The House Across the Lake - Riley Sager

-

 


Hear me when I say, readers, that Riley Sager is back. Despite his near universal praise, I've really only liked "The Last Time I Lied" and loved "Home Before Dark." The rest of his books left little to no impact on me, and so when "The House Across the Lake" hit bookshelves everywhere, I told myself I'd give him one more chance. And am I ever glad that I did.

Let's talk setting first: a family lakefront house in the deep woods of Vermont. This book is atmospheric and beautifully so; I thought Sager's descriptive writing really shined in this book in ways it hasn't before. 

Now let's talk characters: our unreliable narrator and troubled alcoholic Casey Fletcher relocates to her family lake house to find solitude and escape the grief of unexpectedly losing her husband, Len. The glamorous yet mysterious Katherine and Tom Royce arrive shortly afterward to their own lake house, and soon Casey finds herself watching them (a la "Girl on the Train" and "The Woman in the Window"), not at all prepared for what she sees. 

When I tell you that Sager indeed has taken the domestic thriller genre and totally turned it on its head, I mean it. The twists in this story will either have you IN or OUT, with no in between. Giving even a hint of how this turns out would undoubtedly ruin it, but if you simply must know where this heads, ask me for another comparison that'll clue you in.

I personally was shocked, wildly entertained, and found a depth to this story that I hadn't previously found in Sager's earlier works simply because of his originality here.

If you think you can predict where this goes, think again. Run don't walk to read this one, buckle up, and let me know if you were all in, or all out.

Rating: 5 Stars 
Publication Details: Out Now, Dutton

Popular posts from this blog

Let Him In - William Friend

-
Image
  In the wake of his wife Pippa's death, Alfie is doing everything he can to make life carry on as normal for their twin girls Sylvie and Cassia. Tucked away in their family home of Hart House in London, there isn't much to break the monotony of grief or to fill the Pippa-shaped void now left in their lives. Before long, Sylvie and Cassia struggle to sleep. "Daddy, there's a man in our room," they say. What Alfie dismisses initially as the girls harmlessly processing their loss through the form of an imaginary friend soon becomes something more unsettling. "Daddy, he said he's going to take us away," the girls report pleasantly. Black Mamba, he's called. He wants a seat at the dinner table, he protects the girls at night. He whispers things to them. Things that grow darker in the night. As the days pass, it's clear that something sinister walks the halls of Hart House. Cassia and Sylvie become silhouettes of their former, vibrant selves
Read more

Dreaming of Water - A.J. Banner

-
Image
  Seventeen years ago, the coastal town of Heron Bay, Washington, was wrecked by tragedy. While her parents and others in the community indulged in one of the season's many parties, young Nina Johansen vanished and drowned--in a reflecting pool at the edge of the property.  Nearly two decades later, Astrid has yet to fill the void left by her younger sister's mysterious death. When an unexpected and cryptic call from her Aunt Maude summons her back to Heron Bay after all this time, it becomes clear to Astrid that the truth of that night seventeen years ago refuses to stay buried. And the secrets of Nina's death are closer than she realizes.  "Dreaming of Water" is an absolutely gorgeously-written story of mystery, loss, and suspense. Similar to "In Another Light," Banner's writing is descriptive, transportive, and maintains an impressive veil of intrigue over the entire story without sacrificing pacing or plot details. To reveal too many more details
Read more

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance - Alison Espach

-
Image
Best described as a dark coming-of-age novel, "Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance" is as thought-provoking as it is poignant. Like many coming-of-age stories, it's much more character-driven than plot-driven, though there is still very much a central plot to the story.   For readers looking for a missing-persons thriller, be not deceived by this (still perfect, if you ask me) title, because this is not that. This is a commentary on grief, and one that's so beautifully done. Our main character unexpectedly loses her sister, and consequently is forced to grow up and navigate life without her at the epicenter of a normal family sliding into dysfunction and disconnection as a result of their very different journeys through grief.  Espach's prose is deeply-moving and darkly-funny; this book is a free-fall into the introspective teenage mind of Sally Holt and what the gaping absence of her sister Kathy means for her life, past, present, and future. If you are someone go
Read more