This murder mystery takes place in 1954. We follow Anna Matheson, 12 years after her life was shattered as she prepares to confront the six people responsible. Trapping them overnight aboard a luxurious train from Philadelphia to Chicago, she plans to expose their crimes. However, when one of the passengers is found murdered, Anna finds herself playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

This is the first book I've read by Riley Sager and I really enjoyed. I thought I had figured out the plot halfway through, but then was hit by twist after twist!

A recommended read for fans of Riley Sager and of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for kindly providing me with this eARC.

Riley Sager is one of my favorite murder mystery/ thriller writer and I have finished all his book already ( audiobooks too ) His writing has this way to setup the premise of the mystery and then solely keeps peel off one layer after another and you wanna keep reading.

When I read the blurb it immediately reminded me of the iconic ‘ Murder on the Orient Express ‘ and that immediately made me interested to read it.

It’s 1942, and we have six people on the train who had destroyed Anna’s life and she is back for revenge. Anna is the one that lured these people on an overnight train ride under false pretense.

Anna’s plan is completely derailed when one of the passenger is murdered. It’s very clear that someone else is also out for blood but who could that be?

Even though Anna wants to destroy her enemies but she can’t just let them die before doing that so she decides to get to the bottom of this and we gets deep into the mystery!

I absolutely loved this book and I can’t wait for the audiobook to get released too! Thanks NetGalley and publisher again for this early copy!

Now It wasn’t my favourite book from this author but I still couldn’t stop reading and I thoroughly enjoyed every page! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

Starts off well with a locked room (train) mystery. If you can accept the absurdity of using a very long train journey as a means to confront the people who have wronged you and to watch them squirm, then the book is quite enjoyable and the first few twists are believable. The dialogue is good and the characters, while not deeply drawn, are varied and easily distinguishable.

Unfortunately as we reach the end of the book, it takes a turn for the farcical with dead people possibly not dead after all and the number of unknown people apparently roaming about this train defies belief. The very end is surely just wishful thinking as I imagine the job which falls into Annie's lap (no spoilers) is very unlikely to have been offered to her in the way it was.

Overall disappointing.

Riley Sager’s books are often hit or miss for me. Unfortunately, it became obvious quite early on that 'With A Vengeance' would land in the latter category.

Anna has a plan. But even the best laid plans have a tendency to go wrong. She has invited six guests onto a train ride to Chicago. Not just any guests, though. These six are responsible for causing a train crash that killed a lot of people during the Second World War, including Anna’s brother. Anna’s father owned the train company and was sentenced to prison - where he died - which in turn caused Anna’s mother to take her own life. In one fell swoop, Anna lost her entire family and now she’s out for revenge.

The first quarter of the revenge tale is all about introductions to the various cast members who have done a horrible wrong. Personally, I found this took way too long and also became slightly repetitive. Supposedly, this story is set in the 1950s but it never really feels that way. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it lacks any atmosphere at all. Considering there’s a blizzard, that’s saying something.

A locked room mystery on a train has been done before, and much better than it is done here. This cast of characters failed to convince me. They all came across as extremely stereotypical. I don’t need characters to be likeable to enjoy a story but there does need to be something that will make me become invested in what’s going on, and that was sorely lacking here. I couldn’t muster an ounce of care as to what would happen to any of them. Even Anna, whom the reader should surely get behind, didn’t win me over at all.

The entire “mission” seemed utterly ridiculous, and became even more so with each chapter, losing plausibility along the way and causing me to make me roll my eyes on more than on occasion. I could list several examples but since they’d be spoilers I shall refrain from doing that. 

Despite twists - so many of them - that were surely meant to bedazzle and confuse the reader, and a convoluted plot, I found it rather obvious where to lay the blame for these murders. My determination not to throw in the towel with this book wasn’t even rewarded with a surprising conclusion. Disappointed? Yes. But more so, annoyed at myself for giving Sager the benefit of the doubt and thinking he would still pull something brilliant out of the bag.

I don’t like writing a review like this but I honestly can’t find anything positive to say about 'With A Vengeance'. If you want to read a brilliant locked room mystery set on a train, pick up “Murder on the Orient Express”. Agatha Christie did it so much better.

3.5 rounded up for goodreads and netgalley.
It was quite an enjoyable read. It was also quite different from the author’s other books because of its historical aspect, and I liked that. The cast of characters is not very likeable but each character has a backstory and it was interesting to find them out along the way. Some relationship dynamics are also fleshed out but I thought the romantic undertones were unnecessary. But the plot was solid and full of twists. I would absolutely recommend this.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Devoured this one. Riley Sager is one of my favourite auto buy authors. I love Riley's work and this proves why. I was absolutely excited to read this one and couldn't put this down till the end.

This is a locked room mystery that also has a bit of Christie touch for fans of the golden era of thrillers. The characters are well written and I love the premise of vengeance. It has several underlying themes of love, loss, grief and family. I really felt for the lead and her loss. You find yourself rooting for her. It also has a good support character arc.

The book kept me guessing. Told in multiple perspectives the narrative is engrossing. The twists and red herrings are amazing and had me gripped until the end. The setup is fantastic and I can imagine this in a movie or series format too. Absolutely recommend!

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

With a Vengeance is a gripping, high-stakes thriller set against the atmospheric backdrop of a luxury train in 1954. Riley Sager crafts a darkly compelling tale of justice, betrayal and the lengths one woman will go to for the truth.

Anna Matheson’s life was shattered in 1942. Now, twelve years later, she’s ready to confront the six people responsible. Her carefully plotted plan brings them all aboard a lavish overnight train from Philadelphia to Chicago, where she intends to expose their crimes and deliver them into the hands of justice. But when one of the passengers is found murdered, Anna’s pursuit of truth descends into a tense game of survival.

Sager ratchets up the suspense with every mile, weaving classic locked-room mystery elements into a taut psychological drama. As secrets unravel and the body count rises, Anna must face the ultimate question: how far will she go for retribution — and who can she really trust when even her enemies are in danger?

Fast-paced, tightly plotted and brimming with twists, With a Vengeance is a deliciously retro revenge tale with a razor-sharp edge.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Riley Sager has some amazing thrillers, The Only One Left being my favourite followed closely by Home Before Dark. This new thriller resides more on the side of their more average thrillers unfortunately. A fun plot but a lacklustre execution makes this book a SHEIN version of Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express. The characters were flat and the plot twists were bordering on cliche.

Thank you so much for this ARC! I had some very high hopes for this book before starting it because I really enjoyed other books by this author before. However, this book was more of a murder mystery than actual thriller, which was what I was hoping for and expecting. That threw me off a bit to be honest and why I didn't enjoy it as much as I would've liked. The writing style is still very good and I flew through it though.

Was thrilled to be accepted to read a Riley Sager ARC.
Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book.
The era just wasn’t my thing. It’s hard not to compare it to Murder on the Orient Express.
Two fake deaths which were just too unbelievable was one of the annoyances. More than one murderer, what are the chances?
I did enjoy the last 10%, the build up and the big reveal (although predicted) picked up the pace and was more exciting which, for me, sadly lacked in the rest of the book. But was the excitement purely because I knew my boredom of reading it was coming to an end? Quite possibly.
Gutted to give this a 3/5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley UK and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity.

Riley Sager meets Agatha Christie is the vibe of this book and I loved it!

I don't know if it was just the train setting or the time period but it was like a Christie novel but full of Riley Sager's signature twists that were so twisty I think I have whiplash.

The story follows Anna in her quest to get justice for her family by confronting the people responsible for their deaths (directly and indirectly) which would be straightforward... if not for all the pesky murders.

Definitely recommend if you're a fan of locked room mysteries!

A fast paced book, quite entertaining. While reaching halfway through the book I realized who the killer was and yet found it interesting to proceed to the end. There were a couple of unexpected twists. I completed the book in a sitting, a book that got me out of reading slump. Some parts were bit farfetched but I enjoyed it. Overall it's a good quick read book. I thank netgalley and hodder and Stoughton for the eARC copy.

In a plot reminiscent of Murder on the Orient Express, six people find themselves tricked into taking a non-stop train from Philadelphia to Chicago by a woman out for revenge.

After the loss of her brother and father twelve years ago, Anna Matheson is hell-bent on revenge against those involved in the fatal crash of one of her father’s trains.

However, there are other people on the train with their own agenda, and when the first person is killed, Anna realises her plan is unravelling.

This is not Sager’s strongest book and the closed room thriller and Christie-esque plot have been done multiple times. I prefer some of his other titles, especially Home Before Dark.

Sager does it again. This time setting his novel in pre war America this book keeps you hooked from page one. No surprises in the amount of twist and turns that Sager puts into this book whete you think you have worked everything out but yet again get proved wrong. A master piece in thriller and mystery genere this is a mystery read if 2025.

I absolutely loved this book! It’s giving murder mystery, it’s giving Agatha Christie and I’m here for it!

I loved the pacing of this book, it felt like a race against the clock and I felt myself reading faster because of it - not a bad thing, I devoured it. I also love how in depth you get to know the characters by understanding their whereabouts and their motives!

Another one of Riley Sagers books that I’ve loved. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

With a Vengeance is a fast-paced, twist-filled thriller with solid suspense, entertaining, if a bit familiar.

I have read a few of Riley Sagers books and I think this is the best to date. It had Murder on the orient express vibes for me and the book kept me intrigued all the way through. Just when you think you may understand what is happening another plot twist is thrown in and this then follows through the book. The book has a historic feel as set in earlier times and everyone could be a possible suspect. I would definitely recommend this read and would like to thank netgalley for this chance to read the ARC.

Not my favourite sager book but was a good popcorn binge and will still recommend, just didn’t love it - nothing seems to hit the spot quite like lock every door!

I have read several books by the author and enjoyed so when I started reading ‘With a vengeance’ I was quite surprised as it is locked room mystery.
It’s 1954 Anna Matheson has invited 6 people on an overnight train from Philadelphia to Chicago. These 6 people were responsible for killing her family twelve years previously. Where her father was arrested for something, he didn’t do and ended up in prison. But someone killed him while he was in castrated. She has now got the evidence that her father was innocent and will give it to the FBI in Chicago as soon as they get there. But her plan is not as plain sailing as she predicted and the six people are being murdered one by one. Who is the killer and what is their motive?
I can confess I didn’t read the blurb before I requested this. What could go wrong? It is a book by Riley Sager. He never disappoints. Although this was a different style of writing from this author. I found it to be highly entertaining read. With its claustrophobic setting on a train during winter and hours before it stops. There is a lot of tension and twists and turns. The characters were well developed and kept you guessing to find out who the killer is. The only downside I felt the ending a bit flat tying up the ends of the story. 4 stars from me.