Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

This book felt like an homage to Agatha Christie since it was a "closed room" mystery, set on a train. I love how Riley Sager explores different mystery/horror tropes in each of his books and takes them in directions you might not expect. It's the 1940's, and Anna has lured 6 people that betrayed her family onto a train that is traveling 12 hours, non-stop from Philadelphia to Chicago so that she can confront them. At the end of the line, the FBI is waiting to arrest them. Very quickly, things don't go as she planned and people start to die.

This book kept me guessing, with lots of twists and turns. Did it twist a little too much sometimes? Yes. Was it still fun? Yes. (I did roll my eyes at a twist when it was the 2nd time it happened in the book - I don't want to give it away but you'll know when you get there. That was where it dropped from a star for me.)

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!!

I love reading Riley Sager books because they make me feel like I am running a marathon. My heart-rate is elevated, I’m always looking over my shoulder, and I feel completely out of breath! This is exactly how With a Vengeance turned out to be—a maddening dash to the end to find out what, who, when, where, and why? A little feeling of Agatha Christie’s classic plots and gotcha’s can be felt throughout this novel, with a permeating chill of a long train ride through a dark cold winter night. This is the perfect cozy mystery thriller for a night at home with a hot cup and a blanket to warm you up. I recommend to any Sager or Christie fan and of course any mystery or thriller junkie.

The book world could use more Riley Sagers, because I need more writers who can scare the pants off me without ever doing anything icky or upsetting.

This one is less scary than some of Sager’s true Horror offerings, though it’s no less exciting, suspenseful, and surprising. I wouldn’t call this a true Gothic like Middle of the Night or Home Before Dark, but there’s a bit of a gothic build in the first half of the book that works very well for the story, followed by a lot of well-paced and suspenseful mayhem once the book moves more toward Thriller territory.

I think Sager is at his best when he’s going for creepy/eerie vibes, but he does suspense so well too, and that’s evident here. I’m always impressed by how well he creates strong sense of place even in his more fast-paced, Thriller-style novels.

The premise for this is a good one, but the real star of the book is the train, and the way Sager makes use of it both to drive plot and to build atmosphere. The book has multiple twists and while some are easier to guess than others, they’re all fun and all serve the story well.

I have but one regret about this book, which is that scheduling did not permit me to read this while literally on a train, thus depriving me of the opportunity to terrify myself in the most immersive and enjoyable way. In all, another gem from an author who seems to be able to move freely between subgenres and still never misses.

This had a very Agatha Christie feel, and not just because it was on a train (ala The Orient Express.) I think it was a combination of the time period and the locked room aspect. Regardless, I've never actually read an Agatha Christie book 😲 but this is what I would expect.

With a Vengeance was jam packed with twists. Although none were truly shocking they were surprising none the less.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, it kept me wanting to go back to it to see how it all wrapped up. I thought he did a great job transporting us to the time period. In addition to being a page turning locked room mystery, it was also emotional as we watch the MC deal with the destruction of her family.

loved the vibes, classic black and white detective drama/mystery! i thought the cast of characters was really interesting and i was hooked from the beginning. the ending felt so incredibly dramatic that i lost a lot of interest in it around the 80% mark.

Riley Sager's take on Murder on the Orient Express. I loved the setting of the book with the luxury 1940s train and wished more polish had been added to the time setting as a character. There is a metric ton of characters, all of whom we are introduced to early before they begin to get picked off. Anna, the mastermind behind this train ride, is set up as a very smart and capable detective as she investigates the deaths of the people on board. This is at odds with the fact that Anna chose this 8 hour train ride to bring the people responsible for the death of her family, sending every last dollar to make this dramatically happen as opposed to...calling the FBI. It ends up feeling a bit Nancy Drew as the book tries to trick you with red herrings or outright unreliable narrating. Pacing was slow at times, this is a long ass train ride. Not my favorite.

I hate to admit that this was my least favorite book by Riley Sager. As a huge fan of his work, it pains me to rate this book lower than five stars. The premise of a locker room mystery on a train was promising, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I appreciated how the locked room scenario unfolded on the train and how Anna was seeking justice for her brother’s death. It had an Agatha Christie vibe, but it lacked the suspense and unexpected twists characteristic of her work. The narrative felt repetitive, and I didn’t find any of the twists shocking. I powered through the book hoping for a more satisfying conclusion, but in the end I was left disappointed.

Thank you to NetGallery and to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton | Dutton for my copy.

Riley Sager’s With a Vengeance is a gripping thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The story centers around Anna, a woman haunted by her past and seeking justice for a tragic death. When she receives an anonymous tip, she is pulled into a dangerous game that blurs the lines between truth and deception. What makes this novel stand out is Sager’s knack for creating suspenseful, multi-layered characters. Anna’s determination to uncover the truth leads her through a maze of secrets, lies, and unexpected twists. The plot is fast-paced and filled with shocking reveals that kept me guessing until the very end. While some plot points felt a bit predictable, the overall intensity and well-executed storytelling made up for it. With a Vengeance is an engaging read for fans of psychological thrillers who enjoy complex characters and surprising twists.

With A Vengeance by Riley Sager
Rating: 3 stars
Pub date: 6/10

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Dutton Books for my advanced copy!

With a Vengeance takes place in 1942, where Anna Matheson has gathered the six people who ruined her life years earlier on a train ride to Chicago. Her plan is to get them to confess to their crimes so she can turn them over to the FBI. But when one of them turns up dead, her plan falls apart.

The setting is perfect for a locked-room mystery. There’s nowhere to run, and the tension rises as the hours tick by. The historical elements add some nice detail, and it’s fun knowing Anna’s plan right from the start, and watching it unravel adds to the suspense.

That said, the story does start to feel repetitive, and once the main motive is revealed, there aren't a ton of surprises left. The twists didn’t hit the way I hoped, especially coming from Sager. It’s a fast, entertaining read for fans of murder mysteries that take place on a train, but unfortunately, it wasn’t my favorite of his.

3.5 ⭐️ Well I’m exhausted! Anna deserves a stiff drink and a long nap. In true Riley Sager fashion the plot twists just kept on coming right until the end! It was a bit of a slow start for me and a little difficult keeping up with names and some of the switching POVs but overall a good read.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy!

Oh I'm so disappointed...

I wanted to love this, and I thought I would. It sounded like a classic closed door murder mystery on a train but I think Sager just ended up trying to hard to shock us to the point that it didn't work.

The problem with writing this review is that I can't really explain what I disliked about it so much without spoiling the whole book. So I'll say this: I was enjoying it for the most part, but it felt like nothing was really happening until suddenly EVERYTHING happened in the last like quarter of the book. It all ended to fast and their were SO many "plot-twists"/reveals that it just lost the shock factor. Like "ok I get it there's more going on get to the point".

I see how people could enjoy this book, it just wasn't for me sadly.

Riley Sager provides a "locked room" mystery and revenge story, set aboard a train.

Anna Matheson has lured the six people responsible for the destruction of her family onto the Phoenix, an overnight express train from Philadelphia to Chicago. Anna has been gathering the evidence of their guilt and is now ready to deliver those guilty to the authorities. Her plans are almost instantly derailed when one guest is murder. Now, Anna must discover the killer, protect the people she hates most in the world, and save herself.

While some aspects were predictable, as most "locked room" mysteries are, this was well written and enjoyable to read.

Listen, Riley Sager is an autobuy author for me and I have loved a lot of his previous books, BUT this one just didn't do it for me. I felt like it was too similar to Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. The back and forth of questioning who the killer was and how many there were was just too much. It got to be a little "eye-rolling" at times for me. I hate to write a negative review, but of all the books Riley Sager has written, this one was my least favorite. BUT I will happily await his next novel and continue to devour his works!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc! Riley Sager is a must read for me with every single book. This one…I don’t get it. It’s a classic locked door mystery set on a train. Set in the 1940’s with slam you over the head overkill, for instance the protagonist, Anne is a dame with a capital D who is bent on revenge against a group of people who betrayed her father. She has amassed all the evidence at the beginning of the book to make them pay but then proceeds to spend every cent in a Dr Evil type plan for revenge with dramatic flair. This one was a miss for me.

Some of the "false leads" on plot twist reveals I found to be a little annoying, and some of the twists were a bit over-the-top, but overall, I enjoyed the suspense and story, and I was engaged the whole time, trying to guess what would happen and how it would end. I also thought that Anna, our lead, was a sympathetic and likeable character. She had complex emotions and made some bad choices, but I rooted for her the whole time.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGally for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This book started out slow but deff picked up. I was rooting for Anna, I know it was hard to exact revenge, but she did a great job trying to keep everyone alive on this journey. The plot twist was deff not something I was expecting with the end. Great read.

This book was incredible from the first page to the last. It wasn’t what I’d expect from Sager, but I loved every second.

The highlight of this book is the cast of characters. They’re incredibly fleshed out, grounded in their own beliefs and memories. Sager introduces them so well in the first part of the book that I was never wondering who was who - an issue I sometimes encounter with an ensemble of characters such as the ones onboard the Philadelphia Phoenix. They felt real and my understanding of them enhanced every part of the plot.

Sager’s writing in With a Vengeance is some of the most immersive storytelling I’ve come across in a long time. I felt I was amongst the throes of these characters, feeling the train jolt under me, hearing the hum of the train chug along. I even felt the bite of snow on my face in the moments when the windows were flung open.

It was due to this immersion that I read the book in one sitting. A feat I’ve only achieved a few other times in my life! The pacing was incredible and never left me feeling like any chapters or scenes were unnecessary. I had a distinct feeling of ‘Sager knows what he’s doing with this one’ the entire way through the book.

I would certainly recommend this title for the character and setting alone, but the twisty plot is the cherry on top. I never knew where it was going, and it made the reading experience even better.

Riley Sager never misses!

He creates interesting and suspenseful stories. I will read anything he writes!

With a Vengeance is a Christie-inspired mystery that starts a bit slow, building steam until it's chugging along at a solid pace. The mystery itself has a lot of moving parts with red herrings conveniently placed to put you on the wrong trail, but it is well constructed and thought through, with a majority of the clues laid out in the passing details, allowing eagle eyed readers to piece it together. Sager constructs a strong protagonist in Anna, easily the most developed character in the group, but the others fall a little flat at times. Outside of their motivations, you don't develop sympathy that would make the deaths more impactful. Some of the gotcha moments and reveals are a little over the top, all in good fun, seemingly. Sager's writing remains fluid and gripping, although he could do with a little more faith in his readers and less spelling out significant moments.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for this ARC!

While I love some other works from Riley Sager, this one was very middle of the pack to me,

The premise was an interesting one for me, and as someone who grew up riding trains quite frequently, I was excited by the relatable setting. I also liked our main character, Anna. I found her to be plucky and determined, and not one to lie down when the going got tough. The pace, flashes to the past for context, and including other POV's provided a bit of an unreliable narrator aspect that I found myself enjoying.

However, I think after the first big plot twist- I knew where the story was going. There were a couple that tripped me up (the VERY end, iykyk), but as a whole I had an idea of what would happen next even if I didn't know who was going to do it. I also found the ending a bit off since Anna somewhat facilitated the opportunity for these crimes to have taken place?

Overall, I would give it 3 out of 5 stars. Sager's books are so easy to breeze through that even though this one wasn't my favorite, I'll most likely still pick up the next book he comes out with.