, Casey tries to solve the mystery. As the story unfolds, things are not as they seem for Casey!

I was not expecting some of the twists and turns in the plot but really enjoyed them! If you’re read any of Sager’s other books before you will not be disappointed!

Unfortunately, this book was a total miss for me. Something needed to happen during the first 70% of the book. Something other than the main character drinking and snooping. Something like character and plot development. When the twists finally came, it was a case of cramming way too many tropes for the sake of shock value. The shock just didn't work for this reader.

I give this one a 4.5 Stars :) I love Riley Sager books so I was super excited to have Net galley give me an early copy to read and this one did not disappoint. The only thing I disliked was the super long chapters but I pushed through that and enjoyed this book. I thought the take on this story was super interesting and a bit different than Riley's usual books he writes. I cant really say what I wanna say without giving things away so I guess just go into this story blind and enjoy every minute of it. I definitely didnt expect what happened, to happen so that was good. I was always trying to guess what was going to happen and never could. This book definitely did not want me to put it down and I really enjoyed each and every moment of it. Definitely a different story thats for sure!! I cant wait for it to come out soon and for everyone to read this .

I was a little apprehensive about this after not loving Survive the Night, but WOW this was a TRIP. Just when I thought I knew where things were headed, things took a turn, then another turn, and then ANOTHER turn! WOW.

I have some mixed feelings on how much the MC’s alcoholism was a part of the story, but overall, this was a really exciting thriller that Sager fans are going to LOVE.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for an early reading copy!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Riley Sager is one of my "guilty pleasures" author. He writes books that won't make you smarter, that aren't the best written novels you'll ever read... and yet, it's enjoyable, and I firmly believe that is the most important thing about a book.

I've read and enjoyed his previous books, so I was really happy when I got approved for a copy of The House Across the Lake.

Unfortunately, I have to say that I enjoyed this book a lot less than the others.

At first, I was entranced. Of course, the idea go a woman watching what's happening at her neighbours' place has been written about again and again in the last couple of years, but I liked the setting. A creepy lake? I'm all in!
I also liked the backstory of the main character, famous actor turned miserable, drunk widow.

But then... it started reaaaaally dragging on. Things happened, but they weren't that exciting, and didn't really do anything to keep me 100% invested in the story.

Then the first twist happens, and they keep on coming for the last ~30% of the book. Suddenly, everything picks back up again... but I still want to say that it was too little, too late for me. What I expect from my thrillers / horror are books that are full of rhythm and barely give you any time to take a deep breath. The House Across the Lake wasn't one of those for me.

The last 30% were really interesting however, and though it's hard to talk about it without spoiling the main plot twist, I liked how the author led us somewhere I really wasn't expecting to go. I thought I had the plot mostly figured out, but nope, I definitely was not planning on what happened! Definitely good points for that, though I feel like other readers might feel like this was overkill.

There was one part that made me cringe in the last chapters, when the main character went on a mini rant on how women were treated like shit in today's world.
Don't get me wrong, it's absolutely true, but it very much felt like a "Look at me, I'm a feminist!" moment from the author, and left me a bit confused. Better not to say anything than to do it in a way that feels anything but heartfelt.

Anyway, this was definitely not a novel I hated, but not one I will remember for many months to come either.
I feel like this has the potential to be a very popular summer read, and wouldn't be surprised to see many readers holding it in their hands at the pool. Just watch out: you never know what might be hidden in there!

I thought I had The House Across the Lake figured out, but alas, I did not.

Casey Fletcher, a widow and notable actress, has retreated to her family’s lakeside cottage to escape some recent bad press. She spends her days drinking and using her binoculars to spy casually on her neighbours.

Casey spends her time spying on Katherine and Tom Royce, her beautiful and wealthy neighbours. Their newly developed house sits directly across the lake from her cottage.

When Katherine vanishes, Casey is determined to uncover the truth behind her disappearance.

Casey is the typical unreliable female narrator that readers see a lot of these days. Namely the main character with a drinking problem that noses her way into everyone else’s business. Usually, this type of narrator would be irksome to me, but in this case, it wasn’t. I think it’s because the reader knows at the outset that Casey’s husband recently passed away, so she’s just processing her grief. Sure, it’s not the healthiest way, but still.

I’ve read a few of Riley Sager’s books, and this one is slightly different from those. It started off as what you’d expect, but then it completely veered off course. If you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you’ll know that I don’t mind OTT - give me all the drama and theatrics. But this one was just a bit too weird. It didn’t ruin the book for me, but it was an interesting way to go.

I will continue to read whatever Riley Sager publishes. His books are compulsively readable and always keep me entertained.

3.5

Thank you to Dutton for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

In my opinion, I think @riley.sager is one of the best thriller writers out there today. I was blessed to get an eARC of his latest book, the House Across the Lake! His books are always on my most anticipated reads list.

The House Across the Lake starts out on a lake in rural Vermont. Casey is a former Broadway actress who is lying low in her family’s lake house after some bad press. She’s been drinking quite heavily recently after the death of her husband and she passes the time spying on her neighbors around the lake and downing glasses of bourbon. One day she decides to take a boat ride and finds a woman floating who she saves. The woman turns out to be Katherine Royce, the famous supermodel who recently moved into the house across the lake!

Casey begins to watch Katherine and her husband Tom even closer after observing that Katherine isn’t very happy. Was the near drowning accidental? When Katherine goes missing, Tom is immediately a suspect. But there’s also a too friendly former cop turned house caretaker that seems suspicious too. A few summers ago, several girls went missing around the Vermont lake area. Is the kidnapper back?

This was such a fun and quick read! Reminiscent of his other books in with the quick twists and turns, that I didn’t expect. I loved all the memories of Casey and Len and their relationship was fascinating. The book does take a slight paranormal twist that I didn’t really love, but it does fit into the book nicely and it still works. I will continue to read every one of Riley’s books. I can’t wait for the next one already!

Thank you so much to @duttonbooks and the author for my gifted eARC! The House Across the Lake is on sale June 21, and you don’t want to miss it!

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars

Along with all my other thriller lovers, I was in desperate need to get my hands on Riley Sager’s new release. If you were hoping for an eerie, look over your shoulder, don’t know what’s coming next kind of a plot, well you got it. This book is filled with twists and turns and had me hooked right from the beginning.

[Taken from the synopsis: Be careful what you watch for . . .

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 bourbon, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake.]

Casey’s character is supported by amazing side characters who really have you confused on the “whodunnit” of it all. While the shocking twist might have readers split, which I totally understand, this is the kind of twist that I really didn’t mind and definitely did not see coming. This book is a highly anticipated release for June and I’m so grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to read an arc. Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Book Dutton (Emily!) and Riley Sager. If you’re going to pick up this book I suggest you keep an open mind and be warned that you may not sleep…

Release Date: 21 June 2022

I haven’t yet read a book by Riley Sager that I did not like. The House Across the Lake is no exception. What I love the most about his books is that they aren’t the same. Some authors stick to what works and repeat stories with slight tweaks to storylines. Mr. sager switches it up, all while keeping the reader entertained.
I don’t want to give any spoilers to the story, but I was hooked from beginning to end. Well done!

Riley Sager and most mystery/thrillers in general tend to be very hit or miss for me but I still keep wanting to pick up new books as they comes out. This is a fun and twisty thriller with an unreliable narrator who is spying on her neighbors when suddenly it appears that something terrible has happened. For the most part, I was enjoying the first part of the story as we try to figure out what is going on and find each new clue along with the main character. I was super intrigued to find out what was really happening even though I was suspicious of pretty much every single person we met along the way. The ending however and the reveal of the twist, left me confused and I'm honestly still not sure if I liked it at all. I just don't know exactly what I want from thrillers I guess but I don't think I loved the direction he ultimately took with this story unfortunately.

As a fan of Sager's past titles, I was greatly looking forward to The House Across the Lake being a redemption novel after his last. Unfortunately, it was simply average and stale for me.

The novel follows Casey Fletcher's POV in "Now" and "Before." though the structure will not be for most people. The sections are incredibly long with no small chapter headings. The structure makes sense in relation the MC's state of mind; the days are long and the drinks just keep flowing. The alcoholic narrator thriller trope can be retired now please.

Sager has a talent of bringing a setting to life in his previous novels but unfortunately the lake here didn't bring anything special to the table. The often prominent sense of dread was lacking, which I believe is due to the slow burn pace of the plot. The characters were underwhelming and surface level in order to pull off the twists. Having read all of Sager's backlist, there is somewhat of an expectation for how a mystery will be revealed and I was surprised by the direction The House Across the Lake went.

Overall I was bored and wasn't incredibly satisfied by this somewhat unoriginal plot. If you're new to the thriller genre, this might be a hit for you!

CW: alcoholism, death, drowning, gaslighting, abuse

That was a lot of twists and turns. Maybe too many twists and turns. I almost felt like I did with Invisible Monsters; there was more going on than there needed to be for a satisfying read.

This was actually my first Riley Sager. I've purchased fan faves but we all know how a TBR list builds. What a wild ride this was! I enjoy gothic pacing, in line with the direct Hitchcockian references in the book, but I was surprised not just by the twist, but when it hit. Then it didn't slow down, even amping up the twist with another, leaving room for a possible sequel? It's always fun when a book has Easter eggs, in this case to the film, "Rear Window." While that story device, used frequently with a similar unreliable narrator, has been having a moment, it's fun to see a book revel in the inspirational reference. 3.5 stars rounded up.

"What the (bleep) is going on?" the protagonist asks herself at a pivotal point late in "The House Across the Lake." What the bleep indeed. Riley Sager's latest comes with a twist so wackadoodle, it almost renders the previous 250-plus pages irrelevant. Why, we may well wonder, did we spend so much time (so very much time) sitting on the porch with actress turned alcoholic Casey as she drank heavily, wallowed in the loss of her beloved husband, drank more and spied on the neighbors if instead of a lake trout, all that was just a red herring?

Fans of Sager's "Home Before Dark" and "Lock Every Door" are likely to be less thrown by what he conjures up out of the lake than someone familiar only with his last, the straightforward "Survive the Night." Tricks and twists are part of the pleasure of reading mysteries, but this one -- about which I can't tell you more -- feels like cheating.

Riley Sager returns with a voyeuristic page-turner rife with fascinating characters, ratcheting suspense, and surprises aplenty.

After the unexpected death of her husband, actress Casey Fletcher spirals into an alcoholic binge. After being fired from a movie, she’s exiled to her family’s lake house in Vermont, where she spends days with a glass of bourbon in one hand, binoculars in the other.

Across the lake, Casey spies on former super-model Katherine Royce and her tech-mogul husband, Tom. But when Casey saves Katherine from drowning, the two strike an unexpected friendship. She soon uncovers the glamorous couple isn’t all they seem, an understanding that upends everything when Katherine suddenly vanishes.

Intent on getting to the bottom of Katherine’s disappearance, Casey is desperate to dig out the truth and targets Tom as the culprit, but what she uncovers in the end is something far more frightening.

With themes of grief, love, friendship, and revenge, Sager once again freshens a familiar trope to deliver something wholly unexpected. Between the blur of Casey’s bourbon benders and the unforgiving darkness of the lake, there’s a heavy, almost suffocating feeling that adds to the already sinister and paranoiac atmosphere of the narrative. And as the story gradually unfurls, it soon becomes clear that everything you thought you knew was dead wrong.

Entertaining and suspenseful—the perfect summer escape.

Wow, I don’t even know what to say except-what a wild ride! In this novel we follow Casey Fletcher, a widower and actress who is, quite simply put, struggling and barley getting by with more than a few drinks and a peek into her neighbors home.
I really enjoyed this book! From the main character(whose backstory I wish had another book about) to the twists and turns. We go from Casey’s less than common day to day around her family lake house to speculating with her when she notices her neighbor, Katherine, has disappeared. I recognize that this might not be everyones cup of tea, but for me this plot and its over the top ending had me gasping and my jaw dropping! Not every character was a standout but the writing style and the setting drew me in and had me so immersed that I got a little too spooked(reading this in broad daylight). 4.5, but we’ll round it up to 5 stars! Can’t wait to purchase a copy to add to my Riley Sager shelf!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!