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shannyyomama's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
jenpaul13's review
4.0
Houses and people have similarities and not just in the personalities they contain; each contain stories and secrets but the truth behind them might be ghastly in Riley Sager’s Home Before Dark.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Maggie Holt’s life has been shaped by the house, Baneberry Hall, she and her family lived in for twenty days twenty-five years ago, especially as her father’s book about it has thrown their haunted experience while residing there and their flight from the ghostly horrors within into the national eye. After the death of her father, Maggie is surprised to learn that Baneberry Hall is now hers; fortunate as she restores old homes for a living and has no firm memories of living in the house. When arriving at the house to renovate in preparation for resale, despite her mother’s wishes to set foot on the property, Maggie is confronted in ways, large and small, during this homecoming by the locals who aren’t thrilled with the portrayal of their town her father’s book offered. When strange things happen within the house that seem to mimic the strange, ghostly events her father wrote about, Maggie begins to question the extent of his lies and just how much he told the truth and she’s determined to find out what drove them from the house years ago.
Developing out the narrative through swiftly moving dual storylines, one a fictionalized version of the past and another a realistic version of the present, twenty-five years later, the threads weave together to reconcile the truth with the hyperbolic or purely made up events that shaped the lives of the three members of the Holt family in and beyond Baneberry Hall. The writing deftly toes the line between the unfathomable supernatural and mundane reality that makes you question the reliability of both narrators, helping to shape the eerie and unsettling atmosphere as the mystery is picked away at in an effort to uncover the firm truth and provide resolution, all at a pace befitting the supernatural mystery offered. The story contains quite a lot that is rather, and perhaps overly, familiar from stories in this vein that came before, particularly with the proliferation of ghost stories (re)visited through various media over the last few years, but it is still entertaining to go along for the journey as it develops.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Maggie Holt’s life has been shaped by the house, Baneberry Hall, she and her family lived in for twenty days twenty-five years ago, especially as her father’s book about it has thrown their haunted experience while residing there and their flight from the ghostly horrors within into the national eye. After the death of her father, Maggie is surprised to learn that Baneberry Hall is now hers; fortunate as she restores old homes for a living and has no firm memories of living in the house. When arriving at the house to renovate in preparation for resale, despite her mother’s wishes to set foot on the property, Maggie is confronted in ways, large and small, during this homecoming by the locals who aren’t thrilled with the portrayal of their town her father’s book offered. When strange things happen within the house that seem to mimic the strange, ghostly events her father wrote about, Maggie begins to question the extent of his lies and just how much he told the truth and she’s determined to find out what drove them from the house years ago.
Developing out the narrative through swiftly moving dual storylines, one a fictionalized version of the past and another a realistic version of the present, twenty-five years later, the threads weave together to reconcile the truth with the hyperbolic or purely made up events that shaped the lives of the three members of the Holt family in and beyond Baneberry Hall. The writing deftly toes the line between the unfathomable supernatural and mundane reality that makes you question the reliability of both narrators, helping to shape the eerie and unsettling atmosphere as the mystery is picked away at in an effort to uncover the firm truth and provide resolution, all at a pace befitting the supernatural mystery offered. The story contains quite a lot that is rather, and perhaps overly, familiar from stories in this vein that came before, particularly with the proliferation of ghost stories (re)visited through various media over the last few years, but it is still entertaining to go along for the journey as it develops.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
hichristabel's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alybowker's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
haylzandbooks's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
stephbetley's review against another edition
5.0
Rating: 5.0⭐️
I absolutely LOVED this Riley Sager Thriller! Home before Dark reminds me a lot of the Haunting of Hill House meets Amityville Horror. This story is about the Holt Family (Ewan, Jess, & Maggie) and their experiences while surviving the haunted Baneberry property. This story includes flashbacks between past and present, a tell all book, family resentment; and lots of secrets! This book kept me engaged and would highly recommended!
I absolutely LOVED this Riley Sager Thriller! Home before Dark reminds me a lot of the Haunting of Hill House meets Amityville Horror. This story is about the Holt Family (Ewan, Jess, & Maggie) and their experiences while surviving the haunted Baneberry property. This story includes flashbacks between past and present, a tell all book, family resentment; and lots of secrets! This book kept me engaged and would highly recommended!
mmatti300's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
One thing Riley sager will always do is spend way too long on an actually interesting idea only to throw the worst predictable and disappointing twist in at the last possible second
thevillainschronicles's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75