Scan barcode
chelbelle122's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Gaslighting, Child death, Death, Dementia, Murder, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
hannahpings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Suicide, Child death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Dementia and Grief
Minor: Stalking, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship
melli29_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Violence, Suicide, Blood, Child death, Car accident, and Grief
chasingpages1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Gaslighting, Stalking, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual content, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cancer, Cursing, and Religious bigotry
amyyp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Child death, and Suicide
Minor: Dementia
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
4.0
“Grief is tricky like that. It can lie low for hours, long enough for magical thinking to take hold. Then, when you’re good and vulnerable, it will leap out at you like a fun-house skeleton, and all the pain you thought was gone comes roaring back.”
➽ Home Before Dark is among my favorite Riley Sager books! The story follows Maggie Holt whose family got famous for living in a supposedly haunted house back when she was a child. Her father wrote a bestselling book called House of Horrors about their ghostly phenomenon and Maggie's been dealing with its popularity for years. She's not thrilled to be famous in ghost-hunting circles and doesn't remember much of what happened. The only hints are in the book and Maggie's convinced her father made it all up. Her parents have never talked about it with her and Maggie got tired of being shot down. Now her father has passed away and left her the house ... and a lot of unanswered questions. She decides to renovate the House of Horrors and confront her past once and for all!
➽ I love haunted house stories and I liked the fine line between truth and fiction! We get alternating chapters of Maggie renovating the house and experiencing suspicious phenomena and excerpts from the book told by her father when they last lived in the house! I loved how we were left guessing how much of it was true, especially as Maggie lacks any concrete memory of the time. Strange things are happening in the house, but she's never sure if it's supernatural or simply bad vibes. After all the house had a dark past, as it was the scene of a brutal crime. I loved all the twists and turns! I also liked the exploration of Maggie's grief and complicated relationship with her father. Now that he passed away, she can never directly ask him for the truth!
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Violence, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Cancer
gknott's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, Body horror, Child death, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Murder
jessspeake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Mental illness, Suicide, and Animal death
Minor: Grief, Stalking, Car accident, and Alcohol
boba_n_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed the spooky atmosphere that came with Maggie fixing up the haunted house she and her family fled when she was a child. The dual timelines of Maggie in the present day and her dad's novel about their experience made for a great way for the reader to pick up on clues and try and figure out what really happened at Baneberry Hall. I was left questioning Maggie's dad's novel and Maggie's own experiences wondering whether the house was truly haunted.
Definitely a fun read for spooky season!
Graphic: Death, Child death, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
fionamatilda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent