Home Before Dark by Riley Sager: Book Review

I ended up picking up Home Before Dark this month because I have recently been seeing it a lot on bookstagram. A few of my friends have read it and really enjoyed it, so I thought I would put a hold on it at my local library. Then, by the grace of the spooky gods, my hold came in at the beginning of October! The spookiest month and I get to read a highly rated spooky read! Thrilled doesn’t begin to describe how I felt.

I have been getting all the horror books on my TBR in the audiobook format. It is the best way to read this genre, I have no questions about that anymore. I have definitely been enjoying the past couple of reads, and I am so impressed by the narration, which I assume is even more difficult in horror with the suspense that needs to be created.

Also, unrelated note, but happy week two of blogtober. I am 1/3 through a month of doing blogtober on two blogs. TWO! I am pretty proud of myself, especially because I am not ahead at all in writing these posts. I am writing this the day before it is to be posted… But yay me! Hopefully, I will have a day off soon where I can write write write my little blogger heart out. hopefully!

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Content Warnings: Snakes, death of a parent, suspected pedophilia

Like I said, I had really high hopes when I was going into this book, and I was definitely not disappointed. This author is seasoned in writing horror and you can tell. The characters were unique, and all the elements needed in a horror novel were there, including spook, murder, and mystery.

This book was written in a dual timeline, one being a man who just moved into a home with his wife and daughter, and the other timeline being that daughter, 25 years later, renovating the home to sell after her father has passed away. I loved reading these two perspectives, which were both equally compelling in my opinion. This dual timeline reminded me a lot of The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James (you can read my review of that book here), so I would definitely recommend this to fans of that book. It is very similar, but very different, so it will keep you engaged in a story structure you know you love already.

Throughout this book, you think you know what was going on. I did anyway, I had an idea of the happenings of the book, but I was so wrong. My jaw hit the floor because of the plot twist at the end, I had not expected it. That is what is so great about this book. You are really on your toes, thinking you have the story all figured out until you realize you don’t.

Truly, only the ending disappointed me, and that was because of my personal bias. And the problem is, I can’t even tell you why I was disappointed because it would spoil the ending. I think the ending was done wonderfully, and most people will love it, but it took away an element of the story that I was craving, which just left me disappointed.

But seriously, overall this was a great book. I would definitely recommend this to fans of horror, and to anyone who wants to dip their feet into the genre. This is a great introduction.

Sometimes, the worst part of writing book reviews is trying everything in my power to not spoil it. This task is especially difficult when I am reviewing a mystery or a horror novel, like this one. I wish I could explain why I gave this book 4 instead of 5 stars, but I guess it will be a mystery, just like this book.

Have you read this book yet? Let me know in the comments below what your favorite parts were. Did you like the ending?