Book Review: The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

 

Book: The House Across the Lake 

Author: Riley Sager 

Pages: 368

Read in: ~3 hours

Read on: Kindle 

Plot Summary: Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of bourbon, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing—a tech innovator, Tom is powerful; and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous.

One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other—and the longer Casey watches—it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage isn’t as perfect as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey immediately suspects Tom of foul play. What she doesn’t realize is that there’s more to the story than meets the eye—and that shocking secrets can lurk beneath the most placid of surfaces. 

Thoughts: We've had a very mixed experience with Riley Sager's books. Some of them were good and the more recent of his works were just AWFUL! You can read our reviews for his previous works by clicking on the names of the books- Survive the Night, Lock Every Door, The Last Time I Lied. So, it was some trepidation that I picked up this book hoping that it might be one of his better ones and, honestly, now that it has been two days since I've finished it, I am not entirely sure if I love it or just like. Well, at least, I didn't hate it! 

Things I Liked: 

1. The premise, though somewhat similar to the Rear Window and The Woman in the Window, was still quite interesting. There is something innately voyeuristic in all of us. Why else do you think shows like Bigg Boss/ Big Brother continue to do so well?! *grin* We are curious about the lives of others, even if it is in a harmless sort of way, which is exactly how Casey's obsession with her neighbour's across the lake started off as. 

Casey, a troubled, recently widowed movie star (supporting roles and Broadway only) is drowning her sorrows and getting over her latest scandal by lying low at her family's lakeside cabin when she comes across the Royces- former supermodel- Katherine- and social media millionaire- Tom. She starts watching them just because she can- their home is all glass and stone and everything is visible when the lights come on. Casey is bored and so, she starts looking the evening after she saves Katherine from drowning. 

2. The book is very atmospheric and the whole Vermont-in-the-fall, a few isolated cabins around a smallish lake setting is brought to life really well. You feel sucked into Casey and Katherine's world and life near the lake quite effortlessly. 

3. There are two or three main mysteries in the book. 

I won't tell you the first one because it is not presented as a mystery but if you are an avid crime fiction reader, the circumstances of the death of one character will seem very suspicious to you, even if you are made to believe that their death was accidental. *grin* 

Anyway, moving on, the second mystery is that about what is going on between Katherine and Tom. Katherine suddenly vanishes after Casey witnesses an altercation between her and Tom and she is convinced that Tom, whose social media platform is not doing too well, did off with his wife for the money. So, that whole mystery and how Casey, with the help of her ex-cop neighbour- Boone- investigates it is quite nicely done. 

The third mystery is about three missing girls from the general area of lake over the past couple of years. All girls were around 18-19 years old and really pretty and they just vanished one fine day without any trace. So, what happened to those girls and did any of our characters have something to do with it is another mystery that the book delves into. 

4. Katherine's story has an interesting twist- let's leave it at that. Telling you the nature of the twist will be a major spoiler, but since you may decide to buy or not buy this book based on this review, it is fair to point out that whatever happens to Katherine is not quite natural. There! That's the best I can do to maintain a balance between not ruining the whole book and not giving you a little hint of what happens to Katherine. :) 

5. The book is quite fast-paced and unputdownable. Always a good thing be for a crime thriller. 

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. Mystery #1was quite obvious and easy to guess. Though the reason was not-very-easy to guess. I think, maybe, the reader is meant to guess it?! I don't know. The author could have made it a little less obvious just to add to the thriller quotient of the book. 

Rating: 4/5 

This book is a huge improvement over Riley Sager's Survive the Night and I had no regrets in reading this one! Recommend it if you enjoy atmospheric thrillers.