Riley Sanger’s newest horror/thriller is a throwback to Amityville with elements that will remind readers of Shirley Jackson. The horror book within a book is a device that is used in a way to draw the reader into the mystery as the past comes back to literally haunt our protagonist, It is a chilling read with surprises galore. I enjoyed this one!

Maggie’s whole life has been about “the book.” House of Horrors was written by her father after her family fled their Baneberry Hall home after a series of unexplained events. After he died, Maggie discovered that her family never sold Baneberry Hall and that she has inherited it. So, she returns to “haunted house” to discover the truth to why her family left, why she has no memory of her time there, and why her father insisted that she never return. Like Sager’s other novels, this mystery does not disappoint. Each chapter holds present day Maggie’s perspective as a well as a chapter from House of Horrors, so readers get to read “the book” that shaped Maggie’s life; through this device readers are left guessing as to what is real and what was fabricated by Maggie’s father. Mystery lovers and ghost story enthusiasts will devour Sager’s new tale of secrets, jump scares, and betrayal.

From my blog: Always With a Book

As you know, I am a huge Riley Sager fan. I've read and loved his previous three books. Each new one I read becomes my new favorite, but I really think this one tops all his others.

I had been looking forward to this new one book for many reasons. Of course, the first being that it's just a new Riley Sager book. I literally devour these books and of course that's always such a good/bad thing. Good, because that obviously means I really liked it but bad because it means it will be that much longer until I have another new one in my hands.

But probably the more pressing reason I was looking forward to this particular book is that I knew it was going to have Amityville Horror vibes to it and I live right across the creek from this famed house. I literally look at the back of this house every day. Talk about being able to read a book in the most perfect of atmospheres!

This book was just the right amount of spooky and creepy, but not overly so. It never got to the point that I needed to put it down. And the whole book-within-a-book format works so well here. The two timelines give us two very distinctive voices that make this story really engaging on all parts. Maggie's POV is told in the present day just after she has inherited the house. The other timeline is excerpts of the book, written by Maggie's father after the family had lived in the house.

I loved seeing the parallels between what had happened in the book years ago happen again in Maggie's life now in the present. The book is a creepy story but are we supposed to believe it? That's what keeps you hooked and flipping that pages. And Maggie's chapters are just as engaging. Maggie grew up believing that her father was a liar, but is it possible that the house was really haunted?

This book is the reason why I love picking up books that have just a hint of horror. They are creepy but not to the point that I got nightmares! They are incredibly binge-worthy and addicting - once you start reading, you become totally consumed by the story and just want to know what is going on. I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good chilling tale!

Riley Sager is an author I get excited about. He gets better with every book he puts out. Home Before Dark is my favorite book from him thus far. Honestly the basic story is nothing I haven't read before. A young woman is left an old spooky house after a relative dies. Said woman goes back to said house and creepiness ensues. We've all read something or watched a movie with this basic plot but Home Before Dark has Riley Sager to switch it up. I love the duel timeline in this book. It's basically a book within a book recounting what happened at this house 25 years earlier. But is the author of that book reliable? You will go back and forth throughout the whole book trying decide what is real and what isn't. I absolutely love haunted house stories and this one is no exception. A great read for anyone who likes old spooky house stories and haunted thrillers. Definitely recommend.

I adored Final Girls. I thought The Last Time I Lied was spectacular too, but I really thought that Lock Every Door fell flat. So it was with trepidation that I read Home Before Dark, afraid that Sager’s fourth novel would be worse than his third. I actually really liked this one, and would rank it my third favorite out of his four so far.

There will be a squillion reviews of this one because of how popular Sager is these days, so I’ll keep it brief: Ewan, Jess and their daughter Maggie once bought a decrepit mansion for way less than it was worth. Once they moved in, they realized it was because a lot of death and shady things had happened behind the manor’s closed doors, and the manor does not seem interested in forgetting its own history. After living there for 20 days, the family flees in the night, never to return again. Her father wrote a nonfiction book about those 20 days, making millions. Her parents divorced but she never wanted for anything. 25 years later, Ewan dies, and it turns out he still owns the mansion – he leaves it to 30 year old Maggie in his will, who doesn’t remember any of what happened there years ago, but she is convinced her dad made it all up for profit, so she moves back in to restore the house to its former glory before selling it. Turns out she might not remember the mansion, but the mansion sure remembers her – and it’s got a score to settle.

Will I always auto-buy a Sager novel? Yes, always. That’s the real point here – no matter what he sells, I’m buying.

“Every house has a story. Ours is a ghost story. It’s also a lie. And now that yet another person has died within these walls, it’s finally time to tell the truth.”

This was my second Riley Sager book (after Final Girls). I was a little nervous because I'm not much of a supernatural fan, but I thought I'd give the book a try because I liked the author's previous work. Although there are supernatural aspects to the story, they are all framed within the structure of a non-fiction book written by one of the characters detailing his family's time in Baneberry Hall, an infamous Vermont home that has a dark history. The other half of the story is the protagonist working to find the truth about the old hose. The two storylines and the parallel narratives worked well off one another, and the result was a fast-paced book that I finished in just a few sittings.

Atmospheric and creepy, this book shows Sager is able to create a palpable creepy vibe. The setting feels like a character too, somewhat in the same way LOCK EVERY DOOR does. This book could easily be the favorite of all of Sager's books. Also, the covers of these books are great.

Home Before Dark reminds me of the Shining in the horror of the old gothic house and the writer father. This time it alternates between the House of Horrors book written by Maggie’s father and Maggie inheriting the House and facing the horrors from her childhood.
An excellent and spine tingling thriller to enjoy this summer. Highly recommend to fans of mystery, suspense, and horror. Sager doesn’t disappoint.

Home Before Dark was a fun read - perfect for a stormy summer evening like the one I spent listening to this audiobook.

When Maggie was a kid - her dad wrote a bestselling book about the three weeks they spent living at Baneberry Hall. He called it House of Horrors and it tells the story of a haunted house that they fled in the middle of the night. When her dad passes away, Maggie learns they never sold the house and now it’s hers. She has no recollection of the time they spent there and thinks her dad must have made up the whole story. She returns determined to find out the real story of the house.

The story is told in alternating perspectives of Maggie being there now and her father’s story of what happened when they live there 25 years ago. I really enjoyed the two perspectives. I also really like when there is a question of whether something has paranormal elements or an entirely human explanation. I found the ending really satisfying. The part that didn’t work as well for me were the scary scenes - I never quite felt scared and I wanted to feel more immersed in those moments.

Thank you to Dutton Books and Netgalley for my advance reading copy. I also used a credit for the audiobook from Librofm and loved listening to it - the audio narration was excellent.

I didn't know books could have "jump scares" until I read Home Before Dark. You will seriously do a double-take you'll be so shocked at some of these creepy scenes. My only critique is that I wish there were more! The characters are clever, well-developed, and enjoyable to read about. Each character had a kind of dynamism without being overly complicated--and I really appreciated the investigation of the characters' motives. Totally creepy, but with a (spoiler alert) happy (?) ending.

A cross between Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places and ghost hunter heir Alexandra Holzer’s autobiography, Sager’s latest is a haunted house story — with a twist. When Maggie Holt’s father dies, leaving her Baneberry Hall, she’s forced to return to the mansion — which her family fled following an alleged haunting. Maggie’s father made his bones on the event, penning a wildly popular novel in which Maggie starred as the main character — and conduit for all the ghosts at Baneberry. The trouble is, she doesn’t remember any of it. Sager is a master of the twist and the turn, and he does not hold back in his fourth book. Like any good thriller, you have to read to the very last page to find how who did what to whom and why.

Riley Sager's new book Home Before Dark is a twisty, creepy thriller that will keep you up way past your bedtime. Part murder mystery, part haunted house set in a sinister mansion hiding many secrets. Maggie Holt has been haunted by her father's book portraying the many ghostly encounters her family endured when she was only five years old. Problem is, she has no recollection. She returns to the house to uncover the truth behind its walls and her father's claims. I loved the format of this book. Each chapter flips between Maggie's father's book and her present timeline. I was seriously scared at some points that when my daughter called out to me while I was reading I jumped! I enjoyed this book and all the twists and turns. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All my opinions are my own.

It has been a very long time since a thriller has kept me on my toes until the last page. Every single time I thought I knew what was happening or what was going to happen, I was proven wrong. What you think is real, might be proven to be wrong in this book. You are figuring out with Maggie just who you might be able to trust. Riley Sager continues to get better and better with each and every book. This book was spectacular and bone chilling and I can not wait to see what is the next book that they will release.

Sager also perfectly included the book within a book concept that sometimes can become old or get confusing. In this case, the book that Maggie's father wrote helped to introduce/wrap up/explain something that Maggie is about to or will face.

Excellent read, as usual with Riley Sager. I really enjoy the twists and turns he includes in his writing. I am already recommending this to everyone I know.

This is a get-the-moment-you-can, don't-read-anything-about, devour-in-one-sitting, kind of a book. Riley Sager is one of the few authors currently writing who I eagerly await every single release, and this is my favorite of his thus far.

Maggie has grown up in the shadow of an experience she barely remembers and her father's famous book about it. Similar to The Amityville Horror, her family ran from their house after only a month, refusing to ever return.

Maggie's story is interspersed with chapters from her father's book, I think this is the first time we read Sager doing a male voice, and it's great. The two voices are different and you'd be able to tell which you were reading even if it weren't for format differences and first vs third person. I often have issues with anything that breaks up the tension but this really worked, giving us backstory and information in chunks just the right size to keep you wanting more. This break up actually pulled me through the story, wanting to keep reading because I wanted to know what happened in both stories. Also, Sager's novels tend to be more tense than scary, but the haunted house premise needed more straight horror and Ewan's story gave us that. We don't know if we should take it at face value or not, but it is more horror.

It all wrapped up very satisfyingly (which is different than wrapping up neatly and [ in fact some of the messiness or having different people guilty of different things was the most satisfying to me (hide spoiler)]. I suspected everyone of something, although I couldn't say what, and that interactive paranoia was quite fun.

I am a huge Sager fan, but I do think this one is particularly special. I cannot express how much I enjoyed myself while reading it, especially given how I've had no focus or enjoyment in reading during this pandemic. I highly recommend this, hopefully I can get my husband to read it so I have someone to talk to, and I will probably reread it sometime soon.

I did not love this book as I thought I would. I thought that the horror elements were great and the writing kept the story moving at a steady pace. However, I felt like the storyline was somewhat convoluted with too many characters to keep track of. I also did not enjoy the twist at the end. I did not hate this but it was definitely not my favorite from this author.

This started off strong, but lost some momentum in the present day with Maggie's story line. There was a lot going on in the end and a few good twists but it just felt a little too much and rushed.

First thing first, I want to say thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for giving me an ebook arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This novel gave me some serious “House on haunted hill” vibes. now where to start. 🤔

Maggie: Now Maggie is a smart woman. She manage to make a good thing for herself. Flips houses here and there with a partner. She seems well put together. However, she doesn’t feel complete. She wants to know the truth. The truth about the past, wether what her father wrote was all fiction or not. I only found her annoying since she kept being repetitive that she wants nothing but the truth. Like i get it but sheesh don’t keep reminding me. I also felt she kept contradicting herself about the things that has been occurring in the house. You’ll see what I mean when you read it. She’s a not bad person overall she just can’t seem move forward with her life until she actually knows what happened the night they left that house all those years back.

Ewan, Maggie’s father, made a promise he knew he couldn’t keep. That’s messed up. Little by little the story unravels to what he wrote and what really happened in the house. He doesn’t seem like a bad person just someone who is trying to find an inspiration for a book.

Jess, Maggie’s mother, is very annoying. I’m sorry she is. All she does is whine and nag. She goes along with whatever Ewan wants to do and she will still nag. I mean she could have put a stop to some things but of course she didn’t. She was portrayed like a classic wife who will do whatever the husband wants.

Even though the characters were a bit a nuisance, the story was great! So much mystery and creepy scenes that did left me like 😦

The series of plot twists were also enjoyable to discover. It’s quite different from what I’ve gotten to read when reading mystery novels. The way this book was structured, it did leave me thinking of the House on Haunted Hill. I’m not saying it’s relatable but it is something that kept me thinking of it for some reason.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a good, fast paced novel that you may feel like reading in the dark (which I actually did lol). I would definitely recommend to any of you who are fans of paranormal and mystery fiction and that also includes fans who have watched House on Haunted Hill lol.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager is a thriller/horror book.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Dutton Books (and in particular Emily Canders at Penguin Randomhouse for reaching out to me), and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

Upon her father's death, Maggie Holt inherits Baneberry Hall, an enormous old house in Vermont.  She's a little confused since she thought her father had sold the estate 25 years ago - only twenty days after they moved in.

Baneberry Hall has a history....and not a good one.  Maggie's father wrote a book about the house, and made a fortune.  It was called House of Horrors.  Maggie has never believed the information in her father's book.   She doesn't remember the time herself, as she was only 5, but she doesn't believe the contents anyway.  Why should it be any different than the many lies that both her parents told.

Against her father's dying wish, and her mother's insistence, Maggie is returning to Baneberry.  She wants answers, and it seems that perhaps there is something in the house that will lead her to them.  It's a good thing she doesn't believe in ghosts.


My Opinions:   

This was a great haunted house book!  It's been a while since I've read one, and I loved it.  It was a fairly fast read, mainly because I found it hard to put it down.  I have a couple of other of Riley Sager's books, but this is the first I have actually read, so I'm going to have to correct that soon.  The writing is very smooth, and the plot developed quickly.

I loved how the author alternated chapters with Maggie's current story, and the actual book that her father wrote.  It was interesting to see Maggie's determination not to believe anything in the book start to waiver.

The characters were deep (even the dead ones), and the house itself had it's own spooky vibe.  I loved Maggie, and Chief Alcott.

The book just grabbed me from the start and I just sort of hung on for the ride.  Every time I thought I knew where it was going, it changed direction.  Although I finally guessed part of the twist, I didn't get everything.  I love surprises (in books).

On a side note...I could have done without the snakes.

I love love loveeeeeee me some Riley Sager! Home Before Dark was yet another banger from the supremely talented Sager. If I am looking for something to make me shiver and jump, I know Riley Sager is going to provide. I guess I have them to thank for my constantly taking a second look behind corners and shower curtains, lol.