Book Review - The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Title: The House Across the Lake
Author: Riley Sager
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
Published: 2022
 
Description: 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 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 deceiving.
 
Review: Casey has lost her husband, is constantly drinking and lost her acting job. She is now trying to escape reality by staying at her family’s lake house. Spying on the people that live in the house across the lake, Tom and Katherine, is her idea of passing time. When one day she saves Katherine from drowning, the two become friends. When Katherine all of a sudden goes missing, Casey is sure her husband Tom has something to do with her disappearance. But the truth is much more complicated.
 
Riley Sager is a favorite for me, I have liked all but one of his books. And I can now add this one as well. I have read all of them now. The setting for me is already a win. A lake house in autumn time, with only a few people around. Casey is a complex character: she is troubled because she lost her husband Len not that long ago. She drinks a lot, but says she is not an alcoholic. And her acting career is also not going well. Because Casey is almost always intoxicated, she is an unreliable narrator. One of my favorite things in thriller books.
 
The book only has a few characters aside from Casey, but you have no idea who you can trust or not. Because, besides her next door neighbor Eli, all the people that are staying at their lake houses, are strangers for Casey.
 
People had warned me for the crazy twist in this book. And they weren’t wrong. It’s really nuts and not something you can predict (if you did, you’re either a liar or a psychic). It is really original and surprising, but it was a bit too much for me. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. The book had five-star energy, up until that twist. That’s the reason I knocked of a full star.
 
“The House Across the Lake” is a really good thriller, solid atmosphere and great suspense building. And it’s well done by Sager to provide so many twists and reveals with the story being set at one location (the lake and its surroundings) and with just a few characters. I just couldn’t really get behind that crazy twist.
 
Rating: 4/ 5