Maggie Holt was too young to remember the terrifying time she spent at Baneberry Hall, the expansive Victorian mansion her parents purchased in rural Vermont nearly 25 years earlier. Maggie, along with her parents Ewan and Jess, lived at Baneberry Hall for only three weeks before sheer terror drove them to flee in the middle of the night. Now nearly 30, Maggie has to face the reality of not only the recent death of her father, but yet again she has to face the skepticism and criticism regarding his best selling book, House of Horrors. Her father’s book detailed the paranormal activity and deep secrets of the home’s history. Author Riley Sager merges the past and present as well as the suspenseful and supernatural in Home Before Dark.
On her father’s deathbed she learns that she is the new owner of Baneberry Hall. As a restorer of old homes, Maggie’s goal is to make the needed updates and sell the home as quickly as possible. Upon moving into the house temporarily, Maggie begins to doubt that her father invented many of the stories detailed in House of Horrors. She begins to meet many of the townspeople portrayed in his book. They have long memories and still harbor mixed emotions toward her family and the book. As odd occurrences begin to spook Maggie, she begins to question everything that she has doubted her entire life – are there sinister evil spirits in Baneberry Hall or did her father invent the phenomenons that he claimed were true?
Home Before Dark is the second Riley Sager book that I have read and have thoroughly enjoyed both titles. I would highly recommend his books if you enjoy the psychological suspense genre peppered with a little horror and supernatural elements. In addition to the print book, Home Before Dark is also available as an eBook through Overdrive.
