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Home Before Dark - by Riley Sager (Paperback)

Home Before Dark - by Riley Sager (Paperback) - 1 of 1
$10.28 sale price when purchased online
$17.00 list price
Target Online store #3991

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Book Synopsis



THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

One of USA Today's Best Books of 2020

"Sager is a master of the twist and the turn. . . . You have to read to the very last page to find how who did what to whom and why."
--Rolling Stone

In this chilling thriller, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father's bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound--and dangerous--secrets hidden within its walls?

Twenty-five years ago, Maggie Holt and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. Three weeks later they fled in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His horror memoir of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity--and skepticism.

Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father's book. But she also doesn't believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don't exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father's death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren't thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie's father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself--a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father's book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.

Alternating between Maggie's uneasy homecoming and chapters from her father's book, Home Before Dark is the story of a house with long-buried secrets and a woman's quest to uncover them--even if the truth is far more terrifying than any haunting.



Review Quotes




"A dark, frightening and twisty story that you won't be able to put down. Read with the lights on!"
--Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

"A cross between Gillian Flynn's Dark Places and ghost hunter heir Alexandra Holzer's autobiography, Sager's latest is a haunted house story--with a twist. . . . Sager is a master of the twist and the turn, and he does not hold back in his fourth book. Like any good thriller, you have to read to the very last page to find how who did what to whom and why."
--Rolling Stone

"Sager's novel is packed with the expected horror-trope-tinged suspense, literary jump-scares, and more than one twist, but its best moments are the quiet ones exploring the history of the house."
--USA Today

"Something fresh, shot through with shocks of real horror."
--New York Times Book Review

"Riley Sager reimagines the classic haunted house tale in Home Before Dark, a stunning tale that blends genres with the ease of a master painter mixing colors. . . . This is scintillating suspense writing, Sager leaving no stone unturned in crafting a page-turner of rare depth and complexity."
--The Providence Journal

"This spooky, surreal haunted-house story goes through plenty of twists at the end. . . . Sager has become one of my favorites for gothic stories that scare and make you think."
--The Parkersburg News & Sentinel

"You might believe in ghosts; you might not. But a story with a ghost inhabiting a creaky old house and haunting its new residents is simply irresistible. At least in the right hands, and Riley Sager's definitely are the right hands. From the shadowy figures in the woods to the sounds that go bump in the night, Home Before Dark is certain to creep you out.
--Bookreporter

Clever, twisty, and altogether spine-chilling . . . [A] deliciously terrifying story . . .You'll want to read this one after dark, ideally with the wind whistling in the eaves and a window banging somewhere just out of reach. But keep the light switch handy. You just might need it.
--Ruth Ware, Book of the Month

"Sager has laid out an exciting story that is hard to put down."
--New York Journal of Books

"Home Before Dark pays homage to The Amityville Horror and, as in Sager's other novels, the story blends psychological suspense with elements of classic horror, for a creepy, edge-of-your-seat read."
-BuzzFeed

"Home Before Dark is a compelling and layered mix of taut psychological suspense, genuinely scary haunted-house terrors, and the vagaries of memory, capped off with an inventive and satisfyingly wild ending."
-Bookpage, starred review

What could be better than a haunted house with ghosts aplenty? Home Before Dark is equally superb and terrifying. Buckle up for a wild ride. This book should come with a warning not to be read after dark.
-Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Mrs.

Flawless pacing, a dexterous dual narrative, and character through the roof. But the biggest revelation to be found in Home Before Dark is this: There's nobody writing scarier books than Riley Sager is right now.
-Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie

"Holy moly, I haven't been that shocked by a twist in quite some time. I actually laughed aloud when the big reveal came-because I was so delighted to have been so fooled. It's hard to write a book that's equal parts fun and frightening but Sager has done just that-and thrown in impeccable plotting for good measure. If you liked The Haunting of Hill House, you're going to love Home Before Dark. Addictive and atmospheric with a twist you definitely won't see coming."
-Stephanie Wrobel, bestselling author of Darling Rose Gold

Houses breathe. Some have a heartbeat. None forget. Grabbing you from the first page, Riley Sager crafts a devilish plot, twisted timelines, and horrors that linger in this haunting thriller that needs to be on your reading list!
-J. D. Barker, international bestselling author of She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be

Part ghost story, part murder mystery, Home Before Dark is a nightmare ride of haunting terror and suspense. Dripping with atmosphere and danger, Baneberry Hall is the new Hill House. I couldn't turn the last 100 pages fast enough.
-Richard Chizmar, New York Times bestselling author

"[An] outstanding supernatural thriller . . . Sager, who makes the house a palpable, threatening presence, does a superb job of anticipating and undermining readers' expectations. Haunted- house fans will be in heaven."
-Publishers Weekly
, starred review

"The ghosts and poltergeist activity Sager conjures are truly chilling, and he does a masterful job of keeping readers guessing until the very end."
-Kirkus Reviews

"For fans of the Amityville Horror story comes yet another breath-stealer from the hit machine Sager."
-Good Housekeeping, "The 35 Best Books to Add to Your Reading List ASAP"

Sager does a superb job of upsetting reader expectations in this horror thriller.
-Publishers Weekly, Summer Reads 2020

"Enough twists to keep you guessing until the final, shocking chapter unfolds."
-PopSugar

King of thrillers, Sager returns with a pulse-pounding, goosebump-inducing tale of a woman who goes back to her childhood home--and the setting of a true horror story.
-Newsweek

"Another breathtaking hit from Sager, who's proven himself a master at crafting new twists on classic horror tales."
-Booklist

"If you love your thrillers with a touch of the supernatural, Sager's haunting new bestseller is just the thing to tingle your spine. . . . This is a keep-the-lights-on winner from the horror master."
-AARP

"[A] propulsive thriller . . . There are truly horrifying scenes. . . . Maggie soon learns what we already know: Real life is scarier than ghost stories."
-Washington Post


- "A dark, frightening and twisty story that you won't be able to put down. Read with the lights on!" Shari Lapena, bestselling author of The Couple Next Door



About the Author



Riley Sager is the pseudonymous author of five thrillers. Riley's first novel, Final Girls, was a national and international bestseller that has been published in more than two dozen countries and won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel. Sager's subsequent novels The Last Time I Lied, Lock Every Door, and Home Before Dark, which received the Crimson Scribe Award by Suspense Magazine, were New York Times bestsellers. His next novel, Survive the Night, is forthcoming in Summer 2021.
Dimensions (Overall): 9 Inches (H) x 1 Inches (W) x 6 Inches (D)
Weight: 1 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 432
Genre: Fiction + Literature Genres
Sub-Genre: Thrillers
Publisher: Dutton Books
Format: Paperback
Author: Riley Sager
Book theme: Suspense
Language: English
Street Date: August 31, 2021
TCIN: 82073943
UPC: 9781524745196
Item Number (DPCI): 059-04-6992
Origin: Made in the USA
If the item details above aren’t accurate or complete, we want to know about it.

Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 1 inches length x 5.5 inches width x 8.25 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.73 pounds
We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.
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Related Categories

4.4 out of 5 stars with 20 reviews
87% would recommend
8 recommendations

Damaged

1 out of 5 stars
IzzyM - 2 months ago, Verified purchaser
Item arrived damaged
Did you find this review helpful?

Amazing book

5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Kate - 6 months ago, Verified purchaser
This book gave me goosebumps multiple times. Thought I had it all figured out, then there would be another plot twist. Completely unexpected! Loved it!
Did you find this review helpful?

Riley Sager Delivers Again

3 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
- 1 year ago, Verified purchaser
It was a good read, although there were so many characters from the past brought into the story, at times it was difficult to keep track of who was who. There were a few excellent twists, and the overall vibe was creepy throughout. One thing that confuses me is the title…it just doesn’t seem to fit.
1 guest found this review helpful. Did you?

Great Read

5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Bazinga - 2 years ago, Verified purchaser
Book was interesting and suspenseful!!
1 guest found this review helpful. Did you?

A home of darkness and violence

4 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
ShopperInNC - 3 years ago
All towns have it. That one house, famous for the haunting, the dark deeds, or tragedies committed within their walls. Baneberry Hall is one such home in Vermont, and despite living through the most notorious and best recorded haunted episode there, Maggie Holt can’t remember any of it. After losing her father and inheriting the house, Maggie decides to return to Baneberry Hall and investigate her past, to find the truth in the lies she’s heard all her life. Wanting nothing more than to put her fathers infamous book behind her. To find a way to forgive her parents for the hell she lived as a result of that book, and maybe make a little cash after renovating and selling. Throughout the coming days, strange things happen, many echoing the terrible things written in her fathers book. Could she have been wrong? Could Baneberry Hall really be haunted? More importantly, will Maggie live long enough to find out?
Did you find this review helpful?

Enjoyed it

5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Jen J - 3 years ago, Verified purchaser
This book is definitely a page turner and keeps you wanting more. I finished the book in one day.
2 guests found this review helpful. Did you?

Enjoyed it

5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
MrsSilva21 - 3 years ago, Verified purchaser
A good ghost story. A scary good read.
3 guests found this review helpful. Did you?

Love This One

5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
MissPop - 4 years ago
Home Before Dark is wonderful if you love thrillers/spooky reads. One of my favorite books of 2020 and I read 100 books. Haha. I thought it was fast-paced and eerie at times. Loved the plot twists. Definitely worth it in my opinion. Might not be every one’s cup of tea but if you like an atmospheric mystery thriller, give this one a try!
2 guests found this review helpful. Did you?

Nope

1 out of 5 stars
Thumbs down graphic, would not recommend
Target Shopper - 4 years ago
Boring story with a lackluster ending. The whole thing made no sense. 0/10 would not recommend.
2 guests found this review helpful. Did you?

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