Home Before Dark by Riley Sager [book review]

Home Before Dark book summary

Maggie Holt is used to getting crazy questions like what was it like? Twenty-five years ago she and her parents moved into Baneberry Hall. It’s an old home with a lot of history. They were only there three weeks before fleeing the home with all of their belongings to never return to again. Later her father recounts their experience in a nonfiction book that blows up. Now after her father’s passing she has been left the home that has tortured her for years. She goes back to renovate the home as well as trying to figure out what really happens. She knows that the book isn’t true but how much of it is really fake? Can Maggie figure out what happened in this home all those years ago?

What I thought of Home Before Dark

Riley Sager is hit or miss for me. There are a few of his books I haven’t really liked but there have also been a few others that I have really enjoyed. Home Before Dark has to be one of my favorites of his. The story is pretty creepy and grabbed my attention from the very beginning. I actually listened to the audiobook through my local library and I feel pretty lucky to get my hands on it!! The person who read it did a great job with her timing and making the book pretty interesting.

The Characters

The story follows Maggie Holt who everyone knows by the book her father wrote about the house they lived in while she was a kid. The house was haunted and everyone wants to know what it was like living in an extremely haunted house. After her father dies he leaves her that very home. So, she goes back to see what really happened because she doesn’t believe a thing her dad wrote.

This concept really caught my attention. I love haunted house stories but I never really know if they are real or if they are a scam and that’s what Home Before Dark kind of covers. This story actually makes me curious how I would be if my father had written a story about a house that we lived in and included me in it because I know I wouldn’t survive being famous. I wouldn’t want people bringing up something that I don’t even really remember. But that made this story really good. On top of that, I really like Maggie’s character and how she stayed true to herself throughout the whole story. I love that she’s able to figure things out quickly even though she questions herself.

The Plot

The story is actually pretty fast-paced and that’s what I loved about it. It kept my interest through the whole story which is sometimes hard to do. The only downside of the story is how it ended. At one point I was pretty excited about it because it wasn’t something that I was expecting. But what we find out is pretty much a ploy to another secret. Granted I wasn’t really expecting that either but I think I was more excited about the ploy rather than how it ended. That’s probably the only reason why this didn’t end up being a five-star read for me.

What books have you read by Riley Sager?

If you enjoyed this review then you may also like Quiet Village.