What if your childhood home wasn’t haunted by ghosts but by lies? In Home Before Dark, Riley Sager masterfully toys with that question, delivering a psychological and supernatural thriller that lingers long after the final page.
The story follows Maggie Holt, a home renovator who inherits the infamous Baneberry Hall an old Victorian mansion buried deep in the Vermont woods. Twenty-five years earlier, her family fled this same house in the middle of the night, never to return. Her father, Ewan Holt, later wrote a bestselling memoir titled House of Horrors, recounting the terrifying events they supposedly endured inside its walls. The book made him famous, but it also destroyed their family’s credibility and reputation.
Maggie, now grown, doesn’t believe in ghosts. To her, her father’s book is fiction, not fact. But when she returns to Baneberry Hall to renovate and sell it, she quickly discovers that the sinister energy of the house is very real and that her father may have been telling more truth than she ever imagined.
One of the novel’s most brilliant devices is its structure: Sager alternates between Maggie’s present-day narrative and excerpts from her father’s book. This “story within a story” technique keeps the reader guessing about what’s real and what’s fabrication. Each chapter in House of Horrors deepens the tension, while Maggie’s sections bring a modern, investigative energy to the haunted house trope.
The atmosphere Sager creates is rich, immersive, and unsettling. Baneberry Hall is not just a setting; it’s a living, breathing entity with secrets of its own. Every creaking floorboard, every flickering light, every eerie shadow feels intentional. The pacing is taut and relentless, and the blend of supernatural suspense and psychological manipulation makes for an unforgettable reading experience.
Critics and fans alike have praised Sager’s ability to blend genres, and Home Before Dark might be his most ambitious fusion yet. It’s part gothic ghost story, part true-crime mystery, and part exploration of how trauma shapes memory. Fans of The Amityville Horror, The Haunting of Hill House, and The Shining will find echoes of those classics here, yet Sager’s voice remains uniquely his own dark, cinematic, and clever.
What truly stands out is how he plays with perception. Every page challenges the reader’s sense of truth, making you question not just the ghosts that haunt Baneberry Hall, but the ghosts that haunt the human mind. By the end, when the final twist lands, it’s both shocking and deeply satisfying a hallmark of Sager’s best work.
While Maggie’s chapters sometimes slow in pacing, the payoff is worth it. The alternating timelines weave together seamlessly, creating a crescendo of tension that culminates in a revelation both emotional and terrifying.
In short, Home Before Dark is a masterclass in atmospheric storytelling. It’s eerie without being gratuitous, emotional without being sentimental, and clever without being contrived. Whether you’re drawn to ghost stories, family mysteries, or psychological thrillers, this book delivers on every level.
Verdict: A spine-tingling and emotionally charged thriller that will make you question every shadow in your home. Home Before Dark is Riley Sager at his most confident and creative a perfect starting point for newcomers and a rewarding read for long-time fans.
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