Saturday, July 4, 2020

Book Review - Home Before Dark; Riley Sager


AUTHOR:  Riley Sager
PUBLISHER:  Dutton
PUB. YEAR: 2020
Setting: Vermont
Format: eGalley
Rating - 5/5

It there was ever was ever a twisty, edge of your seat thrill ride that even made me bite my nails a bit, this was it.

Baneberry Hall, a huge victorian estate with a dark past is located deep in the woods of Vermont.  Twenty five years earlier when Maggie was just 5 years old, her parents Ewan and Jess purchased the house and after just spending three weeks living in it, they fled in the middle of the night never to return.

The parents separated and Ewan subsequently wrote a hugely successful tell all book about Baneberry Hall. The non fiction book was called, The House of Horrors. Maggie believed the book was largely fabricated as she didn't recall any of the unearthly happenings reported in the book, many of which had involved her.  The house which she believed her father had sold years earlier remained vacant but, Maggie learns she has inherited the house as part of her deceased father's estate.

Maggie, now 30, renovates houses for a living, her plan is to return to Baneberry to renovate the Vermont "house of horrors" and list it for sale.  As Maggie settles in, almost immediately, strange and frightening things begin to occur and, the more that happens, the more she begins to realize what her father wrote about the house is now true.

I really loved this book; it's so well crafted. The style alternates between chapters written by her father in "The House of Horrors" and the present day as Maggie works on restoring the house and tries to uncover its dark past.  Home Before Dark is a creepy, page-turning delight. Read it!

13 comments:

  1. Ooh, this sounds like a wonderfully creepy story. With a 5-star rating from you, I may have to grab a copy!

    Have a Happy and Safe 4th!

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  2. Sounds good to me! May be going on my tbr list.

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  3. That really does sound creepy cool good!

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  4. I haven't read a "haunted house" book in a long time. This one sounds like fun.

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  5. This sounds good, but like a book I'd have to read during daylight hours.

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  6. Baneberry House. I love it when the name of a house clues you on what to expect!

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  7. I've been mixing things up with my reading, but haven't picked up a thriller in ages. This one sounds good!

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  8. oooh...a haunted house story! Sounds super creepy and lots of fun!

    Sue

    2020 Big Book Summer Challenge

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  9. Yes, it does look like a book to read, during the daytime! 💚

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  10. I do love Riley Sager's writing, and hope to get to this one at some point. Great to hear you enjoyed!

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  11. Oh! This sounds excellent. I just requested it from the library.

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  12. Love these kinds of books. Reminds me of something I read, but I can't think of the title. I'll add it to my list for when I need a scare...

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