Home Before Dark Review: Haunted House Returned

Every house has a story to tell.

Baneberry Hall is surely one of those houses. A story hidden within the walls and corners of the house is waiting to be unraveled. Riley Sager’s Home Before Dark features the story of a Victorian estate, with its haunting past and dangerous secrets. This paranormal novel surely is suspenseful, nerve-wracking, and undeniably familiar to all of us.

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Home Before Dark Synopsis

Twenty-five years ago, Ewan and Jess Holt moved into the Baneberry Hall in the Vermont woods to restore and hopefully start a new life. The Holt family stayed there for three weeks where Maggie Holt, their five-year-old daughter, encountered disturbing paranormal activities and experienced the presence of evil spirits. They flee in the middle of the night, an experience that Ewan wrote about in his nonfiction book House of Horrors.

At present, Maggie Holt works as a house restorer. She inherited Baneberry Hall when her father died, and she was forced to return and revisit her childhood nightmares. Her whole life, she was associated with the book which she believed was a lie. However, upon entering the halls of the acclaimed haunted house, she was about to unfold a part of her life that she still refuses to believe.

The Format Of Home Before Dark

Reading Home Before Dark feels like reading two different books at the same time which was a delightful experience. The novel switches back and forth between Ewan Holt’s memoir (House of Horrors) and Maggie Holt’s present story (Home Before Dark).

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As a reader, I get to read the past and present perspectives of the whole novel in a new way. However, in a greater sense, House of Horrors didn’t do much to shed light on what was really happening in the present time. Each chapter ends with a cliffhanger which works most of the time to keep me reading but sometimes, it frustrates me.

To be honest, I loved House of Horrors more than the present time. Ewan and Jess’s banter, coupled with their uncanny experience inside the Baneberry Hall was exhilarating.

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The Horror

Terrifying and unsettling – Home Before Dark is definitely a page-turner! Riley Sager knows how to combine crime fiction, whodunnit mystery, and supernatural elements. I wasn’t expecting the mixture to be so addicting! The vibe and pacing did go well with the author’s vibrant writing style.

The distinctive style of writing made me scared most of the time. There were jump scares and nerve-wracking moments along the way. The little details such as the bells, chandelier, snakes, and ceiling made me anxious both in the book and in real life.

The Characters

Maggie Holt was interesting enough, but I found her character flat and boring at times. I often question what she does in the book but maybe it was how Riley Sager wrote her. The tension between Dane, the hot repair man, and Maggie was unnecessary.

I would have loved to see the neighborhood participation more in the novel. It was fascinating to read about the police officer assigned to the case and the journalist assigned to the news. They added so much depth to the story.

The Ending

Ours is a ghost story. It’s also a lie. And now that yet another person has died within these walls, it’s finally time to tell the truth.

No leaf was left unturned, and all the questions were thankfully answered in the end. Although Home Before Dark sounds very typical for a horror story, it has a lot of surprising turns I couldn’t predict. The exploration of the complexity of human morality is outstanding. I found myself contemplating the characters involved.

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Unlike other paranormal stories, Home Before Dark ended beautifully with a neatly wrapped-up story and a decent follow-up if necessary. While some readers might argue that the ending seems predictable, I love how Riley Sager decided to end the novel. It was perfect considering what the characters had to go through.

Final Thoughts

Home Before Dark is a paranormal fiction about what is real or not. This is a must-read novel for mystery thriller / paranormal beginners. No wonder it was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery & Thriller in the year 2020. Baneberry Hall is truly alive and waiting for readers to unravel its secrets.

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