ttthomas 's review for:

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

4.0

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I'm very surprised by how much I liked this, as my relationship with Sager's past few books has been... rocky, to say the least. That being said, this was great. Sager is generally an excellent writer, and this book was no exception. Furthermore, I think Casey might be my favorite of Sager's protagonists. I loved the way he built her unreliability into the narrative in a unique and nuanced way. This whole book was a blueprint on how to take an exceptionally simple premise and breathe life into it. He truly made some of the most derivative aspects his own, and the book's atmosphere, tone, and mystery were all the better for it. The only reason this isn't getting a 5 from me is because I'm still not sure how well the major twist fits into the broader narrative; it felt like Sager had to force it a little, and as a result, the final twist, which did catch me off guard, felt rushed and like it needed about 20 more pages.