In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?What was it like? Living in that house.Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she … questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.
Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.
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This one kept me guessing till the end. Even when I thought the end would be the end… guess what it wasn’t. I’m glad I picked this one up!
Wow. It takes a lot for a book to make me cry or to scare me. This book scared me. While I tried to fall asleep after reading this, every noise would make me jump up and check it out. This is a fantastic thriller.
Wow…Riley Sager does it again. This book sucks you in and doesn’t allow you to put it down. It will keep you on the edge of your seat with some crazy, some scary and a little mystery. This book will not end the way you think it will. I thought I had it all figured out, nope not even close. I loved how the author takes you back and forth from the story to the present and keeps you engaged with them both. If you have enjoyed other books by Sager, you will not be disappointed with this one either.
4.5 Stars
Since the characters in this book are Boston Red Sox fans I’m just going to say it, Riley Sager is the Big Papi of creepy, psychological thrillers. Sager does nothing but knock it out of the park with each and every book.
Now, moving on from my baseball metaphor, this book is truly freaking delightful. It is dark and twisted, creepy and suspenseful, and at times the hair on the back of my neck literally rose as I awaited whatever next twist was coming. In his last release, Sager tiptoed closer to paranormal suspense and in this one he jumps in with both feet. The way this story is told you can’t help but begin to believe in ghosts yourself, even if every fiber of your rational brain says they aren’t real.
I loved this story but the truth is, I would likely love Sagers grocery list if he published it. If you enjoy being thoroughly creeped out and on the edge of your seat, give Sagers books a read, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
A creepy, dark whodunit that kept me guessing all the way to the end. The house that the family moves into is supposedly haunted, but the question from the beginning was the truth of that statement. The dad makes a small fortune writing a book about the family’s adventures in the house. I must say that the snake scenes really made my skin crawl , and the ending was a total surprise. Part horror, part campfire story, part mystery, this is a book not to be missed by Riley Sager fans.
I own an e-copy of the book and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Maggie’s life has revolved around what happened to her when she was a child…a time her father put into a book which in turn made her famous…albeit in a most unwanted way. Maggie has never believed the ghost story her father wrote. She would remember if all those crazy things happened to her… wouldn’t she?
With her father’s passing Maggie now has the chance to return to Baneberry Hall and get the answers both her mother and father refused to give. When weird things begin happening while she is there she is starting to wonder if maybe there is a little truth to the story her father told…
I really enjoyed this one, although I knew there was a logical explanation to the mysterious happenings in the home. I had a feeling as to what was going on about 30% of the way in and was partially correct BUT not even close as to what was finally revealed.
I love Riley Sager and he can certainly keep you captivated and thrilled. This one did not disappoint in that aspect at all. This would make a great Halloween read.
Home Before Dark is a creepy, extremely atmospheric haunted house thrill by Riley Sager. Riley Sager is one of my auto buy author since I’ve loved his past three pieces of work, and this one didn’t let me down one bit!
A woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really as haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound- and dangerous- secrets hidden with it’s walls?
Right off the bat this made me think of the Amitville Horror-the book, not the movie. About a family that fled from a ‘suppposedly” haunted house and then write a bestselling novel about it. That’s pretty much what the main character’s father did in the book. So we have a book within a book, which could be tricky not to get the main story and the older work by Maggie’s father mixed up. But Sager’s writing style makes the style of the story within the story work quite well, with no confusion. Maggie refer’s to her father’s novel as the “book” in the novel which helps distinguish between the two as well.
The characters are all well rounded, no one too complex- no need for it.
Home Before Dark is a fast paced novel and with Riley Sager at the helm, wrote a suspenseful plot that you will not want to put down!
This one is well-reviewed, so I will skip the summary I normally do. I read this one because I live in Vermont and I love a good horror story. I felt drawn into the situation immediately because the creepy vibe similar to Amityville was strong. I liked how it was told from both Maggie and her father’s perspective in the past and present. While they seemed to run parallel lines, they differed vastly. Her mother’s aversion to talking, period, was offputting. The way she treated Maggie was cold, and it made little sense. A revelation towards the end could explain it if you’re reaching. But Sager didn’t draw any lines towards that fact, that’s just my overactive brain.
Around the halfway mark, the atmospheric vibe disappeared. The creepy, horror feeling was non-existent. Some of the text was repetitive, especially when we were reading Ewan’s portion. I was also less than thrilled with the big reveal. Several aspects just didn’t seem believable to me. Overall, there was just too much “extra” fluff that set the book off its original course.
Home Before Dark is told both two narrators, until the last quarter. I enjoyed this read as it was quick-paced, action-packed, and intense all the way through. Maggie Holt suddenly finds herself the owner of Baneberry Hall, a home she spent a total of twenty days living in when she was five years old. Maggie’s father has passed away, and he left all of this estate to Maggie, including this home she had no idea he still owned. Maggie’s father, Ewan, made a ton of money writing what was deemed a true story of the family’s twenty days in the “House of Horrors”. Maggie has no memory of this time in her life, and it turns out, rightfully so. This is Maggie’s journey to find out the truth about this house and the book her father wrote twenty-five years ago. Maggie returns to Baneberry Hall to restore the old home and prepare it for sale. What she finds is everything she is really not prepared for and more. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way through to the end.
It wasn’t amazing, but it was pretty good. Wanted it to stay a scary story. You’ll know what I mean when you read it. Don’t want to give too much away.
Riley Sager’s books are usually a bit creepy for me but this one is the creepiest! I think I will need to sleep with the light on for a few days! It was a chilling ghost story with many chilling backstories. It was enjoyable and a definite read during the daytime kind of story!
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: 384
: ℎ ℎ
: 06/30/2020
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This is the first book I have read from this author. I picked this as one of my June BOTM picks. This book has an eerie and spooky cover.
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: In this book we follow Maggie Holt who is an interior designer. Twenty five years ago, her and her parents moved into Baneberry Hall and spent 20 days there before moving out and never returning. It prompted her dad to write a book titled House of Horrors. Maggie goes back to Baneberry Hall after inheriting it when her dad dies to see how much of her father’s book was true.
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: I absolutely loved this book. There were a few reveals that definitely caught me off guard towards the end. This is the perfect book for October because of the horror vibes throughout. I loved following two different perspectives, one being Maggie, and the other being different parts of her father’s book throughout the story. Riley’s writing was phenomenal. He was able to write a thriller novel that had me on the edge of my seat while terrifying me with the horror aspects included. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a fantastic thriller novel with some spooky horror vibes mixed in. This book comes out on 06/30/2020 so make sure to order a copy today!!!!!
4.5 s—another winner from Sager!! I’ve read all of his novels & love them all but this is probably one of my favs… It’s about a young woman, Maggie Holt, who is returning to her childhood home, Baneberry Hall, an infamous haunted house (thanks to her father’s bestselling book about their terrifying time living there). Maggie hasn’t returned since that night 25yrs ago when she & her parents fled in the middle of the night & has no memories of her time there. But she’s determined to get answers about what truly happened in that house because she knows ghosts do not exist. Or do they? Her views on that begin to shift as strange & seemingly inexplicable things happen almost immediately upon her return. She also begins to realize that perhaps, there were good reasons she blocked out her time there….
I blazed through this creepy part ghost story, part mystery/thriller and can’t recommend it enough. The only problem now is that since I’ve read all of his books, I now have to wait forever for another Riley Sager novel!
“Every house has a story to tell and a secret to share.” Boy, Baneberry Hall is that House! Are there ghostly happenings, encounters with malevolent spirits, dark deeds perpetrated by its past inhibitors!? Pick this one up to find out!
This was my June Book of the Month! The cover looks creepy and I read something about a haunted house, SOLD! A summer read with a scary flare!!
One thing I love so much about the story is how each chapter is uniquely crafted to tell the tale. I was hooked after chapter one! I didn’t read too much of the synopsis and stayed away from any long detailed reviews.
This definitely was a creepy read, could cause some unpleasant dreams. I did read before bed many nights. Nothing like a dark scary bedtime story. I recommend snuggling up, grab your comfy blanket, and pay no mind to those creaks from the floor boards. I’m sure they are not Mister Shadow or Miss Penny eyes coming to visit.
Riley Sager has developed quite a reputation in several genres, the consistent blur between reality and fantasy always present, creating an atmosphere within his books that seems eerie and dreamlike despite the frequently action-packed plot. Home Before Dark is the latest in his series of bestselling standalone books, another cinematic experience that seems ripe for some Hollywood producer to come along and snatch up the rights for a stunning movie. We follow the theme from his last novel, Lock Every Door, as we are introduced to a mysterious and tentatively haunted building right off the bat. In Lock Every Door it was a bizarrely famous hotel, in Home After Dark, we return to a staple of the horror genre: a haunted house.
Home Before Dark is two books in one, taking place in different time periods. A book within a book. The text of House of Horrors, making up about half the book, was written by Maggie Holt’s father, an autobiographical depiction of his and his family’s time at Baneberry Hall, at the time, his new house. Ewan Holt and his family stayed there for just a little over two weeks before fleeing the house, spurring on a police report, then a newspaper article, then finally, a book deal, which resulted in young Maggie’s life being forever defined by her father’s bestselling phenomenon. Maggie, now about thirty and not remembering any of the events in House of Horrors, finds herself the unwitting owner of Baneberry Hall following her father’s death and the surprise he had never sold it despite the terrible memories that supposedly haunted him. Armed with a desire to know the truth and her business in house-flipping, Maggie returns to Baneberry Hall to attempt to discover why her father wrote such bizarre lies about their family, only to realize perhaps not the entire book was fiction.
This, on a general basis, is not an entirely original plot. There are a lot of horror movies with a similar idea, but considering Sager’s consistent homages to horror cinema, this could be forgiven as an authorial quirk. The problem is: if you watch any kind of horror movies or probably even read enough horror books, you can tell mostly where the plot is going. While unpredictability and plot twists do not a good novel make, I was surprised at Home After Dark and the well-tread passage it took, considering Lock Every Door was not predictable at all. It feels like Sager wanted to take on a well-known horror trope, the haunted house, but didn’t exactly have the creativity to have a fresh spin on it.
However, like mentioned above, unpredictability isn’t everything. Home After Dark is still a completely likable novel, full of mystery and atmosphere. There’s a reason tropes are popular; hearing footsteps on the floor when no one’s home, music randomly turning on, mysterious figures in the yard, none of this diminishes in creepiness just because we’ve heard it before. The appeal to this novel is the discrepancies between our two timelines: Ewan and Maggie Holt have two very different ideas of what’s happened at Baneberry Hall, and its great fun picking apart what’s real and what’s fiction in the minds of the family. Ewan writes about terrifying happenings: Maggie, a toddler, is seeing apparitions, her friends are being harassed by an unknown force, he hears noises and music but can never catch the culprit, and the presence seems determined to drive a wedge between him and his wife. Maggie, on the other side, is annoyed by the noises and music but has rational explanations for them, and is completely unconvinced by her dad’s claims of ghostly activity. Maggie was a very fun protagonist, despite her being trapped in a plot we’ve seen before. There’s something charming about this lumberjack-like lady living in a haunted house and steadfastly ignoring all the spookiness going on around her. We don’t see enough female protagonists like her, and while I’m not sure if Sager intended for her to be as funny as she was, she was great.
Baneberry Hall evokes an almost gothic atmosphere, with its majestic stature, its Victorian craftsmanship, and of course, its bloody history. We get to see this estate in two different time periods: as a home in House of Horrors, and as a decrepit, abandoned tourist attraction in the main timeline. There are plenty of spooks in both eras to satisfy any haunted house fan, and as per Sager’s style, the experience is very cinematic. The writing is upbeat and fast-paced, keeping up a consistent amount of bizarre happenings without the novel getting too zany or without sacrificing its eerie buildup.
As much as Maggie made for a good protagonist, her relationships within the novel weren’t entirely standout. There is, of course, a man involved who is helping her renovate the house who is neither charming nor important enough for readers to get attached, either to his character or his romance with Maggie. Maggie also has a best friend that at the time of writing this review, I can’t remember the name of, because her part in the novel is so small and insignificant despite their apparent closeness. However, Maggie’s relationship with her mother is stellar. Jess, who appears both as Ewan’s lovely wife and later as Maggie’s coldhearted mother, is a character I could have a whole spinoff novel about. The difference in her character between the two timelines is fascinating; we are introduced to her in House of Horrors as a kind wife and doting mother and in the main timeline as a snobby socialite who disparages her daughter’s clothes and drinks too much gin. She is only tenuously Maggie’s mother-figure and yet their relationship is the strongest part of the characterization. This was one of the most interesting mysteries of the novel, the most intriguing character: what happened to Jess Holt? If Home Before Dark is anything, it’s terrific in its mother-daughter dynamics.
There are a lot of negative words in this review for a book I quite liked. Read it in one sitting. It doesn’t entirely live up to the hype and I maintain that Sager’s last book was better, but it still stands well on its own. Home Before Dark keeps up its cinematic qualities and mysterious happenings that we’ve gotten used to in Sager’s writing, and combined with Maggie, her mother, and the interesting split timeline, it’s a book you can get engrossed in quickly. The writing is haunting enough to give us chills at the Baneberry Hall’s descriptions but not dense, a commercial read that may not keep you up at night but will keep you wholly satisfied for the time you’re reading.
review blog
“Never go back there. It’s not safe there. Not for you.”
Twenty-five years ago Maggie Holt and her parents bought and moved into Baneberry Hall, a house with a tragic past. Shortly thereafter they moved out, leaving everything behind. Maggie’s father wrote a controversial book about their short time in the house, citing ghosts and supernatural influences.
Years later Maggie, who never believed her father’s book, ends up moving back into the house, where strange and creepy things start happening again.
I enjoyed this story. I haven’t read many “ghost” stories over the years that I actually enjoyed but I did like this one.
It was creepy, atmospheric and I enjoy author Sager’s writing style. His characters are well-rounded and the stories are fast-paced.
This was definitely another winner for me.
Now THIS is how you write a ghost story!! Home Before Dark by Riley Sager was everything I was hoping it would be and more. It was creepy, Gothic, and it kept me guessing until the very end.
Now, this hasn’t replaced Final Girls as my favorite of Sager’s but it is definitely a VERY close second. I love when there is a book within a book, and the alternating chapters between Maggie and House of Horrors made things even more suspenseful. I was really disappointed in The Turn of the Key as far as the ghost aspect went, but Home Before Dark gave me everything I needed with a satisfying ending. I think it’s a slower burn, but it was still suspenseful enough that I didn’t want to put it down.
I love how this book was crafted, and although it didn’t freak me out to the point where I couldn’t be alone or in the dark, there were plenty of super creepy parts and things that definitely grossed me out. If you don’t like snakes, prepare yourself! There are some horror/supernatural elements, but overall Home Before Dark is just a really amazing thriller. I don’t think too much can be said without giving anything away, but if you are a Sager/ghost story/horror/thriller fan I highly recommend it!
This is my second book by Sager that I’ve read. I didn’t like it as much as Lock Every Door, but it was good. However, I was not too keen on the layout of the story. I felt that switching from present tense POV of Maggie to the book Maggie’s dad penned really pulled me from the current story each time. It added a slight layer of confusion because of it. It kind of reminded me of The Winter People which pulled be back and forth as well. Good story, different, and just the right about of scary. I’m looking forward to reading the next one.