Literally Dead Book Club discussion

Full spoiler free for all, share any thoughts you have!

What was your final rating?

Anything you predicted?
Anything that surprised you?

Would this make a good movie or tv show?

How does this rank with other Riley Sager books and will you pick up more from him?

Another great book by Riley Sager! the first half did not vibe with me but the second half stole my breath. Absolutely loved the ending.
4/5

It was okay, not great. Sager puts me on the fence of whether or not I really like his work. I have yet to rate his books higher than 3.5.

I liked it. I think it’s a 3.5, but rounded up to 4 on my Goodreads account. I thought this was my first book of Riley Sanger’s, but I read Final Girls last year so it’s actually my 2nd. I liked Home Before Dark a lot more than I liked Final Girls. I want to read Lock Every Door next.

yep only a 3 star book for me. I much preferred Home Before Dark. I still need to read The Last Time I Lied.

Just finished this, couldn’t put the book down for the last two-thirds of the book. I really enjoyed this. This book kept me guessing up until the end whether there really was something paranormal happening. I enjoyed the twists at the end, some of which I had guessed a little beforehand, but then it turned out my guess wasn’t quite accurate. As others have already commented, the main character was difficult to like at times, but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story. I would rate this a solid 3.75.

I loved this book! I’d say far as Sager books go though, it’s my third favorite out of the four. I would have liked it a ton more if the house actually was haunted, and so I am choosing to believe that she did in fact see the ghost of the girl push bakery lady down the stairs as opposed to it being the girl’s mom (sorry I read this right when it came out so I don’t remember the names). I also am choosing to believe that there are ghosts that aren’t malevolent in that house simply because of how many deaths have been there and the fact that everything was explained except for the chandelier having a mind of its own (unless I just missed that part). I do wish that Sager would venture in to REAL supernatural elements in his books as opposed to the main character just thinking that’s the case, because it just opens up so many more possibilities. All in all though, this is a fantastic thriller and a five star book for me!

I liked it. I gave it 4 stars. Probably my least favorite of the 3 Riley Sagar books I’ve read. But I still enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this read! This is my first Riley Sager book and I will definitely be reading his others.
That ending was so full of twists and I was loving it. I was so surprised to find out that her parents thought she had killed Petra. Although I knew when Maggie was shoveling pie in her face that something was wrong with it. It was just super suspicious.
I still have some questions though. So most of the ghostly things that Maggie was experiencing was done by Hannah but what about Petra's teddy bear?! She said she hasn't seen that teddy bear sine Petra disappeared. Did I miss where it explained how the teddy bear ended up on the desk from the closet.
Since Maggie saw Petra push Marta down the stairs, was that a nod at saying that Petra's ghost is really in the house?
I feel like I could definitely enjoy a reread of this book knowing now what I know. It's a 5 star read for me. I loved loved loved this book!

New to the group and new to this genre. This book did not disappoint. Just when I would think I had the plot figured out, it would take an unexpected twist or turn that kept me wanting more. I really enjoyed the concept of a chapter in the present and then a historical chapter to enhance the story detail. Sagar is definitely on my radar now and I plan to check out the other works available. I would give a 4/5 and can't wait to read more.

I would give Home Before Dark a 3/5. I really feel like it was so slow to rev up and I found myself slightly bored. I do understand that the various dialogues, flash-backs, and background info were integral to the story though. The twists were really great and I definitely did not see the ending coming. Overall, the story was cool, the twists were great, but it was just very slow for me and I feel like a lot of the stuff in the beginning could've been condensed. I recently finished Lock Every Door and kind of have the same review (slightly slow but good twists/ending - although I was more intrigued by it). I will read future Riley Sager books since the stories are cool and the endings haven't disappointed me yet. I'll just be aware it may not be fast-paced.

I enjoyed this book. I loved the ghostly atmosphere. I loved this more than Lock Every Door. I love Riley Sager's writing. Next time I would love to listen to this on audio. The only question is why does he always use females as main characters? It is time to write a book with a male main character.

I am very new to the horror genre and haven't read a thriller in quite sometime and I must say that Home Before Dark was a great book to start with! The story kept me guessing right up until the very end and most of the time I thought I had it figured out but little did I know a twist was around the corner. I loved how the anticipation continued to build, particularly towards the end of the novel with all the unexpected reveals. I think the ending was very clever! Although I must say, part of me was a little disappointed that the house wasn't haunted... as much as I was impressed with the end. The only issues I had with the book is that the writing between the house of horrors and present day was too similar and the middle section of the book needed a little more substance for me. All in all I gave this a 3.75 stars. Would recommend to anyone looking for something that keeps you guessing. Great start to the Literally Dead Bookclub for me!!

On another note - Ewan passed away believing it was his daughter who killed Petra as a little girl... he would never have truly known that it wasn't Maggie!!

In the end this is a solid 3 stars for me.

The 'book-within-book' structure turned out to be a pretty clever repackaging of an 'unreliable narrator' story.

I also appreciate the last sentence of the novel brought the whole book full circle and gave context to the opening text. That was a neat touch.

The last 50 pages or so is a roller coaster, very thrilling with the relentless layering of new information. Home Before Dark doesn't end up being a horror novel (more of a mystery thriller with a dash of supernatural), I kind of enjoy this genre-bending turn of events, but I wonder if people would feel being cheated out of a promised haunted house story, based on its promotional materials.

My prediction during Ch. 1-5 was way off, but I did call out during Ch.6-14 that Marta will play a bigger role in the finale.

The ending fixed one of my complaints from earlier, which is the mediocrity of the House of Horrors section; looking back through the lens of Ewan Holt writing it in desperation as a cover-up, it made sense why it is filled of haunted house cliches (a wife in insistent denials) and convenient scenarios (the communication with Curtis through the bells was hilariously stupid—and unbelievable how it worked out perfectly on the first try!).

Even with the clever ending, Home Before Dark still has some lingering issues, with its clunky story logic (the discovery of Dane in the Polaroid is equivalent to the CSI 'Let's Enhance' meme) and inconsistent character development (Maggie often reacts very dramatically for no apparent reason), which is why it sits at a 3 ranking for me overall.

Latanya (Crafty Scribbles) wrote: "It was okay, not great. Sager puts me on the fence of whether or not I really like his work. I have yet to rate his books higher than 3.5."

I'm in the same boat—his books for me always had one great 'gimmick', bur everything else fell short.

I usually read at night in the dark and I found myself getting a bit spooked but this one. Embarrassing I know. I had to remind myself that this was a Riley Sager book, so there was not going to be any actual ghosts of course. It’s the same as the others, at this point I don’t think I’ll ever LOVE a Sager book, but I’ll continue to read them, they’re solid 3s and that’s ok. Although I would love to see him write a male protagonist, his female protagonists are always so incredibly bland. They bore me to death. 3/5

Riley Sager consistently is able to "trick" me in my guesses. I think I am being clever, by not following some of the clues, but then I think that sometimes there are no clues on the who-done-it.

I'm going to give this one a 3.5 stars I think. I think that is because it turned out to not actually be a horror reason for the book, when it was sold as a horror... but that is more a me thing that anything else.

I think one of the things that bothered me about the book was the "just happens to see it" types of things, like seeing Dane in the polaroid. Sometimes it just felt a little to unbelievable. I did enjoy the book though and will continue reading Sager's books in the future!

I gave it 4 stars. For me personally, I loved the first half of the book. I especially loved reading it in my bad at night. I kept wondering what was going to happen in the end and for that reason I couldn’t put it down. I gave it 4 instead of 5 because I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. I was really hoping there would be actual ghosts. I could’ve guessed the ending but I just didn’t want to believe that the house wasn’t haunted. Meh ending...

I loved this book! Gave it 5 stars.
Towards the end, I really thought I would hate it, but the ending was very surprising to me. I did not see it coming, and it totally was what made me give it the rating I gave. This and the audiobook, which was great.
I would've really loved if the ending was with Marta poisoning Maggie and Maggie dying and Marta getting away with it. Don't know why. But this things always have a happy ending, right?
I would love to see a movie of this story!

I ended up enjoying this one and gave it a 4 star rating. I love books about books or books within books and books that make you question whether or not something is paranormal. I was engaged, creeped out, and had to know what happened right up until the very end.

That being said, I did think that it was a little bit weak that they were trying to cover up a murder that they thought their 5 year old child committed. Maybe I missed it but, I also didn't understand why there was a passage from outside into her room through a cabinet?

I predicted it wasn’t a paranormal thing going on here & this time I wasn’t disappointed with that. I thoroughly enjoyed this book all the way through. I had just finished the haunting of hill house the show & book. I enjoyed both along with it’s differences so I was in the mood for another mystery house.

It even spooked me a little when reading at night. Didn’t help that there was an earthquake here that woke me up early morning. Bad timing for that since it was halfway through when she was little seeing ghosts.

I just read this book & had fun with it. I didn’t critique it too hard, just followed the mystery along because that’s what I wanted to do. I haven’t read anything else by this author. What do others recommend by him? Are they all pretty good or some meh?

Loved it, solid 4 stars for me. This was actually my first Riley Sager book and I was pleasantly surprised. Will definitely be adding his other books to my TBR.

4/5 stars. I really really enjoyed it. The start was a bit slower, but I couldn’t put it down while reading the second half. Frankly, I think towards the end of the fictional book Maggie’s father wrote, things got too ridiculous for me. But Maggie’s storyline kept getting better and better. I definitely want to read more from this author (this is the first book by him that I’ve read).

Very much enjoyed the book within a book aspect. Although sometimes you know something was up like with the pie. I still would not gave guessed that the mother of the prior family had killed Petra or creepily sneaking into Maggie's room. Was a 4 star for me and will continue to read more of Riley Sager's books.

This remained a 4 out of 5 for me. I loved the ending because I want my ghost stories to end like this. I was surprised by the double twist ending. At one point in this section I thought it had to be an actual ghost story, but I loved how it all wrapped up. I mentioned Scooby Doo in my remarks on the last section of reading so it made me giggle when I saw that in the book.

This is only my 2nd Riley Sager book, but I liked this one best. The other one I read is Lock Every Door. I think I preferred the old house setting more than the old hotel.

I think this could be an incredibly creepy movie or even a one season series - U.K. style with 8 episodes

Monica wrote: "Very much enjoyed the book within a book aspect. Although sometimes you know something was up like with the pie. I still would not gave guessed that the mother of the prior family had killed Petra ..."

I didn't suspect the pie at all!

My final rating was a 3/5 star, which has become pretty typical for Riley Sager books. Though I do enjoy the books overall there's just something I don't love. it was definitely entertaining but I did have a lot of problems with it, especially the ending. I don't love that all the supernatural stuff just gets explained away. It kind of takes away from the overall impact of the story.

I did like that there wasn't an unnecessary love story thrown in. When Dane's character was introduced I thought that's where it was going, so I appreciate that it didn't.

Seems I'm alone in this, but I didn't like it. It was too much back and forth for my taste. 2 stars for me. I absolutely loved Lock Every Door, but haven't loved his other works. Overall, I don't think he's an author for me :)

I enjoyed this more than The Last Time I Lied, so will probably end up giving it a 4/4.5 stars. I could barely put it down, which is a good sign for me.

The ending was a bit... confusing? There were a lot of layers to unpack.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Maggie hear the music at 5 AM too, even though that part of the book was fake? Was that ever explained? Was it actually someone coming into the house and, if so, how did they know to do it at that exact time each night?

I couldn't wait until the discussion started to read this one, so just answering in one shot.

What did you think about the first 5 chapters?
I don't remember any specifics about the first few chapters. I don't remember being super hooked in the story. The plot point of the house being willed to her seemed a little cheesy, but not too terrible.

Favourite character?
none really

Any predictions of what's to come?
I assumed the lady with the eyes wasn't going to be "as she seemed." Couldn't tell if it was going to be a truly paranormal kind of thing or not though. I assumed the kid was going to have some dark past that was going to be covered up no matter what the situation.

Are you preferring the regular narrative, or the "house of horrors" book within?
I generally preferred the book portions. The main character was a little too prissy for me.

If you had to rate the book at this point, what would you rate it?
I hovered around a 3.5 for a long while.

Follow up question- what do you hope the book does in the last section? What would it take to get 5 stars?
A truly speculative or paranormal experience where it ends almost a little questionably probably would have done it for me.

Any surprising moments or reveals for you so far?
Don't remember anything mid-book for this one. Most of the book didn't really feel surprising though.

What was your final rating?
4 stars

Anything you predicted?
The lady with the eyes. I knew it would be something silly or less than spooky. And the kid had a dark secret that was being covered up.

Anything that surprised you?
Nope. Felt like I had a good grasp of where it was going by page 30.

Would this make a good movie or tv show?
Could be. It reminded me a lot of "Are You Afraid of the Dark" from growing up.

How does this rank with other Riley Sager books and will you pick up more from him?
I have only ever read "Final Girls" so far by him. I enjoyed this one more, but it mostly just felt more nostalgic (those AYAotD vibes). I would probably reread this where I could do with just one read of "Final Girls."

Okay. I’m going to give this book 4.5 stars. I was really wanting the answer to be paranormal but I know that rarely happens so I’m not too disappointed. However, I am disappointed that I figured out the ending as soon as the scene in the library with Maggie and Marta happened. Overall, the book kept me very intrigued. I enjoyed the letter from Maggie’s father. I liked that the book wasn’t left ambiguous in the fact that we know that certain aspects weren’t real for sure. I didn’t dislike the characters as I see many had. I don’t think this book would make a good tv show or movie because I think it would end up being really cheesy and predictable.

I'm waffling between 4 and 5 stars. Even though I said it would only be a 4 for me if the haunting was fake. The entire ending shocked me and that's pretty rare. I definitely preferred the House of Horrors book within, but the ending of the regular narrative was great. I've read everything Sager has published and this is my favorite so far.

I do want to talk about Maggie and Dane though. Did anyone else find literally ALL of their interactions super weird?

Why is Maggie even mad at Dane for not telling her about his past? She never asked and I don't think she was entitled to knowing just because she hired him. So she gets super pissed at him and then calls him and asks him to DRIVE her somewhere? She's mad he has a violent past but she's going to get into a vehicle with him? ok. THEN PICKS A FIGHT WITH HIM IN THE VEHICLE HES DRIVING?! I can't. AND THEENNNNN calls him later and asks him to help her AGGAAAIIINNN. I'm out. That entire plot line was freaking weird and totally unrealistic.

Emma, I agree with you! The part that got me was when they got into a fight in the house because she figured out it was him in the picture and it was super weird. I was scared for her, thought he was a psycho killer because that’s how he was acting. But then... he wasn’t lol very weird. I thought it was going to go somewhere romantic with him since his introduction but it never did. Maggie had no right to care about his past. Kind of a waste of a character for me!

Emma wrote: "I'm waffling between 4 and 5 stars. Even though I said it would only be a 4 for me if the haunting was fake. The entire ending shocked me and that's pretty rare. I definitely preferred the House of..."

Totally agree with the strange way Maggie and Dane's relationship is written—maybe Riley Sager is hinting at her upbringing, relationship with her father, and he anger tendency, but it's definitely not handled well.

I'm going to give this book 5 stars. I was invested in the storyline from the beginning and I kept guessing what is going to happen all the way through. Really loved all the twists at the end. I would definitely watch it if there's a movie or a mini series of this book.

Although I totally agree with Emma. I thought the same about Maggie and Dane, especially when she asked him to drive her somewhere even though she was pissed because he had a violent past. Lol! Their hole relationship didn't make any sense, but overall it was a great book and I was hooked on it, hence the 5 stars.

What was your final rating?
4 stars!

Anything you predicted?
I predicted that it would be not be a supernatural entity and that Ewan didn't murder Petra.

Anything that surprised you?
When it was revealed that Maggie "killed'' Petra. Or that her parents thought she did.

Would this make a good movie or tv show?
Would work as a movie or a limited tv show (if it got the same treatment as Sharp Objects).

How does this rank with other Riley Sager books and will you pick up more from him?
This is my first Riley Sager! I'm definitely going to go back and start with his first novel, which I think is Final Girls.

For me it's a solid 3/5. Would've been a 4/5 maybe if I thought the twists towards the end were a little more believable. I actually liked the first supposed twist of Maggie being Petra's killer more than everything that got revealed afterwards, including what her night terrors in reality turned out to be. It was all a bit over the top for me, I didn't like how it was all set up.

The book is rather slow at times, which I didn't mind at all, but at the end it was just a lot at once ... I still had a good time and was entertained throughout every single page!

I've only read Lock Every Door which was a 5/5 for me (I saw most of the twists coming but it still kept me at the edge of my seat) and I'm eight chapters into The Last Time I Lied, though I have yet to connect to the story and characters. Sager's writing is always engaging.

What was your final rating?
3 stars.
At the start, the story was much to similar to The Haunting of Hill House and this was bleak in comparison. However, unlike The Haunting, this has some twists and turns at the end that pulls it completely out of the paranormal. Actually, this is what elevated it to a 3 stars for me.

Anything you predicted?
I predicted that the murder of Petra was an accident for which Maggie could be responsible and that the book was a cover up for that. However, that still leaves some plotholes to be explained, like why did her father leave the house to her in his will.

Anything that surprised you?
That Marta was behind the haunting. I would have thought that it was just Maggie having bad dreams and invisible friends.

Would this make a good movie or tv show?
It is very similar to Haunting of Hill House, and I'm afraid it couldn't be better.

How does this rank with other Riley Sager books and will you pick up more from him?
This is my first Riley Sager and I'm willing to give his other books a try.

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I'd say before the last few chapters I would have given it a 3 stars but the ending pushed it to a 4 star :)
I wish the modern day part of the story was more interesting because I was finding them had to get through.

I had predicted that Petra had ran away from home and was living in the house and scaring people away (I predicted the twist would be that the body wouldn't be her).... so I was very wrong.

I think this would be a good tv show... but Lock every door was definitely my favorite of the two. I plan to read his other novels in the future :)

This is a high 4-star rating for me. I thought I had the ending figured out, but there were some twists I definitely didn’t see coming. I do wish there was actually a supernatural element to this story, though. But, I will say that the last page of this book...*chef’s kiss*.

This is my first Riley Sager book and I loved it! Probably a 4.5 but I rounded to a 5 star. I enjoyed the reading experience and was completely satisfied with the ending. There were some minor issues with the plot and certain characters that other people mentioned in comments and which I agree with (the Dane photo and some of his story line, the teddy bear) but none of them impacted my enjoyment of this book. I'm OK with the teddy bear issue remaining unresolved since I think it leaves open the possibility that Maggie's belief about Petra's spirit could be true.

I actually like the fact that this book is 'marketed' as a horror, but then turns out to be a murder mystery/thriller because that worked to throw me off and keep me guessing to the end. Since I was expecting "horror", I kept expecting the 'ghost' story aspect to be proven true at some point (or at least some type of paranormal activity that explained what was happening in the house). I read a lot of mystery/thrillers, so it's kind of hard to trick me at this point and I like when a book can mislead me enough without being ridiculous (too many unnecessary twists with the sole purpose of throwing the reader off). I was completely underwhelmed by the Silent Patient because I saw where that book was heading early on and was able to guess the "big twist". I liked the Guest List because it did manage to keep me guessing until the end, but even that was a 4-star read for me. I've added the rest of Riley Sager's books to my TBR pile, I hope they do not disappoint.

I also appreciated how Riley Sager wrote the female characters. They were all strong and complex--the 'victims' as well as the 'perpetrators'--and they were all main/lead characters. None of the women were overly sexualized, nor was there an unnecessary romance (because a female character doesn't always need a man to justify her existence). I loved it when Maggie kicked Dane out of her hotel room. That's not where I thought that was heading and I was getting ready to roll my eyes at yet another gratuitous sex scene, so I was pleasantly surprised by that outcome.

I'm really looking forward to the discussion on this one!!

You know, this was an interesting read and interesting to review. I thought it had some issues with both the writing and the story itself, but I just couldn't put it down. I was all around intrigued no matter where the author took me, flaws and all.

My full review

What was your final rating?
4/5 stars, not perfect by any means but I really liked this one.

Anything you predicted?
I feel like I started to question every character, then wondered if there was a paranormal element, then wondered if it was going to be a thought experiment, but I had no idea how the details would play forth. There were many twists that kept me going.

Anything that surprised you?
Thrill-wise as far as the story goes, I wasn't sure how the record player was going to play out. How it playing on its own could be justified. On a personal note, I was surprised at how frivolous the family relationships were, makes me thankful for mine.

Would this make a good movie or tv show?
Possibly, with a deeper storyline to the main female character. Movies are good at depicting flashbacks and cuts to parallel scenes, could represent this book well.

How does this rank with other Riley Sager books and will you pick up more from him?
This was my first book by this author and I will look forward to reading more.

Just finished, and I think I’m settling on 4 stars. It was bit of a slow burn in the beginning, but towards the end I didn’t want to put it down! I’m not sure how to feel about the ending just yet; I think I was hoping that there actually would be supernatural elements.

I did predict that Marta was guilty, however I thought that she was guilty of killing her husband and daughter, not Petra. As soon as Maggie took a bite of the pie things clicked for me though, and I knew it was made with baneberries.

My favourite of Riley Sager’s is still The Last Time I Lied, which is the only book I gave 5 stars to. This book reminds me more of Lock Every Door because of the spooky setting and gothic vibes. He remains a favourite author of mine and I’ll continue to pickup everything he writes! Can’t wait for a live show for this one!!

Riley Sager has truthfully killed me again. This was a wiiiiild ride, and I really loved the book within the book style - I got spooked so much by the 'House of Horrors' book that I had to take an hour long walk just to finish the audiobook outside of my own house. :P

I've only read this and Lock Every Door, but I have to say that I prefer LED to this one, simply because it shocked me so much. And I think that shock is what led me to over-guess and over-anticipate with Home Before Dark, which is my own downfall because the ending wasn't my favorite - I guess I was expecting something much more "unexpected." I gave LED 5 stars and HBD 4 stars. All in all, Sager is a new fave author of mine and I can't wait to read more of his work!

What did you think about the first 5 chapters?

By the time I got to chapter 5 I was fully invested in this story that the author was weaving. My first Riley Sager book. I liked his writing and was enjoying where this was going.
.

Favourite character?

No favourites. Just puzzled who were the imaginary friends!


Any predictions of what's to come?

I was convinced of the ghosts, the haunting. Yep I was sucked in.


Are you preferring the regular narrative, or the "house of horrors" book within?

Both. I think it ran alongside and parallels with each other many times which added to the eerie feelings.

If you had to rate the book at this point, what would you rate it?

5*


Follow up question- what do you hope the book does in the last section? What would it take to get 5 stars?

The ending pushed it up from a 4.75 to a 5* for sure.
Any surprising moments or reveals for you so far?

Yes! Definitely! The last few chapters I was clipping through the pages. No one interrupt me!

What was your final rating?

A solid 5*


Anything you predicted?

I didn’t have any expectations as I wanted to go into this with as least knowledge as I could. I wanted it to shock me (it did) to surprise me (it did) to make me gasp out loud (oh it did)
I wanted it to make me gasp, creep me out, make the hairs on my neck stand to attention, it did.


Anything that surprised you?

The ending


Would this make a good movie or tv show?

Movie for sure.


How does this rank with other Riley Sager books and will you pick up more from him?
I’ve all his previous books and determined to get to them

I had many theories - none of them were correct :)
The twists came completely unexpected even though sufficient hints were there.

This would make a great movie for sure!

Loved the book.

I thought this book would be easy to predict but it actually surprised me! I didn’t really like the first half because it was slow and it felt like nothing was happening. The second half was pretty good, and I ended up liking the characters a lot so I gave it 4/5! I enjoyed this more than Lock Every Door.

This book was a 5 star read. I enjoyed the build up to the finale. All my predictions were wrong, except for the baneberry pie. I do wish the ghost were actually real but, much like Scooby Doo, in the end all monsters are actually humans. I think this book would make a fantastic movie especially due to the epic plot twists. I will definitely be reading more of Riley Sager's books.

My final rating is 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I'm happy that my prediction of Maggie being the killer ended up being a fake twist because that seemed too predictable to me. But, the final twist does not exactly sit well with me either... I don't really understand it. I knew from the moment that Maggie went back to talk with Marta that she was not innocent. At first I thought she would have been guilty of killing her husband and daughter but as soon as Maggie received the "cherry" pie that it was actually baneberry. But I did not understand the reasoning behind Marta watching Maggie sleep... I guess you can just say she was driven mad by her loss? But she did not have any other weird quirks in her day to day life? That seems unlikely to me.

Also, a few plot points still bothered me. I'm glad Maggie finally figured out the inconsistencies in the polaroids.

But with the armoire being a direct route from outside the house to her room and Hannah claiming that was how she had been getting in the house to steal things for the past two years. But when she arrived it was boarded up... so was Hannah using her keys before Maggie got there but then used the armoire after Maggie got there? Why would she check to see if she had un-boarded it? That seemed off to me.

And then when she thought Dane was the killer she ran away into the Indigo Room to trick him into falling into the secret access into the kitchen saying "a person would need to know it's there to avoid missing it entirely. Dane doesn't." (pg. 345 in hardcover) Maybe I'm miss interpreting this statement but that to me is an indication that he could not have killed Petra if he does not know the location of the hole in the floor. But maybe she just meant he did not know it was exposed? Not sure.

Anyway, overall, still enjoyed the book. It could make a cool movie, I don't think there is enough substance to make a TV show. In fact the book itself could have been shorter and possibly been more impactful. I've never read a Riley Sager book before but I'm interested in reading more. This was also my first time participating in a book club and I LOVED IT! It made me read so much more critically (which might be part of why I did not enjoy the book as much as I could have... haha). Can't wait for next month!