pretty fast paced, decent thriller. Reminded me of “murder on the orient express” but it fazed off towards the end and all those revelations felt lacklustre to me.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review Riley's new ARC.

I have read quiet a few of Riley Sagars books and find them all so different and intriguing, but unfortunately I just couldn't get into the whole murder of a train thing.
The story lacked depth and was mostly underwhelming for a murder mystery/thriller story.

Thank you Netgalley and Hatchette for this ARC.
I though this book was well executed. I loved the thought process and like the calculated movements of our main character. I really like Agatha Christie books and this was low key giving those vibes and since the chapters were in like hours countdown instead of chapter 1, chapter 2 and so on. It made the book really suspenseful like oh just more chapter. This did have some similarities to other books but still had enough uniqueness in its own right. This is my first Riley Sager book, and honestly I am eager to read more.
Solid 3.75⭐️

If you liked the movies Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, Knives Out or Murder Mystery, this one’s for you.

Set in 1954, Anna invites six people on a 14-hour luxury train ride to Chicago under false pretences. No one else is aboard, just her and them. Her goal? Get them to confess to the crimes that ruined her family and hand them over to the authorities at the end of the line. But someone else has a plan, and guests start turning up dead one by one.

I’ve read/watched many closed-door mysteries, but this one really stood out. I loved how each character got their own intro chapter, diving into their mindset. It was a clever way to kick things off. The whole thing felt like a movie. If you’ve seen Knives Out, you’ll get the vibe - suspects pointing fingers, shady motives, all unfolding over one night. The luxury train setting was also a fun change from Sager’s usual backdrops. I’ve seen mixed reviews for this, but I thought this was a solid mystery. It kept me guessing and I finished it in one sitting, which always says a lot🤗

With a Vengeance was fun but unfamiliar. The setting was cool and tangible and the suspense was solid, but as a big Sager fan, the murder mystery / whodunnit just fell a little short for me. 3 stars.

I usually absolutely love books by Riley Sager however With A Vengeance sadly didn’t cut it for me. The premise sounded very promising however I found the story to be very uneventful and flat.

I would rate this book 2.5 stars. Thank you for the opportunity to review!

As Riley’s books are all so different, I’ll still be adding future titles to my TBR! Not every book is for every person after all 😊

I love me a Riley Sager and while I ate this up - I had my issues. I think the main problem here was the fact that we are coming off the back of Middle of the Night and The Only One Left, which for me, were absolute banger thrillers. I had that expectation going into With a Vengeance and eeeek I hate to say it but I was a little disappointed.
A locked room murder mystery set on a train and while the vibes were fabulous, if I wanted to read an Agatha Christie, I would have picked up an Agatha Christie?
The murder mystery, who-dunnit style of story are absolutely up my alley but I just didn't expect it from Riley and it threw me.
BUT…..at the end at of the day, it was still fun because Riley always is and I'll still read everything he ever writes.

This book feels like Riley Sager stepping into unfamiliar but welcome territory. Set aboard a luxury train in 1954, it plays out like a love letter to classic locked-room mysteries, particularly those of Agatha Christie. The isolated train setting is used effectively, and the structure of the story, including how the characters are introduced, echoes that golden age feel.

The pacing is fast, which keeps things engaging, and it felt like the pace was accelerated by the idea of train travel without escape. Something about that made this immersive and quite compelling. While the characters do react to the chaos around them, they also seem in some scenes to accept the escalating danger with surprising ease. That tonal mismatch left me feeling like the stakes weren’t always fully realised. Still, the protagonist's evolving plan, one that begins with control and slowly unravels into uncertainty, works well and creates a good emotional focal point. It was cleverly written and I felt the unease with the protagonist.

The twists are fun, even if a couple of them stretch believability, but that type of twist suited this book. I think one key detail might have been given away too early, which slightly dulled the impact of the later reveals. That said, the book keeps up the momentum, and for fans of classic mysteries, there’s plenty to enjoy.

Overall, this is one of Sager’s more unique outings, and a successful one. Engaging, fast-paced, and structured with intention, it’s a solid entry for readers who enjoy murder mysteries with a vintage flair.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely a different one for Sager. A reaaaal slow burn of a mystery. And while it was fundamentally good, it wasn’t my kind of mystery. I like something with a little bit more pace that keeps me on the edge of my seat a bit more.

There are 6 people locked on a train who were involved in a crime committed in 1940 and on their one way trip (as people start being murdered) they have to work out who is actually behind it.

It’s an interesting story but not my favourite Sager story.

With A Vengeance
Riley Sager

‘Revenge is fleeting.
Vengeance lasts a lifetime.’

This had more twists and turns than a windy country road. I may have sustained whip lash with all the back and forth and the speculation on just who was the killer was brutal, everyone had their time as a prime suspect.

"Don't you see? She brought us here to murder us. This trip-this night-is her chance for revenge, and it's been a long time coming."

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

“Well, it had to be someone on this train," Anna says. "And since we're the only people on it, that means it was one of you."

Anna falsely lures people she holds responsible for her families demise onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago. Fourteen hours non-stop to confront the people who’ve wronged her, get them to confess and deliver them into the hands of waiting authorities. But Anna’s well laid plans quickly start to derail with the murder of one of the passengers.

"For the past year, every thought, every action, every damn minute has been spent preparing for this night. And now it's all gone to hell."

This creates a locked room environment with a cast of characters who all have means and motive, as the train barrels across the country.

"A man did just die while drinking a martini you mixed,"

I didn’t love that this was set in the 1950s. And quite possibly this heightened the feeling I had when reading, that this is too similar to Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express.

"Be careful," Sal had warned. "Boys will break your heart without a second thought."

Review posted 27th May.

A thriller missing most of the thrill.

With a Vengeance seemed like the kind of book that would be a blast: a closed-space caper (they're on a train! For 12 hours! With no stops!), everyone is guilty of something, the main heroine isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. This had all the makings of an epic, twisted whodunit.
Unfortunately, I just found the whole thing to be quite dull.

It was much too slow paced for my liking, and the chosen writing style just didn't work: every character gets a point of view chapter and every single one of them spends that chapter overthinking and rehashing exactly what action just occurred and then detailing in minute detail to the reader how that made them feel and why. There was just too much tell and not enough show in this one.

Hopefully my next Riley Sager will be better, we shall see.

As a huge Riley Sager fan, I was really excited to be approved for an early copy of With a Vengeance. I didn’t even read the synopsis, I just requested it. So I went into this book blind with no backstory.

It’s starts with a group of people receiving invitations to a train ride. With their invitations is also a letter, making it clear that they’ll want to board that train.

The backstory of each character and their connection to Anna, the protagonist, is drop fed to us as readers and it makes for a very engaging book. I couldn’t put it down.

My biggest requirement for a high rating is that I don’t work out who the culprit is by the end of the book. Until it was right there on the page in front of me I had no idea who the bad guy was.

I will absolutely be buying a physical copy of this once it’s released and I highly recommend everyone else does too.

With A Vengeance by Riley Sager

Its 1954 and Anna Matheson blames six people for the death of her whole family, she even has the evidence to prove it but she does not only report them to the FBI she invites them onto the Philadelphia Phoenix, the most luxurious express train, for a journey of a lifetime. Anna doesn’t want revenge as revenge is fleeting she wants vengeance as vengeance lasts a lifetime.

I loved this book and think this is Riley Sager’s best one. I could not put it down and couldn’t wait to find out if Anna gets her vengeance in the end.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand Hodder & Stoughton Publishers for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review

Cool premise and setting. Loved the classic whodunnit vibes and the nods to Murder on the Orient Express. Enjoyed the multiple perspectives and how each chapter added another puzzle piece to the picture. Also liked the protagonist and her personal motivations. However, where it needed to ramp up at the midway point, it fell off for me. The characters spent too much time running up and down the train and it could be confusing at times. Overall, good fun but I wanted it to be great.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.
I always tell myself that I will read more mystery/thriller books, and when I do, I generally find myself hovering around Riley Sager’s books, which is why I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of ‘With A Vengeance’.
Based on the description of the book, I was hoping for a nostalgic and classic ‘Who Dunnit’ – and that is exactly what I got.
Set nearly exclusively on a train with no stops, this book was full of twists and turns, and I had a lot of fun trying to work out who was the ‘baddie’ among the list of suspects.
This book had so much going on, that I felt it was impossible not to get caught up in the events, and I lost some sleep so I could find out the ending.
I must admit, I didn’t read far into the plot looking for holes. I just had fun with what was in front of me, and there is nothing wrong with that.

📕 ASH’S RATING: 2.5/5 ⭐️⭐️
Vibes: Train Whodunnit, Murder Mystery, Cluedo

- - -
This was my third Riley Sager read, and I was buzzing to get a sneak peek at his latest release especially after loving the thriller and horror edge his previous books delivered.

Sadly the excitement ended there. This felt less Riley Sager thriller and more Cluedo on a train. The entire story started, ended and was confined to a train and I’ve now realised that ‘murder mystery on a train’ might just be one of my least favourite sub-genres. There’s only so much suspense you can build when there are limited characters and not much room to move - literally.

While the premise had promise, the execution fell flat for me. I didn’t connect with the characters, wasn’t intrigued by the clues and found myself watching the pages more than the plot hoping it would wrap up quickly which is never a good sign.

That said, the writing itself wasn’t bad, it just didn’t feel like the Riley Sager I’ve come to know and love. His earlier books are some of my favourites, so while this one missed the mark, I’m still keen to see what he does next.

A thank you to Hachette for a sneak peek at this book in exchange for my honest review.

Well that was different from Riley Sager. It still has all the wild twists and shocks we have come to expect from this author, absolutely, it just read very differently for me. Although I guessed what was happening early on it was still such a fun and entertaining read.

Set in 1954, this is a locked room thriller with a difference. The whole story takes place on an overnight train between Philadelphia and Phoenix in winter so of course there is a lot of snow. Anna Matheson has lost her whole family, and 12 years later she has all the evidence she needs to prove that her father was set up. She plans to get them all in this train and hand them over to the FBI at the end. But of course things go off the rails and things go horribly wrong very quickly.

As always with any Riley Sager book, I flew through this in 2 sittings. It was dark and messy but so much fun to read. I had to suspend my belief at times but just go with it and enjoy the ride.

Thanks so much to Hachette Australia for my early copy of this book to read from one of my favourite authors. Out on June 10th

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

As someone who’s devoured (almost) all of Riley Sager’s books and rated them 4 stars or higher, I was really looking forward to With A Vengeance—and it didn’t disappoint.

Set in 1954, this locked-room-style thriller takes place aboard the Philadelphia Phoenix, a luxury train traveling overnight from Philadelphia to Chicago. Anna Matheson has lured six people onto the train under false pretenses—people who were responsible for destroying her family twelve years earlier. Her plan? Get confessions, deliver them to the authorities waiting at the end of the line. But when a murder derails her scheme, Anna must face a new reality: someone else on board has their own deadly plan—and they won’t stop until everyone is dead.

This story is dripping with atmosphere. The snowstorm outside, the confined train cars, the 14-hour ticking clock—it all gave the story a tense, cinematic quality that kept me turning the pages. The locked-door mystery vibes were strong, giving Murder on the Orient Express energy, though the shrinking suspect pool did make things a bit predictable (I guessed the killer early). That said, there were still a few twists that caught me by surprise, and I especially enjoyed the process of uncovering each character’s motive for betraying Anna’s family.

It’s not without flaws. You’ll definitely need to suspend your disbelief—some of the character decisions (especially Anna’s and Seamus’) are wild, and the plot to ruin Anna’s father is a stretch. Anna herself, while compelling, made some frustrating choices, and the story became a bit repetitive once the motive was revealed.

Still, the post-WWII setting and the transitional era of technology (trains vs. planes) were fascinating. I actually wanted more backstory on Anna’s past and the lead-up to the betrayal, especially the parts that hinted at the war effort and homefront life. The writing flowed well, the pacing was tight, and the action scenes felt like something out of an old-school thriller.

A solid, atmospheric read that may divide readers—but I was definitely along for the ride.

Thank you to Riley Sager, Hachette Australia & New Zealand, and Netgalley for the ARC of With A Vengeance!