The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

One of our winning group reads for March 2023 is Home Before Dark by Riley Sager. Please discuss here and remember to use spoiler tags as needed, as everyone reads at different speeds and may start at different times.



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.

In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, 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?

I'm in. got my book too

I'm game for this one too! :) Going to order my book today; I have his other one, Final Girls on my bookshelf already. Maybe reading this one will motivate me to pick up that one next.

I read this a while back. definitely a fun read

I always assumed Riley Sager was a lady (:

Leena wrote: "I always assumed Riley Sager was a lady (:"

I originally thought so too. I think maybe because Riley is a gender neutral name and he uses a lot of female main characters. 🤷🏼‍♀️

This was a favorite of mine by Sager. The book turned up the creepy vibes and very atmospheric read. Great thriller with lots of secrets that kept me guessing!

My copy arrived yesterday! So excited to read this one; it's been awhile since I read something spooky!

Hi, new member here, excited to read this one and just picked it up from Kindle. Looking forward to reading it

Welcome, Alexis. I hope you enjoy it. Be sure to let us know what you think. :)

Ok ok you got me. I’m in 😅 my book should be arriving tomorrow

Rebecca wrote: "Ok ok you got me. I’m in 😅 my book should be arriving tomorrow"

😂

I'm just finishing up this historical romance, and then I'm super hype to start this one on Wednesday! My mom called dibs on it when I'm done, so motivation to read it before she tries to grab it ha-ha.
I can't wait to see what you guys think of it :)

Oh, read fast, Allison! lol At least she plans to wait until you're done with it. I've definitely lost books before I had a chance to read them before.

Me too Kristie, gotta love it! lol
I finished my other book, so I started this one today.
I love the way the author started this; even within the first 10 pages I was hooked. The format of excerpts from the fathers book to present day, makes me almost want to skip to read the next part but I refuse to do that ha-ha.
I'm on the fence so far about the MC, Maggie, but before I gather my thoughts i want to get past a few days in that house.
Anyone else get a smile from the Stephen King Easter egg? I could see this as a horror movie, so far anyway. :)

I really loved this story! Though I still had some questions in the end.

Kristie wrote: "Leena wrote: "I always assumed Riley Sager was a lady (:"

I originally thought so too. I think maybe because Riley is a gender neutral name and he uses a lot of female main characters. 🤷🏼‍♀️"

I believe Riley Sager is a pen name. I read an article that he picked it because female thriller authors were doing so well https://www.theatlantic.com/entertain...

Excited that you all are reading this one, I love quite a few of his books and will be looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

That's so interesting. Thank you for sharing, Andrea.

Just getting started - 9% in. Spooky. I’m intrigued!

I've just started too

I'm going to my library today to get mine!

@Ashley, you are so right. I actually liked the father's book interwoven with the present day.

I've finished reading this book. I really enjoyed it. the author's very clever, he's left so much of the book unexplained, it's uncanny

it's also cruel - 25 years of loss and grief to so many people.Im also disappointed Maggie didn't get that romance with Dane. it would have helped both to find some closure.

Just a reminder to please use spoiler tags or at least clearly label your post early and always err on the side of tagging too much versus not enough. I have a feeling that there could be a lot of little spoilers, especially with this type of book.

I've been thinking about this book, and I'm de rating it.im really disappointed.

I finished this, this past weekend. I really liked it; I enjoyed the twists and turns, and some of the solutions were completely unexpected though realistic. I also appreciated that he left some things unexplained; as it let's the reader use creative license with our interpretations.

What made you disappointed Leeana?

Finished! 4 stars for me; Maggie’s story was a bit more 3 star at times but on whole gave the book 4 stars. Did not see the twists coming. The interchange of chapters from the father’s book and Maggie’s story was clever and worked well together, and I love a good ghost story so that all worked well for me. I thought some of Maggie’s actions were not what a typical person would do. The book definitely kept me coming back whenever I could to keep finding out what happened next.

Allison , hi. I was just waiting for most to finish reading before posting my disappointment since the spoiler tab doesn't work on the app.

Leena wrote: "Allison , hi. I was just waiting for most to finish reading before posting my disappointment since the spoiler tab doesn't work on the app."

You should be able to create spoilers on the app using the same html code as online. You just can't open them to read on the app, which I think is weird.

Finally got around to this one, it took me 2 days. I really did not want to put it down, but ya know family in stuff kind of got in my way a little.
Loved the way each chapter jumped from the book to current time Maggie. Did not like how the voice of Maggie and the voice of the novel were so close, I struggled with those transitions a little. And I thought the development of Maggie was pretty authentic, most people go through so many emotions/feelings/changes throughout their lives and this really gave that.

After stewing on this novel, I didn't like how the author, after demystifying the unknown, doesn't explain many details. The primary being who's been playing the record, especially since there's no entry there.

Leena wrote: "After stewing on this novel, I didn't like how the author, after demystifying the unknown, doesn't explain many details. The primary being who's been playing the record, especially since there's no..."

SPOILERS #spoilers

Didn't they explain the record? I thought it was the sister. Maybe I misread that.

This was my first Riley Sager book and I couldn’t put it down! Just when I thought I figured it out, there was another twist! Love books like this that keep you guessing and throw another curveball surprise. Honestly, I never saw the ending coming! It got 5 stars from me!

Just finished and I gave it a sold three stars! I absolutely loved picking up this book and I was super spooked throughout (which I love!) I wasn't happy with how the story ended as I felt there was so much more creepy detail that could have been woven in and I felt the author opted for more safe options to try and bring about closure. I also found Maggie to be a bit tedious at times when she carried on about how her life had been ruined by the book. And without giving anything away, I am still baffled at the vast difference between young Jess and older Jess? I don't feel the author made the connection on the change in behaviour.
But really had fun reading this book. I called it my 'popcorn' book as I just wanted to curl up with popcorn and dive in! Great suggestion.

@ Brooke - no, the record was never explained, and in fact, the author kept emphasising how the 3rd floor study wasn't accessible. The sister uses the keys she's got, and the secret passage ends I Maggie's Room. I also didn't understand the snake nest? is that even possible for snakes to breed in the ceiling like that?

I have to confess thought that I've not gotten around to destar the book? It was fun, and heck, I did enjoy it even though it left me baffled at times.

**this contains spoilers**
I'm on the app and can't figure out how to respond to individual posts, so bear with me!

I thought that there was no need to explain the record and the snakes because it was revealed that the House of Horrors book was almost completely made up in order to cover up what actually happened? I could be wrong though!

I wanted to like this more than I did and struggled a bit to get through it. I really liked how the chapters alternated between present day and excerpts from the book. I didn't love the explanation/twist at the end, I really wanted everything to be real!

actually, even though they kept saying it was make belief, the police chief and Dane remembered the snakes. and didn't Maggie too hear the music?
I agree, Maina. I, too, wanted everything real.