It can be difficult to create a good, old-fashioned murder mystery in modern times. The genre flourished in books and movies from the 1930s-1950s, but currently in Hollywood, it’s barely being held together by Rian Johnson (Knives Out) and Kenneth Branagh (various Agatha Christie remakes).
However, in literature, murder mystery is still going strong and is still one of the most popular genres today. Current authors like Lucy Foley, Harlan Coben, and Catriona Ward are able to keep their readers guessing while maintaining fresh conundrums with minimal overused mystery tropes. Another standout author, who resides on the more horrific side of the genre, is Riley Sager.
The author has written 13 books since 2010: three under his real name, Todd Ritter; one under the name Alan Finn; and nine under his most successful pseudonym, Riley Sager. Even though Sager has a knack for toeing the line between realism and at least the prospect of the supernatural, his newest release, With a Vengeance, is a straight-up love letter to several of the murder mystery genre’s most notable names: Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, and, of course, Patricia Highsmith, who wrote the original novels for Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
With a Vengeance takes place in 1954 and follows the revenge plot of Anna Matheson, a traumatized, but strong woman who gathers the six people who were responsible for the destruction and defamation of Anna’s family 12 years prior. Anna has their arrests and imprisonment worked out perfectly, as the train she’s gathered them all on is empty and on a non-stop trip from Philadelphia to Chicago, where the FBI is awaiting their arrival.
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The train moves at high-octane speed through a snowstorm, but Anna’s plan comes to a screeching halt when one of the six conspirators is unexpectedly murdered. From there, with each hour, the stakes are raised as the body count starts to rise.
The first act of the book is brilliant. As the readers are introduced to Anna’s backstory and the incredibly tragic events that were brought down on her family, you can’t help but fully jump on board with her, bloodthirsty for those who purposely wronged her. Anna’s character was extremely well developed, and the fact that she’s constantly pulled between grief, revenge, and morality only makes her character more interesting.
While all the other characters’ stories in relation to the tragedy are revealed, some backstories are explored much more than others, which leaves you curious about half of them. Some are killed off before getting much depth, but in a mystery like Murder on the Orient Express or Strangers on a Train, someone always has to be first.
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As the story chugs forward, the mystery seems to tangle gradually, rather than unravel slowly. Each chapter is an hour-by-hour account of the trip, and as the characters’ downfalls grow nearer, the more their tensions rise, and more complications are added to the story. At one point, things start to feel muddied, and With a Vengeance becomes a little too reliant on the genre’s tropes, rather than using subtle nods to the greats. Overused twists get thrown in seemingly for the hell of it, instead of adding to the necessity of the story.
The final act picks things back up in a great way, adding in some unexpected (and a few unnecessary) plot turns, but the story irons itself out nicely with a satisfying ending.
Overall, With a Vengeance was solid and a nice ode to the classics, but after reading five of Sager’s books, I’d put it somewhere in the middle. I felt the story got a little too convoluted for its own good, and threw in tropes just to cover the bases, but its main character, beginning, and finale make it well worth a read.
With a Vengeance is now available at all major book retailers and is published by Dutton.
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