THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • One of USA Today's Best Books of 2020
“A haunted house story—with a twist….[Sager] does not hold back”(Rolling Stone) in this chilling thriller from the author of Final Girls and Survive the Night.
Every house has a story to tell and a secret to share.
Twenty-five years ago, Maggie Holt and her parents moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. Three weeks later they fled in the dead of night, an ordeal her father recounted in a memoir called House of Horrors. His story of supernatural happenings and malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.
Maggie was too young to remember any of the horrific events that supposedly took place, and as an adult she doesn’t believe a word of her father’s claims. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When she inherits Baneberry Hall after his death and returns to renovate the place and sell it, her homecoming is anything but warm. The locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous, and human characters with starring roles in House of Horrors are waiting in the shadows.
Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place where unsettling whispers of the past lurk around every corner. And as Maggie starts to experience strange occurrences ripped from the pages of her father’s book, the truth she uncovers about the house’s dark history will challenge everything she believes.
3.5/5 stars.
3 books in to Riley Sager's novels, I already catch most if not all foreshadowing. The final twists remain to be mostly unpredictable, but once again I reach them and I'm, if I could be honest about it, incredibly underwhelmed. I feel like these books get interesting but then the true answer isn't really as fun as that first ever time. It just feels like layers upon layers are revealed to the story, but I'm already like: "I would like to know the truth, now, please", because I feel like the book should be focusing on making a reveal that I might've even predicted entertaining, not going through the motions of reveal after reveal.
Granted, I do understand why this book is looked with such high regard. Riley Sager knows how to make the experience of getting through his books incredibly atmospheric and entirely enticing - you read and you want to keep reading. When you notice, another 10% of the book passed. I will be reading more books by him because I'm hoping I can find more experiences like Lock Every Door was for me. I am hoping Final Girls will be that since I've heard it's incredibly violent.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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14 July, 2023:
Finished reading
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14 July, 2023:
Reviewed