Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a great day.  Let's jump right into it, as I have a chicken to bake (certainly my seven thousandth). I just finished Home Before Dark by Riley Sager.  If this book isn't already on your radar, it is about a woman, Maggie, who inherits an old mansion in Vermont. When her family lived there years ago they found it to be haunted, so haunted that one night her family flees with nothing but the clothes on their back. Maggie was five years old when her family left and doesn't remember much.  The knowledge she has about the house comes from a best selling book her father writes after they flee, which Maggie believes is a complete lie.

Written with alternating chapters following the present day Maggie, and actual chapters from the book written by Maggie's dad, Ewan, the reading is quick.  Many sections end in a cliffhanger or revelation, propelling the reader forward.  It is full of atmosphere, a bit spooky, and in one section, quite gross.  It contains several mysteries and as thriller lovers prefer...many twists. If you are a romantic comedy reader, this isn't for you. However, if you like horror, mysteries, or thrillers, this, my friends, is the book for you. It's a wild ride that will grab you from the very beginning and doesn't lift the overhead harness until the very end.

Now the bad news, Home Before Dark isn't going to be released until June 30th.  I have a finished, hardbound copy. It isn't an advanced reader copy/galley. How did I get it so early (June 1st)? Book of the Month, that's how. Wait, don't close your laptop, I swear this is not a commercial. I get no kickback, they have no idea who I am.  Several years ago I received a gift subscription and have renewed it for several years. Books end up costing $14.99 hardbound.  Have you priced books lately, never mind, I know you have a reading addiction too.  Well for you library dwellers let me tell you they run from $26 to $31. That is more than a quarter of a hundred dollars for one book.  That just shocks me.  Anyway, Book of the Month (BOTM) gets you a discount because you're basically paying ahead. AND you can get up to two additional books each month.  Trust me here, any add on books, pay for instead of using credits. Credits cost $14.99 but add ons at $9.99, so save those credits for each months BOTM.

My mom used to get BOTM ages ago, thankfully, it is much better now. If you don't want a book, just skip a month. Nothing is sent automatically. There are five new books to choose from each month. Usually there is a thriller, but the choices are varied. One of June's choices was Home Before Dark, which they got early for their subscribers. My description is probably clear as mud, but their web site is much better. My husband said I looked like a kid on Christmas morning when I saw Home Before Dark as a choice.  What can I say, I've been waiting for this to come out and to get it early and at a discount, it's housewife heaven.

By the way, if you're thinking, like I was, that this might be a reworking of The Amityville Horror is isn't.  Riley Sager's novel is much more involved and so good.