whitneydaniell

Synopsis

After the death of her father, Maggie Holt returns to the home that shaped so much of her childhood—even though she only lived there for twenty days: Baneberry Hall.

When Maggie was just five years old, her parents, Ewan and Jessica Holt, bought the foreboding mansion perched atop a hill just outside the village of Bartleby, Vermont. Excited for a fresh start, the Holts invested everything they had—literally, purchasing the house in cash—hoping to build a life there and raise young Maggie.

But after a series of strange and unexplainable occurrences, the family fled the house in haste, leaving behind all their belongings. Soon after, Ewan Holt wrote a bestselling book, House of Horrors, based on their brief time at Baneberry Hall.

With the book’s popularity came a spotlight Maggie never asked for—strangers asking intrusive questions, doubting her memories, and feeding into the myth her father created. She resents him and the book deeply because she knows the story is all lies.

Now, 25 years later, Maggie is back at Baneberry Hall, determined to uncover the truth about what really happened in those twenty days. But is she ready for what she’ll find—even if it means everything she believed is a lie?

Character Summary

Thirty-year-old Maggie Holt carries a boulder-sized chip on her shoulder. She refuses to examine her childhood trauma and has spent most of her life blaming first her father, then her mother, convinced they’ve lied to her forever. Her resentment runs deep, making her bitter and largely unlikeable.

Chief Tess Alcott, once a rookie officer when the Holts moved to town, is now the police chief. She doesn’t add much to the story except, maybe, to insert doubt. It must be a small, underfunded, and understaffed department.

Baneberry Hall came with two employees when the Holts bought it: Elsa Ditmer, the maid, and her two daughters—sixteen-year-old Petra and five-year-old Hannah. When Maggie returns, Elsa is ailing but still lives on the grounds with Hannah. The property’s caretaker, Walt Hibbets, also lived on-site, but now only his grandson, Dane, remains.

My Thoughts

I have mixed feelings. The book started out dragging—so slow I needed a mid-morning double espresso just to keep from dozing off. Around the 70% mark, it finally picked up and moved in the right direction, but then the ending? Everything was revealed in one rushed, compact chapter. I hate when the final act dumps all the answers at once. Breadcrumb me there—I want the suspense!

That said, the mystery did intrigue me. What I thought was going on was completely off, and I love when my theories are proven wrong. For that alone: an extra half-star.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single character I could root for. None of them were likable enough to make me care about a happy ending. They were all insufferable.

Maggie, in particular, frustrated me. She can’t change the past or what her parents did or didn’t do—but she could work on being a better person. It’s not lost on me that she’s thirty and still lacks the tools or emotional maturity to have meaningful conversations with her mother about her childhood. She defaults to anger. That, to me, is a choice. She needed therapy, and her parents should’ve enrolled her as soon as they left Baneberry Hall. But even if they didn’t, as an adult, she should’ve sought healing for herself.

The story alternates between present-day and the twenty days the Holts lived at Baneberry Hall, with the past narrated by Maggie’s father, Ewan. While Sager’s writing is strong (no complaints there), I think the timeline shifts contributed to the pacing issues early on—or maybe that was just me. And the ending? Sager always gets us on the hook and starts reeling us in, only to have us crash back into the water at the end like… what just happened?

Final Verdict

It was cool. I’m working my way through all of Riley Sager’s books this year, so—I get what I get, and I don’t get upset.

Sager Tracker

Read all my Riley Sager reviews HERE

title	pub date	read date	⭐
Final Girls	July 11, 2017	May 10 – 13, 2025	⭐⭐
The Last Time I Lied	July 3, 2018
Lock Every Door	July 2, 2019	Aug 8 – 13, 2023	⭐⭐
Home Before Dark	June 30, 2020	July 3, 2025	⭐⭐⭐
Survive the Night	June 29, 2021
The House Across the Lake	June 21, 2022	Jul 12 – 18, 2023	⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Only One Left	June 20, 2023	Jan 15 – 17, 2024	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Middle of the Night	June 18, 2024	Mar 26 – 28, 2025	⭐⭐⭐
With a Vengeance	June 10, 2025	Jun 22 – 24, 2025	⭐⭐⭐⭐