In "preparation" for Home Before Dark, I went ahead and reread all the other Sager books. So I was definitely ready to get spooked or thrilled or whatever the case may be.

At first, I really felt like Home Before Dark had serious Haunting of Hill House vibes, and throughout at least half the book, I was reading at night, so I completely creeped myself out. It's absolutely a ghost story, about people stuck in the past, and maybe even trying to move on. I loved this one immensely, and it was so different from Sager's other books. The writing is great. There's a story within a story that's so good and eerie, I almost couldn't read while I was sitting in the dark. Long story short, I didn't want the book to end.

I know it'll be another year, at least, before Sager has another book, but I am ready. He's one of my favorite authors, and I have to be honest: I love being scared by him.

Home Before Dark comes out 6.30.2020.

5/5 Stars

After reading two Sager books and becoming an instant fan, I was absolutely thrilled when I found out he would be publishing a new book this year. As expected, he pulled through and created yet another can’t put down and giving me all the nightmares story! This book really gave me Hill House vibes and I kept picturing the man with the top hat the wholeee time. It took me me a little bit longer to read than his other books but that was only because I could only read it during the day ( should definitely come with a warning to only read during day time hours)!! I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending but I still really enjoyed the book.

Riley Sager has been on my annual "watch list" since I read Final Girls the first week after it's release. Every year I am surprised at how one person can change tone, feel, subgenre the way he can with each subsequent book. It really is impressive.
Home Before Dark is no exception. Beautifully told, if a little slowly paced in the beginning, this book is a definite must read. I would recommend it to mystery/thriller and horror fans. I cannot wait to read more reactions after the books release!!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for fair review.

Man, I can’t get enough of Riley Sager’s thrillers! This has a meta aspect, kind of like Final Girls.

A book within a book, the story switches back and forth between a “nonfiction” ghost story written by a man whose family apparently went through an Amityville-esque haunted house experience, and in a more current timeline, the perspective of a woman who was the child featured in the book and must return to the house when she inherits it.

Truly scary, action-packed, and a twist ending I didn’t see coming.

This book is unlike his other books – much more of a ghost story than a thriller to me. I loved that this was a book within a book as well as a then and now story telling. I find that books written like this offer a better perspective and I devoured all of the extra background information that was given because of it.

I originally rated this as a 4 star, but after having time to let it sink in and think about it, it’s been demoted to a 3 star. Let me explain why I removed two stars for this one (all of his others have been 5 stars for me). As my friend and I discussed, I don’t believe in ghosts so I think that’s where the book fell a little flat for me. I found myself laughing throughout the ghost parts because they were so absurd, and I’m pretty sure that was not the intent when he was writing the book. I hated the ending and it definitely did not come together the way I would have expected for a Sager. This could be a classic case of “expectations lead to disappointments” and I know I’m in the minority here – so I do recommend you still pick this one up and decide for yourself.

Holy crap, this was creepy AF.

Scary books don't usually actually scare me. Scary movies, definitely. But it takes a lot for a book to actually creep me out so much that I won't read it at night. Home Before Dark was one of those. I definitely couldn't read this before bed. There's nothing like hauntings and paranormal shit to thoroughly freak me the hell out. Because how do you fight a ghost?! I'd be screwed.

I loved the dual "timelines" and different perspectives from Maggie and her father, Ewan. It was uniquely portrayed in Maggie's current first-person perspective, and Ewan's past perspective in the form of the book he had written about their family life in their short time at Baneberry Hall.

Just when I thought I guessed what was going on or thought I had it figured out, it turns out I was wrong, again. I love not being able to guess what's going on, and Sager succeeded. I only have one book left of Sager's to read, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

*sip* turn page *gasp* chug a little drink, turn page *repeat*

This was my routine as I read Home Before Dark and it was so fun. Cheers to @rileysager delivering another book full of mystery and suspense. This book kept me turning the pages and provided the shocks that I crave from my thrillers.

The book alternates between current times and the past as told through excerpts of a book describing a family’s experience while living at the infamous Baneberry Hall. I really liked this format and thought it rounded out the story well. It was a bit of a slower start, but things pick up as the story unfolds.

There were some similarities to that of the Netflix version of Haunting of Hill House.
Sager gives the Amityville Horror story credit for inspiring this novel, but it seems that there were multiple points of inspiration that came together into a perfectly unique melting pot of a haunted house story, and it was executed so well.

I have read and loved all of Sager’s books, and this is now among my top favorites of his work. I also loved spotting the couple Stephen King references throughout the book. That tiny element made my Constant Reader heart happy.
4.5/5 stars rounded up to 5 for this review. LOVED it!

Each new Riley Sager book is better than the last! This one gave me CHILLS. There are some scenes that veer closer to horror than suspense (the story is set in a haunted house), but they fit perfectly with the narrative. I was on the edge of my seat after just a few chapters!

What a book! I absolutely LOVED Sager's latest story - Home Before Dark. It was freaking scary and fantastic!! I couldn't sleep at night after reading this book. I found myself hooked right from the start. The suspense and the thrills - wow! Talk about storytelling at its very best!!

Riley Sager is an exceptional writer and I will continue to read all of his books. This was yet another one of his books that made me scared to read at night by myself because I felt the creepiness seeping out of the book and into my room. I also was getting some SERIOUS Haunting of Hill House vibes and that series creeped me out too so it was only fitting.

Imagine growing up knowing your father is 'famous' for writing a book about a time in your life that isn't true. Not only are you in it and it's about a time when you were 5 and living in a haunted house, but you have no recollection whatsoever of this place. Must be fake right? Once your dad dies, you discover you inherit this home so you decide to go visit, fix up the house and sell it. But not before trying to find out what happened 25 years ago that made your family flee the house in the dead of night after only 21 days of living there.

This book takes you from Maggie's present day POV and her father, Ewan's, past POV from his book. As you shuffle between the time zones, you start to get the sense that Baneberry Hall was never meant for occupants. Sager gives us suspense, murder, snakes, ghouls, supernatural and heart palpitating murmurs from this read. You will reach the end and think you know what happened, but you don't. And then you will again think you know what happened, but then again you don't! Prepare for a whiplash thriller of a ride!

Maggie Holt has never believed the stories about Baneberry Hall. After all, she lived through the supposed story that is the focus of her father's book, House of Horrors, and she has no memory of any of the things he wrote. Maggie has held a long simmering resentment against her parents and House of Horrors. In fact, she's certain the book was a lie meant simply to drum up attention and money. Money she certainly benefited from but attention she never wanted.

The story is that after just about three weeks, her family abandoned the house out of desperation, having been plagued by ghosts from the day they took up residence in the old home. And certainly the history of the house lends itself to haunting! But Maggie is convinced her father's story is blatantly untrue. Unfortunately she was never able to get him to reveal the truth and now it's too late.

She was surprised, however, to learn that her father had never sold the house. And that, as his sole heir, the house now belongs to her. Maggie plans to fix up the place and put it on the market to be done with it. But not before she learns what really happened all those years ago.

Home Before Dark finds the adult Maggie Holt troubled and her relationship with her parents strained. Which is a shame because her father dies before she can even consider trying to mend that bond.

To his dying day, Maggie's father swore by the words he wrote in the book that made him famous. The book that purports to be the truth about why Maggie and her family fled a home they'd lived in for just under a month, leaving everything they owned behind and never to return. Or so Maggie thought. As it turns out, her father did return, once every year.

Chapters of her father's book are interspersed throughout the story, giving the reader something of a parallel view of the events at Baneberry Hall: Maggie's arrival somewhat coincides with her family's arrival in House of Horrors and Maggie's own experiences at the house are something of a mirror of her father's written experiences. It's intentional considering Maggie herself compares her experiences to those laid out in the book, which even causes her to begin doubting her steadfast conviction that the book isn't real.

Riley Sager's latest is a great twist on the classic haunted house tale. In fact, if each new release so far has been a play on classic horror films, Home Before Dark is definitely inspired by The Amityville Horror (which is mentioned in the book). As a huge fan of horror, I appreciate all of the nods towards the classics but also enjoy the fact that Sager puts his own stamp on the classic tropes.

My initial thoughts are OMG because this book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading and I loved it so much.

What I loved: It takes a lot to scare me in a book and I was thoroughly creeped out the whole time I was reading in the best way. Definitely not for the faint of heart and probably don’t read this in bed at night with the lights off. Or do because it makes it a great reading experience. True to Riley Sager’s form, it’s filled with twists and turns you won’t see coming. I was hooked from the start and loved that this was a ghosty mystery with suspense that builds and builds. My heart was racing. I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed Maggie as a character and I was right along with her wanting to know the truth.

What didn’t work for me: Honestly I loved this so much. I wish the ending was maybe a bit less abrupt, since the end scene is very quick. But I thought the epilogue tied things up nicely. With so many characters you don’t get much exploration into relationships or super developed detail about many, but that wasn’t necessary for me to understand everyone and their motives, so not as needed in a thriller type book.

Overall, this is definitely my top mystery of the year and this will be difficult to beat by any others I read. I would most definitely recommend it to thriller/mystery fans that love suspense and don’t mind being thoroughly creeped out.

This is my 3rd Riley Sager book, and it definitely won't be my last. I started with The Last Time I Lied (which I gave 3 stars), then Lock Every Door (which I loved and have 5 stars), and now Home Before Dark (which I'm giving 4 stars to). The beginning 2/3 of the book feels a little repetitive (going back and forth between the novel and the plot), but the end was worth it!

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager: A Review

Where do I even begin with this one? While I’ve only read one of Riley Sager’s previous works, this book had all of the components I have come to expect from him. The creep factor was exceptionally high, so much so that I couldn’t read it past 9pm for fear that I wouldn’t sleep.

All Maggie wants is the truth. Even on his deathbed, her father refused to give it to her. Her mother, still among the living, was no better.

Upon her father’s death and subsequent reading of his will, Maggie discovers she is now in possession of the one thing that has haunted her all these years: Baneberry Hall.

Under the guise of fixing it up to sell and be done with it once and for all, Maggie returns to the remote Vermont town and, in her quest for the truth, faces down the demons that have been plaguing her for twenty-five years.

Full of drama, secrets, and things that go bump in the night, Home Before Dark is the perfect addition to Riley Sager’s already impressive list of thrillers. Highly recommend to fans of things that are unbelievable and unexplainable.

So good! I have loved every single Riley Sager book I've read, and this is no different. I spent most of the last few pages with my mouth hanging open in shock. I didn't see it coming at all, and that's the best kind of creepy book! Highly recommend this and all of Sager's books for anyone who likes thrillers, horror, and twisty endings.

Let me preface by saying, I do not like ghost stories. Also, I will read anything by Riley Sager.

I absolutely loved this story and how it was written. A book within a book.. I love this literary mechanism so very much.

Maggie Holt is heir to a legacy. One she has tried to avoid since she was 5. He’d rather wrote a bestselling book about Baneberry Hall and the ghosts and paranormal activity her family witnessed whilst living there.
Only Maggie doesn’t remember any of it. So she assumes her father made it all up for monetary reasons.
In the opening chapter we find out that her father had passed away and also that he never sold Baneberry Hall, so she inherits it,
She sets off to settle the score and find out what really went on in that house all those years ago.

I love how different this was for Sager, I think I love when extremely talented writers show their skills by veering from formula.
Thank you so much to Dutton books , Netgalley and Riley sager for my review copy

ARC/Netgalley

On one hand Home Before Dark by Riley Sager is perfectly silly. But it’s also so much fun and perfect vacation (or staycation 2020) reading! There are also some legitimately scary parts that I could not read at night. A mix of The Amityville Horror and The Money Pit, Riley Sager excels at writing fun page turners you can finish in one sitting.

Do you believe in ghosts?

The latest thriller release by Riley Sager, Home Before Dark, which is due to publish on June 30th, is sure to make you think about this very question. Sager's previous books are all pulse-pounding must reads as well: Final Girls, The Last Time I Lied, and Lock Every Door.

Home Before Dark has been called the most anticipated release of the year. I'm extremely lucky and thankful to Dutton Books for sending me an advanced copy.

Maggie Holt's entire life (since she was 5 years old) has been defined by the Book, a book called House of Horrors that her father Ewan wrote and claimed it was a true story and the reason behind their family's abrupt departure from the infamous Baneberry Hall twenty five years ago. Baneberry Hall is a rambling Victorian home in the secluded woods of Bartleby, Vermont, named by the original owner after a poisonous red plant, baneberries, found in the woods around the home. Since the book was released, Maggie has been famous for all the wrong reasons, as the little girl in the book. Besides being treated like a social outcast and a freak, she was always asked "what was it like living in a haunted house?" But Maggie can't remember any of the things that her father claimed happened to her in the short span of 20 days that they lived in Baneberry Hall. Maggie has always believed they were lies in a get rich quick book deal for her father who always wanted to write the great American novel. Furthermore, Maggie firmly believes that ghost do not exist.

Now, present day, Maggie's father Ewan has passed away after a battle with cancer, leaving her with a small fortune from book sales, the rights to the book, and surprisingly, Baneberry Hall itself. Maggie always assumed that her parents sold the house after they fled its dark, historic walls a final time. As a restorer of old homes, Maggie decides to move in to Baneberry Hall while getting it ready for sale, hoping to make a profit from it. The locals are not too happy to see a member of the Holt family back in their close-knit, sleepy little town, thanks to her father's claims made in the House of Horrors and the media and ghost hunting zealots it brought to their town. Maggie also hopes that moving into Baneberry Hall will help answer the many questions she has about her family's time there and the real reason they left so quickly

When Maggie arrives, she is  shocked to discover that the house is still full of old relics from the different families who lived there, starting with the Garsons who built the home in 1875. Next were the Carvers, who were there briefly before a shocking tragedy occurred. Even her own family's belongings are still scattered about the house - clothing, toys, etc - and left out as if the family would return at any moment to pick up where they left off living in the home. Then things described in detail in Ewan's book start to happen exactly to Maggie and she begins to question her own sanity, her father's memory, and ultimately what is really going on inside the walls of Baneberry Hall that made her father's last words be a warning to her, "It's not safe there. Not for you."

Thus unfolds a chilling, atmospheric, creepy, and well-written thriller you do not want to miss! Told in alternating chapters between Maggie's return to Baneberry Hall in present day and the chapter's of her father's book, House of Horrors,  there are twists and turns you will not expect. I found myself reading this book during the day so as not to creep myself out too much before going to bed. There's nothing like a creepy story set in an old home in the secluded woods to scare a girl like me, who lives in a cabin in the woods.

Again, thank you to Dutton for the early review copy. This is easily one of my top reads of 2020 and I look forward to more thrills from Riley Sager in the future.

This was admittedly my first Riley Sager book and I have to say it was phenomenal. This book had so many twists and turns and seriously kept me guessing until the very last page. I loved the intertwined stories created by the alternating chapters of the father’s book (the past) and Maggie’s storyline (the present). Riley Sager crafted a masterpiece with this one for sure! Now time to go buy all his other books....

I am obsessed with everything written by Riley Sager! I don’t know how he comes up with these ideas but they are sooo damm good and with each book he gets better and better. In his latest novel, Home Before Dark we get part ghost story, part murder mystery thriller.

This book grabs you from the very first page. It has flawless pacing, with the masterful dual narrative alternating between our main character Maggie’s POV (present day) and excerpts from the actual book of House of Horrors written by Maggie’s father (the “past”). Maggie is so determined to uncover the truth that sometimes I don’t know if she is fearless or just dumb. She is totally ballsy because I know no amount of money or finding out the truth would make me stay in a house (all alone) that was supposedly haunted and then CONTINUE to stay in said house after strange stuff start happening. Nope, no thank you, I would of left the first night! I really enjoy getting to see Maggie interact with characters we are also getting to know in Ewan’s House of Horror excerpts. The House of Horrors chapters were by far my favorite though they were so entertaining and terrifying that I’m pretty sure I’m going to have nightmares for the next 2 weeks! Sager crafts a devilish plot, with twisted timelines, and even though some of it is predictable there is SO MUCH that will leave you mind blown!

Honestly there are not enough good things to say about this book, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! This is a binge worthy read and will be summer’s hottest book you won’t want to miss out on its Baneberry Hall is the new Hill House and if you were as obsessed with Hill House as I was then this is the book for you.

I can’t wait to see what Riley Sager has in store for us next. It’s going to be hard to top this one! Also big shoutout and THANK YOU to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the advanced copy. I’ve been dying to get my hands on this book and it did not disappoint!! Pre-order your copy!