With a Vengeance

Definitely a fast paced book, but it wasn't the Riley Sager that I've come to know and love. First off, I was disappointed because I've gotten his first 8 books through Book of the Month Club and he declined to make it available that way so I had to go to a bookstore to buy (but I did score a signed copy!). This was a bit unique because it's a historical murder mystery, not his usual thriller flirting with paranormal elements. It's very much a love letter to Agatha Christie. If Murder on the Orient Express and Then There Were None had an American baby, this would be it. It's a closed door murder mystery that takes place on a train. You will suspect everyone and be somehow both wrong and a little right. There were almost too many twists. Not bad, but definitely not my favorite Sager book. 

Middle of the Night

I love everything Riley Sager puts out and this was no exception! Middle of the Night grabs you from the first page and the premise is truly terrifying. Two ten year old boys are camping out in the backyard. In the morning Ethan notices a long cut gash in the tent and realizes his best friend Billy is gone. Where did he go? Who took him? Why? It's a question that has haunted Ethan for decades and it's something that has never left him. Where is Billy? Is he alive? After a few decades Ethan finds himself back at his childhood home when his parents downsize and move away. But some weird things start happening when he is back at the house and Ethan is sure it has to do with Billy. Creepy and filled with lots of twists (I only guessed one!). I am already ready for the next Riley Sager book! 

The Only One Left

Riley Sager could write a phone book and I would read it! This book is not one of my favorites, but dam - he can't write be perfect all the time! The Only One Left has lots of twists and turns that will keep readers guessing. Kit McDeere is a disgraced home health aide. Her name has been splashed in all the papers and it's been damn near impossible to land another job. She is so desperate to get out of her father's house that she takes the first position that comes her way; caring for the elderly, Lenora Hope. Lenora is a local boogeyman - there are rhymes sung about her on school yards, the legend is she killed her whole family but there wasn't evidence to convict her. Kit will have to overcome her own misgivings if she wants to keep this job. She drives up the Maine coastline to a beautiful mansion on a cliff - where she soon discovers there is a lot more to Lenora's story than anyone knows. A little high on the cheesy scale - but I still ate it up!

The House Across the Lake

I was definitely got Girl on the Train/ The Woman in the Window vibes from this book because the main character is a falling down drunk and doesn't seem like the most reliable narrator on the planet. Casey Fletcher is a notorious drunk, she used to be a successful actress, but after her husband died she turned to the bottle and started her very public descent of despair. Eventually the public stops sympathizing with you the more you drink. Casey's mother (an even bigger celebrity) has decided to exile Casey to the family lake house to keep her out of the public eye and maybe even get sobered up. All alone and trapped at the place where her husband died, Casey immediately falls back to the bottle and takes to spying on her wealthy neighbors across the lake with a pair of binoculars. They have a huge glass house and when the lights are on at night it's easy to see everything that goes on. One night while she is drinking and spying she sees something that makes her blood run cold. But what if it's all in her head? A fast paced suspenseful novel that will keep you guessing right up to the deliciously unexpected twist at the end. 

Survive the Night

When the campus killer's third victim is Charlie's roommate - she's decided she's had enough of college life. She can't finish the week, let alone the semester. Since her parent's untimely death Charlie has refused to drive so she needs to find a ride back home to Ohio. It's 1991 and public transportation leaves a lot to be desired so she decides to rely on the ride share board. Josh Baxter, a slightly older and nice looking guy, offers to drive her home if she splits the gas money. Easy peasy. She tells herself that the second she smells something fishy she'll bail - but he seems like a nice guy. As they begin their evening drive home, Charlie immediately gets suspicious - he's starting to lie about things. Or is he? Charlie has an over active imagination and sometimes the lines between reality and her mind get blurred. Can she trust him or will she even survive the night. Fast paced and suspenseful. Fun, but not even close to Riley Sager's best work. I even guessed one of the twists which was disappointing. 

Final Girls

Riley Sager is one hell of a writer. This book had so many twists and turns - I couldn't put it down or stop thinking about it after I finished it. Quincy was dubbed a "final girl" by the press - it's not flattering, but it is true. She was the only one to survive a massacre that took 5 of her friends. She's blocked out that part of her life and can't even remember that fatal night - only the guilt at being the only survivor. She's not alone though - there are two other final girls who have survived similar nightmarish slaughters against the odds. When the woman who survived a sorority massacre in Muncie, Indiana commits suicide - Quincy feels betrayal. How could you kill yourself after surviving such an ordeal?! Quincy and Lisa weren't close but they had talked before - the Final Girl bond is hard to break. The third Final Girl has pretty much hid out for years - never talking to the media and constantly moving around. After Lisa's suicide she suddenly shows up at Quincy's New York apartment. What does she want after all this time and why is she being so weird? Soo deliciously good!

Home Before Dark

Absolutely stellar! This horror novel had definite "Haunting of Hill House" vibes. I couldn't put it down. It was compulsively readable, creepy, and super intriguing! When Maggie was 5 she and her parents lived in a huge hulking house that turned out to be haunted. They fled after 20 days never to return. Her father wrote a bestselling book about their experience and that book has changed Maggie's life. She was too young to remember those 20 days so all she knows is what her father wrote about it and she doesn't believe any of it. Her parents refused to ever discuss it with her. When her father dies she discovers that she has inherited the house. She didn't even know her father still had it. What else was he lying to her about. She goes to the house to flip it and try to sell it for a profit, but really she's going for answers. Chapters alternate between Maggie's present day experiences in the house and excerpts from her fathers book. So good and I didn't see the ending coming. I loved it! Riley Sager hits another one out of the ballpark!

Lock Every Door

Right off the bat I knew this was going to be a trippy book; it was dedicated to Ira Levin (Rosemary's Baby) which is also set in an old Gothic apartment building in the city. Jules has just agreed to be an apartment sitter for one of the oldest and prestigious apartment buildings in the world. As a child she adored the building since it was the setting of her favorite book and she can't believe she was lucky enough to land such a cushiony job. She's going to get paid $12K for staying in the most luxurious apartment looking over central park. And it's only a 3 month commitment! What could wrong?! For starters there seem to be an awful lot of rules. She can't have guests over, she can't talk to or "bother" the residents (many of whom are mega rich celebrities), she can't stay the night anywhere else and she can't post any pictures of the place online. Jules soon discovers that there are three other apartment sitters in the building and just when they start to bond, one of them goes missing. Even though no one is convinced that anything is wrong, Jules feels in her gut that something happened. On top of that some very mysterious thing happening around the building starts to put her on edge. It's a slow build thriller that will keep you guessing and when you get to the end and are convinced you finally figured it out...  you'll realize just how wrong you were. Creepy and fun, definitely for fans of Rosemary's Baby. 

The Last Time I Lied

Suspenseful with a twist I didn't see coming. Imagine a literary version of the cheesy cult classic, "Sleepaway Camp" and you get this thriller. While it starts slow and you really question the narrator's reliability, it quickly picks up steam when Emma returns to the camp that rocked her childhood and changed the course of her life forever. The camp was closed down the summer that Emma attended when the three other girls in her cabin disappeared without a trace. As an adult Emma has resorted to using art to treat her depression and doubt, and art is precisely the reason she's returned back to the camp. She's been offered a job as the art instructor for the camp and she's determined to uncover the truth of what happened that fateful summer. Where did her cabin mates go? Did she have a hand in their disappearances, however unintentionally? A great summer read!