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

Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

69 reviews

seetaylorwrite's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The beginning of this book starts off like any other thriller/suspense novel. It’s starts with Casey, a famous star who’s screenwriter husband died of drowning 14 months prior. While at the family lake house, she meets supermodel Katherine and social media mogul Tom who have bought the house across the lake after rescuing Katherine from drowning. Just a couple of days later, Katherine disappears and Casey and Boone, the next door neighbor, suspect Tom has something to do with it. When Casey goes poking around, she finds more than she bargains for…

Around 60-70% through the book, it hits you with a plot twist and BAM!!!! Turns into a thriller/horror novel instead! It completely threw me off and sucked me in simultaneously.

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hannanni41's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

3.0

The biggest twist is barely even forecasted, so it makes very little sense. The POV character sucks and I think the author seriously misunderstood how to write a good unreliable narrator. However, it was still a pretty decent read that I didn't have to think too hard about. Just go with the flow on this one and read if you're in the mood for an entertaining popcorn thriller

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ishtar_n's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

A fun read and palate cleanser between denser reads. Dramatic rich people doing dramatic rich people things.

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honeybunchesofoats06's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-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

2.0

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grace_9613's review against another edition

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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

2.5

NO! I was soooo disappointed by the twist. Should have done my research on the authors writing as this subgenre of psychological thriller isn’t for me - I think I’ve read 3 different iterations of this book lately (Layla and Behind her eyes).

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mlf1021'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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I enjoyed the book for the most part and it was a very fast read for me which is nice. I felt that Casey, although an unreliable narrator, was a character I invested in. Some of the twists were really great and i loved very much.
However I couldn’t get on board with the supernatural twist, especially in a book that was seemingly set in the real world— and how everyone is so easily convinced that this is true.
Also I have a hard time with books that jump in time— i often think that it’s a cop out to storytelling- and in this case it definitely is. I know it helps to build the twists but I just feel like it could have been told in a better way.

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samanthaleeshea'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

4.0

The twist had my mind blown. Didn’t see it coming. It only loses points because of the slight supernatural element to it which is fine but not really what I was expecting in this genre.

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