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'Home Before Dark' Review

October 24, 2023 | sarah
4 min read

“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.”

Summary

“Home Before Dark” follows Maggie Holt, who, as a child, lived in Baneberry Hall, a creepy and supposedly haunted mansion with her parents. Her father wrote a bestselling book about their terrifying experiences there, but Maggie has always believed it to be a work of fiction.

Years later, after inheriting Baneberry Hall following her father’s death, Maggie returns to renovate the house and confront her past. As she delved into the mysteries of the old house. She begins to question her own memories and the truth behind her father’s book. Strange and eerie occurrences start to happen blurring the line between reality and the supernatural.

Characters

Maggie: I thought she was fairly smart for a protagonist in a haunted house type novel.I wasn’t rolling my eyes every couple of pages from poor decision making. Although, there were three things she did that made me question her sanity a bit. First, staying in her childhood room at Baneberry Hall. If she had such creepy experiences in it as a kid, I would have thought she would be more apt to stay in a different room. Second, chasing down the figure she thought she saw outside in the dark. Yeah, no. Third, not sleeping with Dane. I mean technically it was a smart choice, but come on!

Ewan: Maggie’s Father and the author of the book House of Horrors. He dies in the beginning of the story, so everything we know about him is either from Maggie’s pov or from the parts of his novel. Everything he did was because he loved his daughter. Was it wrong what he did to protect her? Obviously. But I can always appreciate a dad who would do anything for his daughter.

Jess: Maggie’s mom. We don’t really know much about her other than Maggie doesn’t really feel like they are close. Mostly because she thinks both her mom and dad have been lying to her for her entire life. When the truth is revealed it’s obvious she loved her daughter too. She was even willing to right the wrong from her past so her daughter didn’t have to suffer for her choice.

Dane: Every book needs a hot man with muscles who lives next door.

Plot

The author has written this as a book within a book. And it is fantastically executed! One point of view is Maggie in the present and the other is the book House of Horrors written by her father Ewan. I loved everything about this set up. The house of horror book was creepy and gave me that spine tingling sense of dread. It was inspired by Amityville Horror and I definitely got that inspiration. The parts from this book were what contributed to the suspense factor of this novel. Who knew that the song sixteen going on seventeen from the sound of music could be so dang creepy!

Then we have Maggie’s experience in the present as she is trying to renovate the old house to sell and simultaneously figure out the truth of what happened there when she was a child. Without the chapters of the book House of Horrors I don’t think her time staying in the house would have felt as suspenseful as it did. The reader only gets that feeling because we have the contrast of her dad’s book.

I enjoyed the ending and definitely did not have everything figured out before the big reveal. My only complaint was that I actually wanted the house to be haunted and for the “reason” for it all to be paranormal. I liked the story of House of Horrors where Indigo was angry at father’s and her spirit made them do bad things because it matched her experience. This is just personal preference though!

Final Thoughts

This ranks as my personal favorite book from Riley Sager. I loved the similarities between this book and Amityville Horror. It made me feel on edge which is exactly what I enjoy from thriller books. The story was captivating from beginning to end and should be the next addition to your ‘to be read’ list!

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