The House Across the Lake
Ratings247
Average rating3.5
Added to listMust reread in the future! So good!with 67 books.
I've been taking on a challenge to see if I can guess the ending to a riley sager book. I've read his home before dark, middle of the night, lock every door, and the only one left and so far i am 0/5 now on this challenge. I have to say each riley sager book I consume I am just more and more obsessed with his writing style, the character sets, and the overall stories he builds. definitely 10/10 recommend this one.
I've been taking on a challenge to see if I can guess the ending to a riley sager book. I've read his home before dark, middle of the night, lock every door, and the only one left and so far i am 0/5 now on this challenge. I have to say each riley sager book I consume I am just more and more obsessed with his writing style, the character sets, and the overall stories he builds. definitely 10/10 recommend this one.
This was my first Riley Sager novel. I've heard you either love him or hate him. I did not love him.
I agree with most of the criticisms I've seen for this book: slow, boring at times, a flat hero, almost DNF'd, etc. That's all true. And more.
I'm willing to forgive all that.
But, when you deliver two major reveals, back-to-back on the same page nonetheless, they'd better be tight. When you go where Sager does here--dead husband is actually the serial killer the cops are looking for, and he's dead because our hero killed him, and he's a ghost who just possessed the missing girl--it needs to be believable.
I'm not talking about suspending disbelief. Okay, this guy's a ghost now. Also, our hero killed him. Fine. Tell me he was actually in outer space the whole time. I don't really care.
But this story is told in first-person. We are inside Casey's head the entire time. Which means that we have access to her thoughts, and there's no way that this wouldn't have crossed her mind on page 7.
The reveal cannot be something that has been inside of the hero's head the entire time, when I've also been inside the hero's head the entire time. There is a difference between being mislead for fun and being lied to for convenience.
It's a cheap trick, and it's a gaping hole in an otherwise weird, fairly enjoyable if sometimes boring story about an obsessive alcoholic woman and the ghost husband she killed last summer.
I like the fact that this thing turned and went somewhere I didn't think it would go. I like how it was actually a different story than the one I thought I was reading. But the whole thing pivots on a huge reveal that just feels underhanded. An unreliable narrator, I can accept. But I have to draw the line at an unreliable author.
To be fair, I am now seeing that this appears to be one of his worst-liked books, and I would honestly give him another shot. But this one is not recommended.
This was my first Riley Sager novel. I've heard you either love him or hate him. I did not love him.
I agree with most of the criticisms I've seen for this book: slow, boring at times, a flat hero, almost DNF'd, etc. That's all true. And more.
I'm willing to forgive all that.
But, when you deliver two major reveals, back-to-back on the same page nonetheless, they'd better be tight. When you go where Sager does here--dead husband is actually the serial killer the cops are looking for, and he's dead because our hero killed him, and he's a ghost who just possessed the missing girl--it needs to be believable.
I'm not talking about suspending disbelief. Okay, this guy's a ghost now. Also, our hero killed him. Fine. Tell me he was actually in outer space the whole time. I don't really care.
But this story is told in first-person. We are inside Casey's head the entire time. Which means that we have access to her thoughts, and there's no way that this wouldn't have crossed her mind on page 7.
The reveal cannot be something that has been inside of the hero's head the entire time, when I've also been inside the hero's head the entire time. There is a difference between being mislead for fun and being lied to for convenience.
It's a cheap trick, and it's a gaping hole in an otherwise weird, fairly enjoyable if sometimes boring story about an obsessive alcoholic woman and the ghost husband she killed last summer.
I like the fact that this thing turned and went somewhere I didn't think it would go. I like how it was actually a different story than the one I thought I was reading. But the whole thing pivots on a huge reveal that just feels underhanded. An unreliable narrator, I can accept. But I have to draw the line at an unreliable author.
To be fair, I am now seeing that this appears to be one of his worst-liked books, and I would honestly give him another shot. But this one is not recommended.
Added to listUp and Coming Listwith 10 books.
Added to list2025: readwith 1 book.
i hate that i got spoiled with the type of plot twist present in this book while reading reviews on goodreads.
the book itself is fun, but only in the last third of it. the rest was a bit boring which i did not expect from riley sager. as i gave 'survive the night' 5 stars i expected for this one to be a favorite as well, given that these two books are both less loved in the community.
overall, i understand how you can hate the twist, but it made the book more interesting for me.
i hate that i got spoiled with the type of plot twist present in this book while reading reviews on goodreads.
the book itself is fun, but only in the last third of it. the rest was a bit boring which i did not expect from riley sager. as i gave 'survive the night' 5 stars i expected for this one to be a favorite as well, given that these two books are both less loved in the community.
overall, i understand how you can hate the twist, but it made the book more interesting for me.