Kathleen Haagenson

It's cheesy, predictable, awkward, and for all of the main characters brilliance she's stupid. However the pacing at the end made it impossible to put down and while this is definitely a cheesy series I do like the main character and I do want to see how it all plays out. It's a fairly easy read that will help mw reach my book goal this year

This story didn't resonate with me because I couldn't like or even empathize with the main character. The majority of her dilemma was brought on by poor decision making and painting herself as the victim while being obsessed with her adulterous affair. She acted like a prisoner trapped in a loveless marriage and couldn't escape because her daughter wouldn't handle a divorce. HOWEVER found it no problem to sleep with her husband's deranged best friend and blow her family apart contributing to the demise of her daughter's father and creating a public scandal thus harming her daughter and family anyway. Not to mention I figured out the best friend and the husband were the ones that orchestrated the kidnapping by the within the first few chapters. Micah just didn't seem normal his reactions to everything was too calm and calculated. None of his reactions or behavior was close to normal or making any type of sense. And she was too blind to see the obvious 99.9% of the time because she was too caught up in hating her husband and lusting after Micah. She was a wimpy character for me and it was challenging to make it through because of her poor judgment, pitiful discernment, and knowing what was going to eventually happen.

A whimsical cozy fantasy character development is a little weak as they come across as flat and emotionless but the bare bones of the story and the steady pacing with the plot and atmospheric setting and beautiful prose make it an enjoyable read.

The writing style was not it for me very dry and clinical lacking emotion. Then the sexualized descriptions of all the female characters really grated my nerves. The final straw was when the main character became stupid revealing details about an open case to a stranger because he had the hots for her. 

A haunted house with a sordid history and creepy things happening like a record player starting to play music on its own and lights that turn on by themselves? Yes, sign me up!

This was such an enjoyable read. It delivered all the chills and thrills I was seeking. As always Sager can hook me within the first few sentences and I've fallen headfirst into whatever fictional world he's created.

Additionally, I like the book within a book aspect and found it super fun. I also really liked the main character Maggie and her quest to uncover what really happened the night her family left. And the ending was perfect. I had my suspicions and they were confirmed.

All in all, this is a solid spooky little read.

Check out my full review on my blog: https://www.kathleenhaagenson.com/home-before-dark-by-riley-sager/