Home Before Dark

When I am in the mood for a fast-pasted thriller, I find myself coming back to Riley Sager again and again. I have read so far, I have read Final Girls, Lock Every Door, The Last Time I Lied, and am currently reading Survive the Night. So, when people recommended his book Home Before Dark and noted that it was most likely his best book yet, I instantly had to get it.

It follows Maggie Holt, who learned upon her father's death, she has inherited the infamous Baneberry Hall, a Victorian Estate that has a dark past. During her childhood, her family moves into this estate just to flee in the cover of darkness under the guise that it is haunted, a story that later her father utilizes to write a best-selling book, the House of Horrors. This book is the only linkage that brings up the memories of this house for Maggie and it outlines the murder-suicide and deaths that haunt the halls. From snakes coming from the walls to a chandelier that magically turns on by itself, everyone knows that Baneberry is a house that remembers...

Flipping back and forth between Maggie's current experience of fixing up the old house and her father's book, it uncovers layer after layer, what happened the night that her family fled, is the house truly haunted and cursed by the sinister past residence of the home, and who exactly where Maggie's “imaginary friends”, Mr. Shadow, Mrs. Pennyeyes, and the girl with no name, when she was little.

Overall, this book was enjoyable for what it was: a pop thriller book that you can easily read in a day. One thing that stuck out to me is that it follows a similar plotline of Shirley Jackson's Haunting on Hill House and is eerily similar to Netflix's rendition of the book and the series Haunting of Bly Manor; however, the ending was crafted in the typical style of Sager with a delicious twist at the end that you do not see coming that makes it worth the read. Overall, for readers interested in this book just be forewarned that this book follows common “haunted house” troupes, has little character development, and if you have seen the Netflix shows noted above follows a very similar plotline that will leave you sitting there in a déjà vu moment.

Although there might be negatives for this book, it is a quick read to get you in the mood for the spooky season, but personally, for me, I would recommend reading Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House instead. She does an eloquent job of keeping the reader at the edge of their seat through her gothic haunted house-inspired prose. Also, just to note her book is nothing like the Netflix series (and in true bookworm opinion) the book is waaayyy better than the series.

“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