
The House Across the Lake A Novel
Reviews

Hovering between a 3.5 and a 4 on this one. It had me absolutely hooked until it had the oddest twist ever. IYKYK! Still a great read, but can’t help feeling a little disappointed with the way it went in the end. I’d still recommend though.

That ending was crazy

started decent but then got supernatural and just stupid

Not my favorite by him

😨

Another good read out of Riley Sager. A very unreliable narrator that I really didn’t like but still rooted for her!! She had the right idea but went about it in the worst way but in the end it was kind of necessary!! Definitely a double twist at the end. Sager will forever be an automatic buy for me, this wasn’t my favorite but still pretty good.

2.5 stars Well this was… disorienting. If it weren’t for the 100+ pages of Casey drinking herself numb and doing nothing but spy on her neighbours I think this would have some good potential. But like I said this book spent too much time with unnecessary things (constant drinking, more drinking, come up with theories but never actually investigating them, more drinking). I understand why those things were included but it took too much space in such a short book. I wish we would have gotten more of the mystery aspect of the book. More engagement. The plot twist was predictable 🤷 it was actually one of my first theories. Which is fine but I would’ve love more investigative work. Also everything felt like it was lacking, nothing felt mysterious or even scary. The final 50 pages were the best part of the book. I actually enjoyed everything coming together and being put to rest. The characters were fine. Nothing special. Enjoyable but not noteworthy.

A standard thriller until it wasn’t. An utterly ridiculous final third lessened the enjoyment for me.

I like Riley Sager’s writing but the plot just wasn’t good. Body snatching/spirit switching twist was weird. Although it definitely wasn’t predictable I’ll give him that.

Would’ve liked it better without the spiritual side ngl

Riley sager is one of my favorite authors so I was surprised to find that this book did not catch my attention. I really considered DNF and was dreading picking it up again because I was so bored. It started to turn around page 200 and definitely had some unforeseen twists but at the end, I wasn’t impressed with the overall story. This is definitely my least favorite Sager book so far

I started this book thinking I’d heard this story a million times before, but there was definitely some things I didn’t expect and some really big turns towards the end. It ended in a completely different way than I anticipated when going in blind.

The house across the lake is my first book by author Riley Sager and I hope not all of his book are the way this one turned out to be. I initially pick up this book because of (a) all the hype behind this book. Everyone or bookclub seemed to be reading this one and (b) the plot seemed to be quite promising. But now having read it, it has left me quite disappointed. The storyline is not something I haven't read before. Its yet another story about a women who drinks way too much of alcohol, while she sits spying on her neighbours across the lake bring their secrets to light as she tries to drown her own secrets from the passed. For most part, this book is just a copy of "The women in the window" only that it's in a different setting with different characters but with the same habits. As for the twist and turns, this book has a lot of them but they all come one after another in the later half of the book. When I picked up this book, i thought it was some sort of a psychological thriller but I was shocked with it paranormal twist, which to be honest for me personal turned out to be a bit child like ghost story and did not give me any goosebumps. The ending too was quite flat as well as its characters. Though, this one was an disappointment, I m still looking forward to read past works by Riley Sager hoping he has done better.

Excellent mystery with an unforeseen ending!

It’s the day after and I’m still thinking about this book it’s so fucked up I can’t comprehend it

This will be my last Sager book. He is not the author for me. There isn't much to say about this book that hasn't already been said, so I'll leave it at that. To my future self, who is considering reading another overhyped new release by an author you know you don't love (or even really like for that matter) - please stop.

Turns out I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The plot twists are crazy, I got no time to recover and there was already another one. All in all, that was definitely.... something.

In general, I found the book enjoyable, although it wasn't until around the 200th page that I became truly hooked as the plot began to unravel. At one point, I even contemplated not finishing the book, but I'm glad I stuck with it. The twist completely caught me off guard, deviating from my initial expectations. As the story progressed and more revelations came to light, I found myself continually surprised, and my focus shifted away from the nature of the initial twist. However, I must admit I wasn't the greatest fan of the ending, but all things considered, it was alright. All in all, it was an entertaining read, and I'm genuinely curious to explore more of the author's work.

Riley Sager is a genius. I understand the hype surrounding him now.
Just wanna say though, this is not purely a mystery/thriller. There are some elements in it that can make you go “wait, what?” so keep an open mind.

A lot of twists and turns throughout the last half of the book that kept me intrigued to keep reading.

first it was boring, almost dnf it but decided to keep reading just to see if i could be proven wrong, if anything interesting would happen then it got fucking stupid, un plot twist tiré par les cheveux built en induisant le lecteur en erreur & plain out deception, THATS THE LAZIEST TYPE OF PLOT TWIST then it got even more stupid, to the point of it being ridiculous, like nothing makes sense at all. there's just too much going on PICK ONE im annoyed

What. The. Heck. This book was actually insane! I did not see any of the twists happening and audibly gasped at points. The PERFECT book for spooky season!

+ as usual, the writing is great quite gripping, couldn't put it down I like Sager's take on each popular thriller trope, it's fun - the narrator sounded way older than the character (view spoiler)[didn't like the supernatural element, that whole part was annyoing, I wanted to skip it. I think it would have been better to remove it, it felt a bit lazy (don't know how to include these pieces of information, let's add a supernatural being who will fee it to the characters) (hide spoiler)]

Highlights





I can’t help but judge him as I peek into the trash can and see boxes that once held microwave Mexican and Lean Cuisines. Even at my drunkest and laziest, I would never resort to frozen burritos.





Katherine arrives in the wood-paneled powerboat, looking like a fifties movie star at the Venice Film Festival as she pulls up to the dock. Cornflower blue sundress. Red sunglasses. Yellow silk scarf tied under her chin.

modest shrug. “I won’t hold a grudge.” The woman laughs, and in the process comes alive in a way that banishes all traces of the person I’d found floating in the water. Color has returned to her face—a peachy blush that highlights her high cheekbones, full lips, pencil-line brows. Her gray-green eyes are wide and expressive, and her nose is slightly crooked, a flaw that comes off as charming amid all that perfection. She’s gorgeous, even huddled under a blanket and dripping lake water. She catches me staring

What is marriage but a series of mutual deceptions?