About the Book

Home Before Dark

Home Before Dark

Author: Riley Sager
ISBN: 1524745170
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Publisher: Dutton
Released: June 30, 2020

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Synopsis

What was it like? Living in that house.
Maggie Holt is used to such 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.

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?


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Our Review


I’ve read all of Sager’s books from his very first debut, and I must admit that this is my favorite book of his so far.

Home Before Dark is an eerily suspenseful ghost story full of thrills and chills. The book starts out really strong by serving up some awesome creepiness to the plot, and finishes with twists that had me flying through the pages. I particularly liked how the narrative style alternated between chapters of the book mentioned in the story,  and the present plot story itself. The transitions were excellently crafted which really added depth and character to the book overall. Riley Sager definitely did an excellent job with this one! I can’t wait for more of his work in the future.

My favorite books by Riley Sager listed in order:
1. Home Before Dark
2. The Last Time I Lied
3. Lock Every Door
4. Final Girls

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About Riley Sager

Riley Sager is the pseudonym of a former journalist, editor and graphic designer. Now a full-time author, Riley's first thriller, FINAL GIRLS, became a national and international bestseller and was called "the first great thriller of 2017" by Stephen King. Translation rights have been sold in more than two dozen countries. His second book, THE LAST TIME I LIED, was a New York Times bestseller. His latest novel, LOCK EVERY DOOR, was an instant New York Times, Publishers Weekly and USA Today bestseller. A television adaptation is being developed by Paramount TV and Anonymous Content.

A native of Pennsylvania, Riley now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he's not working on his next novel, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is "Rear Window." Or maybe "Jaws." But probably, if he's being honest, "Mary Poppins."

 

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