Casey befriends Katherine Royce after rescuing her when she almost drowns and soon concludes that all is not well in Katherine and Tom’s marriage. Once in Vermont, she passes the time drinking bourbon and watching the former supermodel and the tech mogul who live across the lake through a pair of binoculars. Casey has a dry, droll perspective that persists until circumstances overwhelm her, and if you’re getting a Carrie Fisher vibe from Casey Fletcher, that is almost certainly not an accident.

When paparazzi document her substance abuse, her mother exiles her to the family retreat in Vermont. Then the death of her husband sends her into an alcoholic spiral that ends with her getting fired from a Broadway play. While she never achieves the “America’s sweetheart” status her mother enjoyed, Casey makes a career out of bit parts in movies and on TV and meatier parts onstage. Narrator Casey Fletcher grew up watching her mother dazzle audiences, and then she became an actor herself. His most recent novels- Home Before Dark (2020) and Survive the Night (2021) -have been fun and a bit rickety. Sager’s debut, Final Girls (2017), was fun and beautifully crafted. Celebrity scandal and a haunted lake drive the narrative in this bestselling author’s latest serving of subtly ironic suspense.

Home before dark riley sager summary