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A review by justinkhchen
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
4.0
4 stars
Intentional or not, Riley Sager has fully converted to writing 'thriller parody' with The House Across the Lake, and I'm not mad about it. Historically, I've always held the opposite opinion regarding his novels, thinking they are try-hard at best, pretentious at worst, and grossly over-praised by the bookish community. But starting with Survive the Night, there was a noticeable stylistic and attitude shift — the novel finally admits it is just junk food for the brain and fully embraces its silly campiness.
The same can be said regarding the overall tone of The House Across the Lake, which is a self-aware, flashy parade of exaggerated genre stereotypes: an hilariously alcoholic female protagonists (the word 'bourbon' pretty much shows up on every other page—is this book sponsored?), a Rear Window style, 'spying on thy rich neighbor' plot, a mysterious hunky man next door (aka the potential love interest), and a Sarah Pinborough-esque reveal (because it was such a hit in Behind Her Eyes), presented here with more gusto, but even less logic. There's no trace of originality, yet everything is presented with a seasoned author's polish and well-timed storytelling, and extremely bingeable.
I went into The House Across the Lake expecting it to be a leave-your-brain-at-the-door fun time and NOT the potential best thriller of 2022, so I ended up enjoying this for the same reason others who found Riley Sager's latest disappointing: the familiar plot, the trite but endearing characters, and the nonsense reveal. Overall I appreciate how upfront it is regarding its trashiness — Riley Sager aimed for a Lifetime thriller movie, and wrote one spot on.
**The Book Troop Book Club July 2022 Selection**
Intentional or not, Riley Sager has fully converted to writing 'thriller parody' with The House Across the Lake, and I'm not mad about it. Historically, I've always held the opposite opinion regarding his novels, thinking they are try-hard at best, pretentious at worst, and grossly over-praised by the bookish community. But starting with Survive the Night, there was a noticeable stylistic and attitude shift — the novel finally admits it is just junk food for the brain and fully embraces its silly campiness.
The same can be said regarding the overall tone of The House Across the Lake, which is a self-aware, flashy parade of exaggerated genre stereotypes: an hilariously alcoholic female protagonists (the word 'bourbon' pretty much shows up on every other page—is this book sponsored?), a Rear Window style, 'spying on thy rich neighbor' plot, a mysterious hunky man next door (aka the potential love interest), and a Sarah Pinborough-esque reveal (because it was such a hit in Behind Her Eyes), presented here with more gusto, but even less logic. There's no trace of originality, yet everything is presented with a seasoned author's polish and well-timed storytelling, and extremely bingeable.
I went into The House Across the Lake expecting it to be a leave-your-brain-at-the-door fun time and NOT the potential best thriller of 2022, so I ended up enjoying this for the same reason others who found Riley Sager's latest disappointing: the familiar plot, the trite but endearing characters, and the nonsense reveal. Overall I appreciate how upfront it is regarding its trashiness — Riley Sager aimed for a Lifetime thriller movie, and wrote one spot on.
**The Book Troop Book Club July 2022 Selection**