Reviews with content warning for Addiction - The House Across the Lake

What the actual heck was this book? It’s a mix of Layla, Pretty Girls, and the movie A Simple Favor…. In all of the most absurd bs of ways. I mean what the actual f?

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theplantlady's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The secrets of Lake greene will expose your deepest fear! Follow Casey, the protagonist on a long journey of alcoholism and self pity. Casey was a successful actress when a life crisis falls upon her and she finds herself at Lake Greene, forced by her mother's hand to save her career and to stay out of the limelight. She spends her days drinking and drunk loathing in anguish as she reflects on her life. At some point the author, Riley Sager introduces Katherine and Tom, a couple across the lake and the plot of the story begins here, Casey is captivated by Katherine and Tom and finds herself spying on them as she binge the day away on alcohol. Then suddenly, Katherine disappears and Casey plays detective to prove Tom killed his wife.

I really enjoyed the Climax of this story! the hint, climax! I want to give it five stars, however Mr. Sager spent too much filler boring me with Casey's alcoholism, the book does not take off till after page 100. However, the climax is well worth the read! So this book gets four stars from me. I have not finished the book, I am about 10 chapters away and this is a book club read so I have to wait for others to catch up, but I cannot wait to finish this book. This book was difficult to get through and has taken the book club a month to read because it is such a slow read. there are little easter eggs throughout the book to keep you engaged in the reading and I love the cameo of the Bartholomew burning down.

The character development of this storyline was also a fail, Casey's character is not very well developed and I just don't feel anything for her or any of the characters for that matter. This is the second book I have read from Riley Sager, and unlike Lock every door, I was not able to predict the ending of this book and thus enjoyed this read.

May 28, 2024

Hmmmmm, finished the book :( The best part of this book is the climax, there is nothing more disappointing to reach a climax like this and then have the story go limp* before you can reach full satisfaction! I cannot believe the horror of this ending! There are no words that I can express sorrowful, dismayed, filled with sadness that I am not happy with another book written by Riley Sager. I wanted to read Survive the night, but I am having second thoughts, just not sure if his writing style is for me.

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traciereads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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ashyq's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was slow to grow on me but I ended up enjoying it unexpectedly at the end. I would suggest reading over audio book, just because I felt the narrator didn’t quite match the voice of the character.

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katvanfos's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Sagar did good to exploit what he knows you’re thinking- I was impressed at the leaps he took but…. They were indeed leaps. I respect his bravery in going for it, but it was all a little too unbelievable at a certain point. None of the characters were likable or relatable- they felt pretty flat. That said, I definitely enjoyed some mouth-agape moments. It was a fun ride, but maybe a little too overboard for me.

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juanat77's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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akevaa's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Definitely not a book to read if you’re struggling with alcohol. I understand it as a focus of the novel but wasn’t expecting such a heavy feature. Would rather have focused more on the crime aspect. Not my favorite though the narrator was nice.

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