fbpx

Digital Reads Reviews

This post contains affiliate links for products and services I recommend. If you make a purchase through those links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Digital Reads Reviews is a blog-haven for book posts and tech tips. This is a review of a thriller.

Blurb

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 liquor, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple who live in the house across the lake.

They make for good viewing—a tech innovator, Tom is rich; 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 is not as perfect and placid as it appears.

When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey becomes consumed with finding out what happened to her.

In the process, she uncovers eerie, darker truths that turn a tale of voyeurism and suspicion into a story of guilt, obsession and how looks can be very deceiving.

My Review

What was it all about

An actress post her husband’s death retired to the lake house, and to pass her time in between her drinks, she decided to break all laws of privacy and keep a watch on the House Across the Lake, where a supermodel and her rich husband lived. Via a pair of binoculars.

Suddenly, one fine day, the supermodel disappeared, and this amateur drunk sleuth concluded – the husband did it!

So more spying along with a small B&E to get to the truth. 

How it made me feel

Exasperated was what I felt at the writing which showed a woman with several drinks inside her performing superhuman stunts like saving the drowning neighbor, coming to some logical conclusions even when she is completely sloshed to the gills. 

Then I was irritated and angry. The main character drank and drank and drank some more on every page, whiskey being one of her favorite drinks even with her breakfast coffee. The author went overboard.

the house across the lake

The Good

Oh, I ought to say something good about this book, shouldn’t I? Let me try.
 
The claustrophobic dark ambiance was well written, and the mystery had layers in them.
 
Whew! Done. One good point.

The Bad

Oh, there were many. When a male author wrote a female character, some research ought to be done to get the nuances right. 

Would a lone woman who had just lost her husband not feel wary if a man suddenly approached her out of nowhere and proclaimed himself to be her neighbor? 

Nah, not our MC, she proceeded to spy on his body with her favorite toy, the binoculars, and thought a gorgeous man could not be dangerous. She was rather attracted to him. 

To note, all guys in this book were quite attractive, yet she suspected the husband to have killed the wife who had disappeared. 

Sudden pop up of paranormal possession of a human body by a ghost. Not a Casper kinda ghost but the one who wanted vengeance and desired to live the entire eternity torturing possessed bodies and our heroine. 

A few missing women and dead bodies and inclusion of a serial crime popped up.

Did you wonder how they popped up? Look at the title – Across the Lake. The lake waters had buoyancy, so they all popped up across the pages of the book. 

The writing was so damn boring. Absolutely no zest in the lines. OMG. How many times would we need to have unreliable, drunk main characters when the trend showed we readers were quite bored of it by now?

The Conclusion

As you might have guessed, not my favorite read. Sighhh

The review was written early for all those who got rejected at NetGalley. Now you can laugh and pump your fists in joy. 

Should you read the book? Of course, who wouldn’t like a heroine who is a drunk voyeur. At your own risk.

Not for me
1.5/5

Book Links

As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you at the Kindle and Audible store.

AMAZON USA: https://amzn.to/38D6DG4

AMAZON UK: https://amzn.to/3yUUHKm

Book Details

Publication Date: July 2022

I downloaded the digital version of the book from an online retail, and this is my journey down its pages, straight from the heart. STRICTLY HONEST and UNBIASED.

If you’ve loved the review, buy me a cuppa to perk me up.

Check out my other posts here

Follow my blog Digital Reads Reviews with just a click
Follow Digital Reads Media on WordPress.com

2 Responses

  1. Oh no, sorry to hear that this book wasn’t your cup of tea. It sounds like a mess. A drunk voyeur as MC (no thank you), random things happening, suddenly paranormal stuff… why? I still want to give it a shot because it is Riley Sager and I really enjoyed a couple of their other books, but I am already mentally preparing for DNF. XD

Awesome to see you here. Let's chat.

These are affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you buy to maintain this website.

This product is on limited time sale. Grab the planner now 

FLODESK

50% off in first year

Click here

STAN STORE

Open your own store

Click here

Digital Reads Media/ Reviews blog is featured on 

KINDLEPRENEUR

Get my Free Ebook 10 steps to 10k - Digital Marketing Blueprint

Join my email list & get the ebook to scale your digital marketing biz to 10k with digital products. 

The free ebook would be delivered within 48 hours. Please check your spam

Join my email list & get the FREE 30 Reel Hooks + bonus content for content creators

The product might take 48 hours to reach you. Please check spam.