Home Before Dark

4.5/5 (but it's better 5, than 4 stars)

I don’t read many thrillers because I don’t like depressing thrillers. Unfortunately, this is hard to determine from the description, so I'm afraid of thrillers. But because of the big hype, I already read Sager’s previous book and I liked it pretty much (4/5 stars) and looked pretty similar in mood, so I was interested. Luckily, I got approved on NetGalley, so I started reading it immediately.
The story is about Maggie, whose whole life was about a book and a house. When she was a kid, she and her parents moved into a house, and they moved out within a few weeks because it was a haunted house. Their story was written by her father in a book that became a bestseller. At the beginning of the story, Maggie is confronted with the fact that her father never sold the house and she inherited it. Since she has no memories of the time she spent there, she decides to go back to the house and find out what actually happened there.
I really like it when the book isn’t written in the usual style. At the end of each chapter, we get an excerpt from a book written by her father. I really liked it. We got to know the story of her father's book, while Maggie tries to discover the truth.
Even the description of a haunted story suggests that the book will be atmospheric. And it was partly true. I liked the atmosphere, but I felt more could have been brought out of it. Maybe extra creepy parts were missing? I didn’t feel scared at all.
The characters were ok. Apart from Maggie, we don't know any in detail. I liked that there were no black and white characters. But I didn’t feel Maggie was a strong enough, I think she wasn't enough to take the story on her back.
For a thriller, the twist has a big importance. I have to say the twist was pretty good, but it wasn’t shocking. In fact, without the final turn, it would be more interesting. The turn was not extra.
I really liked the book, but something was missing. If any of the above mentioned (mood, characters, more shocking twists) had been more in the book, I think I would give 5 stars. I enjoy the writer's books, I have to read the first two, too :)

In Hungarian:
Nem olvasok sok thrillert, mert nem szeretem a depressziós hangulatú thrillereket. Sajnos, ezt nehéz meghatározni a leírás alapján, ezért számomra ez mindig lutri. De a nagy hype miatt már elolvasta Sager előző könyvét, és eléggé bejött (4/5 csillag), és hangulatában eléggé hasonlónak tűnt, így eléggé felcsigázott a könyv. Szerencsére, NetGalley-n pozitív elbírálást kaptam, így rögtön neki is estem.
A történet Maggie-ről szól, akinek az egész élete egy könyv és egy ház körül forgott. Amikor gyerek volt szüleivel beköltözött egy házba, ahonnan pár héten belül kiköltöznek, mivel szellemek lakta. Ezt az apja megírja egy könyvben, ami világhírű lett. A történet elején Maggie azzal szembesül, hogy apja sosem adta el a házat, és ő megörökölte. Mivel emlékei nincsenek az ott töltött időről, úgy dönt visszamegy a házba, és utánajár, mi is történt ott valójában.
Én nagyon szeretem, amikor a könyv nem a megszokott stílusban íródik. Itt minden fejezet végén kapunk egy-egy részletet az apja által írt könyvből. Nekem ez nagyon tetszett. Megismerkedhettünk az történettel, ami az apja szerint történt, közben meg Maggie próbálja felfedezni, hogy igaz abból valami.
Egy kísértetházas történetnek már a leírása is azt sugallja, hogy hangulatos lesz a könyv. És részben igaz is volt. Tetszett a hangulat, de úgy érzem többet is ki lehetett volna hozni belőle. Talán még több félelmetes rész hiányzott? Én egyáltalán nem éreztem félelmetesnek.
A karakterek is okésak voltak. Maggie-n kívül egyet sem ismerünk meg részletesen. Tetszett, hogy nem voltak fekete-fehér karakterek. De Maggie-t nem éreztem elég erős karakternek, nekem nem volt elég, hogy elvigye a történetet, főleg, hogy az apján kívül szinte csak őt ismerhettük meg rendesen.
Egy thrillernél sokat vet a latba a végső fordulat. Azt kell mondanom elég jó volt ez a rész, de azért nem volt átütő. Sőt, talán a legvégső fordulatot én kihagytam volna, számomra az a végkifejlett érdekesebb lett volna, SPOILER Nem sokkolt a fordulat, szeretném végre megérni, hogy valamelyik thriller lesokkoljon.
Nagyon tetszett a könyv, de valami hiányzott. Ha a fenti említettek közül (hangulat, karakterek, sokkolóbb fordulat) valami átütőbb lett volna, szerintem megadtam volna az 5 csillagot. Azt kell mondanom, élvezem az író könyveit, az első kettőre is sort kell kerítenem :)

Twenty-five years ago, Maggie Holt and her parents Ewan and Jess fled Baneberry Hall after only moving in three weeks prior to this. Maggie's father Ewan wrote a book about their time in the house, telling the story of strange happenings and ghosts. Maggie has never known if there is any truth to the story as she was too young to remember. When her father passes away, she is shocked to find out that her parents never sold Baneberry Hall and that she has inherited it. She returns to the house to renovate it and sell it on, but finds herself taking a trip to the past as she begins to discover things about the history and secrets of the house and must also deal with the locals, some of whom aren't happy to see Maggie back. When strange things start to happen in the house, she wonders if the ghost story her father told could be true after all...

This book was fantastic - a brilliant and eerie plot, great characters and shocking twists and turns. I loved every minute of the book and the ending was surprising and great. A wonderful mystery story that I can't recommend enough. All of Riley Sager's books are fantastic.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

well holy mother of mary this was a ROLLERCOASTER
from start to finish I was hooked. I adored every second of this and it was fast paced, full of suspense and was one thrill after another.

I love anything to do with the supernatural and this seemed to excel expectations. I thought the premise was interesting & the underlying mystery worked so well.

- amazing writing
- fantastic plot
- amazing characters

THE ENDING

It’s been a long time since I’ve finished a book in a day but that’s exactly what I did!
Audiobooks I can finish fairly quickly but physically reading a book can take me days at the minute...this one was started this morning and has just been finished at 9pm.
What a rollercoaster! I was completely engaged throughout and I kept guessing what was going to happen right up until the last page! Brilliant.
I’m not usually a haunted house fan but this was written perfectly. It skips between the past - written in the form of a true story book, and the now which follows Maggie as she inherits her old home which her family fled when she was young.
I loved all the twists and turns and I had no idea where the story was going to finish.
Loved!

When Maggie Holt is five years old her parents, Ewan and Jess buy Baneberry Hall in Vermont. It’s neglected, has quite a history from its construction in 1875 by William Garson but it’s cheap! Twenty days later they flee the house never to return. Ewan writes a book, ‘House of Horrors’, about their brief time there which becomes a best seller but it blights Maggie’s life especially as her recollections are not the same as her fathers. So whose memories are the accurate ones? Is the book a lie? Her father has now died and she discovers he never sold it ... so of course she returns despite her father’s deathbed request to ‘never go back’. The story is told in the present by Maggie alternating with chapters from Ewan’s book.

Well, if you are looking for a good Halloween, things that go bump in the night read, then this fits the bill. The atmosphere of the house is excellent and Garson and his daughters Indigo’s presence looms large. It’s eerie, creepy, spooky and chilling in places especially as the secrets of the house and it’s occupants deepen. There are shocks that rock, some very sinister and unsettling events such as sounds of music sufficient to induce fearful nightmares and some events that make you shudder. I find Ewan’s story much more appealing and entertaining than Maggie’s as it is especially tense, suspenseful and gripping. However, that maybe skewed by me finding the ending a bit of an anticlimax.

Overall, it’s very well written and entertaining but it didn’t entirely blow my socks all the way of my feet!

I had to look Baneberry's up as I’d never heard of them. They look innocuous as often deadly plants do.

With thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated copy for an honest review.

4.5 stars
Having read Riley Sager's first three books, I could not contain my excitement for Home Before Dark.
And much like Riley Sager's other books I was all in from the very beginning.
Flipping from Maggie's current day perspective to her father's book worked really well and Home Before Dark was such a great take on the haunted house story.
It had so many different layers to it and both Maggie and her father's chapters were as immersive as each other. This had me longing to read more and more.
It's hard to know what is real and whether what her father wrote was really true, right up until the end.
There were a few things that were left unresolved for me at the end, such as who was turning on the record player and chandelier in Maggie's chapters. And were the snakes actually real, given their significance to the reveal re. Indigo. And if so, what was the cause of them.
But I would definitely recommend this to fans of Sager's or the likes of Ruth Ware. And I can't wait to see what Sager writes next.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Riley Sager. Im a big fan and again he delivers a great story.

Maggie Holts father wrote a book about a house they bought and lived in 25 years ago when Maggie was 5. They spent only 20 days in the house before fleeing in terror with only the clothes on their back.
After reporting strange goings on to the police, her father writes a non fiction account of what happened and it becomes an international best seller. A story of a haunted house, of ghosts that appeared only to Maggie. Her life has been defined by this book.
The thing is, Maggie has no memory of the house or the ghosts, or what even happened that led them to flee. She doesnt believe her fathers account and despite asking them many times through the years, neither parent will talk about what happened in the house during those 20 days.

Present day with her parents long divorced, her father passes away, his final words to Maggie to never return to that house.
When she goes to see a lawyer about the will, she is not surprised to see that there is a substantial sum of cash left to her. The book did very well and her mother had told her father she didnt want anything of his.
What she is surprised at is, her father never sold the house and so it is passed on to her. She is shocked by this but also curious.

Being a partner in and interior design business, and after meeting with her mother for one last time for answers about the house, she decides she will do the house up and sell it. She will set foot in the house again for the first time in 25 years. Is she really looking just to renovate the house or is she looking for answers?
As she moves in strange things start to happen and the more time she spends there, the more she begins to think her father may have been telling the truth all along.

This is a really enjoyable read. Loads of suspense, its hard to know what to believe as the author leads you one way and then another. Alternating between the present with Maggie in the house and extracts from the book in the past, it will have your head spinning trying to figure out whats going on.
The tension really ramps up about half way through to nail biting proportions, finally coming to a very very satisfying ending.

The pacing on this was just about spot on. A lot of the first half is spent with small strange occurrences and things that go bump in the night. These repeat over and over and I feared it would become repetitive like some other "haunted house" stories I have read, but just as it was bordering on it, it changed pace and we are taken in new directions I never saw coming.

Sager is a great writer and story teller. I havent read a book by him yet that I didnt enjoy and the subject matter has varied quite a lot. This one is no exception.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Riley Sager for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book further solidifies Riley Sager as one of my ultimate favourite authors.
I was apprehensive about this book when I first heard it was about a haunted house, which isn't usually my cup of tea.
I am glad the need to read Sager's new book overrode my apprehension. I absolutely loved it! It scared me, a grown human being too scared to get up and use the bathroom in the night. But I had to keep reading to get to the bottom of the mystery.

The twists and turns were unexpected but it all made sense and felt natural to the story.

This might be my favourite of Riley Sager's book so far.

A book that’s been getting rave reviews and my raves join in.So creepy so chilling a book that will scare you but keep you racing through the pages.Maggie’s character come alive,the haunted house with its creeping noises .A story that goes back and forth in time keeping you on the edge of your seat.Highly recommend,#netgalley#homebeforedark

Riley Sager's latest is a spine chiller of a gothic haunted house mystery set on a sprawling Victorian estate in Vermont called Baneberry Hall, with a dual time line narrative, set in the past and the present. 25 years ago, Maggie Holt was five years old when her family fled Baneberry Hall in the dead of the night after three weeks of living there, but she has no memories of this time. Her father, Owen, later wrote the notorious bestseller, House of Horrors, in which he documented the trauma and terrors, the spirits of malevolence and ghostly apparitions. The book has been the the bane of Maggie's life, she does not believe in ghosts or in Owen's account of what happened, attributing her parents divorce and her testing relationship with her father to it. Her parents had refused to answer all the questions she had, advising her that the house was not safe for her and she must never go there. Her father is now dead, and Maggie has inherited Baneberry Hall.

Maggie makes the decision to return to Baneberry Hall to prepare and renovate it for sale, but also because she wants to know the truth of what happened so long ago. Unsurprisingly, many figures from the past and the locals are less than welcoming of her, given all the negative publicity the place had received as a result of Owen's book. It's not long before weird and strange events begin to occur, a nightmare where the present begins to echo and thrum with the shadows of the past and what Maggie's father had described and written of in House of Horrors. Sager expertly deploys many of the common tropes of the genre to seamlessly weave two timelines in a twisted, spooky and compulsive story, of secrets, of things that go bump in the night, with its ever building sense of dread and creepiness.

This is a fast paced and entertaining read, a perfect haunted house mystery for the upcoming dark nights of Autumn and Winter that many readers will adore. Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC.

This is such a good mystery, thriller, ghost story. With twists and turns that make it a fast page turner. To top it off the ending was satisfying and I didn’t guess it.

Actual rating: 4.75 stars.

Home Before Dark was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and I'm glad to say it didn't disappoint.
The story follows Maggie as she comes back to Baneberry Hall, where she lived with her parents, when she was a child, for only three weeks; after that, they fled in the middle of the night because they said the house was haunted. Her father, Ewan, wrote an incredibly successful book about their stay, and after his death Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall and comes back there with the intent of proving her father told a bunch of lies, and of finding out the true reason they left so suddenly.

I love books which mix the mystery and the horror genre, and Home Before Dark was very successful in this regard. The novel alternates Maggie's point of view with the book written by her father, and Ewan's is a classic ghost story. Both storylines started a little slow, but then the story picked up in both cases, and I couldn't stop reading. Some scenes from Ewan's book where really quite creepy, and the ending of Maggie's story, when we finally find out what happened the night we fled, was phenomenal. From the half point of the book I was sure I had the ending figured out, but I was so wrong! The reveal was a fantastic surprise and absolutely satisfying.

I would highly recommend this book if you like both mystery and horror, or if you just want a good read!

Ein Spukhaus in dem über viele Jahrzehnte immer wieder seltsame Morde geschehen. Unsere Hauptfigur Maggie wohnt als kleiner Kind eine kurze Zeit in dem Haus. 25 Jahre später erbt Maggie das Haus und versucht nun herauszufinden, ob die Geschehnisse damals wirlich so übernatürlich sind, wie es scheint.

I was initially put off reading this book fearing that it was going to be scary. Luckily, Home Before Dark is more of a thriller than a horror which was perfect for this scaredy-cat! I absolutely loved it.

It oozes all the good stuff; foreboding, suspicious characters, jaw-dropping plot twists, gothic elements and plenty of suspense. While some of the chapters are sort of long, they never feel like they drag because the pacing and tension is executed flawlessly. It constantly propels you to keep reading. And the alternating chapters between Maggie’s perspective and her parents’ book is fantastic for building tension and dropping hints to what might happen next in the “real story”.

If you’re concerned that this book is going to creep you out, don’t be. It’s eerie and tense but not scary.

When Maggie was five years old she spent twenty days in Baneberry House with her parents before they fled in the middle of the night, never to return again. Twenty five years later, Maggie inherits the estate that her father insists is haunted. With his dying breaths, he warns Maggie that returning to Baneberry is not safe for her, but Maggie has always felt more haunted by the book that her father wrote about their time at the house than by any actual memories. She arrives at Baneberry, intending to spend a few weeks renovating before selling, while also hoping to figure out why her family really left all those years ago because “ghosts don't exist”, right?

This has the feel of a classic haunted house story, but it is so much more than that. The chapter's alternated between Maggie in the present day and her father's book, which really adds to the suspense. It is perfectly paced, and has a very satisfying ending. I really loved it!

This will definitely be one of my top books of 2020 and I can't wait to check out more of Sager's work.

Thank you, #NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Riley Sager is an auto-buy author for me. I've loved each of his novels and loved the sound of Home Before Dark. Who doesn't love a haunted house story?

Maggie Holt grew as the daughter of a famous author and subject of a popular book. When she was a child, the family lived in Banebury Hall for a short time before leaving hurriedly one night and never returning after claiming that they experienced paranormal activity.

Maggie doesn't believe the story; after all, ghosts aren't real. But when her Dad passes away and Banebury Hall is left to her, she can't resist returning to the house that holds her family secrets, even if her Dad told her it wasn't safe for her there.

This was the perfect read for me and I couldn't put it down. I loved that the narrative split between present day Maggie and her Dad's book. The parallels were great and it was interesting to wonder how reliable Maggie's Dad's narrative was with her assumption that the book was a complete lie.

Part ghost story, part thriller, it kept me interested until the end, which was a finale that I didn't see coming.

My huge thanks for the chance to read and review this one!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for a review copy of Home before Dark, a stand-alone thriller set in the Vermont town of Bartleby.

Twenty five years after her family fled Baneberry Hall and her father, Ewan, wrote a best selling book about the events that caused them to flee Maggie Holt discovers she has inherited the house. Determined to get at the truth of what happened then after her parents have spent years refusing to speak about it and quite sure that the hauntings described in the book are invented she moves in with an eye on renovation and sale. It would seem that the house has other ideas as she finds a series of unnerving events occurring.

Wow. What a great read. I was hooked from the start and had to resist temptation at every turn to skip to the end and find out what was going on. I resisted and the solution is as good as the rest of the novel. It is basically two plots with Maggie’s current day experiences alternating with chapters from her father’s book, House of Horrors. Both are equally compelling with Ewan’s tale gradually building up to their flight and Maggie’s more an effort to understand what is hidden in the book. Ewan paints a picture of a house haunted by malevolent spirits and a dark history of death. It is tense, eerie and unsettling but the reader isn’t quite sure what to think as Maggie is convinced it’s all fiction. And then Maggie starts experiencing some of the same events and some of the locals aren’t so sure it’s all fiction. Again it’s tense, eerie and unsettling but her narrative has a more prosaic and unbelieving tone. I think it’s incredibly clever and one of the most entertaining novels I have read this year.

The denouement is another master class in misdirection. I must admit that I had a mild inkling of the how but the who and why were beyond me.

Home before Dark is a clever, compelling read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

I love Riley Sager's books. He takes a classic horror trope, puts a modern spin on it and then twists it out of all recognition. Home Before Dark is a super-spooky read that mashes up The Amityville Horror and The Haunting of Hill House (the Netflix version), with a dash of The Enfield Haunting, and creates something new and sparkling.
When Maggie Holt was five years old her family moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling old Victorian mansion that already had a sinister reputation. They lasted all of three weeks before fleeing in the middle of the night, never to return. No one would have known or cared - except Maggie's father then decided to write a book about their ghostly experiences. Now, nearly thirty years later, both Baneberry Hall and Maggie are still notorious.

The story starts as Maggie's father dies and she inherits the house. She's a property developer so she has the idea to move into Baneberry Hall and renovate it to sell. She's not at all worried about the ghosts but because ghosts don't exist - do they?

This is such a fun (and spooky!) read. If you love ghost and haunted house stories, you will absolutely adore this. If' you've read lots of horror you'll recognise the nods to various books. I was on the edge of my seat throughout most of the story, which I read very quickly because I couldn't put it down. It was doubly unfortunate that after the scariest part I was supposed to be putting the light out and going to sleep - as if!

I loved the characters. I loved the setting and the historical background the author created. The clever little twists - the graveyard is one but I can't say any more before of spoilers. I can't say much because of spoilers, actually, so I'll just say that it's a five-star read and I particularly liked the way some of the threads were left loose at the end for you to make your own mind up about what really happened...


Thank you to Riley Sager and Hodder and Stoughton for my copy of this book, which I received via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Thank you, Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Home Before Dark is my second book from Riley Sager. I read Lock Every Door last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the author's writing and was fascinated by his style of storytelling. This story was no different. I am also excited about the arrival of my copy of this book from a book subscription box!! It was an alternate choice for a different book and I am so glad I picked this one.
The whole ambiance of the book is the perfect setting for horror. The paranormal elements in the book within the book were brilliant. I did get scared at times, and I had a difficult time sleeping at night as well. The writing is captivating and engaging. I found myself engrossed in the book and the dual storylines that brought something new with each chapter. I loved Ewan's (Maggie's dad) book more than Maggie's POV. Still, the story was unputdownable, and the eerie, ominous vibes made the story so captivating. The characters, both dead and alive, add to the mysterious, creepy vibe of the book. The haunting house, scary sounds at night, crawling things, the creepy song, and ghosts all add to the disturbing and hair-raising mood of the book. The plot-twists are ones that I did not see coming. There were some elements I thought I figured out only to find that I was wrong. I had a good time reading this book, and as I read the book at night, it elevated the reading experience so much! Home Before Dark is a fantastic story that will make you a fan of Riley Sager. If you love books within books, haunted mansions, dark secrets from the past, and hair-raising moments that will make you terrified, this is the perfect book for you. I gave the book 5 stars. I highly recommend checking it out. This suspenseful read is guaranteed to make you a Riley Sager Fan.

think Riley Sager has definitely become one of my favourite authors-all the novels are beautifully creepy, really well plotted keeping them unpredictable and always always keep me up at night.

Home Before Dark might be my favourite yet, a ghost story within a mystery, but is there really something supernatural going on just nefarious human intentions..

As ever the author keeps you on your toes..offering many possibilities and creating a nerve wracking undertone to the story that does make you suddenly open your eyes into the darkness feeling like there might be someone there.

I loved it. Obviously I’m not going to tell you if there are spirits floating through the narrative or not but either way this is a haunting, clever story that put me in mind of Amityville.

Recommended.

Maggie had always been trying to get her parents to tell her the truth about why they fled Baneberry Hall when she was a kid. Why they left, and never returned but she was never given an answer. Even on his death bed Maggie’s father made her promise to never return. But when her father dies and leaves the house to her in his will Maggie takes this as an opportunity to find out the truth and make some money at the same time. And the truth was more than she bargained for.
I will be honest about why I requested this book, the hype around it. I kept hearing the great reviews but it was not something that overly interested me to read. Well I stand corrected I that it did interest me. So much so that I have sat and read it non stop today. Not only did the storyline make it easier but also the writing style which was so easy to read.
The story moved at a good pace and each new discovery was at the time so as not to get bored by it. Although there were times when Maggie’s character was a bit annoying in her stubbornness it made sense as the story unfolded.
This has definitely made me want to pick up another book by Riley Sager now.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review

Maggie Holt is a young woman who feels the need to return to the family home of Baneberry Hall, many years after she and her parents fled after a disturbing incident. Now, following her father's death, she needs answers.
What follows is a fabulous, ghostly tale with supernatural elements and it's a great story that kept me interested throughout.
It's got a book within a book as Maggie tells her story in the first person and alongside this are chapters from the best selling book 'House of Horrors, a true story, written by Maggie's father, Ewan Holt.
This juxtaposition works so well as the two experiences eventually come together in a thrilling and satisfying conclusion.

I loved it and it's the perfect, escapist thriller for an Autumnal / Winter night ....or any night!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to preview and congratulations to Riley Sager - a triumph!

An absolute rollercoaster of a book, this had me hooked from the very beginning. I have read other books by Sager however this is absolutely one of their best. It builds the tension perfectly, and skips between past and present with elegance. It keeps you guessing from start to finish. I cannot recommend this enough, especially so close to Halloween!

This is another great read from Riley Sager. This was a real page turner and I read this book in a day. I absolutely love anything set in a haunted house so this book ticked all the boxes for me. It was sinister, creepy, full of twists and I would highly recommend! Many thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. Read it as part of my book group and we all loved it. Riley’s books never let me down. Always have me hooked throughout.

I've absolutely adored every single Riley Sager book so far and this is no different because this was incredible! I loved the creepy atmosphere the entire book, and the characters were just so fascinating I could hardly put it down. It was such a great read! Reminded me a lot of The Haunting of Hill House!

Riley Sager has written a book that is on my list of best 2020 thrillers.

What a truly fabulous read! Home Before Dark was creepy, spine-tingling and left me feeling slightly terror-stricken. This gothic, haunted house mystery, set in Baneberry Hall, a Victorian estate in Vermont, used a dual timeline narrative in the past and the present. The darkness of the book was very unsettling and also provided the stimulus for the macabre atmosphere. The author kept me alert and on my toes, offering many possibilities and creating a nerve-wracking undertone to the story. Riley Sager's writing style continued to impress me in this wonderfully atmospheric, well-plotted, and compulsive thriller with its added touches of horror and the supernatural. Home Before Dark was clever and exciting with many twists and redirections. A definite must-read!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my own request, from Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This book was good well no it wasn’t actually good it was flipping fantastic. I started this book and after a few chapters I just wanted to keep on reading. This is a very creepy and eerie read and at times my heart was in my mouth. This book will chill you and send shivers down your spine but at the same time it is a must read.

Settling in for Home Before Dark was… Unsettling!

***Received from Netgalley in exchange for review, but I’m the one trembling with excitement about this book!***

Welcome, welcome! Today I have a treat for you if you like something a little tricksy- let me show you around. Here we enter into a story that has all the hallmarks of a spinechilling thriller: a haunted house vibe, a tensely told plot and even hints of creepy children in the flashbacks.

Step over the threshold and this is a multi-storied narrative. It contains a story within a story in a unique way. For this is a story that takes place over two timelines- a mystery that unfolded twenty-five years earlier and led to a family fleeing in the middle of the night… and the present day where the daughter tries to uncover what the hell happened. Problem is, the main clue she has her (now deceased) father’s bestselling, “true” account… which she’s a little sceptical about.

And it’s this motivation that makes it such a compelling read. Not only is she clearly haunted by what happened in this house, she’s also troubled by her father’s runaway success story. Thrusting her into the spotlight, it made me think of the troubling trend of child stars. Her foundational motivation for getting involved in this case is unshakeable. Even better, her character is intrinsically built around resolving her childhood trauma. It really strengthens the story.

Of course, it’s not a cut and dry situation. Unlocking what happened uncovers revelation after revelation. The key is elusive. I kept feeling like I had all the pieces to the puzzle… yet couldn’t quite put it together. To complicate the matter even further, Sager proves that memory is not always to be trusted. The narrative becomes lost in the labyrinthine passages of Baneberry Hall. Then- suddenly- the answer pounces on you and throws you into a frenzy of “aha”s. This is, after all, the kind of thriller that makes perfect sense when you think about it.

So, needless to say my visit was an experience… one I won’t forget in a hurry! 😉 I hope you enjoyed that quick open house and got a taste for what’s inside! Do come back and visit any time! Please take some bananas for the road…

Rating: 5/5 bananas

Books by Riley Sager are always one of my most anticipated reads of the year. This time the author came back with a haunted house story which fits perfectly with the long Autumn evenings.

In the newest novel we follow Maggie who inherited an infamous “House of Horror” which tore her family apart years earlier. She has no memories of her time at Baneberry Hall and becomes desperate to find out the truth behind their quick departure in the middle of the night after only spending there 20 days.

The haunted house story is not the most original idea however Riley Sager managed to create an incredible atmospheric, creepy and engaging novel that totally blew my mind. I loved “book within book” format and alternative chapters which made reading experience more interesting and scary. Without giving any spoilers the ending was fantastic and tied everything together and I most definitely did not expect it. So kudos to the author for the brilliant plot.

Home Before Dark will be one of my top read this year without doubt and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Absolutely delicious ghost mystery/thriller full of unexpected twists, especially at the end.

This was perhaps the most highly anticipated mystery / thriller of the year and I was all here for it.

Basically, it is about a young woman named Maggie who unexpectedly inherits a home in which her family lived in when she was just five. The twist is that it's not just any house - some may say it's a HAUNTED house because... when Maggie was a child, her father wrote a book about how their family had lived in this house for only a few weeks until they just couldn't take the creepy things happening anymore. So it's not just haunted, but famously haunted.

This book gave me all the creeps and I was absolutely lost in the world Riley Sager introduces us into. I think Sager did a splendid job introducing elements of horror into this novel through the well-interwoven back stories. I would even say it's a low-grade horror story, which is absolutely perfect for a reader like me who usually devours thrillers but has been looking for something stronger.

The best thing about Home Before Dark is that we actually don't know if the story is real or fake while reading it, which is totally crazy because we don't know what and whom to believe. Even the main character is an unreliable narrator because she may not even trust her own memories, since she lived in the house as such a small child. This made for a crazy good reading experience.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of the best books I’ve read all year! I loved every single second of this creepy, suspenseful story and the spooky vibes throughout the book. It was a perfect Halloween read for me.

This is my favourite Riley Sager book to date, focusing on a creepy (possibly haunted) house and unfolding the mystery of said house, alternating between present day and splices of the book Maggie’s dad wrote about the house 25 years ago. This read like a book within a book which I was OBSESSED with. I loved the two story lines and there was always a twist or turn that I didn’t see coming!

At first glance this book sounds like a horror, but it was definitely a thriller that kept me guessing and wondering if there really was something paranormal going on, which made for a great old fashioned ghost story!

I would 100% recommend this to anyone.

One night, 25 years ago, 5 year old Maggie and her parents fled Baneberry Hall in fear of their lives. The Book her father wrote about the events leading up to them abandoning their home with only the clothes on their back became and instant bestseller. The Book's infamy has haunted Maggie all her life, even more than the actual events detailed in the Book, none of which Maggie can actually remember ever happening. Now her father is dead a grown up Maggie returns to the house to try to find out the truth. Is Baneberry Hall the terrifying haunted house her parents made it out to be or was it all an elaborate hoax?

This is another wonderfully atmospheric, twisty mystery from Riley Sager whose books never fail to entertain. A fantastic, chilling read.

It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last as it was gripping and highly entertaining.
I was enthralled by the creepy atmosphere, the growing tension and the great plot.
The characters are well written and the solid plot kept me hooked.
The author is a talented storyteller and I can't wait to read another book.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Wow, what can I say? Riley Sagar has managed to create a thrilling, atmospheric read in Home Before Dark, that had me completely captivated from the start.
Rarely does a book grab me with both hands and actually make me feel palpable fear through the pages like this one. I highly recommend to fans of thrillers with a sprinkle of mystery and a whole lot of chills.
Big thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book on exchange for an honest review.

Baneberry Hall. A house with a dubious past, rumours of ghosts and stories of murder. Maggie and her family move in when Maggie is just five years old. Just 20 days later, the family flee during the night with just the clothes on their back, vowing never to return. When Maggie's father writes a best selling book based on the family's experiences during their 20 days in the house, Maggie's life becomes defined by both the book and the house. With absolutely no recollection of any of the events in the book Maggie dismisses the book as a work of fiction and a money making scheme on the part of her father.

On his deathbed, Maggie's father pleads with her never to return to Baneberry Hall, insisting it isn't safe for her to do so. Bequeathed the house that her parents never sold, she goes against both parent's wishes and returns to the property with the intention of finding out the truth.

In the middle of a reading slump, I decided to abandon all books and read Home Before Dark. Having read all of Riley Sager's previous books, I knew I was in for a good read. Going into the book blind, imagine my glee to realise it is part ghost story/part thriller!!

With early vibes of The Amityville Horror, Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts and the wonderful House on Cold Hill by Peter James, I was absolutely hooked line and sinker from the first page.

Excellently plotted, this book is eerie, suspenseful and, particularly in the latter chapters as we hurtled towards the exciting climactic reveal, is full of so many OMG moments that I was practically clutching my pearls!! With great characters and superb pacing, this is a tense and utterly gripping read that I found totally unputdownable. So far, my favourite Riley Sager book. Loved it!

I've loved the previous Riley Sager novels, so when I saw his new novel, "Home Before Dark" was available for request on NetGalley, I requested it immediately.

"Home Before Dark" is the story of Maggie Holt, infamous due to her late father's book about their time spent living in a haunted house. Maggie, just five at the time, remembers nothing of it, and doesn't believe in ghosts, but - along with everyone else in the western world, it seems - has read her father's book about their supposed experiences, largely centred on Maggie's own relationship with the ghosts in the house.

After her father's death, Maggie is shocked to find that Baneberry Hall remained in her father's possession after they left in the dead of night and never went back, and the house now belongs to her, along with the rest of his estate. Despite promising him that she would never go back there, the ever practical Maggie decides to spend the summer renovating the property to prepare it for sale. But when strange things start happening the minute she moves back in, Maggie soon starts to question - just how much of her Dad's story was based on the truth?

I love, love, LOVED this book, let me just get that out of the way! I loved how the story is told alternately by Maggie in the present and by using chapters of her Dad's book to present the story of the past. Like CJ Cooke's "The Nesting", which I read earlier this year, the story is deliciously creepy, and deftly manipulates both reader and protagonist, so we are never really sure if the events are supernatural or if there might be a rational explanation, and it was fabulous to watch realist Maggie become slowly more and more unnerved and unsure. It was almost like reading a book within a book - a ghost story within a thriller - and I loved how the plot developed. The ghosts were SO creepy (not ashamed to say I left my bedside lamp on last night!) and I liked how each of the characters, even the supporting ones, were fully fleshed out with their own pasts and problems.

I won't say too much more because I don't want to give anything away, but if you're a fan of the eerie, the unnerving and a good gothic novel, I can't recommend this highly enough. While ostensibly it's a ghost story, it's not just a ghost story - "Home Before Dark" is about truth, family, and the secrets that haunt us. Which might just ne scarier than the ghosts themselves...

An easy five stars for me, and I will definitely be buying this in paperback for my permanent shelves, too.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.