2.35k reviews for:

With a Vengeance

Riley Sager

3.43 AVERAGE

dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It was a 3 because I don't like when I guess the murderer, but then I listened to my friends talk about the book on their podcast, That Pretentious Bookclub and they brought it up to 3.5
maud_vdb's profile picture

maud_vdb's review

3.0

Honestly, I ended up more confused than satisfied. Bring back spooky Sager!!
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Usually I finish Sager’s books in a day or two. This one started a little slower for me but picked up and I couldn’t put it down.
dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

the secret to reading saber’s books is going into it knowing there will be like 7 twists and it will get convoluted and just accepting it… i think he landed this plane it was fun love the train of it all  
dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Riley Sager is like an ex I can't stop going back to. It's never good, and I always say it's the last time but apparently that's not true.

In With A Vengeance Riley Sager gives us a little taste of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express; We have a locked train mystery. The story also takes place in the 1950's. In it we have Anna Matheson the orphaned daughter of a disgraced rail mogul who has a settle to score. Anna has anonymously gathered all of the people-who had a hand in the tragic event that destroyed her family and ruined her life-on an overnight train ride. The passengers don't know who invited them but they all had their own reason for agreeing to come. Anna has every intention to bring all six of her guests to justice. Unfortunately for her when men make plans, God laughs. 

In truth, I can tell Riley Sager did "some" research for this novel. Unfortunately he doesn't manage to bring me to the 1950's. 
Also the plot spends so much time twisting and turning....
and get the story ends exactly the way you expect it will from pretty much the beginning. I just found it strange that it took her that long to realize that her ex looks just like her brother. Like omg...
for very little pay off. I had a good time reading this novel but it also had me rolling my eyes constantly. Even though I really do not get anything out of reading his books, I'm probably not done with Riley Sager yet.