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isco1428's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was not in any way what I expected. There were so many twists and turns that kept me on my toes from start to finish. I don’t want to spoil anything but wow. What a solid finish — it’s rare that I like or agree with endings but this one was actually good. Not too beyond the realm of possibility but also not too “happily ever after”, either. I will definitely be checking out any other works by Sager!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Murder, and Suicide
friendofdorothea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So beautifully written! And captivating!!! And some non predictable plot twists! Also I loved Katherine and Casey as characters!!!
Only critique I have is how many times the word unnerving was used it was quite unnerving lol. But could be a drinking game while reading I guess.
Only critique I have is how many times the word unnerving was used it was quite unnerving lol. But could be a drinking game while reading I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Violence
lolamosk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.5
Seemed pretty slow until about 75% of the way through it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Suicide attempt, Grief, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Death
vereadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.0
Rating★★★☆☆
“At night, you can’t see your reflection on the water. Centuries ago, before people knew any better, it was a common belief that reflective surfaces could trap the souls of the dead.”
The settings in Sager's novels are such a powerful element. They draw you in, and the story would not be the same if they happened in other places. In this case, it is Green Lake. It's impossible not to imagine being at the lake spying on the neighbors with Casey. 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 the 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.
“The lake is darker than a coffin with the lid shut,” she’d say. “And as deep as the ocean. If you sink under, you’ll never come back up again. You’ll be trapped forever.”
Casey is the typical unreliable narrator who drinks heavily and ends up obsessed with the couple who live in the house across the lake. I dislike these types of stories because they bore me, and I find them tedious. I also don't like it when the main character becomes obsessed with someone younger and prettier than her.
“The worst part about drinking too much—other than, you know, drinking too much”
The first part of the book is slow and dull. Things begin to take off slowly in the second half and become interesting. I didn't see the first plot twist coming. It was a twist that woke me up from the lethargy that the rest of the story had caused me. The plot twist was over the top, but I like it.
(view spoiler)
“there’s no such thing as happily ever after. There’s only happy for a short period of time before everything falls apart.”
This book has elements that sound ridiculous and excessive but somehow work.
Books I have read by this author
Final Girls ★★★☆☆
The Last Time I Lied ★★★★ ½
Home Before Dark ★★★★☆
Survive the Night ★☆☆☆☆
If you like this book, try this book
The Girl on the Train
Storygraph | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
“At night, you can’t see your reflection on the water. Centuries ago, before people knew any better, it was a common belief that reflective surfaces could trap the souls of the dead.”
The settings in Sager's novels are such a powerful element. They draw you in, and the story would not be the same if they happened in other places. In this case, it is Green Lake. It's impossible not to imagine being at the lake spying on the neighbors with Casey. 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 the 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.
“The lake is darker than a coffin with the lid shut,” she’d say. “And as deep as the ocean. If you sink under, you’ll never come back up again. You’ll be trapped forever.”
Casey is the typical unreliable narrator who drinks heavily and ends up obsessed with the couple who live in the house across the lake. I dislike these types of stories because they bore me, and I find them tedious. I also don't like it when the main character becomes obsessed with someone younger and prettier than her.
“The worst part about drinking too much—other than, you know, drinking too much”
The first part of the book is slow and dull. Things begin to take off slowly in the second half and become interesting. I didn't see the first plot twist coming. It was a twist that woke me up from the lethargy that the rest of the story had caused me. The plot twist was over the top, but I like it.
(view spoiler)
“there’s no such thing as happily ever after. There’s only happy for a short period of time before everything falls apart.”
This book has elements that sound ridiculous and excessive but somehow work.
Books I have read by this author
Final Girls ★★★☆☆
The Last Time I Lied ★★★★ ½
Home Before Dark ★★★★☆
Survive the Night ★☆☆☆☆
If you like this book, try this book
The Girl on the Train
Storygraph | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Stalking
Moderate: Confinement and Kidnapping
mallory10100's review against another edition
challenging
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
5.0
this was so insanely twisty i had absolutely no idea where it was going
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Drug use, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Cursing
Minor: Blood, Infidelity, and Vomit
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-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
3.0
If I ever have to read the word "bourbon" again it will be too soon ! I swear 2/3 of this book is simply talking about how many drinks this woman has had. It gets tiring very quickly, and if alcoholism is a needed content warning for you, then I would not pick this one up.
This book is a lot. The first 2/3 are very generic, and full of stereotypes that are bizzarely self aware. It gets pretty boring, feels slow, and is honestly just a whole lot of nothing. Then for the last third everything shifts into an entirely different story, and even the pacing completely changes. It feels like this has three different endings with how it just keeps going and going at the end.
I think at least 50 pages could have easily been shaved off. It feels so drawn out, and I even grew to hate the main character. As usual, if you pay attention to what people say in the beginning you can see where this is going early on.
I do feel like the final third of this book almost invalidates the previous part. We see things through the main character, Casey's, eyes so there is information we should have known from the get go, but is purposely withheld from us to make the twists more impactful. You cannot tell me that there was no point where she was thinking about these things. It just feels like lying by omission, and is weird with the point of view we are given.
Even though there are things I majorly disliked in this book, I still think it comes out as an average read. It's quick and easy to get through, kept me intrigued enough to want to know the ending, and gives us a proper, albeit not very believable, ending. The last third is what bumps it up to 3 for me though, as the first 2/3 is sadly just a 2.
This book is a lot. The first 2/3 are very generic, and full of stereotypes that are bizzarely self aware. It gets pretty boring, feels slow, and is honestly just a whole lot of nothing. Then for the last third everything shifts into an entirely different story, and even the pacing completely changes. It feels like this has three different endings with how it just keeps going and going at the end.
I think at least 50 pages could have easily been shaved off. It feels so drawn out, and I even grew to hate the main character. As usual, if you pay attention to what people say in the beginning you can see where this is going early on.
I do feel like the final third of this book almost invalidates the previous part. We see things through the main character, Casey's, eyes so there is information we should have known from the get go, but is purposely withheld from us to make the twists more impactful. You cannot tell me that there was no point where she was thinking about these things. It just feels like lying by omission, and is weird with the point of view we are given.
Even though there are things I majorly disliked in this book, I still think it comes out as an average read. It's quick and easy to get through, kept me intrigued enough to want to know the ending, and gives us a proper, albeit not very believable, ending. The last third is what bumps it up to 3 for me though, as the first 2/3 is sadly just a 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Murder, Violence, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Suicide
Minor: Infidelity and Vomit
eminax_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Grief, and Medical trauma
Minor: Death
seawarrior's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
2.0
I tragically feel this book is Sager's weakest work that I've read so far, even thought I was highly anticipating it. An enormous amount of pages are dedicated to reiterating how much Casey drinks, to the point it almost felt exploitive. Sager's protagonists typically have a unique hobby that their personality revolves around, and Casey's is alcoholism. She really doesn't have many skills or strengths, besides teetering on the edge of drunkenness and withholding the truth, that are explored within the events of the book. The twist was also a disappointment to me. At this point it's been long cliché to reveal the husband as the murderer, and I've liked how Sager's past work avoided using supernatural occurrences as the easy way to explain why something strange was happening. I did think it was interesting to make Casey an unreliable narrator, but I felt that was the only strength that was unique to this book. When the book was not overly repetitive I was engaged in it, yet too much of the text reiterated ideas that I as a reader already understood and did not need to have restated. Reading those lines was irritating and felt almost like an insecurity was being expressed. Either Sager felt his ability to imply ideas to us was inadequate, or that we as readers weren't very sharp. There are many improvements that could have been made to this book, but the ending was decently rewarding and it was entertaining enough that I continued it despite its flaws. I wouldn't recommend this book to other readers because I feel Sager has written stronger books previously, but I still look forward to reading what he creates in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Alcoholism
kaseymkelley's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
chelsearose's review
mysterious
tense
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Moderate: Violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Grief