Book Review: Home Before Dark By Riley Sager

Home Before Dark By Riley Sager

Genre: Thriller, Horror, Mystery, Fiction, Adult, Suspense, Adult Fiction
Pages: 409 pages
Publication Date: June 30th 2020
Publisher: Dutton Books
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

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?

My Thoughts: Riley Sager has become an auto-buy author for me. Each book I read from Riley Sager is better than the last. Unfortunately this is the first book of his I felt underwhelmed by.

Maggie is well known because of the book her Father wrote about the haunted house she lived in. However Maggie was too young to remember any of the stories told in the book. She doesn’t believe that the book is actually true. However when her Dad passes away and gives her the house in his will she begins to question her memory. Is it actually real or did her Father make it up?

When I heard the premise of this story I was sold. Riley Sager’s last book, Lock Every Door, gave off major creepy vibes. It had to deal with a super creepy apartment building. It was eerie and I found myself anxiously waiting to find out what was going to happen next. This story felt completely different. I never once felt scared. I felt it was very bland. I wasn’t bored but I was just underwhelmed by everything going on. Plus majority of the time I was wondering why did the Dad give the daughter this house to begin with. Every time Maggie would ask her Father or Mother about it they were very vague. They never wanted to talk to her about it. So clearly this all could have been avoided to begin with. So that was where my head was at majority of this book.

The one thing I do like about Riley Sager books is that he usually does different perspectives. In this book it’s during the present where Maggie is fixing up the house because she wants to sell it. She is slowly finding out the secrets of the past. Then the other chapters would be told through her Father’s book.

Honestly I don’t really remember this book which is a shame because this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020. I realized though that not every book by an author I like is going to be a winner for me. However I have seen so many others really enjoy this book. So if the story does sound interesting to you I say check it out. You might end up liking it a lot more than me. I do look forward to see what he comes out with next.

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Have you guys read this book? If so did you end up enjoying it? If not are you planning to pick it up? I would love to hear from you guys in the comments below.

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