I’m going to be honest this was definitely not my favorite Sager but will I keep reading his books? Of course. I’m just over the alcoholic woman unreliable narrator trope and I felt it was just too similar to other books that were better executed so it was hard to read it without comparing. I’d love to see a more original premise in his next one.

Ooh time goes by and if i don't write the review right away...sigh. I'm trying to be better. The best i can do right now is give a star count...

I loved that Sager went with a full-on supernatural twist. He's been leading to it with the other stories and this one was just *chef's kiss of perfection.* I thought it dealt with Casey's alcoholism in a believable way and I loved that we weren't totally sure if she was a reliable narrator right off the bat.

Riley Sager thrillers are just my favorite. As improbable as the actual story is, once you get past that, it's a great plot. And that's what a good thriller is in my opinion -- too far fetched to happen in real life, but crazy enough that you don't see the ending coming! I thought I had the mystery figured out, and I was thrown through a loop not once, but twice!! This was a great read that I highly recommend.

riley sager is always a must. he knows suspense like i know to read his books always. very interesting concept with these women's relationship. i also really loved the timeline jumping.

3/5

I’m normally one to race through any Riley Sager novel but I’ve got to say this one left me pretty dissatisfied. It felt a lot like the odd aspects of “Lock Every Door” but not in a good way.

Without giving too much away, a lot of the plot felt heavy and repetitive. And some of the twists (while surprising) did NOT make sense and there was no way for readers to guess them. I’m all for twists and turns no one sees coming but there has to be some level of foundation for it and this one felt like it was the ending to a different book.

Potential SPOILERS:
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(I’m really not a fan of when thriller or mystery authors use paranormal elements to drive plot twists in their novels. I’ve seen it done well but this wasn’t one of those cases. The mythology of the “paranormal activity” wasn’t established well enough and so felt particularly jarring and out of place. There are plenty of “human” ways to create plot twists in a mystery thriller novel and I felt like I was reading a paranormal thriller which would be cool if I had signed up for that. It was just very disappointing.)

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All this being said, I’ll continue to read every and anything Sager releases but this one goes in the miss pile for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton Publishers for the advanced read of “The House Across the Lake” in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. The House Across the Lake starts out like the Girl on the Train but it takes one of the best twists that you don't see coming. This is definitely dark magical realism. Riley Sager just keeps getting better and better.

Here we have a fairly well used trope of an isolated/alcoholic/unstable woman spying on her neighbours. The first half was quite gripping. Taking a break from her acting career after her husband dies, Cee returns to her family home by the lake and becomes obsessed with the celebrity couple in the house with glass walls across the lake. Then the last third just changed into a different genre entirely and became a bit ridiculous in my opinion. Unfortunately it’s just one of those thrillers where they throw so many twists in that by the time you reach yet another twist you’re just rolling your eyes and waiting for it to be over as it’s lost all plausibility and tension. Then the formulaic and lazy style of ending - wrapping everything up all nice and tidy with a summary chapter of ‘two months later’. For me it was painfully obvious that the female character was written by a male and I found her inner dialogue quite repetitive too. Disappointing.

One never knows what to expect from Riley Sager as there are always some twisted endings to the story. This one was very twisted, I had to read the last few chapters twice. Not sure I liked how it ended. I thought there was way to much. drinking by Casey that I skipped paragraphs describing it. She also seemed much, much older like in her 50s. Also the references to Rear Window and Woman in the Window have been done enough, I’m tired of it.

Riley Sager did it again. I was on the edge of my seat every page and twists came out of nowhere. When I thought I knew what would happen in the end, something out of left field would come out and I was once again left wondering. I also loved the setting, Sager had some beautiful writing describing the lake and it’s features.

I will always read Sager’s books.

Was this original? No
Was this still well done as a knock off? Also, no
Was this twist worth it? Still, no

This book annoyed me from the get go. The author is beating you over the head with the fact the main character drinks in order to prove she's unreliable. Like after 200 pages about her bourbon, vodka and gin intake- we get it she can't be trusted, try some subtlety dude. Then the twist comes and it made me want to punch someone in the face. The end is just as ridiculous. Without any spoilers, there's a slew of authors who do this type of story in a MUCH better way.

I loved Sager's earlier stuff and Home Before Dark but man did Survive the Night and THATL blow.

2.75 rounded up to 3 because I'm second hand drunk on bourbon.

What did I just read? This is my fourth Riley Sager book and I still can't tell how I feel about him but I think generally he's a no for me. The classic unreliable female alcoholic narrator written by a man trope is getting to be too much. The set up for this book is incredibly similar to The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn -- a drunk neighbor sees crazy things and ~nobody believes her~. There was a complete plot twist which at first, I enjoyed. It make the book actually interesting and made it hard to put down. But upon reflection, it was completely random and felt like a lazy way to move the plot of a pretty standard copy cat novel along. It was probably my favorite Sager after Final Girls, but I still don't think I'm going to read him again.

I can honestly say I didn't see the twist coming. On the surface, this book has all the things I love about Riley Sager and his writing. For some reason, I couldn't really connect to this story, on really any level. I rounded up to 4 stars here, but have this as a 3.5 in my head. The story didn't reach a depth I could get into, and felt I was just treading water. I didn't have the energy to move forward in the book, but kept going to reach the end. I did enjoy the plot twists and the various red herrings, but the lead up to the twist gave me a harder time to get through than other Riley Sager novels. My internal flame will always burn for The Last Time I Lied, my favorite of all of his books (and I've read them all). Riley Sager fans will still enjoy this novel, guaranteed!

Overally, I enjoyed this book although it took a left turn that I wasn't expecting and didn't really feel like the story supported it. But it was definitely interesting!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. I loved the book. It is probably the best one written so far. I couldn't put it down. I loved the characters, however sometimes they were very hard to like. The book has twists and turns that I didn't see coming and the ending was a surprise.

Is this one of my favorite books of 2022? Without a doubt. I devoured this book in one sitting and could not read it fast enough.

The House Across the Lake takes place on a beautiful lake in Vermont. Casey, is a famous actress but has had some horrible things happen to her so she has turned to the bottle. Her mother gave her an ultimatum, go to the lakehouse and detox or go to rehab. Casey decides to go to the lakehouse where her drinking gets worse. The lakehouse is where her husband drowned a year ago. While in her drinking stupor and being bored she spies on the house across the lake, the golden couple. Although, the more she spies the more she realizes this couple is anything from perfect. The wife goes missing and Casey knows she needs to get her act together and help find her.

Y'all when I say this book had me shocked I mean it. I was so shocked I had to stop reading and think about what I read before continuing. I don't want to give away anything, but if you're wanting a wild plot twist then you need to read this. I really loved how this book was set up. I like how the plot slowly unfolds, but at the same time keeps you on the edge of your seat. Casey was a handful of a main character, but I felt what she was going through and thought she was a really developed character. The way Sager shows grief and alcoholism was very spot on and I appreciate how realistic he wrote it.

I could imagine myself on this lake, but after reading this book you won't find me near any lake. While this didn't top my favorite Sager book, it came a close second. I loved where Sager took this storyline and thought it was very original.

So good! Read this title with my book club and cannot wait to recommend it to library patrons. The twists I didn't expect but they just kept coming amd I loved it!!

My summer is never complete until I read the latest Riley Sager thriller! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐤𝐞 was that perfect mix of whodunnit/what the heck is going on mystery and spookiness that had me furiously turning pages. I love a mystery with a bit of ghostly spook in it so this book was easy for me to suspend my disbelief and simply sink to. ⁣
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So without giving too much away - what do we have here? Disgraced former actress Casey Fletcher, our unreliable bourbon drinking MC, has been relegated to her family’s lake house after a rough year. There she spends her days and nights, in a drunken stupor, spying on her neighbors through binoculars. Her spying pays off when she spots Katherine Royce drowning and saves her life, making them instant BFFs. Shortly thereafter, Katherine goes missing and no one seems to take her disappearance seriously. Except Casey of course. ⁣
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Told in alternating Before & Now timelines we team up with Casey and the sexy, former cop from next door to find Katherine as secrets unfold from the past year in Casey’s life. Obviously, all is not what it seems and there is danger afoot! ⁣
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I was all in for the twists and extraordinary elements! And the ending - so satisfying! I loved it! If you enjoy your mystery/thrillers with twists, a splash of the paranormal and characters that fill you with nothing but doubt and mistrust - don’t miss this one. Pure page turning entertainment!

I absolutely loved this book! The setting, in the woods on a lake and the voyeurism made it even better. Fabulous Sager twists and unputdownably creeptastastic!

Any book that starts with a Taylor Swift quote has my full attention! Shoutout to Riley Sager for being the only mystery author that I consistently read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!