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A review by leslielikesliterature
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Home Before Dark is about a family of three who flee a haunted house, known as Baneberry Hall, because it seems to be threatening to kill them. They have to leave, so they leave all of their belongings and swear never to return. 25 years later, Maggie, the daughter in the family, is now in her 30s goes back to Baneberry Hall when her father dies. Before he finally passes, he says “don’t go back there. It’s not safe. Not for you.”
Maggie has no idea why. The Book her father wrote about their experiences is full of occurrences and experiences she cannot remember. Her mother keeps telling her she doesn’t want to talk about it and her father says every word of it is true. So naturally, she wants to go back to Baneberry Hall to find out for herself.
When she gets there, she has a few experiences that make her think something might be up and Baneberry Hall might actually be haunted.
The deeper she gets into the occurrences, the more she finds out. And Baneberry Hall is truly not what she thought.
The sheer amount of gaslighting from both Maggie’s parents and her own memories is crazy during this whole novel. Maggie can’t believe anything and no one will give her a straight answer.
This is honestly one of the better Riley Sager novels. I’ve read all of his books and this and Lock Every Door are definitely his best work. Some of the other ones are a little far fetched and cheesy, but still very good. I think this one had the best tie in and twist that made sense out of all of them, but Sager does weave a tangled web and does it well.
Maggie has no idea why. The Book her father wrote about their experiences is full of occurrences and experiences she cannot remember. Her mother keeps telling her she doesn’t want to talk about it and her father says every word of it is true. So naturally, she wants to go back to Baneberry Hall to find out for herself.
When she gets there, she has a few experiences that make her think something might be up and Baneberry Hall might actually be haunted.
The deeper she gets into the occurrences, the more she finds out. And Baneberry Hall is truly not what she thought.
The sheer amount of gaslighting from both Maggie’s parents and her own memories is crazy during this whole novel. Maggie can’t believe anything and no one will give her a straight answer.
This is honestly one of the better Riley Sager novels. I’ve read all of his books and this and Lock Every Door are definitely his best work. Some of the other ones are a little far fetched and cheesy, but still very good. I think this one had the best tie in and twist that made sense out of all of them, but Sager does weave a tangled web and does it well.