Many thanks to Net Galley and Hodder &Stoughton for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Six people destroyed Anne Matheson’s life, now she wants revenge, she has evidence galore. She invites the six by special cryptic invitation, to a luxury overnight train journey from Philadelphia to Chicago. The story unfolds hour by hour, Her goal is to confront the individuals, to have them admit to their crimes, the FBI will be waiting in Chicago and her fathers name will be cleared,
I was expecting a rollercoaster train journey, however, I did not like any of the characters, I found the story slow, boring and unrealistic. More of a mystery than a thriller.
Iv read other books by this author which I thoroughly enjoyed, this one just didn’t work for me.
2.5 stars

Twelve years ago, six vile people ruined Anna Matheson’s life.

Anna has meticulously planned every last detail of her revenge, has lured them all aboard the Philadelphia Phoenix express train – a thirteen-hour non-stop rail journey from Philly to Chicago on a snowy mid-December night in 1954.

But someone has other plans…

Even though Riley Sager’s previous novels are essentially murder mysteries, and the majority of them are set last century, With a Vengeance utilised a straight-up traditional-style locked room format, lacking the horror and supernatural elements of his other books. As you would expect it paid tribute and shared some plot commonalities with Agatha Christie novels, particularly Murder on the Orient Express (1934), and And Then There Were None (1939). And even though this wasn’t technically a slasher novel, it did share similarities with the movie Terror Train (1983) in that an unknown killer was murdering people trapped on a locomotive who had no means of escape.

Things started off ho-hum, a woman’s elaborate revenge plot to avenge those who destroyed her family when she was too young to do anything about it has been done to death, although respect to the author for coming up with an original concept relevant not only to the time period, but also involving the train they were travelling on, making it fairly engaging. But then came the bait and switch, which had me fully committed, intrigued and guessing. Anna thought she was the one in control, but it quickly became clear that she was as much of a puppet as those she was stuck on the train with, and that someone far more threatening and with deadlier intentions, was pulling the strings.

Everything ran smoothly from my perspective in regard to the Philadelphia Phoenix setting. I loved how we were immediately given the layout of the train as we followed the character who helped design it boarding and walking through the various cars to his first-class room. The fact that this was set in the dead of winter with a snowstorm raging outside, and that the trip itself was an overnight one made the serious situation they were in even more ominous and claustrophobic.

But during the last 30% things took a nosedive with the plot becoming absurd and hard to swallow, and by the end I was feeling ho-hum again. Sadly, there were too many outlandish twists, fake-outs, and over-the-top action scenes for With a Vengeance to be believable. I have a feeling this is intended to be the first in a series too. I’m sorry to say I have no desire to continue. I hope other mystery lovers enjoy the final twists more.

I’d like to thank Netgalley UK, Hodder & Sloughton, and Riley Sager for the e-ARC.

Out now!

P.S: I love this cover!

#Netgalley

I’ve read all nine of Riley Sager’s books; I find them to be hit or miss, there’s no guarantee of what you’re going to get. That said! I will always look forward to a new Sager release. His books remind me of the anticipation I felt growing up before reading a new Point Horror novel and I treasure those particular vibes. With A Vengeance has certainly received some mixed reviews but overall I enjoyed it.

In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family, following the planned deaths of her brother, father, and mother. Anna was taken in by her aunt who made up for a lack of love or care with solid lessons in seeking vengeance. Hence the title.

It’s now 12 years later and Anna has lured those six people onto a non-stop luxury train to Chicago, where she plans to see them arrested by the FBI for their misdeeds.
Unbeknownst to Anna though, someone else on the train wants them all dead and begins to pick them off, one by one.
With this mysterious murderer hell bent on destroying her plans, Anna must now protect the people she hates the most in the world in the hopes of surviving the night on the train herself.

This has some good Agatha Christie vibes but with several more confusing twists than I would have liked. Plenty of red herrings thrown in too. If you think one person is the killer, you’re probably wrong, but a few chapters later you might somehow also be right. Discombobulated? I feel you.
That said, I read it on ebook and it moved along at a decent pace. I can see it working well on the big screen and would be an entertaining watch.

I do love murder mysteries set on trains, and the post WW2 setting worked well. I also really loved Anna as a character; righteous and strong. We love to see it!

Not my favourite of his but I did still enjoy it.

With many thanks @hodderbooks for my early copy. With A Vengeance is available to buy now. All opinions are my own, as always.

I am a huge Riley Sager fan and it feels very strange to be writing this but: this one was not for me.

I love the level of detail you get in a Sager book and I obviously love the Christie vibe BUT I cannot do so many completely impossible, ridiculous twists.

Granted a little bit of suspension of disbelief is needed here but I didn’t expect to have to use so much, so early.

I think this book would appeal to those that aren’t expecting a normal Sager novel or those that have better suspension skills than I.

Full review to follow:

3.5* rounded up

Notes
Murder in the orient express meets and then there were none dialled up to 11
Twist upon Twist - got a little ridiculous and I did laugh at the final couple
but, when the reading mood clicked I read it in one sitting after the first 25% and thoroughly enjoyed it

Riley sager but not as you know him - historical mystery/thriller - very different vibe

It took me a little while to find my footing with With a Vengeance. The initial pacing is slower than I expected, and the large cast of characters feels overwhelming at first. However once the prices started falling into place I was hooked. Sager gradually layers the characters backstories and personalities into a rich and intricate tapestry, and I soon found myself tearing through the pages.

Sager’s writing remains as witty, gripping, and compulsively readable. This novel has a very different tone from his previous work, so I’d recommend approaching it with an open mind. I enjoyed the shift in style - it added depth and intrigue, especially with the locked-room mystery vibe that felt very Agatha Christie. There’s also a touch of old-Hollywood suspense, with a feel of North by Northwest and Strangers on a Train.

I particularly loved the character of Annie - principled, courageous, and refreshingly uncompromising. Overall, With a Vengeance is a fun, twisty, atmospheric read.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

With a Vengeance is one of those stories that reels you in with atmosphere and unease. I loved the isolated setting (classic Sager!) and the growing sense that something was deeply off beneath the surface. The pacing was sharp, the tension ever-present, and the main character’s paranoia was infectious—in the best way. I found myself constantly second-guessing every conversation, every memory, every “friendly” smile.

The twists were solid (a few I guessed, a few surprised me!), and while some plot points leaned toward the dramatic or improbable, I was totally along for the ride. Sager knows how to build suspense and create characters with just enough mystery that you can’t look away.

Why 4 stars instead of 5? A couple moments felt a bit too far-fetched, and I wished for a slightly deeper emotional payoff at the end. But honestly, those are small things compared to how much fun I had reading this. If you enjoy thrillers with unreliable memories, secrets waiting to be unearthed, and just the right dose of psychological mind games, this one’s for you.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC

I've read a few books by this author but I have to admit this wasn't my favourite. Still a fun read though.

With A Vengeance started strong and I was so excited to see Riley Sager's take on a closed-circle murder mystery. It was a little silly and goofy but I still found it fun and gripping. The kind of book you can easily devour in one sitting.

I was expecting this to be a typical 'revenge thriller' but the main character is weak and quickly loses control of the situation. She doesn't know who to trust and can't seem to make her mind up. I can see some people finding her irritating!

Unfortunately, the book started to lose me in the second half. I much prefer it when Riley Sager focuses on one or two twists executed well, rather than so many twists I start to get whiplash.

It was still worth reading but overall I found it underwhelming. Not my favourite Riley Sager book but also not my least favourite.

I chose to read a free eARC of With a Vengeance but that has in no way influenced my review.

A new Riley Sager novel is a very exciting thing indeed! I'm a huge fan of this author, having read everything he's published since the superb Final Girls back in 2017. A number of his books have featured on my 'top books of the year' lists over the years and I always, ALWAYS look forward to each and every new book.

I feel Sager is an author who likes to surprise his readers, occasionally doing something a little different, a little unexpected to keep us on our toes. I can't help but feel that is the case with With a Vengeance. It's 1954 and Anna Matheson is finally ready to wreak her revenge. Twelve years earlier six people who worked for her father set out on a course to destroy him. In order to do that, they caused a horrific train crash which killed many young men on their way to fight in WWII, including Anna's brother. As owner of the train company Anna's father was arrested and sent to prison where he later died. The shock, shame and heartbreak were too much for Anna's mother who took her own life, leaving her alone. Having gathered all the evidence she needs, Anna has anonymously invited the six people she blames for her family's demise aboard a non-stop train from Philadelphia to Chicago, where the FBI will be waiting to arrest them on arrival. But as with all best-laid plans, things go awry early on in the journey when one of the passengers is murdered. This was never Anna's plan. As the tension mounts and the threatening storm makes itself known, Anna needs to find the killer on the train before the killer finds her...

With a Vengeance is an intriguing, historical revenge thriller with plenty of twists and turns along the way to keep the reader turning the pages. None of the characters are particularly likeable but that's never a problem for me. The more unpleasant, the harder to like, the more interested I tend to be. I did enjoy the story and thought the tension built beautifully. I love how this author builds suspense for his readers and that is definitely present here. However, I had a small issue with the set-up, by which I mean Anna's plan. Normally, I'm all for an inventive, unusual basis for a story, something a little bonkers is absolutely fine in my book. But this seemed a little too far-fetched, to the point where I didn't completely invest in the idea.

Anna has support in carrying out her plan in the form of Seamus. Seamus has been recruited by Anna to keep the passengers in line, be generally threatening and act as an extra pair of hands. He's also out to get revenge of his own on those present. But shortly after their big plan is revealed one of the guests suddenly dies, throwing every one of Anna's intricate details up into the air. Trapped on a train with a killer is not a place any sane person wants to be. And with the building snowstorm outside, there is every chance the train won't even make it to Chicago!

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Despite not being fully invested in the overall idea I did enjoy With a Vengeance. I think my small quibble won't be an issue for others. It's a bit of an homage to Agatha Christie (seems a lot of fiction is though) and there were certain aspects of the story that made me think of certain murders in Christie's books. That I very much enjoyed. The big reveal didn't come as the biggest surprise, but I think when you read as much crime fiction/as many thrillers I tend to do, that just seems to be the 'norm' no matter the standard of writing. All in All, With a Vengeance is a good solid revenge thriller. I enjoyed the building tension, the unlikeable characters and the locked-room mystery. The story moves at an engaging pace with plenty always happening to keep the reader immersed in the pages. I think it's fair to say this wasn't my favourite Riley Sager novel, but I did enjoy the time I spent with it and I look forward to reading more from the author in the not-too-distant future. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of With a Vengeance. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

First of all, the book wasn't right, there were missing part of some random words and other were filled with symbols such as &$. So it's been hard to read it, but also it's quite slow and things didn't get interesting until almost the end. It's not a bad book, but I'm used to other pace. The plot was good and the characters well written, there's some plot twists although not a big surprise.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for the arc!

🌟🌟✨️/5

This is my first Riley Sager novel, so I don't know how good it is as compared to his other works, but I feel that this story, with its requirement of suspension of disbelief, unrealistic plot points and twists, would've worked better as a film where plot holes are better overlooked. I guess what I liked about the book was the atmosphere (I love the claustrophobic feel of locked room mysteries) but overall it was a disappointment.

I feel that the novel's biggest problem is that it focuses wayyy to much on the flashbacks and the story told in the present day has a lot less plot. The book initially introduces the characters amd their wrongdoings in an unnecessarily long way. These events are then recalled again and again and again. Anna's plan felt quite ridiculous right from the beginning. If she knew the lengths to which these people had gone in the past, she should've suspected that something could go awry on the train ride. The plot devices were often unoriginal and nothing that hasn't been used frequently before. Anna, the protagonist, was a surprisingly one dimensional character. I don't think I ever truly understood who she was as a person. I'm not sure if it's because of a whole lot of other POVs or something else.

Each chapter would end in a way that I thought a big reveal was coming in the next (it did not, of course), so by the time the actual twists were revealed, I was half asleep. The chapter endings felt very forced...it was clear that the author WANTED the reader to feel shocked but ultimately came off as lame in a 'tell-don't-show' way. After every death, there would be a whole lot of pointing fingers which, after some time, made the characters feel like bickering children. Honestly, I might have liked it more if everyone on the train had died. The ending was a bit at odds with the tone the rest of the book had set.

I was a bit apprehensive about this because of the falling Goodreads rating and although I kept an open mind while reading, I too ended up not being thrilled by this. I have heard that With a Vengeance is quite different from Sager's other books, so I might give him another chance in the future.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book!

I love Riley’s books, this was a super fast paced read and such a summerween style book! I’m not a fan of slow paced then picks up at the end kinda style but this is the opposite so many twists and super entertaining. Loved!

Anna is looking for answers to the reason her family were destroyed back in the year 1942 by six people.
Fast forward twelve years later and she has a plan on how to get the answers she’s looking for.
She invites the six people under false pretences on a train journey from Philadelphia to Chicago and plans to confront them, but disaster strikes as when one of the passengers is murdered.
In a race against time she must uncover a killer and get closure for her family, the only problem is she maybe next on the murders list.
A fantastic whodunnit locked in thriller. I was hooked from the very beginning.
This really is a fantastic book and it keeps you guessing until the end
Riley Sager has fast become one of my favourite authors, he never lets the reader down. A dark and twisted story that I highly recommend.

I have read all of Riley Sager's novels and With A Vengeance is easily one of my favourites after The Final Girls and The Only Ones Left.

This one was an absolute doozy. A locked room mystery set on a luxurious non-stop overnight train travelling from Philadelphia to Chicago. A deadly game of survival and revenge. In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson's family. Twelve years later, she is ready for retribution.

Set in 1954, this had a nostalgic feel and complete with Agatha Christie-esque vibes. This is something entirely different from @riley.sager's past novels - more mystery than thriller. While the plot was already a given, it was the multiple red herrings - a whole crew of morally grey characters, the unexpected twists and a race against time to find the killer before the train's final stop that had me totally strapped to my seat.

A satisfying addition to the Riley universe and perfect for fans of locked room mysteries and anyone who loves an adrenaline fueled plot with unexpected twists.

Thank you @hodderstoughton and @netgalley for the digital ARC to read and review.

A gripping thriller set in the 1950's six people are invitedto an over night train journey to Chicago. . Anna revenge on the people whom she blames for her father's downfall begins. A well crafted thriller that grabs you and won't let you go. The tension and emotions are high, Riley knows how to deliver a story with twists that you don't see coming. Love to see this turned into a movie. Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for this excellent eARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of With a Vengeance by Riley Sager in return for my honest review.
I Normally really enjoy Riley Sager’s books but I must say this wasn’t one of those, I found it a little predictable and ended up skim reading just to get to the end some good twists but unfortunately it wasn’t for me that being said I will still read other books by this author.

If Agatha Christie had ever teamed up with Hitchcock on a high-speed thriller set in 1950s America, the result would’ve been With A Vengeance. Riley Sager’s latest book is a tense, twist-filled locked-room mystery — except this time, the “room” is a luxurious, non-stop overnight train barrelling from Philadelphia to Chicago.

It’s 1954, and Anna Matheson is on a mission. Twelve years after an unspeakable tragedy shattered her family, she’s tracked down the six people she believes are responsible and lured them onto The Philadelphia Phoenix — a state-of-the-art locomotive once owned by her father. With her accomplice Seamus posing as a railroad employee and a plan to deliver the guilty to the FBI in Chicago, justice finally feels within reach.

But nothing goes to plan. A passenger is found dead. The train can't stop for any reason. And as the night unravels, so does Anna’s carefully constructed plan. Soon, the line between vengeance and survival blurs, and Anna must protect the very people she blames — at least until the end of the line.

This is vintage Sager: razor-sharp, atmospheric, and twistier than a railway turntable.

And in classic Riley Sager style, just when you think you know where it’s going… he derails your expectations entirely.

If you love a locked-room mystery with Agatha Chrstie vibes and killer twists, don’t miss this one.

This is a murder mystery about rich people on an empty fancy train during a blizzard in the 50’s. Love it!

Unfortunately, I don’t love the whole backstory and why the people got on the train. The HOW-part with the invitations and the empty train was interesting but revealed too quick. It could have been a longer mystery of who invited them and why. The murder mystery is enough for me to be intrigued though. 3.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance copy to read.

With A Vengeance will take you on an Agatha Christy style train ride to Chicago. This is action packed, fast paced and filled with mystery. The story follows Anna as she tries to seek revenge on the 6 people who ruined her family. After inviting them all aboard a train, unbeknownst to them, which is heading directly to the FBI waiting for them all.

I really liked the setting for this story on a train, the mystery that is carried on the entire way and the characters. Even though this is a story of revenge, there are also lots of pockets of relationships and found family. Anna, our main character, is brave, honest and loyal. This makes her a great lead character in my opinion, although I do question her ways of trying to seek redemption.

This book will have you thinking you have it all figured out, to realising you knew nothing about what was going.

Overall, this is a great and very enjoyable read.