The House across the Lake is a mystery-thriller by Riley Sager and was my 9th read for the 20 Books of Summer. Casey, the protagonist, spent years as a successful actress on the stage in New York City. But after the tragic death of her husband, she became deeply submerged in a drinking habit that has consumed her days and nights, and which eventually led to her domineering mother and her agent insisting that she remain far, far removed from the public eye, sequestered alone in the family house on a secluded lake in Vermont. As Casey aimlessly roams the house day after day, drink in hand, she can’t help but be seized by the vision of the grand house across the lake. All three floors of the house have floor-to-ceiling glass windows. And, in a reprise of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Casey puts her deceased husband’s high-powered binoculars to good use and discovers more about the couple that reside there than she ever expected.
I was really entertained by this book, despite the fact that a paranormal event troops onto the stage on p. 226. Really? That late in the book?
Let it be said that I am NOT a fan of the paranormal in fiction or anywhere else, but I was surprised to find myself wanting to continue to see how everything would all come out. A departure for me. Of course, it’s true that by p. 226 a reader is not going to chuck the novel, for heaven’s sake! Still, it was entertaining indeed. Casey was a most engaging character, and I can say as well for all the others in the novel. Surprising to me that this only received a 3.6 rating on Goodreads. I'd give it a 4.25 rating for sure.
I'm now, as of Saturday evening, one-third of the way through In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden, which is my Classics Club Spin selection. I have loads of questions about this book, which I'll explore when I do my review on or before August 7th.
I'm also in the middle of Outside by Ragnar Jonasson. So far, a disappointing read after my utmost appreciation of his most recent book prior to this one, The Girl Who Died, which I read this past spring. Oh, well. I'll tell you more very soon.
I'm so frustrated because there are so many books worth reading right now! Riches to be sure!
I'm intrigued by this book and I will have to check whether available here at the library Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteThe following comment is my reply to you, Mystica. I don't know what happened, but it ended up in the wrong spot!
DeleteThis one was released on June 21 here. I hope you're able to get it!
ReplyDeleteI have never tried any books by Riley Sager, and for some reason I thought that author was female. The introduction of paranormal at all would discourage me (unless it was billed as that kind of book, maybe). But maybe someday I will try something else he wrote.
ReplyDeleteAlso interested in how those other books turn out.
Exactly, Tracy, on two counts. After I started reading, and had confirmed Riley Sager is evidently a "he," I had been feeling that the author was a woman, definitely, and I had trouble imagining that a man wrote this. (Maybe he had help from those of the feminine persuasion.) And secondly, the book was not advertised or "hyped" as paranormal, so it came as a real shock. Still, it was a memorable read :)
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