Title: WITH A VENGEANCE
Author: RILEY SAGER
ISBN: 9781399742085
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 382
Source: Private Copy
One train. No stops. A deadly game of survival and revenge.
In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family. Twelve years later, she’s ready for retribution.
Under false pretenses, Anna has lured those responsible for her family’s downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago, an overnight journey of fourteen hours. Her goal? Confront the people who’ve wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them into the hands of authorities waiting at the end of the line. Justice will at last be served.
But Anna’s plan is quickly derailed by the murder of one of the passengers. As the train barrels through the night, it becomes clear that someone else on board is enacting their own form of revenge—and that they won’t stop until everyone else is dead.
With time running out before the train reaches its destination, Anna is forced to hunt the killer in their midst while protecting the people she hates the most. In order to destroy her enemies, she must first save them—even though it means putting her own life at risk.
Official Summary
07 September 2026
This was my fifth Riley Sager book, and once I finished it, I found myself a little on the fence. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it. This one was certainly different from the other Sager books I have read.
Sager still managed to keep me hooked and guessing, but the story had a much slower start than I was expecting. This is a classic locked-room whodunnit, set aboard a train travelling across America in the 1940s.
Anna lures the six people who destroyed her family onto a train under false pretences. Once on board the overnight express from Philadelphia to Chicago, Anna confronts her guests and announces that she has evidence of their wrongdoing and that the FBI will be waiting for them when they disembark in Chicago. Her intention is to watch them sweat, but her carefully laid plan quickly goes wrong when people start dying.
I really enjoyed the premise, and I loved the details of the old train barrelling through the night. The atmosphere of being trapped on a train with a group of people who all have something to hide worked really well. Anna’s plan, while perhaps good in theory, was always going to be difficult to pull off, and at times she came across as a little naïve. Perhaps this was partly a reflection of women and their position in the 1940s, but it didn’t always work for me.
I enjoyed the cast of characters, particularly the fact that these people had all worked together to destroy a man’s life—a man they had once been close to, but ultimately sold out for financial gain. Anna, the last surviving member of her family, is understandably hurt and angry. Her murderous thoughts as she confronts these people were brilliantly portrayed, and I could really feel her anger. She was an interesting character: part brilliant, part naïve, and sometimes far too willing to trust the wrong people.
There were definitely parts of this story that I loved, while others felt a little lacking in that Sager “wow” element I have come to expect. That left me rather undecided about whether I loved the book or not.
This will appeal to fans of classic mysteries who enjoy a good old-fashioned whodunnit, particularly one with a closed-circle cast of suspicious characters and a wonderfully atmospheric setting.
Sadly, this was not my favourite Riley Sager book, but it still proved to be an entertaining and atmospheric read. I may not have loved it as much as some of his other books, but Sager certainly kept me guessing until the end.
Also By Riley Sager
LOCK EVERY DOOR
No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.
As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story—until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.
Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, most recently With a Vengeance, Middle of the Night and The Only One Left.
His novels have been published in 40 countries, with more than 4 million copies sold worldwide. His latest book, The Unknown, will be released on August 4.
A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
Are you a Sager fan? I have added his books to my author backlist reads for 2026 and I have made some good progress. This month I have a copy of his new book, The Unknown. I am looking forward to this one and will share my review as soon as possible. As always, thank you for visiting. Until next time… Happy Reading!
