The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager

 

Casey Fletcher is alone at her family's lake house. The house nestles the shore of Lake Greene along with four other homes. When Casey rescues Katherine, the owner of the house directly opposite, from drowning in the lake she is intrigued by her and begins to spy on her and her husband, Tom. Casey is convinced that not everything is right between Katherine and Tom, and when Katherine disappears Casey is convinced Tom has murdered her.

The opening is atmospheric and sets an eerie tone. Five houses, isolated from the outside world, particularly during the off-season, with very few people around. Civilisation is a 15 minute drive away. 

Casey Fletcher is a TV and film star, struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband. She has turned to alcohol to drown out the memories, as a result of this she is an unreliable narrator. Having been dumped at the lake house by her family in the hope that she will dry out, you can understand Casey's loneliness and vulnerability, which becomes an obsession with the house across the lake.

I felt like a voyeur as Casey repeatedly spied on the glamorous couple across from her but would probably have been just as tempted. The house is all glass and steel, Katherine and Tom are beautiful and sophisticated. 

Twists to the narrative begin as early as the end of the second chapter and just never stop. As we learn about recent events it feels as if we are trapped in an intricate web. I was getting "Gone Girl" vibes as the story progressed and could feel my heart racing, wondering what would happen next.

Up to three quarters of the way through the book I was thinking this was a five star read, unfortunately the story then took an extremely unexpected turn and my enjoyment of the book plummeted. I'm not going to give away any spoilers, this just wasn't the direction I thought the story was going.

The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager will be published on 7th July 2022 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a review copy.