Riley Sager | HOME BEFORE DARK

Plot (via Goodreads):

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.

Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.

Review:

Riley Sager took a really different approach with this one and can I just say that one of the most shocking things about this book was how Sager can continuously outdo himself. What I loved about this one and what set it apart the most was that it does really come off as a ghost story. Now, whether the supernatural is actually involved or if it's something way more sinister? I'm going to make you wait and decide on that one. Told in alternate timelines and perspectives, this eerie tale takes the reader on two haunting journeys - one in real time from Maggie's perspective as she returns to the house that has left a major impact on her adult life and the other from a book that Maggie's father wrote that she insists is full of lies. Right from the beginning, this one was so engrossing. I could not and did not put it down until I was finished and I absolutely loved it. Sager takes on a story reminiscent of The Amityville Horror and yet makes it completely his own along with some moments that I dare say were more terrifying than any movie could create. If you were like me and thought that Lock Every Door dipped its toes in the gothic pond, Home Before Dark dives in head-first.

I felt that with this one being almost two stories in one, the pacing was accelerated more (if you can believe it) than his previous titles. I was equally addicted to both Maggie's story and her fathers book and I loved how the two would both contrast one another and yet the story-lines were parallel to one another once the reveals started coming in hot. For someone who can terrify me with little-to-no gore, I was absolutely loving this story and the creepy moments were downright brutal.

"Hi, I'm Gare and I am even more petrified of snakes than I was before. Oh, and those weird moments where you fear what is really lurking out in the woods a-la Blair Witch are at an all time high now, so thanks Riley!" 

Seriously, this story was fantastic and spooky and all of the things that makes Riley Sager a perfect storyteller are embedded in every single page. Every time, I wonder what my favorite Riley Sager novel is and every single time he releases something new, that answer is even harder to articulate.

Let's talk about Maggie because honestly, I love all of Sager's leading ladies, but Maggie is downright my favorite so far. I felt for her emotionally, I found her character to be easy to like and yet someone I wanted to protect throughout this story. If I had a dollar for every single time I gasped out-loud worried something would happen to my precious Maggie, I would be able to pay for Riley Sager's next book deal myself. She was such an enjoyable character to go on this journey with. I found her to be level-headed, tough, lovable, and she even convinced me it was a good idea to go back to this murder house even though I knew it wasn't. Everything in this story was so believable and the characters really jump off the pages, get in your face, and then slowly lurk back into the shadows until their next shining moment arises.

If you're a fan of gothic tales who enjoys haunting and yet believable stories, you have enjoyed Sager in the past, or you're looking for a thriller that isn't super gory and yet creepy, this is the one for you. This story is well-paced, meticulously plotted, and sensationally compelling. My only drawback? I was nervous for about a month to drink my morning coffee after I finished this one. Riley Sager, I don't know what is going to come next but I am ready to jump onboard for whatever you've got for me. Thank you for being a brilliant storyteller and for always bringing your A-game.

Special thanks to Dutton Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 5/5