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Book of the Month: The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
BY BRITTANY AMALFI
I have discovered Riley Sag- er's books, and I could not be more ecstatic. Like I said last month, I have been more into mysteries and thrillers lately, and The House Across the Lake did not disappoint. It was another one of those absolute page-turn- ers that kept me reading day in and day out. However, when it got to be night time, I did have to put the book down, seeing as this thriller had some creepy elements in it as well! All I have to say is, there are no rules about putting
a haunted lake in a thriller book. Other than this book keeping me on my toes, it was also just down- right creepy. But who doesn’t love a little scare factor every now and then? I certainly did!
The description of The House Across the Lake certainly sparked my interest. “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 watch- ing 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 gor- geous.
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 lon-
ger 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 sus- picion into a story of guilt, obses- sion, and how looks can be very deceiving.”
A glamorous couple? Hidden secrets? A missing supermodel? ? There is no way I could pass this book up. From the begin- ning, the main character, Casey, was interesting enough with her tragic backstory of her husband's passing. We come into the story not knowing how he died, so the build-up to that is already
evident. Casey, struggling with her husband's death, took to drinking and fell into some self-destructive hab- its. As the reader, I could genuinely feel Casey’s conflicting emotions as she un- expectedly becomes a widow in her thir- ties.
Another thing that drove me forward in the book was the in- stant friendship between Casey and Katherine. From the mo- ment Casey pulled her out of the water, and she woke up, there was instant platonic chemistry. But at the same time, I could immedi- ately tell there was something off with Katherine. Whatever had caused Katherine to nearly go down was unknown, and the whole scene gave off the idea that something sinister was lurking in the background.
Once Katherine truly van- ishes, Casey can’t fight the feeling that she didn’t just go back to her Manhattan apartment like her husband says she did. No, Casey can feel like something more is going on, and after multiple nights watching the Royce house, she knows Katherine’s disappear- ance is not planned.
As Casey joins forces with her mysteriously attractive neighbor, secrets begin to unravel. The whole time, as Casey gets closer to finding out where Katherine might be, she is always thrown one step back, but she is deter- mined to find her newfound friend as she battles with her own demons.
In The House Across the Lake, every character, including Casey herself, seems to harbor some dark secrets. With every twist and turn, readers will be shocked to see that everyone is not who they seem but exactly who they seem.
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