What is scarier, ghosts or the secrets a family wants to bury? “Home Before Dark” by Riley Sager is a story about a haunted house that isn’t haunted. Or is it? Baneberry Hall is a spooky Victorian estate in the Vermont woods where things don’t just go bump in the night; the things play music and turn on the lights.
Maggie Holt and her parents, Ewan and Jess, only lived in Baneberry Hall for three weeks before fleeing in the dead of night. Ewan wrote about the ordeal in his nonfiction book, “House of Horrors: A True Story” (a la “The Amityville Horror“), which went on to worldwide success. That was twenty-five years ago and Maggie has just learned that she has inherited Baneberry Hall from her father’s estate, which is interesting because she thought the house had been sold decades ago.
Maggie’s profession is renovating and flipping houses, so naturally she decides to return to Baneberry Hall, fix it up and sell it. Old houses are always filled with secrets and surprises, and Baneberry Hall with its sinister history that predates Maggie’s family, is no exception. Since she was too young to remember the events that caused her family to flee from their home and she thinks her father’s book is a lie, Maggie intends on finding some answers.
“Every house has a story to tell and a secret to share.”
“Home Before Dark” intersperses Maggie encountering Baneberry Hall in the present with Ewan’s book, House of Horrors. It’s the book-within-a-book trope. Each chapter with Maggie and the small-town characters she meets in the present is followed by a chapter from Ewan’s first-person “House of Horrors” book 25 years prior.
The creepy imagery (snakes!) and possibly paranormal occurrences make “Home Before Dark” a fun, spooky read. As the plot progresses, there are more questions for Maggie to answer than she originally thought and actual danger that seems to be lurking right behind her.
“Home Before Dark” has more than one plot twist and plenty of jump-scares to satisfy thriller readers. Some of the best moments though are the quiet ones where the reader learns about the history of the house, comparing what Maggie’s father wrote to what she learns and what it all means for her family.
Are you hosting a book club or need suggestions? Whether your club is reading “Home Before Dark” or another scary book, check out our Spooky Sangria recipe. It’s perfect for fall gatherings, but we’ve also curated the recipe so that you can make just one glass just for yourself. Happy reading (and drinking)! Cheers!
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