The House Across the Lake
Ratings253
Average rating3.5
If you're willing to over look the many thriller cliches “The House Across The Lake” retreads, you'll be rewarded with a clever, tense, and page turning final act.
Contains spoilers
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.
“The House Across the Lake” by Riley Sager is an unfortunate disappointment that heavily relies on worn-out tropes and a lack of respect for its readers, falling short of expectations.
The protagonist, Casey Fletcher, a widowed actress hiding from a scandal, ensconces herself in her family's tranquil lakeside house in Vermont. From her isolated post, she voyeuristically observes the seemingly idyllic life of Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living across the lake. The use of the trope of a single, alcoholic woman observing her neighbors unfolds predictably, diminishing any potential freshness in the narrative.
While the plot is initially intriguing when Casey saves Katherine from drowning and their friendship develops, it quickly becomes muddled in the commonplace. The tension Sager attempts to build around the flawed marriage of Katherine and Tom, and Katherine's subsequent disappearance, becomes diluted by the overused narrative framework and the excessive use of alcohol as a plot device.
Most jarring is the major twist introduced later in the book, which seems to show little regard for its readers. Rather than enhancing the story or providing a satisfying surprise, it comes across as a contrived shock value attempt that breaks the bond of trust between author and reader.
The House Across the Lake” relies too heavily on outdated narrative clichés, leaving little room for originality or respect for its readers. The underwhelming execution of what could have been an engrossing psychological suspense disappoints, leaving the reader dissatisfied.
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.
Contains spoilers
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.
admittedly, the taylor swift dedication got me interested in the book and it is a no body, no crime kinda fanfiction but that also turned out to be more.
I'm not a huge fan of the supernatural twist, i think i would preferred a different explanation and i really saw Casey's decision to drow Len/herself coming, BUT i was shocked when it turned out that she wasn't speaking to Tom in the beginning
A little out of the blue ending but hooks you right in and keeps your heart pumping until the very end! Definitely have to keep in mind it is a thriller but has paranormal elements to it that caught me off gaurd. The last few chapters read like a scary movie in your head with you hoping for the main character to make it!
I have read another work of Riley Sager before picking this up and it was The Only One Left. I was happy with the work and had a decent expectation from The House Across the Lake. But this one disappointed me. First, the resemblance between these two books is just uncanny. Although the book started out okay; the middle and the end chapters were either repetitive or rushed. It felt like Riley had so much planned out but could not fit it into a 350 pages book and decided to cramp it up in the last 3 chapters. And also, the writing was bad too. There was something off. I could just read the words off the pages but it lacked depth. I would definitely not recommend this book. And probably, not pick up Riley Sager again. Let me know if you have ay suggestion of Riley Sager's works that I cannot miss out on.
3.5 ⭐️ very enjoyable and twisty! i would LOVE to reread this now knowing what happened, it was very well written. i would've never predicted any of that lol.
Started off slow, then got really good, then the ending went supernatural, and I was instantly disappointed. I will say the ending did get better and there were parts I enjoyed, but why....why did it have to go supernatural. Would have been a 5 star if it didn't.
The plot twist in this book left me speechless but I didn't particularly enjoy the paranormal aspect of the book - although it was the main idea of the twist. A good read overall, it had me on my toes for the most part
3.5
Plenty of twists, satisfying closure, nothing ground breaking for me though
Should have read the reviews before picking up this book. First half was everything I hoped for and expected, then the paranormal twist presented itself and I chose to power through the rest just in case it somehow redeemed itself. I did not.
Must Read
It is a high pace thriller, that will leave you on the edge of your seat through the whole story. Plot twist after plot twist your mind will be blown.
Sager's writing stile is somehow able to draw a perfect picture of what is happening without boring us with endless descriptions. He also manages to write a compelling and fully fleshed story in on of the most boring settings ever.
His writing stile is simply addicting, you will power through this book in no time.
Oh, “The House Across the Lake,” you've had me all twisted like a pretzel. At first, it's like a rollercoaster climbing up that suspense hill, and then out of nowhere, it was like O M G W T F! A colossal twist smacks you right in the face in the middle.
But here's the thing, after that twist, it's like trying to untangle a nest of Christmas lights. You're lost in a maze of events, characters, and questions. Who's who? What's what? But guess what? Just when you're about to throw in the towel, Sager reels you back in with more mystery and intrigue.
The ending? It's a riddle wrapped in an enigma, leaving you with more questions than answers. Is it her? Is it not her? We may never know, and that's the magic of it.
Now, the icing on the cake? They've turned this mind-bender into a Netflix movie. Popcorn and remote, here I come!
If you're into thrillers that'll keep you guessing long after you've turned the last page, give this one a shot. It's like a puzzle you can't resist trying to solve.
Disappointed it wasn't gayer tbh. Was kindof rooting for Casey and Katherine to get together at the end.
IN HALEY PHAM WE TRUST
Every book, I'm pretty sure I've read that I picked up bc of her I've LOVED
This is no way an exception
The twists, the style, the characters, I loved everything about this
This book was good until it wasn't. The “twist” was ridiculous and ruined the book for me.
Two stars because I liked the characters.
Unexpected twists in the end..still somewhere in your mind you feel like this is too much...