Home Before Dark

Home Before Dark, by Riley Sager, is a psychological thriller that makes you want to read more. Each chapter introduces a new piece of the puzzle, sometimes bringing you closer to what you expect to be the resolution, but usually throwing in a new plot-twist that keeps the reader enthralled. I can’t tell you how many times I stayed awake after my boyfriend had fallen asleep because I needed to read just one more chapter (if you’re an avid reader, you know 1 more chapter is a lie if it's a book you’re enjoying). And THEN after putting the book down, I would stay awake trying to figure out the answer to the mystery and the central questions:

1. Is the Baneberry Hall really haunted?
2. Did Maggie’s father lie to her?
3. What happened to the babysitter?

Like with any mystery novel you think you have it figured out halfway through. There’s the list of likely suspects, but you keep reading just to see how the protagonist comes to the same conclusion you have. With this novel though, all of Maggie’s conclusions (and the reader’s) are proven to be wrong. The normal suspect list should be thrown out. (Spoiler alert, the maid did NOT do it).

Questions 1 & 2 are introduced early on in the novel, leaving the reader with the responsibility of catching Mr.Holt in a lie while his daughter, Maggie, works to restore the childhood home she and her family left one terrifying July night. The reader finds that Maggie is not only restoring the home, but is also trying to restore some broken pieces within herself and within her family. The death of her father left many untied ends.

Home Before Dark is a story within a story; although it is told through Maggie’s point of view the reader is also given the opportunity to read Mr. Holt’s novel. The talented Riley Sager weaves Mr. Holt’s novel in effortlessly, overlapping timelines with perfection so that Maggie experiences the same occurrences her father mentions in his novel and the reader is given multiple points of view regarding the same subjects. We learn that Maggie and her father really are not that different despite what the protagonist believes to be true about herself.

The 3rd question, what happened to the babysitter, ignites the climax of this story and provides the story’s ultimate twist and leads to the answers to the previous questions (in a not-so-easy manner).

Petra, the babysitter, went missing the night Maggie and her family moved from the property, leaving behind all of their belongings. Many of the occurrences that happened within the house were blocked from Maggie’s mind up until her return, but she makes it her goal to uncover all of the truths the house holds as these are the moments that helped build her (despite her continued attempt to separate herself from it).

Baneberry Hall began the destruction of Maggie Holt’s family and almost succeeds in finishing it off before Maggie is able to reach the final plot twist (and resolution).

Riley Sager does a wonderful job of creating a raw character that the reader loves. We may question some of her choices, but stepping into her shoes and seeing her world is a pleasure. Sager easily transports us into a Victorian home that has seen its share of horrors throughout its life. We are given glimpses of different individuals that have lived there throughout the years and begin to understand the dark cloud that hangs over the once beautiful building.

My favorite elements of the story:

The growth seen in Maggie as she begins to understand the choices made by her parents. It takes going back to where it all fell apart for her to come to terms with the life she has led. It is quite the “coming home” story.

The story-within-a-story. I love how we are introduced to so much history in such a short book. Not only do we get to read chapters of Mr. Holt’s novel, but we also learn about the family that originally lived in the home and those that followed. Riley Sager paints such a vivid picture of the history of this home that the reader can’t help but fall in love with it in some twisted way.

This is quite possibly my favorite read of 2020.

If you’ve read this novel AND enjoyed it, I recommend:

• The Haunting of Hill House (of course) by Shirley Jackson
• The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates