Maggie lost some of her childhood to Baneberry Hall, her time there a mystery to her but chronicled in her father's memoir "House of Horrors". When she inherits the rambling estate and returns to renovate it, she'll unearth some of its secrets, and some of her own. Riley Sager's deft hand with pacing and characterization keep this one moving; even readers who love a good haunted house story--who might be disappointed this isn't that--will be entertained. This is a solidly written thriller that will be devoured by those who enjoy front-list fiction.

I’m much more a “psychological thriller” gal than a “ghost story” one, but I love Riley Sager’s latest book. Holy cow is this book creepy. It's an eerie ghost story (or is it?) that bounces between modern day and 25 years prior. It was spooky fun. It kept me gripping pages until the very end. Maggie Holt returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. But is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound secrets hidden within its walls?

This book was a good old fashioned ghost story with a totally unexpected There is absolutely no guessing how this book ends!! Fantastic book…..and I’ll never be a able to listen to Sixteen Going On Seventeen from the Sound of Music without getting shivers!

Riley Sager's latest book is centered around the experiences of the character, Maggie Holt, after she inherits her family's old home which is, according to her father's famous book, "House of Horrors", haunted and unsafe for Maggie. Maggie, who was very young when the occurances detailed in her father's book supposedly took place, has no memory of her time living in this house. She has repeatedly asked her parents to tell her what really happened there, believing the book to be filled with lies. Her father has stuck by his claims while her mother has refused to talk about their time there at all. Maggie, who is a home renovator now, decides to go back to the "House of Horrors" to renovate it and try to sell it for a profit, if possible, given its reputation. She encounters mysterious happenings while there that cause her to question her previous notion that her father's book was false. Is the house truely haunted, or is something else going on?
I would venture to say this is Sager's best book so far. the tension is high throughout, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat and making the book extremely hard to put down. The mystery of what is truely going on keeps the reader guessing and was, to me, a shocker at the end but still manages to fit with the rest of the book. Sager has written a strong and sympathetic character in Maggie and it is easy to pull for her to survive the ordeal, although I did find myself thinking at times that she should just pack up and leave. I would recommend this to any fan of thrillers and Sager fans don't want to miss this one. Looking forward to his next.

Riley Sager delivers yet another incredibly entertaining and genuinely spooky book with Home Before Dark. Maggie's family experienced something horrific in Baneberry Hall. According to her father's best-selling book about their experiences, a ghostly presence from the grand house's past was trying to possess him and force him to kill Maggie, who was a small girl at the time. Maggie has read her father's book (along with most of the country), but she doesn't remember her time spent in Baneberry Hall at all. She know one thing, however: her father made the whole thing up.

When her father dies, Maggie is surprised to learn that he left her Baneberry Hall. The thing is, Maggie was sure he had sold it right after they fled the property in the middle of the night all those years ago. Maggie, who works in rehabilitating old properties and flipping them, decides to work her magic on Baneberry and sell it for a pretty penny. But almost as soon as she arrives things start going wrong. When Maggie learns about the disappearance of a teen girl who lived next door around the time that Maggie and her family lived at Baneberry Hall, Maggie begins to investigate. What she finds completely changes her life.

Sager has proven his skill in taking classic horror tropes and genres and playing with them in a way that feels both familiar and fresh to readers. We are comforted knowing that we're entering what appears to be a haunted house story, but once we come out on the other end we realize it was almost impossible to predict where the story was going. Sager is a master of red herrings. He uses both humans and the paranormal to trick readers in delightful ways.

If you enjoy haunted houses, mysteries, and stories full of twists and turns, be sure to pickup Home Before Dark (and any other Sager novel, for that matter). You will be entertained!

Another fun, twisty read from Sager. Maggie's dad wrote a book about their family escaping a haunted house, but she has never been able to tell what was real and what was made up. She ends up back at the house after inheriting it and is determined to face her family's ghosts, restore the house, and sell it.

What worked: the story within the story. Ewan’s chapters had me far more engaged than Maggie’s chapters, and I liked how the author made fairly seamless transitions between the two narrators. And, while I tend to not be a fan of paranormal stories, I did enjoy the haunted house / ghost storylines in this book.

What didn't work: most of the characters, particularly Maggie. She rubbed me the wrong way. There were a couple of storytelling flaws that jumped out at me (although I don't want to spoil the story for anyone, so I won't mention them here). I also really didn't care for the ending, which was a pretty big deal for me.

Home Before Dark drew me in within the first couple of pages. I would not suggest starting this thriller by Riley Sager at 11 PM as I did because I read for a couple of hours, desperately wanting to know what horror came next and then when I decided it was time to sleep, I couldn’t because I kept hearing noises similar to those the main character, Ewan heard in his “house of horrors.”

Putting aside when you start the book, this thriller should definitely be added to your to-be-read list if you like to feel scared. We follow 30-year-old Maggie returning to the house that her family escaped from in the dead of night 25 years prior, claiming they couldn’t live there any longer due to the house being haunted by ghosts. We learn along with Maggie what actually occurred 25 years ago and if Maggie can escape the curse of this “House of Horrors.”

I think this is my 2nd favorite Riley Sager book. It was definitely different from his previous 3 works so I had to get used to that but the story was engrossing so that kept me going.

I adore Riley Sager SO much. His books are some of my favorites ever, so it pains me so much to say that Home Before Dark is my least favorite. It had the makings for exactly what I wanted. I loved Lock Every Door because it took place in a creepy building and had an atmosphere I just couldn't take myself out of. I was engrossed. Home Before Dark brings us another creepy building, so I was excited! However, I didn't connect with Maggie, and since a huge chunk of the book is just her in this house I grew bored. Another huge chunk of the book is chapters and excerpts of the book her dad wrote about this house when the family lived there years ago and what scared them so much that they had to leave. I didn't like his book, and I didn't like him. Ultimately, the book went in a direction that I really didn't like. I was hoping for a different explanation and a different outcome, and I won't provide any more detail than that because I don't want to spoil anything. I don't have to like every book an author writes to continue liking that author, so this is fine! I'm looking forward to his next, and hoping I see the things I've loved in his other books again.

(The review link will not work until 5/6/21)

This just scared the ever-loving crap out of me. The ghosts. Snake City. Creepster kids. I most certainly did NOT read this in the dark. This moves to the top of my Sager list (right behind The Last Time I Lied obvs) bc it was creeptastic with very unpredictable twists!⁣

I have really been enjoying the thrills of Riley Sager's books. Maggie struggles with memory, fact, and fiction when she returns to Baneberry Hall. The stories of ghosts and murder haunt her while she balances what is real.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't find this book too scary, even though I think it was supposed to be. I sort of figured out at least part of the ending part way through. It was an okay read, but not as good as some of the author's previous works.

This is my third Riley Sager book that I have read. It does not disappoint and I really enjoyed the suspense and twist. Going back and forth between Maggie (current time) and her father’s book makes the story captivating. I did not want to put down.
I will me adding more of Riley’s books to my TBR.

I had never read a Riley Sager book before so had no idea what I was in for. Home Before Dark is a fantastic read! Scared the pants off me in parts- especially asI live in a home built circa 1803 in which ghostly things are not uncommon! The many twists in the story had me guessing throughout. Thanks for the arc Netgalley!

Incredible and exceeded my expectations for my favorite thriller author! Spooky and creeped me the heck out for most of the story. I don't usually reread thrillers, but this one was a definite exception! If you love haunted houses, pick this up y'all.

Ghost stories and family mysteries are two of my favorites and Home Before Dark has BOTH. Riley Sager did not disappoint! It’s a little frightening and I was here for it. I love alternating timelines and enjoyed how it was down as a book-within-a-book structure.

Holy crap this was another solid Riley Sager thriller! Home Before Dark is a must-read if you want twists and turns and a page-turner story! This is now my third book by Riley Sager and I WANT MORE! I did not see that plot twist coming at all.

I'm a little sad to say this was my least favorite Riley Sager book. It still had plenty of suspense and thrills that kept my attention throughout but I feel it was a lot slower than his other works. I struggled getting through parts and kept having to put it down but I still found myself coming back to it later. The aspects that intrigued me the most was the mystery behind why her family fled the house and if there were actually ghosts inhabiting the house (think The Haunting of Hill House), that's why I'm still giving it 4 stars. The characters were all great and I definitely didn't see the ending coming.

Thank you so much to Dutton and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Yet another thrilling and addictive novel by Sager. This one has all the spooky, haunted house vibes and I was all there for it.
I also enjoyed the snippets of the past we got to experience while keeping the mysterious theme present.
Will continue to recommend this to my older students and friends.