Home Before Dark

Interior designer Maggie Holt, the heroine of this outstanding supernatural thriller from bestseller Sager (Lock Every Door), is shocked to learn after the death of her father, Ewan, that he has left Baneberry Hall, near Bartleby, Vt., to her. She hadn’t realized that Ewan still owned the spooky mansion that Maggie, Ewan, and her mother moved into 25 years earlier. Maggie’s parents were able to buy the house cheaply, because of a recent tragedy there—the prior owner smothered his six-year-old daughter with a pillow before killing himself. The Holt family had their own traumatic episodes in Baneberry Hall, including Maggie’s visions of a ghostly figure, which led to their fleeing one night. Ewan later wrote a bestselling book about their experiences. Maggie, who still suffers from night terrors, decides to move into Baneberry Hall to get a better understanding of what happened to her and to determine how much of her father’s book was true. Sager, who makes the house a palpable, threatening presence, does a superb job of anticipating and undermining readers’ expectations. Haunted house fans will be in heaven. Agent: Michelle Brower, Aevitas Creative Management. (July)