Book: Home Before Dark

Book: Home Before Dark

Author: Riley Sager

Pages: 416

This is my 65th read for the year

This is the story of Maggie Holt.  When she was a little girl, she lived in a big old house less than a month before her parents packed her up, moved, and never looked back.  Maggie has spent her whole life wondering why.  Her dad became famous writing a ghost story about their time there which followed Maggie her whole life.  Maggie was always sure it was made up, but now that she is an adult and the house has been left to her after her dad died - she isn't so sure.  Things are happening in the house, and as she interviews and talks to people who were there while her family lived in that house all those years ago, she isn't sure what to believe.  As things progress, the truth of what happened to her family as a child and who was responsible comes to light.  

This was a pretty good book.  It is a decent thriller that was fun to listen to.  The chapters go back and forth from the Present with Maggie as an adult and her dad when Maggie was a little girl.  You do eventually figure out who is causing the issues, and the truth comes out but for awhile you really do wonder where it is going.  The ending wasn't surprising, but it wasn't bad either.  I would say my only drawbacks were that Maggie is a bit of a brat as a young adult.  Her character is slightly immature - forgiving and hating people in quite the pendulum swing.  The other was one line that made me roll my eyes when she was reading a letter from her dad who said that he and her mother had gone for a night away and "connected several times".  I am thinking the author doesn't have kids because I cannot imagine any scenario where a parent would share that - especially in a letter.  It was just dumb and stuck with me.

Anyway- a good little thriller.  I am going to check out a few of his other books in the future.

Stars: 3.5