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!

This was an exciting ARC for me to get. I wasn’t prepared to be totally freaked out, however! What happened in Maggie’s home when she was a child and what about now that she is an adult and back at that very house?

When Maggie is handed her father's estate after his passing, she is shocked to discover that the home she lived in as a child, Banberry Hall, located in Vermont, was left to her. Her memories of her time in that house were not pleasant - too put it lightly - and as far as she could remember, her parents said that it was a place that they would never, ever return to. So, how is it Banberry Hall is still in her father's name, and is hers right now?

Maggie is a designer, and pretty much a historian. She takes leave of her business for awhile in order to restore the house so that she can put it on the market. There is a magnanimous obstacle in her way however. The house, and by extension, her family, was made famous by a horror memoir her father wrote of the house. Maggie's memories are skewed, and she has always maintained that the book was fiction. There were no evil forces in the home, were they? What about now, when Maggie goes back to restore it?

People never lost interest in that house. Spectators and critics abound. As the story shifts back to when Maggie was five years old, which is when her parents, Ewan and Jess, bought the home, there were definitely some very spooky occurrences. There were even deaths connected to the house. And, the fact that her parents and Maggie only lasted a few weeks in the house? Well, what was it that drove them away?

Maggie begins to go through the house room by room, unearthing things that not only give her clues from her childhood, but also present creepy feelings that Maggie just cannot shake. Was there credence to her father's book after all?

This is the third book I've read by Riley Sager, with the other two being The Last Time I Lied and Lock Every Door so I am familiar with his style of writing. While the first two books were mostly incredibly intense suspense, he raised the bar really high with Home Before Dark. I am so glad that I read this book during the daytime!

This thrilling, albeit creepy, read by Riley Sager definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and the conclusion literally knocked my socks off. There is just one book of his that I haven't read, Final Girls, and I will do so soon so that as I follow him, he becomes and author that I will proudly be able to say that I have read all of his books.

Many thanks to Dutton Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Wow. Wow. WOW! Sager does it again! Another 5 star read! Home Before Dark blew my mind ...

Absolutely LOVED this book within a book! The alternating chapters between Maggie in present day and her father Ewan's bestselling horror memoir based on the twenty days spent inside Baneberry Hall are GENIUS! Seriously ... you guys! There's layer upon layer, upon layer here! This book gave me ALL the creepy vibes I crave ... so glad I didn't read this at night. The storyline is fascinating and will have you guessing right up until the end! Twisty AF and perfectly woven. All the stars!!!

Add this book to your TBR right away! You don't want to miss out on this masterpiece!!

Huge thank you to Dutton Books and Netgalley for my review copy!

Riley Sager has done it again! This book was delightfully spooky and full of twists and turns that kept me guessing the entire time! I inhaled it over the course of a day! I absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves creepy thrillers!

Books rarely bother me, but this book freaked me out! I found myself needing to stop reading at bedtime so I could go to sleep so I wouldn't have bad dreams, but I loved this book! Huge thanks to NetGalley for approving my ARC!

Riley Sager is one of my favorite authors. I have read many of Riley Sager's books and loved all of them.

Of course, I was ecstatic to get my hands on his hottest new book. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me.

Home Before Dark is very similar to the Haunting on Hill House. But, I'm not sure if Sager was purposely writing a story similar to the series? I was a bit bummed out and felt that the story wasn't very original. Additionally, I was wanting to be left creeped out and scared and I was a bit bored in the first half of the book. There wasn't enough Gothic and ghost story vibes for me.

And.. the last two chapters?! For real Sager haha? I was completely disappointed in the final reveal of the story and it really didn't make sense to me. I was wishing for more of a ghost story type of novel and this just fell really flat for me.

Overall, 3 stars for me.

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Dutton for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 6/30/20
Published to GR: 5/25/20

If you inherited a haunted house what would you do? Maggie and her family moved to Baneberry Hall when she was 5. Many strange things happened and one night they left the house never to return. Her father wrote a bestselling book about their time at Baneberry Hall. When he died, Maggie found out the house was now hers. She needs to know what happened in that house! Was her father's book true? If you enjoy creepy fast paced thrillers, then you need to read Home Before Dark.

This fast-paced thriller is exactly what I needed.
Maggie’s father wrote a best-selling book about the haunted house they lived in and the ghosts she saw there. She has no memory of it assumes the book is all lies.
So she goes to check it out.
Her current-day story is told in chapters that alternate with her father’s book, which keeps the tension high.
I love stories about writers and books and this was well-done.
The novel is really about issues of parenthood and assumptions we make about our kids. How does a famous parent’s decision affect their kids? How does believing (or not) your child affect their own sense of self?
I couldn’t put it down and I already miss reading it.

Not very often do I find myself so spooked by a book that I cannot sleep. I totally devoured Home Before Dark into the wee hours of the morning, ever floor creak or sound from outside had me on edge. This was definitely another astounding read by Sager. He has an amazingly smooth writing style that seems to suck me right in. I enjoyed the dual presectives one for present day and the other, the book the main characters father wrote about their life in the past. I thought it very intriguing that she wasn't actually sure if the events in the book were true or fabricated and I enjoyed the journey in discovering her past and trying to uncover what excately had happened at baneberry hall.

Maggie's father just died and she finds out he left her their childhood home, she doesn't remember except for what she's read in his book. Although her father was adamant that she's not safe there and her mother agrees that she should never return, Maggie wants answers. Maggie returns to the house to uncover the past she's in denial about and to get answers about things her father had written in his book, with an extra secret thrown in here and there this is one thriller you'll be wanting to add to your tbr this summer.

Riley Sager’s books are something I get excited for every year. I look forward to the ritual of staying up all night long, reading whatever new spooky story he’s imagined up, and having the absolute crap scared out of me!

Home Before Dark is inspired by The Amityville Horror, a movie that absolutely terrorized me as a teenager. That scene with the little boy in the bathroom at 3:15 AM (if you’ve seen the movie, you know the one!) still haunts me to this day.

As a result, I had some very high expectation for Home Before Dark and its thrills and chills. This where this review gets complicated… because while I loved a lot of elements of this book, other things were a bit meh.

What I loved - the beginning of this story and the chapters narrated by Maggie’s father, which had me on the edge of my seat and yelling out things like “oh hell no” and “good god girl, get out!” Here, Sager’s incredible talent for writing suspense truly shines and leaves no doubt as to why he is such a powerhouse author in the thriller genre. Maggie’s father is a fascinating, complicated character and his story is what propels the book forward and makes it a page-turner.

What I struggled with - Maggie and the story’s ending.

Maggie is so ridiculously bullheaded that she practically becomes the clichéd horror movie character that is so over-confident in their own narrative and safety that they practically waltz to their own death. How many outright warnings of people telling you “it’s not safe for you here” do you really need??

This is a spoiler free review, so the most that I can really say about the ending is that it was a bit of a hot mess and requires a suspension of belief that may simply be too much for some readers.

Overall, I think that Riley Sager fans will thoroughly enjoy Home Before Dark … but if you’re looking to experience Sager’s stories for the first time, I might suggest trying The Last Time I Lied or Lock Every Door instead.

That being said, I LIVE for spooky glow-in-the-dark green book covers so I will most likely be splurging on a hardcopy of this one for my bookshelves.

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING. Per the publisher, full reviews are to be held until July when it’s released... but PRE ORDER THIS BEAUTY if you like chills & layered story telling. Thanks net galley & Penguin Group!

Spine-tingling fun! Sager is back in top form with his latest novel, which returns to the successful format of his first two books by telling the story through alternating passages from the past and present. However, an interesting new twist this time around is that the portion of the book set 25 years ago uses an unreliable narrator to keep readers guessing about what really happened and what has been fabricated. There are several twists in the final act that I didn't see coming but was thrilled to see unfold, and Sager paints Baneberry Hall with its various horrors so vividly that their images will linger with me for a while.

This is a creepy and darkly atmospheric tale that is a perfect read for a stormy summer night. The alternating chapters between the action of the present and excerpts from “The Book” was an especially effective device. Recommended for fans of Simone St James and gothic horror.

Home Before Dark is a chilling ghost story about a woman who returns to her childhood home, a home that was made famous when her father wrote a book about how it was haunted. Maggie never really believed that her father's book was true, after all ghosts aren't real. But when she returns to the house and strange things begin happening, Maggie starts to question whether her father was right all along.

I thought this was a pretty good book. It alternates between what Maggie is experiencing in the house with chapters from her father's book about what he says occurred when she was younger. I really liked that format, and I thought it worked well to propel the story forward. With lots of talk of ghosts and haunted houses, it definitely has a creepy vibe that keeps you turning the pages to find out what is going to happen. Is the house haunted? Or is something else going on? A lot of people are comparing this book to The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I have not read that book, so I can't compare the two.

Generally, I don't love ghost stories, so I wasn't sure if I would like this book. However, the page-turning suspense, spine-chilling atmosphere, and a satisfying ending worked to make this book a quick and enjoyable, albeit spooky, read. It would be the perfect book to read late at night by flashlight while sitting around a campfire this summer!

What was one of my most anticipated books of the year turned out to be a disappointment. I read Riley Sager’s debut a few years ago and loved it, but skipped out on his next two releases—not sure why. When I was approved by the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this one I knew I’d jump on it ASAP.

I’m a fan of the haunted house subgenre; rarely does it steer me wrong. Something about old haunted houses wreaking havoc on unsuspecting families appeals to me. This book’s synopsis grabbed me from the jump: told in dueling narratives, part of this story is a book-within-a-book (which ends up reading as basically <i>Amityville Horror</i>-lite), and the rest—the “present” narrative—is the young girl and haunting victim coming back to the house twenty-five years later to find out if the book her father wrote was fact or fiction, or something in between. What’s the truth? Was the house she and her family bought when she was a little girl actually haunted, or did her desperate father write a book falsifying events to make money?

What did I like about this book? Not much. It’s compulsively readable, I guess, and I was able to finish in two days. Mostly that came from a determination to be done with it, put it behind me.

This novel lacks most in atmosphere, essential to a successful haunted house tale. What can I remember about this house? Nothing, aside from the dastardly “Indigo Room” (I was sick of the word Indigo by novel’s end!) And the bells on the wall straight out of <i>Bag of Bones</i>. In fact, much of this novel liberally “borrows” from that particular Stephen King novel. But Sara Laughs this house ain’t.

And the characters . . . are not bad, but they’re not really developed at all. I could fit their characteristics and traits on a thumbtack. A lot of the time the family unit doesn’t feel like a family—they just coexist. They’re stiff. I know the wife’s name is Jess, and I think the daughter’s name is Maggie. The fact that I’m not completely positive on the daughter’s name is especially woeful, as most of this novel is focused on her in the present day.

I really wanted to like this book, and I tried. I was able to finish, and Sager’s writing isn’t offensively bad—hence the two stars. But I was bored out of my mind, mostly due to this author doing a lot of telling and not showing, and the fact that these characters are pretty grating. It’s a thriller that doesn’t thrill, it’s a horror that doesn’t horrify. It’s a thud, a particularly lifeless one hitting the floor at 4:54 am. The only thing scary here is the praise and adoration it will inevitably receive upon release.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Riley Sager, you magnificent genius, you've done it again!! This was an excellent story, chock-a-block full of Gothic atmosphere, back - and - forth narration, a story within the story, and red herrings and twists galore... The characterizion was marvelous, the protagonist was a delight, the creepy - crawly factor was delicious, and the pacing was spot - on. Nobody tells a modern day ghost or urban legend story like Riley Sager!!

Lock Every Door was my favorite book of 2019 and I was nervous that Riley Sager wouldn’t be able write something I’d love as much. I loved this even more! If you loved the Netflix series, the haunting of hill house or the Amityville horror, you will love this book. I was actually terrified reading this book alone at night. At one point my phone rang and I screamed out loud. A house of horrors paranormal thriller with twists and turns among every page. I really enjoyed the dual timeline in this book. After Maggie Holts father passes away, she learns she inherited a home that has defined the last 25 years of her life. Between Maggie’s return the house and her fathers writings from 25 years ago, this suspenseful horror thriller will have you on the edge of your seat! Thanks netgally for giving me an e-ARC copy of this book to read.