A review by goatoro
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

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

4.0

Interesting read so I'll start with the set up - We follow Casey, a former actress, turned alcoholic, who is coming off the tragic death of her husband, Len, who drowned in the lake where her family's lake house is located and where she is residing now (after a slew of bad publicity from paparazzi). While here Casey takes to spying on her just as famous neighbors who live across the lake from her, where she sees some troubling events that cascade into further turmoil and tension. I heavily advise going into this book while HEAVILY suspending your disbelief, it will come in handy quite a lot with this read...

I really wanted to give this book more than a 4/5 but ... the reveal that
Len possessed/inhabited Katherine's body the whole time
almost ruined the whole book for me. At first I thought maybe it would be saved by that very final twist/reveal but to no avail. In fact, that last reveal somehow saved the book a bit for me, as I would've given this 3 or 3.5/5 without it. 

That being said, the first like 85% of this book was great and a very fast-paced read that I didn't always want to put down. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey this book took me on (even if I didn't like all of the outcomes) and plan to pick up this author again!
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