The House Across the Lake

A Novel

By: Riley Sager

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

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 story . . . no lake house required.

©2022 Riley Sager (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“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

WHY THIS NARRATOR

WHHHHYYYYYYYY?! The narrator completely ruins the story. Intolerably bad and not even matching the age/vibe of the character even remotely.

Spooky summer story

I was looking for a good summer book, and I love spooky stories so this one hit the mark perfectly. At first, I wasn't even sure if I liked it, but I'm glad I stuck with it bc surprises abound.

wow!

I'm usually pretty good at figuring out what's going to happen in a story, but I really didn't see these twists coming!!!

Weird choices distract from the story

I’ve seen a lot of reviews about the narrator being a poor choice, and I completely agree, but there were a lot of other choices that aged her. The relationship she has with her husband feels like a marriage of 50 years, not 5. Her husband comes off as ancient, as well. His hobbies were fishing and bird watching. I think Sager may have trouble getting into the headspace of an older millennial. Nothing about her past or present says she’s 35 except the exposition.

Fantastic story terrible narration

I’ve listened to all of Riley Sager books and absolutely love them. This one was no exception. Loved the nod to Rear Window and the twist is great.

With that said this was the wrong narrator. The main character is supposed to be 35 years old and the narrator sounds much much older. Not to mention she didn’t really differentiate between the characters at all. It made it very card for concentrate on the story.

Great book and story and still worth a listen but the narration is rough.

Narrator choice is questionable

I thought the main character was in her 60’s-70’s because of the voice. She is actually 36 years old. This choice had to have been made by someone who does not love books or listening to audiobooks. I do love the book, I just wish I had read it instead of listening.

Great twist!

Book was a great read and the plot twists were really fun and unexpected!The performance was very well done.

Some surprising twists and turns here.

Kasey is the main protagonist in this cabin by the lake thriller. She'd lost her husband fourteen months before and was working on healing, apart from her Broadway actress digs. She finds spying on her rich and successful neighbors across the lake to be her new hobby and as she becomes more acquainted with them and several other new neighbors, intrigue begins.
The narrator was adequate, but for me I felt that her voice wasn't a great match for the audiobook.

Hmmmm

Spoiler Alert? Seventy-five percent of the way through, the book changed genres. The first 3/4’s of the book was a mystery and then the last fourth was super-natural. I like both genres, but this was a little strange and kind of felt like a cop out. Maybe I missed something in the book’s description that would have given me a clue. I finished it and enjoyed most of it. The narrator was very good.

Narrator

The story is intriguing, well thought out.

The narrator was an awful choice. Character is in her mid thirties and actor is much older sounding. It’s very off putting.