Book Review: The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager

“Be careful what you watch for…”

Set to be published on 7th July, The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager follows Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, who has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of bourbon, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake.

One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other, the sooner it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage isn’t as perfect as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey immediately suspects Tom of foul play. What she doesn’t realize is that there’s more to the story than meets the eye, and that shocking secrets can lurk beneath the most placid of surfaces.

Rating:

Thank you to NetGalley for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a long time to get into this book and I was so ready to be disappointed in it. I had my annoyed half-arsed review ready to go and everything: “It’s like The Woman In The Window, but without the windows.” But then it got good, so I’ll have to write something better than that.

With a murky mystery lurking in the depths of the lake, The House Across The Lake is a jaw-dropping psychological suspense thriller with many unexpected twists.

Yes, it’s very similar to The Woman In The Window for a long time, but if you haven’t read that book, you’re sure to find the initial events exciting. For me, I had read it all before so the first half of the book was very average.

However, Casey is, admittedly, much less annoying. And although the amount of times she pours herself a drink gets tiring, the unreliable narrator trope isn’t as heavily forced on you, so you are able to enjoy being in her company still.

And then at the halfway point, everything suddenly goes in a new, wild direction and I was finally able to really enjoy it. With twists on top of twists, I had no idea where the story was going and was taken completely by surprise every time.

Like with all of Sager’s books that I have read so far, you do have to be a little open-minded and forgive him for some slightly unbelievable coincidences, but you can definitely have a good time with this one if you’re up for some unpredictable fun.