thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc! this is my second riley sager arc and he does not disappoint. the pacing of this book made it very compelling and there was a lot i didnt expect. not overly satisfied with the ending for one reason (cant spoil) but othwrwise really liked this one

Riley Sager has done it again!
As usual, the character development was phenomenal and the story kept you guessing to the very end.
So many times, I thought I had it figured out, but I was wrong every time.
This has to be one of my favorite books of the year and is definitely my favorite book by Riley Sager.
I will be recommending this book to all my customers

Thanks to NetGalley for the Arc.

I’ve read every single one of Riley Sager’s novels and will continue to do so. The way he writes is simple but wildly entertaining.

This is not my favorite of his novels, but it was a fun ride. It’s was very Murder in the Orient Express meets Runaway Jury. I had a great time and I really liked Anna. I heard another review that said they didn’t feel like she was believable or likable but I think as someone who has lost everything and has lived only to seek justice, she was written well. She was focused and driven and her past trauma made her less emotional than I think we would have wanted from a woman in her position. I don’t think that makes her less interesting, but I think it makes her real.

Overall, Sager hit us again with some twists I never saw coming and provided a throughly fun read.

With a vengeance was a very compelling story.
Anna Mathesons life was destroyed 12 years ago, her brother died on a military train and her father was blamed for it all. What unravels is a story about revenge and truth.
A train ride that will take all those to blame for Anna’s family’s downfall, to their own.
I really enjoyed this story, despite it being a slow start and not really knowing what was going on in the beginning I really liked how things were tied up in the end. You get to feel Anna’s grief and how stuck she is until those responsible pay for their crimes, although someone else on the train has a different idea on what revenge should entail. I was really intrigued by how it was going to end and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! Have always enjoyed Riley Sagers book and this one did not let me down! Thanks to netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the arc!!

I love Riley Sager’s book! His last one, Middle of the Night wasn’t my favorite of his. But I really liked this one! It was fun and twisty. Loved the train setting.

I can always recommend a Riley Sager book. This one was not my favorite in terms of characters but I appreciate how every book is different. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this available.

Sager is a beloved author for me. Fans of Agatha Christie will appreciate the locked-room mystery and the duplicitous characters.

Riley Sager does it again. The king of thrillers is back. This book did not disappoint, you need to pick it up!

3.5 stars

With this book, it would appear that Sager is moving away from his spookier mysteries and more into straightforward ones. I think I prefer the ones with the spooky vibe but this might appeal to a wider audience.

I liked this book just fine. Anna Matheson has gathered a group of people together on a train ride. Each one is connected to an event from her past and she is seeking revenge. The train will not be stopping for 13 hours. Her plan does not include murder, so it's a problem when bodies start to pile up and she has no idea who the killer is. This book is very reminiscent of Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.

For the most part, I did enjoy the book. At times it felt very repetitive however, and there were too many twists to keep up with. There was one significant event that made absolutely no sense to me and seemed to only be there to muddy up the waters (a pun, if you've read it you'll know what I mean). The ending wrapped up in a neat little bow which felt a little forced and silly to me after everything that had just transpired over the 13 hours on the train.

For a mystery/thriller it was fine. I was entertained. There were the usual cliches and tropes that you find in these kinds of mysteries but that's to be expected. There were enough moving parts that I did not know who was behind the killings or why. If you want a mystery with an unpredictable ending then this one will likely satisfy you.

I really enjoyed Riley Sager's first several books, but the last few I have not connected with. This one I did not enjoy at all; the characters were wooden and unlikeable, and the events were unbelievable. The ending was rather silly.

If you're in the mood for a heart-pounding thriller, With a Vengeance will keep you hooked from beginning to end. The plot is razor-sharp, filled with twists and turns that never let up, while the characters' motivations are expertly woven into the action. A perfect pick for fans of high-stakes suspense.

Riley Sager has a knack for crafting gripping thrillers that have, at times, left me on the edge of my seat. Sager's latest novel, With A Vengeance, had such promise to do the same but in the end I found myself with mixed feelings.

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 thirteen 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.

The premise of Riley Sager's With A Vengeance was intriguing. The concept of revenge being executed on a moving train—a confined space with no escape—creates an atmosphere of tension and urgency. While this plot has seems a little played out, Sager does set it just outside the typical narrative. However, it wasn't enough of a new story for it to grip me from the start which is what I was hoping for when cracking open this book.

While Sager does excels at atmospheric settings that become characters in their own right. The claustrophobic environment of the train does contribute significantly to the story's escalating tension that made for an excellent plot device. Each train compartment and corridor becomes suspicious among the passengers—a testament to Sager's adept handling of setting as an instrument for building suspense.

Despite the anticipation for the novel, my enthusiasm quickly dampened as the book moved along. This is in large part to its character development—or lack thereof. While Anna's motivations are well-articulated, many characters felt underdeveloped or simply unlikable. This made it challenging for me to invest emotionally in their stories or care deeply about Anna's quest for revenge.

While Sager's With A Vengeance didn't entirely meet my exceptions–it still possesses enough merit within its pages thanks largely to its setting–it was worth the journey and I am glad I toughed it out to the end. The tale does offer a take on a classic whodunit on the tight space of a train on its way to Chicago–let's say Sager's take on a classic Agatha Christie story–but in the end it was an underwhelming take. As much as I have admired Sager’s previous works, this particular book left me with mixed feelings.

I feel as if I’m forever chasing the high of Riley’s The Only One Left. Anything I’ve read since then by this author just doesn’t compare. I was intrigued at first about a murder mystery on a train a la Agatha Christie style, but the characters are quite unlikable and it just was really predictable with how it unfolded. There are only so many scenarios with a murder mystery on a train lol. All in all, it was ok.

Many thanks to the publisher for an arc of this. All opinions are my own.

I just finished reading "With a Vengeance" by Riley Sager, and I'm still reeling from the experience. This psychological thriller is a masterclass in suspense, with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end.


The story follows Poppy, a true-crime podcaster who becomes obsessed with a decades-old murder case. As she delves deeper into the mystery, she begins to receive threatening messages from an unknown sender. It becomes clear that someone is watching her, and Poppy's investigation puts her own life in danger.

Anna, the daughter of a murdered, disgraced railroad tycoon is out for justice--to clear her father's name and have her revenge on those who destroyed her family in the form of a a nonstop train ride from Philadelphia to Chicago to personally deliver them to the FBI. Everything goes according to plan until someone turns up dead. Was it Anna? Or could someone else on the train be out to wreak their own form of vengeance? As a lover of both Riley Sager and Agatha Christie, I loved this. Riley Sager's take on a classic locked room murder mystery on a train is everything I wanted it to be--fast paced and suspenseful, yet cozy and nostalgic. Though this trope is nothing new, Sager adds his own spin with well-developed characters, interesting motivations, and numerous plot twists that kept throwing me off until the very end.

I will always read Riley Sager's books and will be very excited about it. This is back to his original layout of having a female lead but unlike most of his other books this does not have any ghosts or supernatural things that transpire.

This was a perfect setting for a closed in mystery because no one could leave. I like that the reader knew the plot from the very beginning and knew the interesting backstory of why Anna wanted justice for her family, even though it was a bit convoluted at times. I liked the use of the train in this story, and that they moved from car to car chasing the murderer even though he was right in front of them the whole time.

The story became a bit repetitive fast in that there wasn't much to reveal or curveballs to throw the reader off. While there was one reveal at the end it wasn't that shocking for me. It was a quick read, but I really wanted a punch at the end. 4.0 stars

Three strikes and you're out.

On paper, Riley Sager's books sound perfect for me, but they just never impress me. With each book of his I've read, the characters always come across as very overly theatrical and I find myself constantly rolling my eyes.

In this particular book, the plot felt like it was only being held together by a bunch of lucky accidents. The characters who had no business trusting each other always seemed to have just enough faith that everyone would do exactly what was expected of them to make this story happen. By the time the mystery was solved, I was just relieved it was over.

I will say though that the setting was great. I loved the dark, snowy night on a train feeling like a killer was around every corner. That at least kept things interesting. It was just the characters and weak plot that really made things fall apart for me in the end.

All of this being said, I can't say that people shouldn't read this book. I do genuinely feel that I'm in the minority when it comes to opinions on Riley Sager because he does seem to have a large fan base of people who absolutely adore his books.

Another great book from Riley Sager ! It a train ride to Hell! I always look forward to a new release. Thank you NetGalley for advance copy

Another absolute BANGER from Riley. I’ll admit, Middle of the Night was probably my least favorite of his books, so I’m happy to report this one was perfection from start to finish. I loved the condensed timeline, the full cast of character POVs, and the train setting. Each new reveal kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I stayed up way too late to finish because I absolutely had to know what happened next. This one kept me guessing until the very last page.

3.5 stars
This book had me on the edge of my seat and reminded me a lot of Murder On the Orient Express. Well written and gripping, I throughly enjoyed the book.