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Erica Robyn Reads

a horror book review blog

[Book Review] Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

July 9, 2020      Erica Robyn      13 Comments

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager book photo by Erica Robyn Reads

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager is a very eerie tale filled with twists and turns that centers around a mansion with a dark history. This is a haunted house story that you won’t want to miss!

I’m a total sucker for all of Mr. Sager’s work so far. Feel free to check out my reviews for Final Girls, The Last Time I Lied, and Lock Every Door.

As soon as the newest book was available for pre-order, I placed my order through one of my favorite bookshops, Gibson’s Bookstore. When it arrived in the mail it had a lovely note from the amazing Kelso!

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

This tale is about a woman named Maggie Holt who inherits a house that she thought her family had long since sold. When she was last at the house when she was five, something horrible occurred that made the family flee the house, never to return.

After they left, her father wrote a book and claimed that it was the true story of what happened to their family while they lived there. But Maggie can’t remember anything and she isn’t convinced that anything in the book actually happened.

When she moves back in while she renovates the house, planning to sell it, she begins making discoveries that align with what her father had written… and that makes her question everything.

The story is told as a duel narrative; one that was from the novel written by the father after they lived in the home for twenty days, and the other, the daughters’ return to the house decades later. I absolutely loved the way each of these key focuses built off of one another. I had such a hard time putting this down because each bit left off in a way that made me want to know what happened next as soon as possible.

I really enjoyed the main character, Maggie. It was very clear that she was fighting with a number of things inside her own head. I thought her determination to overcome her fears and set the story straight, all mixed with a fair dose of stubbornness, was a very powerful element for her character.

Then of course we have the ghosts. My goodness were these written in a spooky way! I didn’t know what to think about them. Just when I thought one thing, something would happen to make me second guess it. Needless to say, I thought that the ghosts were written very well.

Overall, the pacing was definitely quick and it was written in a way that totally captivated me. There was also a great sense of unease throughout, which grew more and more intense as the story went on and new things from the past were brought up, or odd things happened in the present day.

My Favorite Passages from Home Before Dark

Houses are always changing. Coats of paint. Rows of laminate. Rolls of carpet. They cover up the home’s stories and secrets, rendering them silent until someone comes along to reveal them.

Jess pokes her head out of the master bathroom, toothbrush in hand and mouth foaming like Cujo. 

The kitchen is silent save for the sound of my heart — an audible drumroll coming from deep in my chest. 

My Final Thoughts on Home Before Dark

Not only was the haunted house and ghost element right up my alley, but this tale also had a great main character and intriguing side characters that popped in and out. I also loved the underlying murder mystery element. This was another hit for me!

If you enjoy haunted house stories that will keep you guessing, I highly recommend this one to you.


Snag a copy through Bookshop to help support local indie bookshops:

Thanks for reading!
I’ve said before that it feels like Riley Sager’s work gets a bit darker with each new release, and that was certainly the case here! I cannot wait to see what he does next!

And one last note, the cover of this book GLOWS IN THE DARK! How cool is that?! Have you ever seen a glow in the dark cover before?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Angie says

    July 9, 2020 at 10:49 am

    I am so excited to get to this book at some point in the near future. I had this month’s TBR all set up, but I might still just sneak this one in.

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      July 10, 2020 at 7:09 pm

      I hope you enjoy it when you get to it! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Katherine says

    July 9, 2020 at 4:32 pm

    I’ve been wanting to read this author and this one sounds really good! A bit like Amityville Horror but better. Definitely adding to my TBR.

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      July 10, 2020 at 7:10 pm

      😀 Enjoy!!

      Reply
  3. Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum says

    July 9, 2020 at 10:40 pm

    This book was a lot of fun, it’s been a while since I read a haunted house story and this one really hit the spot! That is so cool about the glow in the dark cover, I listened to the audio so I did not know that!

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      July 10, 2020 at 7:10 pm

      <3 It's such a neat feature!!

      Reply
  4. Lauren @ Always Me says

    July 10, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    I can’t wait to read this one! Great review, Erica.

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      July 11, 2020 at 12:22 pm

      Woot!! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Olivia-Savannah Roach says

    July 12, 2020 at 1:01 am

    I feel like often times people forget that ghosts are meant to be scary and they have become quite tame in most of the books I read, so I am looking forward to reading this one! I have never read anything by Sager but I really want to!

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      July 12, 2020 at 11:44 am

      Enjoy!! 🙂 I’d love to see what you think!

      Reply
  6. Laurie | bark says

    July 13, 2020 at 7:12 pm

    This author is prolific! I thought I was all current when I recently reviewed LOCK EVERY DOOR, haha. This one sounds like something I will love! The darker the better, haha.

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      July 13, 2020 at 7:44 pm

      <3 Enjoy!!

      Reply

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Erica Robyn of Erica Robyn Reads
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