Genre Fiction
![Riley Sager - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B071D6HYJK.jpg)
The House Across the Lake: A Novel
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Named a most-anticipated summer book by USA Today, People, E! News, Cosmopolitan, PureWow, CNN.com, New York Post, CrimeReads, POPSUGAR, and more
The bestselling author of Final Girls and Survive the Night is back with his "best plot twist yet." (People, "Best Summer Books")
Be careful what you watch for . . .
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.
Packed with sharp characters, psychological suspense, and gasp-worthy plot twists, Riley Sager's The House Across the Lake is the ultimate escapist read . . . no lake house required.
Named a most-anticipated summer book by USA Today, People, E! News, Cosmopolitan, PureWow, CNN.com, New York Post, CrimeReads, POPSUGAR, and more
The bestselling author of Final Girls and Survive the Night is back with his "best plot twist yet." (People, "Best Summer Books")
Be careful what you watch for . . .
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.
Packed with sharp characters, psychological suspense, and gasp-worthy plot twists, Riley Sager's The House Across the Lake is the ultimate escapist read . . . no lake house required.
Editorial Reviews
"Sager's best plot twist yet."
-People, "Best Summer Books"
"Pure escape . . . A voyeuristic page-turner. After I read it, I dove for more Sager: luckily he has five others, bestsellers all."
-The Boston Globe, "Ten Thrillers to Read on Your Summer Vacation"
"The tale takes a series of weird turns, morphing into a cross between Silence of the Lambs and The Exorcist. . . . As with Sager's first five thrillers, the characters are well drawn and the prose is first rate."
-Associated Press
"It's a familiar psychological thriller structure--until everything changes. . . . A page-turning climax."
-USA Today
"The thrills and chills are all present and accounted for in this tale."
-E! News
"The House Across the Lake reads like a psychological thriller version of The Great Gatsby, featuring binoculars for more accurate across-the-lake spying, smaller gatherings for a shorter list of suspects, and a truly bat**** twist for more satisfying consumption. So basically The Great Gatsby, but better. I know, them's fightin' words."
-CrimeReads
"A suspense novel brimming with twists and turns."
-PureWow
"Riley Sager is a master of the art of the thriller."
-Shondaland, "The Best Books for June 2022"
"A classic tale brimming with Hitchcockian suspense."
-BookTrib, "Put These 12 Summer Reads in Your Beach Bag"
"Highly entertaining . . . Sager keeps the Rear Window-esque plot of The House Across the Lake focused keenly on believable characters who may not always be likable but who readers will care deeply about. . . . Deliciously eerie plot."
-So...
-People, "Best Summer Books"
"Pure escape . . . A voyeuristic page-turner. After I read it, I dove for more Sager: luckily he has five others, bestsellers all."
-The Boston Globe, "Ten Thrillers to Read on Your Summer Vacation"
"The tale takes a series of weird turns, morphing into a cross between Silence of the Lambs and The Exorcist. . . . As with Sager's first five thrillers, the characters are well drawn and the prose is first rate."
-Associated Press
"It's a familiar psychological thriller structure--until everything changes. . . . A page-turning climax."
-USA Today
"The thrills and chills are all present and accounted for in this tale."
-E! News
"The House Across the Lake reads like a psychological thriller version of The Great Gatsby, featuring binoculars for more accurate across-the-lake spying, smaller gatherings for a shorter list of suspects, and a truly bat**** twist for more satisfying consumption. So basically The Great Gatsby, but better. I know, them's fightin' words."
-CrimeReads
"A suspense novel brimming with twists and turns."
-PureWow
"Riley Sager is a master of the art of the thriller."
-Shondaland, "The Best Books for June 2022"
"A classic tale brimming with Hitchcockian suspense."
-BookTrib, "Put These 12 Summer Reads in Your Beach Bag"
"Highly entertaining . . . Sager keeps the Rear Window-esque plot of The House Across the Lake focused keenly on believable characters who may not always be likable but who readers will care deeply about. . . . Deliciously eerie plot."
-So...
Readers Top Reviews
The Fictional Hou
I recently read The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager. This is the story of Casey, who is a popular actress. She has lost her husband and her grief has driven her to drink. Her drinking caused her to lose her job, starring in a Broadway show. Casey tries to escape the gossip mill by taking an extended summer vacation at a beautiful lake in Vermont. At her waterfront home, she spends most of her time on the back porch, drinking bourbon and watching people through her binoculars. Specifically, she is watching the fancy house with loads of glass, owned by supermodel Katherine and her tech savvy husband, Tom. Casey's spying losses it's attraction when Katherine goes missing and she suspects Tom. This book is quick moving and a true thriller. This has that, hold your breath, something is about to happen any second feeling. It is very successful at raising your pulse. It's really amazing the story that Sager weaves with a limited cast and setting. I think you'll be surprised by the numerous twists. The author is masterful at making you think you have the story figured out only to slap the back of your hand with a twist that says, "guess again." A word of warning. There have been quite a few reviewers either talking the book down or rating it poorly because they don't like the main character. The issue seems to be they feel that Riley Sager doesn't represent women well, making them drunk, stupid, or gullible. I almost passed on this book because of those discussions. Please, PLEASE, don't be led, decide for yourself. If you are in doubt, don't buy the book but get it from your library. There are only two sexes, and an unreliable narrator has to be unreliable for a reason. Just do me a favor, forget reviews, judge for yourself. As a thriller, this ticks all the boxes.
Kindle The Ficti
This was such a good book if you like thrillers! You think you have it figured out and another twist! Will definitely read more by this author!
KaylaKindle The
The twist bugged me. The book was great but the twist just irritated me in a way that made me almost stop reading it.
LifeisWoodKaylaKi
I’m giving this 4 rather than 5 because although I found this a great page-turner most of the way through the unrealistic twist was disappointing. But most people will probably still love it. It’s me that struggles with believing the unbelievable.
SharonLifeisWoodK
Riley Sager is an auto buy author for me. I have loved every book he has written and while The House Across the Lake did not have the WOW! factor his other books had, I still loved it. Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress, has escaped to her family’s lake house in Vermont. Casey’s husband drowned in the very lake she is now staying at. After her husband died, Casey started drowning her sorrows in alcohol and after being caught by the press in a few drunken states, she retreated to Vermont to hide. With lots of time and liquor on hand, Casey has started watching her new neighbors, Tom and Katherine Royce, across the lake. When Katherine vanishes, Casey becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. In the process, Casey discovers that not only was the Royce’s marriage not perfect, but there is also something evil lurking in the lake. When I first started reading I was a bit put off by the whole Rear Window vibe, but then Casey actually started mentioning how she was like Jimmy Stewart’s character and referring to the movie, that I got over the comparison quickly. And while that vibe was there, the book had many twists and turns that took it away from Rear Window. There is not much I can say about this book without spoiling things. I loved the Vermont setting. I live in the New England area and have been to Vermont, so I could easily imagine the houses around the lake. It actually made me want to take a trip north and just sit out in the woods and relax with a book. I thought Sager did a great job on creating all the characters, especially Casey. She was a very complex character, and with her drinking, at times she was also an unreliable character. I had a lot of sympathy for her, especially when she was remembering her husband. I also really liked how strong she was and determined to figure out what happened to Katherine. Casey became friends with Katherine when Casey saved her from drowning in the lake. Casey was sitting on her porch when she saw Katherine floating in the lake, and that brought back all kinds of memories from when her husband drowned. The House Across the Lake was a slow burn read that sucked me in from the beginning. And then just as I was getting all settled in and trying to figure out what happened to Katherine, BAM! There was a plot twist that made me second guess myself and suspect someone new. LOL! The only issue I really had with this book was one of the plot twists came out of nowhere and was a bit farfetched, in my opinion. I was a bit disappointed with the direction it took, but once I finished reading and thought about the book and that one twist, I let myself suspend reality and my opinion on what I read changed and I decided “Okay, that was actually really good.”
Short Excerpt Teaser
Now
I stare at the detective on the other side of the table, an untouched mug of coffee in front of me. The steam rising from it gives her a gauzy air of mystery. Not that she needs help in that regard. Wilma Anson possesses a calm blankness that rarely changes. Even at this late hour and soaked by the storm, she remains unperturbed.
"Have you watched the Royce house at all this evening?" she says.
"Yes." There's no point in lying.
"See anything unusual?"
"More unusual than everything I've already seen?" I say.
A nod from Wilma. "That's what I'm asking."
"No." This time a lie is required. I've seen a lot this evening. More than I ever wanted to. "Why?"
A gust of wind lashes rain against the French doors that lead to the back porch. Both of us pause a moment to watch the droplets smacking the glass. Already, the storm is worse than the TV weatherman said it would be-and what he had predicted was already severe. The tail end of a Category 4 hurricane turned tropical storm as it swerved like a boomerang from deep inland back to the North Atlantic.
Rare for mid-October.
Rarer still for eastern Vermont.
"Because Tom Royce might be missing," Wilma says.
I tear my gaze from the French doors' rain-specked panes to give Wilma a look of surprise. She stares back, unflappable as ever.
"Are you sure?" I say.
"I was just there. The house is unlocked. That fancy car of his is still in the driveway. Nothing inside seems to be missing. Except for him."
I turn again to the French doors, as if I'll be able to see the Royce house rising from the lake's opposite shore. Instead, all I can make out is howling darkness and lightning-lit flashes of water whipped into a frenzy by the wind.
"Do you think he ran?"
"His wallet and keys are on the kitchen counter," Wilma says. "It's hard to run without cash or a car. Especially in this weather. So I doubt it."
I note her word choice. Doubt.
"Maybe he had help," I suggest.
"Or maybe someone made him disappear. You know anything about that?"
My mouth drops open in surprise. "You think I'm involved in this?"
"You did break into their house."
"I snuck in," I say, hoping the distinction will lessen the crime in Wilma's eyes. "And that doesn't mean I know anything about where Tom is now."
Wilma remains quiet, hoping I'll say more and possibly incriminate myself. Seconds pass. Lots of them. All announced by the ticking of the grandfather clock in the living room, which acts as a steady beat backing the song of the storm. Wilma listens to it, seemingly in no rush. She's a marvel of composure. I suspect her name has a lot to do with that. If a lifetime of Flintstones jokes teaches you anything, it's deep patience.
"Listen," Wilma says after what feels like three whole minutes. "I know you're worried about Katherine Royce. I know you want to find her. So do I. But I already told you that taking matters into your own hands won't help. Let me do my job, Casey. It's our best chance of getting Katherine back alive. So if you know anything about where her husband is, please tell me."
"I have absolutely no clue where Tom Royce could be." I lean forward, my palms flat against the table, trying to summon the same opaque energy Wilma's putting off. "If you don't believe me, you're welcome to search the house."
Wilma considers it. For the first time since we sat down, I can sense her mind ticking as steadily as the grandfather clock.
"I believe you," she finally says. "For now. But I could change my mind at any moment."
When she leaves, I make sure to watch ...
I stare at the detective on the other side of the table, an untouched mug of coffee in front of me. The steam rising from it gives her a gauzy air of mystery. Not that she needs help in that regard. Wilma Anson possesses a calm blankness that rarely changes. Even at this late hour and soaked by the storm, she remains unperturbed.
"Have you watched the Royce house at all this evening?" she says.
"Yes." There's no point in lying.
"See anything unusual?"
"More unusual than everything I've already seen?" I say.
A nod from Wilma. "That's what I'm asking."
"No." This time a lie is required. I've seen a lot this evening. More than I ever wanted to. "Why?"
A gust of wind lashes rain against the French doors that lead to the back porch. Both of us pause a moment to watch the droplets smacking the glass. Already, the storm is worse than the TV weatherman said it would be-and what he had predicted was already severe. The tail end of a Category 4 hurricane turned tropical storm as it swerved like a boomerang from deep inland back to the North Atlantic.
Rare for mid-October.
Rarer still for eastern Vermont.
"Because Tom Royce might be missing," Wilma says.
I tear my gaze from the French doors' rain-specked panes to give Wilma a look of surprise. She stares back, unflappable as ever.
"Are you sure?" I say.
"I was just there. The house is unlocked. That fancy car of his is still in the driveway. Nothing inside seems to be missing. Except for him."
I turn again to the French doors, as if I'll be able to see the Royce house rising from the lake's opposite shore. Instead, all I can make out is howling darkness and lightning-lit flashes of water whipped into a frenzy by the wind.
"Do you think he ran?"
"His wallet and keys are on the kitchen counter," Wilma says. "It's hard to run without cash or a car. Especially in this weather. So I doubt it."
I note her word choice. Doubt.
"Maybe he had help," I suggest.
"Or maybe someone made him disappear. You know anything about that?"
My mouth drops open in surprise. "You think I'm involved in this?"
"You did break into their house."
"I snuck in," I say, hoping the distinction will lessen the crime in Wilma's eyes. "And that doesn't mean I know anything about where Tom is now."
Wilma remains quiet, hoping I'll say more and possibly incriminate myself. Seconds pass. Lots of them. All announced by the ticking of the grandfather clock in the living room, which acts as a steady beat backing the song of the storm. Wilma listens to it, seemingly in no rush. She's a marvel of composure. I suspect her name has a lot to do with that. If a lifetime of Flintstones jokes teaches you anything, it's deep patience.
"Listen," Wilma says after what feels like three whole minutes. "I know you're worried about Katherine Royce. I know you want to find her. So do I. But I already told you that taking matters into your own hands won't help. Let me do my job, Casey. It's our best chance of getting Katherine back alive. So if you know anything about where her husband is, please tell me."
"I have absolutely no clue where Tom Royce could be." I lean forward, my palms flat against the table, trying to summon the same opaque energy Wilma's putting off. "If you don't believe me, you're welcome to search the house."
Wilma considers it. For the first time since we sat down, I can sense her mind ticking as steadily as the grandfather clock.
"I believe you," she finally says. "For now. But I could change my mind at any moment."
When she leaves, I make sure to watch ...
