I was very much looking forward to this one because I like the author and the tropes sounded very good but in the end it didn't work out for me.

The main reason why it was hard for me to get through this one was the main character. I just found her annoying. Yes something very bad had happened to her but she made it sound like only her pain was important and her great plan for vengeance was honestly ridiculous. Even if everything would have worked out like she wanted. And the twists? Too many, too unbelievable and also sadly too predictable. So this one sadly leaves me disappointed and with a bitter taste in my mouth. Let's hope the next book from him will be more for me.

⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.5) With a Vengeance by Riley Sager

Last year I read The Only One Left by the same author and enjoyed it. When I saw this on Netgalley I thought I would give it a try.

Anna Matheson wants revenge for the deaths of her father, mother and her brother and this is why she anonymously invites the six people responsible on a thirteen-hour train journey to Chicago twelve years after their deaths. Here the police will be waiting with all the evidence Anna has already provided framing these six people.

I can't say much more without giving too much away but suffice to say nothing goes in accordance with Anna’s plans and a lot fewer people get off the train than originally got on.

This was a revenge thriller but unfortunately, it wasn't fast paced. There was too much time amongst the passengers speculating about the motives of their travelling companions and this quickly became boring and quite dull.

There were many twists that to me were beyond coincidental and received too many of my eye rolls. It was the premise that piqued my interest on Netgalley and although I enjoyed the mystery and suspense it just wasn’t not enough to keep me engaged for 382 pages.

I have heard that Riley Sager can be a bit hit and miss and regrettably this was a disappointing read for me but I think I would still give Sager's books another go.

Thank you to @Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton @hodderbooks for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. With A Vengeance is in bookshops now

This was the book that brought me out of a very long reading slump. I'm not really a fan of books set anywhere other than the now, but the time period of this one wasn't really relevant, to be honest, but I suppose it did fit with the train aspect of the story. Every Sager book I've read has impressed me, and I've never once been disappointed. Very much looking forward to reading more from Sager, of course.

Oof. This was not it.
I think it's finally time for me to say goodbye to Riley Sager, because it's been a while since I really enjoyed any of his work. I do commend him for trying new things, but this <i>Murder on the Orient Express</i> type thriller didn't work on any level.
The characters were awful and I couldn't care less about any of them. They died and I just shrugged. They barely had any personality at all, and sadly, that's not just limited to the side characters. Our protagonist, Anna, is genuinely one of the blandest, most uninteresting thriller protagonists I've read in a while. The premise of the story is good but there are so many holes in its execution that I often thought I might be reading a first draft. The solution to every single mystery is so obvious and predictable that it makes Anna look like a complete moron for not noticing the very obvious signs. Sager puts in so many misleads at basically every single chapter ending that it's almost comical to read when it's so obvious what was going on.
Also, as a German: One of the characters is an old German lady, and she apparently forgot how to speak her language because there are very easily rectified mistakes in her German, which always annoys me because it's really not that hard to get these little things right. There are translator apps that can help you out when you can't or don't want to check with a native speaker of whatever language you are using in your book. It definitely adds to the feeling of this being a first draft or a quick cash grab.
Sadly not for me and genuinely just not a well-written nor well-crafted mystery. I need to look to other authors for the thrills I think.

Riley Sager's 'With a Vengeance' is a suspenseful homage to classic locked-room mysteries, set aboard a 1950s luxury train - Think 'Murder on the Orient Express' meets 'And Then There Were None'. Sager creates a truly atmospheric historical setting and I appreciated the morally grey nature Anna Matheson's quest for justice. I found that he also effectively builds tension within the confined train environment which drew me into this intriguing tale of revenge and survival.

However, the pacing can be uneven with some sections feeling repetitive and some character backstories underdeveloped. There's also the issue of the plot twists. I love a twist but this had twist upon twist which got a little ridiculous and I admin I laughed at the final couple. Despite these issues, the book really was a fun and engaging read that I after about 25% in fully clicked for me and I read it in one sitting.

This read is ideal for fans of vintage-style mysteries and is a nostalgic take on the murder mystery genre. For me it didn't reach the heights of 'The Only One Left' but it's an enjoyable read that definitely feels different for Sager.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a digital review copy of "With a Vengeance" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Loved this book from start to finish.

This was my first Riley Sager read and it did not disappoint.

Anna Matheson lures those responsible for her family’s downfall onto a luxury train for a journey they won't forget, however things aren't quite what they seem.

The plot was very Agatha Christie inspired but with a modern take. Clever storytelling with plenty of twists.

A clever locked-room thriller set on a train with only one destination. A revenge thriller with a great cast of characters.

Secrets, murder and mayhem....perfect 5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Hodder&Stoughton for the book #WithAVengeance by #RileySager. Absolutely loved this book with conspiracies, secrets and murder. Anna lost her brother, father and mother in 1942 and six people are responsible. It’s been twenty years since her world fell apart and now she is ready for revenge. She deceives these people into boarding her father’s old train so they can be arrested and her family’s name put to rest. Anna doesn’t want them dead, she wants them imprisoned. But someone else on the train has other ideas and people start dropping like flies. Who is killing them?

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of With a Vengeance by Riley Sager. As a fan of Riley Sager, I was excited to pick up this book. Unfortunately, this book disappointed me. It did not have the same suspense element that all of his other books had. The reason for the train journey being declared at the beginning of the book left for little else to be discovered and it seemed a bit dull and unbelievable going forward. It was trying a little too hard to be Murder on the Orient Express and this irked me a little as I was reading it. Overall, I give this book 3 stars.

This was my first Riley Sager book and unfortunately it just didn’t really work for me.

I normally really enjoy locked room Agatha Christie type mystery thrillers, but this one sadly missed the mark for me. The pacing was very slow, especially in the beginning, so it took me quite a while to get into the book.

Normally I finish thrillers within a day, but I put this book down for days and did not have to urge to continue. I just never really got invested in the story or the characters.

Making Anna an unlikeable main character was a really interesting choice, but the book ultimately suffers because of it. None of the characters are likeable, so you have no one to root for.

I hate to say that I also didn’t quite click with the writing style of this one. This book wasn’t necessarily very bad or anything, I just didn’t connect with it in any way. I have heard people say that Riley Sager is a very hit or miss author, so perhaps I’ll have to try some other work of his some time. This book wasn’t bad really, it just didn’t work for me.


Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read this locked-room style murder mystery, set in the ‘50s on a non-stop train to Chicago.

After a slow start, I became intrigued, but as the story went on I found I didn’t like Anna, and just didn’t care enough about her or what she was trying to achieve. Some of the other characters were interesting, and I’d have actually liked to read more about them, especially Edith and Sal.

I just didn’t find the book compelling enough. When I put it down, it was hard to be enthusiastic about picking it back up. When I did, it didn’t keep my interest for long periods, so what should have been a fast-paced read dragged on.

This fell flat for me, and I suspect that in a couple of weeks I won’t remember much about it.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy.

Not the best Riley Sager book. I love a classic Agatha Christie style book but it took a lot to get through this one.

With a Vengeance is a masterfully executed locked-room thriller that keeps readers on edge from start to finish. Riley Sager delivers a tense, atmospheric mystery packed with sharp twists, layered characters, and a creeping sense of paranoia. As secrets unravel and the walls close in, nothing is as it seems. Clever, claustrophobic, and relentlessly suspenseful

This is an OK locked room mystery; with a group of people being invited on an overnight train.....then there is a murder. This was not the plan as Anna, the protagonist, has invited them all on this non stop journey to Chicago, in order that they may be held accountable for what they have done to Anna in the past.

Unfortunately , despite the interesting premise, I really struggled with this book. I found the characters difficult to engage with and the whole premise a tad boring - sorry! Overall though, it's not a bad read and it's an easy, quick one, just disappointing from an author who, in the past, I have been gripped by.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to preview

High Tension…
Another high tension, tautly plotted and pacy thriller from this accomplished author. In this race against time, as expected, often unexpected multiple twists and turns litter the carefully constructed locked room plot populated with well drawn characters and a keen sense of place. Dark and unexpected.

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.

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.