Book Review | Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

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Hello, fellow readers! I was beyond thrilled when Book of the Month announced Home Before Dark by Riley Sager would be a June 2020 pick. This was my most anticipated book of 2020, and I’m thrilled to have an “advance” copy of the title (release date is June 30, 2020).

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Plot

Maggie has been haunted by her past for twenty-five years. For twenty days, she and her parents resided in Baneberry Hall. Then they fled from the house in the middle of the night and never returned for their belongings. Maggie’s father wrote a book, House of Horrors, sharing his belief that the house is haunted. Maggie has spent her entire life being judged by events she has no memory of. Now Maggie has inherited the house and intends to sell it. But first, she will determine whether her father’s book was a lie or if there was some truth to the haunting.

Review

This book was incredible! I honestly never read the plot synopsis for Home Before Dark before reading it, so the setup for the story was a surprise for me. I did know the setting was a Gothic mansion where spooky things had happened, but that was it. The book is written in alternating chapters between Maggie’s POV and a chapter from her father’s book. I loved that the present story started to mirror the chapters from the book.

Home Before Dark was a bit easier to figure out than Sager’s previous books, but I was honestly enjoying the House of Horrors chapters so much that I didn’t care that I could figure out the mystery. That says a lot about Sager’s writing and storytelling because usually when I figure things out in a mystery/thriller, I get annoyed. In terms of creepiness and atmospheric setting, Home Before Dark is his best to date. But Lock Every Door is probably still my favorite Sager book because I didn’t guess the ending and it was a more unique concept.

Related: Book Review | Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

Obviously, I gave this five stars, and I can’t wait to see what Riley Sager does next!

**You can get a copy of Home Before Dark by signing up for Book of the Month using my referral link here. Your first book is $9.99 when you use my link, and I get a free book! Win/win! (Note: The BOTM edition did not have the glow-in-the-dark cover.)

What is your most anticipated release of 2020? Let me know in the comments!