Home Before Dark
Ratings306
Average rating3.9
And Riley Sager does it again! Even though I was excited to read this Riley Sager novel, since the last time I read any of his novels was over three years ago and it was Final Girls, I had heard very mixed reviews about all of his works and didn't want to be disappointed. Well, I can honestly say that I was not disappointed, not even a little bit. This book rocked my world. Initially I was a bit worried about the length because it is on the longer side and I was hoping that it wouldn't drag for me but once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down! Hence why I finished it in a few days! I will be reading all the other Riley Sager books very soon because this was just overwhelmingly terrific in so many ways.
The story is about a girl, Maggie, who inherits an old house, Baneberry Hall, that she and a lot of people have history with. Her dad brought the house when she was still a very young girl and after spending a very short time there, her family leaves and vows never to return again. As she goes back there to uncover the truth and get the house fixed up to sell, she realizes that the truth might be more than she bargained for. Another instance where the plot was so intricate, so much more than just a haunted house story. It had layers and layers, just like an onion being peeled. Even after I thought I had the whole story figured out, I was taken by surprise and another twist came out of nowhere and made me completely clueless all over again. I love books where reality and fiction is blurred and we try to figure out what's real and what's not.
Further on, the characterization is amazing! Maggie is such a complicated, conflicted character and even though she wasn't without flaws herself, there was so much truth to her and she was one of the most relatable characters I have ever encountered in a book. I loved that we got to see firsthand into her head and what she was thinking and how the story switched between the book that he father wrote that made her family rich and famous and also seeing things in present day as Maggie was experiencing them, many years after the initial incident and escape. The other characters were also very unique and I loved how that affected the dynamic between all of them, which is how it should always be in books.
Thirdly, Riley Sager's writing style is my favorite kind. So simple, yet touching and gets right to the heart of what is being said in the sentence. I had no trouble finishing this longer book because the writing was just a joy to behold and the pages literally flipped themselves and I was even sad when the book was over because I felt like it had passed in a blur. I could have actually finished the book last night but it was late and I wanted to savor it a little bit longer because it was an immensely enjoyable read and forever one of my favorites.
In conclusion, I think this book is a must read for thriller/mystery lovers everywhere. Riley Sager is one of the most famous authors of this genre and in my opinion his work is worth the hype! I have no doubt that the other books he has written will not disappoint either. If you want a fantastic plot with uniquely flawed characters and also flawless writing, look no further and pick this up. Thankfully I have two more of his novels waiting for me and will be picking them up very soon.
It has been a long time since I read a book that scared me. That had me unwilling to read it at night. This book is really well done. It will scare you and bring you for a ride and keep you guessing about what is real and what isnt. Highly recommend!
The journey was pretty good, but I wasn't particularly thrilled with the destination.
Not as much preposterous fun as Lock every Door. The explanations are still silly, but more mundanely so. Everything is, as ever with this, are a bit of a stretch, but this became a trifle tedious. Derivative and ludicrous and not as much fun as I'd hoped. And the characters were largely dull or just inane. All the explanations really make no sense whatsoever.
So many twists and turns! Every time I thought I knew what had happened there was another twist. And after all those twists, I am wondering what the truth is and what was just the book. It leaves me wandering around this haunted house in my mind a little longer than there are pages in the book. So good!
Good story with a nice resolution, but felt a little slow at times. I also didn't like the main character and the premise for one of the big twists seemed completely unbelievable to me.
A very good mystery/thriller with some horror/supernatural elements weaved in. The book-within-a-book switching between present day and the past was engaging and added to the creepy atmosphere of the novel. Well-written with good character work and a thrilling conclusion.
The ending was a bit convoluted,but throughout the book I was properly terrified. Almost slept with lights on.
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.
You think I'd learn. Another Riley Sager premise I love, another execution that disappoints me. Listened to the audiobook with my husband, both of us struggled with the last 10%. If you do like this author, you will probably enjoy this.
“I freeze, my sense of relief gone in an instant. Because although their words differ, my parents' message is the same. Never go back there. It's not safe there. Not for you.”Damn, this was good! I knew [a:Riley Sager 15263414 Riley Sager https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1555890121p2/15263414.jpg] from his second book, “[b:The Last Time I Lied 36626748 The Last Time I Lied Riley Sager https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1511141004l/36626748.SY75.jpg 57845636]”, which I really liked. This one is even better!“Home Before Dark” tells the story of the Holt family who moved into a house that “remembers” - and it hasn't seen much love... In fact, it came cheap because Baneberry Hall is a veritable haunted house. Or is it not? Our hero is Maggie Holt, the daughter, who doesn't remember much (almost nothing, actually) about the house and their short time in it. After her father Ewan's death, Maggie inherits the huge house and decides to renovate and sell it; after all, she's an interior designer and has her own company. There's more to it, though...““I have a confession to make,” I eventually say. “Let me guess,” Dane says, deadpan. “Your real name is Windy.” “Close. I didn't come back just to renovate Baneberry Hall. My real reason for returning is to try to figure out why we left this place the way we did.” “You think there's more to the story?” “I know there is.” I tell him everything.”Sager's narrative switches between passages from “the Book” that Ewan Holt, Maggie's father, wrote about his family's short stint at Baneberry Hall 25 years ago and Maggie's own musings here and now.Often, both timelines feature similar events or mingle with each other which makes things even more interesting.For me, this novel worked on several levels: The “haunted house” angle has always fascinated me and appeals to my taste for the mysterious. Getting the story told from both the past and the present alternatingly, made for a rare and almost artistic balance that supported the atmosphere because we feel there's something off but we cannot put our finger on what it is exactly.“I hold the page close to my face, as if that will help me better make sense of it. I'm still staring at those emphatic question marks when I hear a noise. A creak. Coming from the room next door. The Indigo Room.”I'm not superstitious, I don't believe in anything “supernatural”. I do love a good ghost story, though, and this is an excellent one which I didn't want to put down. There were several key scenes that made me think I had figured it out but the solution in the end was as simple as ingenious - and, of course, I'm not going to spoil it for you. I didn't see it coming and when I thought about a few seemingly loose threads, I quickly realised I had been doubly fooled!It's still not a perfect mystery: Maggie, as likeable as she is, remains largely flat and doesn't really change or grow much over the course of the action. A few minor characters, e. g. the friendly neighbourhood ex-con, Dane, were a bit cliche and could easily have been improved upon had they gotten a little more time in the limelight (same goes for most secondary characters).Nevertheless, this was a very satisfying read that prompted me to immediately start on Sager's “[b:Lock Every Door 41837243 Lock Every Door Riley Sager https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1540938359l/41837243.SY75.jpg 65308942]” and if you, like me, enjoy a good story, a haunted house and chasing shadows (or something more sinister?) - go for this book because...“Every house has a story to tell and a secret to share.” Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram
4⭐️/5. Classic who-dun-it, but with a twist. With every chapter, a new tidbit of information was revealed. This made the expected income pivot ever so slightly. Over time and while feverishly reading, one doesn't notice how this influences the end result but when you look at a side by side comparison of what you thought was going to happen at the beginning of the book to what actually happened at the end— it's totally different. This was my first Sager novel and I thought it was quite good. I do wish this was less hyped by the time I picked it up. I debated back and forth between a 3.75 (too low) and a 4.0 (seems a tad high), but decided to round up because my mouth made an ‘O' formation at the end (my bf has the pic to prove it... [yes he took my picture at a supremely vulnerable stage—the unveiling of The Who did it in a who-dun-it!!]). Anyways, would recommend. Especially on a crisp New England fall day with cinnamon rimmed hot hard cider.
actual rating: 4.5 stars
The ending of this book gave me whiplash with all the plottwists but I was living for it every single moment.
3.5
this started quite strong and intriguing but at some point it started going in circles, too much time was spent building towards something, and i think, ultimately i would've preferred if it was an actual ghost story than what ended up being. still, it was an entertaining read/listen.
This book kept me on my toes, and not just because of the arbitrary grammar mistakes. The flow of the story was well thought out and I read through a lot of it with increasing heart palpitations. I love ghost stories and hauntings, especially when in book form. I don't have to worry about jump scares. I do have some questions though...
Spoiler time: So did I miss something or did they not explain who the little girl she was seeing was? Because Mr. Shadow was Elsa and Miss Pennyface was Marta, so who tf was the little girl? Was it a real ghost after all or an imagining? I feel bothered by the relationship between Ewan and Petra. It was inappropriate and creepy. Did anyone else guess that it was Marta as soon as Maggie met her?
*2.5 stars. Much like how I felt about Sundown Motel. Great premise. Interesting setup. Failed to deliver on those promises. I can suspended disbelief with the best of readers but when characters lack common sense to achieve twists or plot elements, that bothers me. With that said, there is one particularly wriggly-gross scene that caught me by surprise, which I enjoyed.
Wow. Wow. WOW. I finished this book is about 5 hours total. I was nervous at the top that this was going to be just another haunted house story. But the twists and turns in this book kept me guessing until the end. The books switched back and forth between now and a book written by the protagonists father. I haven't been this thrown by a book in such a long time. It's so worth it. Every chapter adds and makes you second guess your predictions.
Riley Sager is one of my favorite up and coming authors, I say up and coming because his newest book (releasing June 30th) is only his 4th book published under this name. His books are creepy and occasionally horrifying, but also completely believable. It's that realism that makes his books stand out. They are average people put in extraordinary circumstances, and his latest read Home Before Dark is no different. In it, we meet Maggie Holt, a home flipper and designer, who has grown up in the shadow of some horrible event that her family has profited from. We go into the story and slowly fall down the rabbit hole, as Maggie comes to terms with the event that changed the course of her family's life. Through her return to the presumably haunted Baneberry House, we find out through alternating chapters what really happened to her family. Is the home haunted from all the previous tragedies, does Mister Shadow come with a warning or threat, are her parents right when they tell her not to return, that it isn't safe for her there? You'll have to read this one to find out, all I can say is... Every house has a
story.
Thank you to Dutton Book and NetGalley for my advanced copy of Home Before Dark, this book was received in advance for an honest review.