For my next read, I went back to Riley Sager for The House Across the Lake. I really do enjoy his writing. I really do enjoy his writing—not because it’s simple, but because it pulls you in so effortlessly. His stories have a way of unfolding layer by layer, keeping you just grounded enough to feel like everything could be real… until suddenly it’s not. He builds tension in such a quiet, deliberate way that before you know it, you’re completely hooked and questioning everything.
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.
As Casey begins to dig deeper, her own reliability comes into question. Struggling with grief and alcohol, she starts to wonder if what she’s seeing—and what she thinks she knows—is actually true. The story tightens into a tense, voyeuristic mystery, where every glance through the binoculars reveals something new, yet never quite enough.
Just when the narrative feels like it’s settling into a familiar thriller rhythm, the story takes a sharp and unexpected turn. What begins as a suspected domestic crime spirals into something far stranger, blurring the line between reality and the supernatural. Long-buried secrets come to light, relationships are redefined, and Casey is forced to confront not only what’s happening across the lake—but also what’s been haunting her all along.
In the end, the truth is far more complex—and unsettling—than Casey (or the reader) could have imagined.
I loved this book. It was so intriguing from start to finish. The characters were well thought out, and I found myself wanting to understand each of their stories and how they fit into the bigger puzzle.
I immediately suspected Tom—he just felt shady and desperate from the beginning. I really wanted to like Boone, and I was genuinely disappointed when Casey started to suspect him… only to feel relieved again when that suspicion didn’t pan out. At different points, I even wondered about Eli, and briefly considered whether Katherine herself might be hiding something. Or maybe this was just a nightmare from Casey’s unconsciousness after drinking too much.
What really stood out to me, though, was the twist. I never once went to a supernatural explanation, so when the story shifted in that direction, it completely caught me off guard—in the best way. It added a whole new layer to the story that I didn’t see coming at all.