Review: Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think this is my favorite book of Sager’s so far!  I really loved this!

I was provided an ARC via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.  This book was published yesterday, June 30, 2020 and I highly recommend it.

Every house has a story, and boy does Baneberry Hall have a story to tell.  Maggie Holt has just inherited the famed mansion after her father's death.  She spent only a few weeks there as a child, but  she has no real memories of her time there as a five year old girl.  Her memories are supplied by the book her father wrote, House of Horrors, a nonfiction account of her family's time spent in the house.  All grown up, a designer and house flipper, Maggie is determined to clean up Baneberry Hall and sell it, and in the process find out what really happened so she can prove that "the book" is all lies and get rid of it from her life once and for all.

As I said initially, I think this is my favorite of [author:Riley Sager|15263414]'s four books to date.  I've enjoyed the other three, but there was just something about this one that really kept my attention.  This book is told in what I would call mixed media format.  It alternates between Maggie's perspective, and excerpts from "the book".  The chapters from Maggie's perspective are present day, while the chapters from the book give you a past tense version of what happen when the Holt's stayed in Baneberry Hall the first time.  The longer Maggie stays in the house and investigates her past, the more she comes to realize that some of the things that her father wrote about actually did happen.  This leads her and the reader to wonder, is Baneberry Hall really haunted?  I really liked how Sager misleads the reader several times before revealing what is really going on.  I thought I had it figured out a few times, but then he revealed something that completely busted my theory.  I think I was just as confused as Maggie was at times, and I really love that in a thriller.

I thought the pacing was good.  Maggie's POV has a slightly slower pace than the sections from Ewan's (her dad's) book, which is a little faster paced.  While this has a good many side characters, the house itself is the character that shines the most.  While Maggie and Ewan tell the story and have the majority of the experiences in the house, the house itself provides not only the backdrop but the atmosphere for everything that happens.  Without Baneberry Hall and all it's creepy vibes, there would be no story.  If you like suspenseful thrillers with a paranormal element give this a go.  I loved every moment I spent with this book and I can't wait for more from this author.

View all my reviews