The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, 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 liquor, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple who live in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing—a tech innovator, Tom is rich; and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous.

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—and the longer Casey watches—it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage is not as perfect and placid as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey becomes consumed with finding out what happened to her. In the process, she uncovers eerie, darker truths that turn a tale of voyeurism and suspicion into a story of guilt, obsession and how looks can be very deceiving.

With his trademark blend of sharp characters, psychological suspense, and gasp-worthy surprises, Riley Sager’s The House Across the Lake unveils more than one twist that will shock readers until the very last page.

Hardcover, 349 pages

Published June 21, 2022

 by Dutton

2.5, maybe 3 stars

I have read all of Riley Sager's books. I loved Home Before Dark and The Last Time I Lied. His other three were OK reads for me and honestly I went into this book with low expectations - mostly because of comments I’ve read on social media.

This book starts out slow but still intriguing, filled with unreliable and unlikable characters the plot slowly unravels. It wasn't till past the halfway point where I was actually captivated that the first twist hit. In all honesty I am not even sure how I felt about this book after that. This twist was a big one and I felt it came out of left field which broke the momentum. I also kinda felt cheated, like this author didn’t know what else to do.

Once I grudgingly accepted this twist the mystery slowly unravelled with more twists and turns to an ending that was acceptable.

All in all not my least favourite Sager book, but coming in pretty close. 

My copy obtained from the public library.