Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Voted by members for Mystery Thriller Additional Read



Home Before Dark

What was it like? Living in that house.

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale 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.

Only 3 chapters in and I'm already hooked! DO NOT read this at night by candle-light!

just recently read this and thought it was good and creepy! looking forward to discussing! :)

Robin wrote: "just recently read this and thought it was good and creepy! looking forward to discussing! :)"

Hey, I did some speed-reading over my days off and literally finished this in 3 days. Wondering if anyone would like to discuss early...?

Possible topics:
Do you think the narrator/s is/are reliable? What do you think is the REAL story, are there truly any supernatural elements in it?

What is the role of William Garson in the beginning, middle and end?

The identity of Miss Pennyface and Mister Shadow are supposedly revealed... but what about the faceless girl who can't leave the room...?

Is Maggie's father's portion of the book written as memory or as excerpts from The Book?

Glad to hear this is a good one. I am planning on it for this month.

I have been listening to this on audible and it is so creepy and a little scary.
It doesn't help that i listen at 5:30 in the morning, in the dark while walking my dog. I have definitely given myself a scare!

Liz, I have wondering about the same thing with the sections by the father.

I am nearing the end and have no idea what is going to happen.
Stay tuned!

Finished
Loved it! Some twists I didn't see coming.
A great "house" story.