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

➽ I have to admit that this is probably my favorite Riley Sager book as it's so entertaining!! The House Across the Lake is about Casey, a recently widowed actress who owns a lake house in Vermont. She's trying to escape the press and is struggling with her mental health. Casey's an alcoholic and lives alone at the house, without much outside contact. When a couple moves into the house across the lake from her, she quickly gets obsessed with them and starts watching them through her binoculars.

➽ I loved the premise and how Casey couldn't help but keep watching her new neighbors Katherine and Tom. She's getting invested in their lives but finds herself questioning how perfect their life truly is. When Katherine disappears, she's convinced that Tom might have done it and goes to investigate despite the dangers. I found the story very compelling and was actually shocked by some of the twists! We get chapters set in different times and they do a good job of letting you make assumptions. The more we get to know Casey, the more we unravel the secrets of the lake. I liked her friendship with Katherine and how she was dedicated to helping her! The story was suspenseful from start to finish and I couldn't put it down!

The reveal that Casey's husband was a serial killer and she killed him when she found out was SO good! The possession trope won't be for anyone, but I thought it was a sinister twist on what happened to Katherine. In the end, we're meant to believe that Tom's actually innocent unlike Casey suspected ... only for him to turn out to be the villain after all!

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hermione_gilmore's review against another edition

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challenging 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? It's complicated

4.5

Well, let me tell you this was a rollercoaster but in the best way possible. So many plot twists I didn’t anticipate and never would have expected. I don’t think it’s a book for everyone but I personally liked the ending and how everything developed. I would recommend this, thanks Haley hihi. Also, I think you could make a great movie adaptation out of this book.

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infjkiki's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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mikaylamills's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

This book was incredible. There were so many theories going in my head and none of them ended up being correct. Just when you think you have everything figured out, you don't. This book had several twists to keep you on your toes. Highly recommend.

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j_alvarez4's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

2.0

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sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I'm going to need a moment to collect my thoughts, but this was a fun and wild ride.

I really really liked this thriller, it was an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish. Even though I did know the nature of the twist because I read a review not tagged as a spoiler, I still couldn't completely figure out how that played into it all and I kept questioning if that was really the twist.

I was on my toes until the end, and actually gasped out loud at a couple of the twists. I fell right into the trap Riley Sager left and once I realised I had, I was absolutely mind blown and couldn't realise how I didn't pick up on it earlier, which I felt was a result of how subtly Sager wove it into the story. Everything felt like it should've been obvious when it was revealed but most of it I didn't pick up on at the time, which makes a good thriller in my eyes.

There's not much to say about this book that isn't a spoiler, but if you like thrillers with good twists, even if they are a little unrealistic, then this is for you!

I would've liked the ending to be a little more ambiguous and I think we could've done without the last twist, even though it did tie together a few of the loose ends. This was relatively minor in the end, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this book.

Here's to reading all of Riley Sager's back list now, too!

Content Warnings

iblamemycaprisun's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

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

2.25

I honestly don't know what to say about this book, it starts off a bit slow and picks up around 120 or so pages in. At first I found it very interesting but the the plot takes a complete shift into a different realm and that's when it lost me. I don't mind a

paranormal

story, but when reading a mystery and the explanation for everything going on is suddenly

a ghost/possession

it feels very cheap.

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