Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton | Dutton for my arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Unfortunately this was not a fun read for me. It was kind of nonsensical and so drawn out. I did not enjoy this. I've been finding that Sager's recent books have been boring and in desperate need of more editing.

I think less critical readers may enjoy this. I did not.

I will admit that With a Vengeance is my first Riley Sager novel, as I'm usually not a huge fan of the thriller genre. The locked-room whodunnit description pulled me in, however, and I was not disappointed. Sager takes classic mystery elements and combines them with the cinematic style of a thriller to excellent effect. With a bit of action and a few red herrings, this novel strikes a perfect balance between the two genres.

With a Vengeance is a new style from Riley Sager and I really enjoyed it! loved the combination of the historical + train setting. It was high stakes and I loved the reveals. I really enjoyed Anna’s character. If you like a locked room thriller this book is for you!

Sager departs from the thriller genre with this latest novel, going for a classic who-done-it mystery reminiscent of Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None. Unfortunately, while the premise is great, the book fell flat for me. I felt disconnected from many of the characters and their motivations, from the heroine to even the worst of the villains in the story. The pacing is a little slow and it lacks that compelling feel that Sager usually captures so well. And the twists - of which there are many - didn't feel very dramatic of revealing, to the point where I lost track of who had done what and why. Recommended for the atmospheric setting and the homage to classic mystery tales, but disappointed that it lacks Sager's more typical thriller style.

Thoroughly enjoyable. Sager kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole story. The shifts in perspectives and the intentional reveal of backstory added to the plot’s overall sense of suspense, and I enjoyed discovering more through every one. Another great work by Sager. I look forward to recommending this title to others in my library.

I usually love a Riley Sager book this one took me a little bit of work getting really engaged in the text. The storyline was intriguing, and then soon became suspenseful, as I know a riley sager book can be, and I appreciated those moments where I felt like I was sitting on the edge of my seat. Also the element of surprise as the real killer, sort of sideswipeing her mission in some respect... that was not like a fall off the cliff feeling, but definitely, a wait minute.... what... just happened. When I want a suspense driven text, I know I can pick up a Riley Sager.

I loved this one! I finished it in 24 hours. It was easily bingeable and fast paced. While it wasn’t my favorite Sager novel, it was still entertaining and had lots of great action packed scenes and twists. Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy!

This was a fun read! I loved the historical aspect, and the pacing was great. I honestly kept wanting to pick this up to keep the story going.

Set in 1954, this book is about a woman who lost her family twelve years ago and is looking for justice. She has invited the people responsible for her family’s ruin on a train ride, but her plan goes off the rail (pun intended?) when one person ends up dead.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this novel. The train setting was entertaining, and I always enjoy a good locked room mystery. There were a lot of twists and turns, and towards the end it felt a little chaotic but I think it worked overall. I didn’t feel super invested in the characters, which brings this down to four stars. And this isn’t my very favorite Riley Sager book (my personal fave is The Only One Left). But I would definitely recommend this one. I was very entertained!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Dutton/Penguin Random House, for this advanced reader copy.

I was excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley but this one fell really flat for me. Anna Matheson attempts to avenge her family’s deaths and misfortune by bringing the culprits to justice. The story takes place entirely on a train and moves very slow. The twists were lackluster: very predictable and lacked excitement. Really disappointing new release from Riley Sager.

Annie is a woman out for vengeance. Her family was destroyed when a train built by her father's company explodes on its first journey, killing many of the troops including her own brother. Her father is ruined, her mother loses her will to live and only Annie is left to mourn. When she discovers that her father was framed for the whole incident she determines to bring all the people involved to justice. Part Strangers on a Train, part Orient Express, With a Vengeance is a high-speed rollercoaster ride with numerous twists that will keep you turning the pages to the end.

I loved this book! It had all the nostalgia of Murder on the Orient Express/Death on the Nile/Strangers on a Train, and I loved that! The writing felt a bit different than Sager’s previous books, and I think he did a great job of capturing the feel of the era. I felt so immersed in this train ride and the mystery kept me guessing until the very end!

Book Review 🔪🚂
Thank you so much partner @duttonbooks @netgalleyfor the gifted copy!

With a Vengeance
by Riley Sager

About the book 👇🏽

One train. No stops. A deadly game of survival and revenge.

In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson's family. Twelve years later, she's ready for retribution.

Under false pretenses, Anna has lured those responsible for her family's downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago, an overnight journey of fourteen hours. Her goal? Confront the people who've wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them into the hands of authorities waiting at the end of the line. Justice will at last be served.

But Anna's plan is quickly derailed by the murder of one of the passengers. As the train barrels through the night, it becomes clear that someone else on board is enacting their own form of revenge-and that they won't stop until everyone else is dead.

With time running out before the train reaches its destination, Anna is forced to hunt the killer in their midst while protecting the people she hates the most. In order to destroy her enemies, she must first save them-even though it means putting her own life at risk.

🚂 My thoughts:

I will literally read ANYTHING Riley Sager writes. This includes his grocery list (like my cousin likes to say). But seriously. He can do no wrong. This was giving Agatha Christie but with Sager’s dance on the line of paranormal. Ghost sightings perhaps? I will say not a ton of it but it’s still there if you’re looking for it. The twists and claustrophobic feel will have you racing against the clock (or destination). That’s just to say that you’ll want to binge it. It felt like a classic train mystery, paced just right, and full of the good stuff as it nears toward the end! I definitely recommend giving this book a read, just go add it to your summer TBR because With a Vengeance is out 6/10/25!!

Happy reading 📖🔪🚂

Riley Sager knows his way around the thriller genre quite expertly. This one certainly threw me to start with as we entered a more locked room whodunnit. A stark contrast from his usual dark suspenseful thrillers.

But as the scene was set and the backstories rolled in, the concept of the novel and the impending sense of doom kept me strapped in. And wowza.

Sager took this seemingly straight forward train journey and planted the most complicated mix of characters with a heavy lather of his aforementioned dark and suspenseful writing. It was twisty and gobsmacking and delightfully emotion packed. It all fits I promise.

Once again I have been utterly addicted to his writing and desperate for answers. This is one for the masses. I dare say it is in second place for me to his title “The Only One Left” and that is no easy task.

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” - Confucius
In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family. Twelve years later she gathers them on an express train from Philadelphia to Chicago, a moving locked room mystery that gathers speed and dead bodies as it races to its destination. This thrilling mystery was a tension filled, hard to put down tale that rates a worthy comparison to "Murder on the Orient Express". As the layers of the story were revealed another conflict would develop causing me to keep reading very late into the night. Will Anna's vengeful journey to bring these six people to justice succeed or destroy her? I highly recommend this intriguing, engrossing deadly game of survival!

I'm a huge Riley Sager fan but this one missed the mark for me. It was very different from his other books. Think Murder on the Orient Express for the setting but And Then There Were None for the plot. I didn't find any of the character likable and that made me not care what happened to anyone. Another small thing that irked me was the constant use of everyone's full name. While this one wasn't for me this author will continue to be an auto buy and I look forward to whatever he writes next.

Summary: Anna Matheson boards a nonstop luxury train with the people who destroyed her family, determined to expose their crimes and see justice served. But when one of them turns up dead, Anna must unravel a deadly mystery and protect her enemies before the killer strikes again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another gripping read from an auto-read author of mine. While The Only One Left still holds the top spot as my favorite thriller of his, this one delivered a tense, Agatha Christie-esque “closed room” mystery aboard a nonstop train, where the clock is ticking and no one can be trusted. I was constantly guessing, at one point, I suspected everyone and trusted no one. Though the pace dragged at times and the cast of self-righteous, business-type characters felt unlikable (perhaps intentionally so), the suspense and high-stakes setup kept me hooked. I’m giving it 4 stars.

A great twist and homage on Agatha Christie’s novel Murder on the Orient Express.

With a Vengeance follows Anna who invites 6 guests (who are responsible to a past event that destroyed her family and life) on board a 13 hour train ride to get her revenge and a confession to bring justice to her family. She didn’t predict that there would be murder and she has no idea who the killer is.

Another great mystery/thriller novel from Sager with many twists and turns that keeps you guessing. I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton, and Sager for allowing me to read this ARC.

With a Vengeance
by Riley Sager
Pub Date: Jun 10 2025
I wasn't sure about this one at first, but then once I got into it, I couldn't put it down.
Anna once had it all, a rich, loving family, a (secret) boyfriend a la Romeo & Juliet, and a bright future thanks to her father's amazing luxury train dreams. Then her world shattered. Her brother and many other American soldiers were killed in a train accident the country blames her father for. The incident looks to be an act of terrorism and her entire family is ripped apart with Anna being the last member standing. Lonely, heartbroken, and thrust from high society, Anna moves in with her hateful aunt. It's not until years later Anna learns the truth about that night. Her loneliness has turned bitter and her revenge on those who destroyed her family has been her only focus.
Inviting those who did her family wrong on the old luxury train that started it all for a one way non-stop trip is the first step in her plan. Getting them all to confess while she watches them squirm is next. What she didn't plan on is murder, but some of them will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden.
#netgalley
#WithaVengeance
#RileySager

Riley Sager's newest release, WITH A VENGEANCE, pays homage to the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie! Taking place in the 1942, Anna Matheson boards a luxury travel train with a plan for revenge—but when a passenger is murdered, the hunter becomes the hunted. Now, to get justice, she must protect the very people she came to destroy.

WITH A VENGEANCE is a revenge-fueled locked-room mystery set on a luxury train with only six passengers—and one deadly plan. Anna lures the people who ruined her life onto a 14-hour ride to deliver them to the FBI, but when one of them is murdered, her plan spirals out of control. I loved the intense, claustrophobic atmosphere and the race against time, even if the twists didn’t fully surprise me. This book is a bit repetitive and takes a while to get into, but overall its a solid locked-room mystery that readers will enjoy. Old school Sager is not back, but he's still a good time.

RANKINGS:
1. Lock Every Door
2. Final Girls
3. Survive the Night
4. Home Before Dark
5. The Last Time I Lied
6. The House Across the Lake
7. The Only One Left
8. Middle of the Night

A Riley Sager historical mystery set on a train? Did I somehow manifest my ideal thriller concept?

Jokes aside, I loved how atmospheric this book was, and I am a big fan of a revenge plot. At no point during this book did I trust a single character, and I loved that uneasy feeling of constantly being suspicious of everyone. While I wouldn't go as far as to say this feels like an Agatha Christie novel, I will say that I loved how grounded this mystery felt, despite how many twists and turns Sager threw our way. I understood Anna's rage, and I really enjoyed seeing how that played out as her revenge plans changed. The small cast of characters were all so flawed, and I even understood their motivations, even if I didn't agree with them throughout the story.

My only real complaint is that I felt like this story was so fast paced that I felt overwhelmed towards the end. As I said before, it still felt grounded, but I did feel like I was getting twist after twist towards the end, and it had my head spinning some. I still really enjoyed it, but if you're going into this expecting cozy or Christie vibes, it's definitely more intense than that.

I would highly recommend this to Sager or thriller fans alike. 4/5 stars. Now excuse me as I go research train trips.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton, and Sager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.