“The House Across the Lake” by Riley Sager follows Casey, a recently widowed actress, as she stays at her family lake house with bottles of booze and a pair of binoculars in hand. She spends her days drinking and spying on her neighbors with the handy binoculars. When her former supermodel neighbor disappears, Casey starts to suspect that the husband has something to do with it. Did he kill his wife? Did he have anything to do with the disappearance of three young women from the years prior?
What the heck did I just read? Is it a thriller or a supernatural story? The supernatural elements that we encounter in this book come completely out of left field, with no warnings throughout most of the book to lead us to their occurrences. It was a bit strange; it just felt very out of place.
Casey was not a character I could relate to. Her development seemed so flat that I neither liked her nor disliked her; she was just there, crossing the line by spying on her neighbors when they were most vulnerable in their homes. Also, how she did not end up in the emergency room with alcohol poisoning is beyond me. She made some very reckless and stupid decisions.
The second twist in this book is an eye-roller. It honestly could have been left out; it was that ridiculous.
Honestly, I can’t recommend this book. I’d skip it, and if you’re in the mood for a supernatural novel, check out Sager’s other book, “The Only One Left.” It’s one of my favorites. Happy reading!
⭐️⭐️ 2/5
Page Turning Thrills 