*Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

3.5 rounding up
Riley Sager is one of my favorite writers, so I will always read what he writes. However, this one was a bit of a miss for me. I loved the Agatha Christie vibes of this book, the setting and time where elegant and the world set up was enjoyable. I did find some aspects to be a bit predictable to me which is why my score is lower. While still a very entertaining read, it was not in my opinion the best Riley Sager book. I look forward to whatever he writes next!

I love the twists and turns Riley Sager always serves with their books. I felt like we were there with Anna and couldn’t trust anyone on the train. It did feel a little repetitive at times with the description of travelling up and down through the train carriages etc but in the whole a solid mystery thriller from Sager.

I just don’t understand how she didn’t get in more trouble for arranging it all. The ending was a little weird. Entertaining though!

With a Vengeance takes a classic Agatha Christie setup—a group of people trapped on a train, one by one meeting a sinister end—and gives it Riley Sager’s signature twist. The premise is compelling and the setting atmospheric, but the novel ultimately doesn’t live up to its potential.

While the murder mystery keeps the pages turning, the characters feel underdeveloped and sometimes interchangeable, making it hard to feel truly invested in their fates. Unlike Sager’s best work or more gripping modern thrillers, this one lacks the emotional depth and psychological tension that make twists truly satisfying. Speaking of twists, the final reveals lean toward the far-fetched, leaving more of a “Really?” than a “Wow!”

It’s an entertaining ride if you enjoy a closed-circle mystery, but don’t expect the tight plotting or rich characterization of either Agatha Christie or Sager at his best.

Riley Sager is one of my favorite authors! What I love about him is every story that he tells is completely unique from his other ones. This one is set in the Golden Age and on a train. It’s a locked room mystery with a ton of suspense. I enjoyed how different it was from his past reads. An enjoyable book!

Riley Sager is a hit or miss author with me, and I'm afraid this one was a miss. I suspected it might be, as I'm usually not a huge fan of closed door mysteries and this train-based thriller is definitely in that category. I enjoyed the nostalgia of the train itself and the time period, but the actual mystery failed to pull me in. The characters were interesting, but not as fully developed as I might have liked (especially as they kept dying and sometimes coming back to life). Serious Sager fans will probably enjoy this, but I won't be recommending it highly to customers.

I love a murder mystery on a train, and this one was a decent swing at it. I've read all of Sager's novels and this one felt notably different to me for some reason, and I felt it was lacking some of the fun/wackiness he usually has in his stories, making it feel like a more "safe story." Decent if you like the tropes!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.

WITH A VENGEANCE was excellent. I liked the premise of this book, and how different it was than the authors other novels. It really kept me guessing. Highly recommend!

Many thanks for my gifted copy.

4.5 ⭐️. Riley sager did not let me down with this one! It follows Anna whose family was ruined when a train her father owned exploded, killing 37 people including her brother. Her father gets arrested and sentenced to prison for the explosion. Anna later finds out that he was framed and comes up with a plan to get the 6 people responsible on the same train and get her revenge. Only once the 13 hour train ride starts, people start dying and she doesn't know who is to blame! So many twists and turns. Just when you think you figured out it out. It turns about to be wrong!

I really wanted to love this book seeing as Riley Sager is one of my favorite mystery/thriller authors but it didn’t live up to my expectations. I loved the idea of the book and the premise very much reminded me of a famous work of fiction by Agatha Christie. I wanted it so badly to be suspenseful and feel mysterious however with all the facts laid out on the table within the first five chapters there was nothing left to surprise the readers.

Sager, Sager, Sager. Riley. Sigh.

Riley Sager is no stranger to the twisty thriller, and With a Vengeance starts promising. The setup is intriguing and classic. Murder on a train. Revenge. Ok, I'll bite.

Unfortunately, that initial momentum doesn’t carry through. As the plot unfolds, and each twist is revealed, they stack on one another and make a mess. Rather than enhancing the story, each new revelation seems to undercut the one before it, creating a tangle of plot points that strain credibility. By the time the final "shocking" twist arrives, the narrative has collapsed under the weight of its own ambition.

Sager's tendency to over-twist brings the value of each story down. What starts as a sleek thriller turns into a bloated web of implausibilities that dulls the emotional impact and sacrifices character development for gotcha moments.

If you’re a die-hard Sager fan or just love chaos in your thrillers, this one might still entertain. But for readers hoping for a satisfying resolution and a clean arc, With A Vengeance might feel more exhausting than exhilarating. Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the arc.

I was very excited to read this because I had enjoyed Sager's previous loose tie with the Lizzie Borden story in The Only One Left so I was very excited to read a sort of revisiting of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. This book, however, didn't have the same intrigue as AC's book. None of the reveals within the book were surprising and the characters didn't keep me very engaged either. I will continue to read Sager's books in the future but unfortunately this was a miss for me.

Recently Sanger’s books have included odd paranormal elements, however, With a Vengeance is a true who done it. Anna is on a mission to get the truth out of her father’s coworkers if it means renting out an entire passenger train for an overnight trip to Chicago. Anna learns more than she bargained for when people keep coming up dead and it looks like she is being framed. Luckily, Anna is after the truth and quickly solves the murder(s), along with why family friends ruined her father’s legacy and her family’s future. The twists were well planned out. Sager gave enough background on the characters.

I’ve read all of Sager’s books and will continue eat them up. I LOVE a locked room mystery and even more when it’s set on a train. For those reviewers saying the plot is tired, I feel it’s a rite of passage for mystery/thriller authors to try their hand at the train murder whodunnit—and Sager’s is good! Even though I love a locked room mystery, they’re usually easier to solve because the options are limited. I got about 75% of this one figured out before we got to the classic Sager twist upon twist upon twist. Was it a super original or plausible story? No! Do I care? No! It’s a historical revenge train mystery with a ticking clock and Nazis! I read it in one sitting. Enjoy!

Riley Sager's With a Vengeance propels readers into a high-stakes, claustrophobic thriller aboard a luxury train, blending elements of classic whodunits with modern suspense. Set in 1954, the novel follows Anna Matheson, who has orchestrated a meticulously planned journey to confront the six individuals she holds responsible for the 1942 tragedy that destroyed her family. However, as the train hurtles toward its destination, Anna's quest for justice is complicated by a murder among the passengers, leading to a deadly game of survival and revenge. The confined space of the train amplifies the tension, creating an environment where every passenger is a potential threat. Sager effectively uses this setting to build suspense and keep readers on edge.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a quick and easy read and the description sounded like an adventure. I will say I am a huge fan of Riley Sager but he's had a few that weren't my favorites and this is one of them. I felt like nothing new was brought to the table and just didn't find any of the characters likable or relatable. It just fell flat. Some of the story just felt like a bit of a stretch. I hope others enjoy this book it just wasn't for me.

In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family. Twelve years later, she’s ready for retribution. Anna has lured those responsible for her family’s downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago. She plans confronting the people who’ve wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them the the FBI. When one of the passengers turns up dead, it seems like someone else is also seeking revenge. 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.

Made it 27% and DNF. Riley Sager tends to be hit or miss, although I’ve had more hits than misses. This one simply did not work for me on several levels: as fun as the premise sounds on paper, the execution was not delivering. The writing felt incredibly phoned in and predictable; the characters all felt flat and the way they were introduced one after the other at the start felt extremely boring; the concept felt hard to believe, that all these people would simply agree to attend this train ride in response to a mysterious invitation, no questions asked; the confrontation at the front of the book laid out so much of the backstory in a way that was all tell, no show…I could go on. It’s very possible things get more interesting or at least more surprising but I did not care enough to continue. The quality just was not there.

Sager is one of my favorite authors to read and recommend, and when I saw that he was doing a Christie-inspired book, I knew I had to get my hands on it. This one did not disappear! With a classic Sager flare and twist, the Orient Express is resurrected into a new and chilling story.

I read this while traveling on a business trip. The multiple twists and suspects had me lured in so deepty that I actually passed on dinner one night so I could finish it. As entertaining as Murder on the Orient Express and once again Riley Sager didn't disappoint.

I love Riley Sager. I’ve never not liked their books. This one was no exception. It gave Agatha Christie vibes and I thoroughly enjoyed. My only feedback is that it started a tad slow. Thanks for allowing me to read this ARC!