My favorite read from December was Home Before Dark by Riley Sager. I always know which book is going to be my favorite of the month because I can’t stop talking about it to everyone around me. This one was the one, and I knew it before I was even halfway through the book.
Riley Sager seems to be a master of misdirection. This book could have gone in seven different directions and so many people could have been to blame and not to mention the fact that you’re left wondering all the way to the very end about the ghosts. And then when we find out what really happened, it’s completely out of left field.
Aside from the amazing twists and turns, the characters were exceptional. Maggie’s mom’s clipped manner and the nicotine fiend of a neighbor jumped right off the page. The attractive handy man wasn’t bad either. Similar to the character descriptions, the setting was amazing.
The house itself was a masterpiece. From the first time we hear about the way it looks in my dad’s novel to Maggie’s first look on the place since she was a child, you get the feeling that it’s got a creepy edge. No matter how magnificent a house of that size could be, you know it’s got some secrets.
And the secrets were many. And very dark. I don’t want to say too much because I hate to spoil a good book for someone, but I could gush about the details of this book for hours. If you haven’t read it yet, you definitely should.
—
I’d also like to mention my favorite read of the year. I do a bracket contest for the fave reads of the month and the top two came down between The Silent Patient and The Watchers. And The Watchers had to be the one. It was such a perfect reading experience and gave me the creeps from start to finish.
Here’s to another year of great reading.