Books like 'Home Before Dark'
Readers who enjoyed Home Before Dark by Riley Sager also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary horror mystery supernatural psychological small town thriller paranormal suspense ghosts
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Fallen by Mia Sheridan
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsScarlett Lattimore arrives at Lilith House, an abandoned mansion built in 1876, that later housed a reform school for troubled girls, to start a new life with her seven-year-old daughter... -
![Bitter Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff]()
Bitter Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsFBI agent Matthew Roarke has been on leave, and in seclusion, since the capture of mass killer Cara Lindstrom—the victim turned avenger who preys on predators. Torn between devotion to the law and a powerful attraction to Cara and her lethal brand of justice, Roarke has retreated from both to search his soul... -
![I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells]()
I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsJohn Cleaver has called a demon—literally called it, on the phone, and challenged it to a fight. He’s faced two of the monsters already, barely escaping with his life, and now he’s done running; he’s taking the fight to them... -
![Hunting Fear by Kay Hooper, Dick Hill]()
Hunting Fear by Kay Hooper, Dick Hill
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHe's no ordinary kidnapper. Not only does he strike again and again, but he collects the ransom, gets away safely, and leaves his helpless hostages dead. Now, after months of eluding the best that law enforcement can put against him, this monster has left nothing in his wake but a cold trail of unconnected victims. He's no ordinary cop... -
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![Whisper of Evil by Kay Hooper]()
Whisper of Evil by Kay Hooper
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSomeone is stalking the little town of Silence...Three victims have fallen to a killer’s savage vengeance. Each of the dead men was a successful and respected member of the community — yet each also harbored a dark secret discovered only after his murder... -
![Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child]()
Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA small Kansas town has turned into a killing ground.Is it a serial killer, a man with the need to destroy?Or is it a darker force, a curse upon the land?Amid golden cornfields, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers evil in the blood of America's heartland.No one is safe... -
![Come with Me by Ronald Malfi]()
Come with Me by Ronald Malfi
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA masterful, heart-palpitating novel of small-town horror and psychological dread from a Bram Stoker nominee.Aaron Decker's life changes one December morning when his wife Allison is killed. Haunted by her absence--and her ghost--Aaron goes through her belongings, where he finds a receipt for a motel room in another part of the country... -
![Stealing Shadows by Kay Hooper]()
Stealing Shadows by Kay Hooper
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat if you could enter a madman's cruel mind as he planned his vicious crimes? What if you could see the terrified faces of his victims ... Psychic Cassie Neill helps the LA police catch killers — until she makes a terrible mistake and an innocent child dies... -
![Mr. Monster by Dan Wells]()
Mr. Monster by Dan Wells
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn I Am Not a Serial Killer, John Wayne Cleaver saved his town from a murderer even more appalling than the serial killers he obsessively studies.But it turns out even demons have friends, and the disappearance of one has brought another to Clayton County. Soon there are new victims for John to work on at the mortuary and a new mystery to solve... -
![Over Your Dead Body by Dan Wells, Kirby Heyborne]()
Over Your Dead Body by Dan Wells, Kirby Heyborne
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJohn and Brooke are on their own, hitchhiking from town to town as they hunt the last of the Withered through the Midwest - but the Withered are hunting them back, and the FBI is close behind... -
![The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James]()
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsThe secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel... -
![The Craftsman by Sharon J. Bolton]()
The Craftsman by Sharon J. Bolton
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom bestselling crime writer Sharon Bolton comes a startling tour de force, hailed in the national press as 'Bolton at her best'.OLD ENEMIES... NEW CRIMESThirty years ago, WPC Florence Lovelady's career was made when she arrested coffin-maker Larry Glassbrook for three shocking murders.Larry confessed; it was an open and shut case... -
![The Other by Thomas Tryon]()
The Other by Thomas Tryon
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsEntranced and terrified, the reader of The Other is swept up in the life of a Connecticut country town in the thirties—and in the fearful mysteries that slowly darken and overwhelm it.Originally published in 1971, The Other is one of the most influential horror novels ever written... -
![The Last Town by Blake Crouch]()
The Last Town by Blake Crouch
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWelcome to Wayward Pines, the last town.Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrived in Wayward Pines, Idaho, three weeks ago. In this town, people are told who to marry, where to live, where to work. Their children are taught that David Pilcher, the town’s creator, is god. No one is allowed to leave; even asking questions can get you killed... -
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![Marrow by Tarryn Fisher]()
Marrow by Tarryn Fisher
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn the Bone there is a house. In the house there is a girl. In the girl there is a darkness. Margo is not like other girls. She lives in a derelict neighborhood called the Bone, in a cursed house, with her cursed mother, who hasn’t spoken to her in over two years. She lives her days feeling invisible... -
![Haven by Kay Hooper]()
Haven by Kay Hooper
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper returns with a breathtaking new thriller of a young woman's homecoming - to a town of menacing whispers, bad dreams, and dangerous secrets...Another nightmare, in the woods this time. Different: She was running. Trying to escape. But the same ending. Always the same ending... -
![Blood Harvest by Sharon J. Bolton]()
Blood Harvest by Sharon J. Bolton
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsShe's been watching us for a while now...Now you see herGillian is haunted by the disappearance of her little girl two years ago. A devastating fire burned down their home, but she remains convinced her daughter survived.Now you don'tTen-year-old Tom lives by a neglected church... -
![Needful Things by Stephen King]()
Needful Things by Stephen King
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsFrom the Flap:With a demonic blend of malice and affection, Stephen King says goodbye to the town he put on the map -- Castle Rock, Maine . . . where Polly Chalmers runs You Sew and Sew and Sheriff Alan Pangborn is in charge of keeping the peace. It's a small town, and Stephen King fans might think they know its secrets pretty well; they've been here before... -
![Sacrifice by Sharon J. Bolton]()
Sacrifice by Sharon J. Bolton
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this masterful debut that starts off as a mystery and becomes much more, Tora Hamilton is an outsider at her new home on the rocky, wind-swept Shetland Islands, a hundred miles from the northeastern tip of Scotland. Though her husband grew up here, it’s the first time he’s been back in twenty years... -
![Bone White by Ronald Malfi]()
Bone White by Ronald Malfi
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA landscape of frozen darkness punctuated by grim, gray days. The feeling like a buzz in your teeth.The scrape of bone on bone. . .Paul Gallo saw the report on the news: a mass murderer leading police to his victims graves, in remote Dread's Hand, Alaska.It's not even a town; more like the bad memory of a town. The same bit of wilderness where his twin brother went missing a year ago... -
![Pines by Blake Crouch]()
Pines by Blake Crouch
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsWayward Pines, Idaho, is quintessential small-town America--or so it seems. Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrives in search of two missing federal agents, yet soon is facing much more than he bargained for. After a violent accident lands him in the hospital, Ethan comes to with no ID and no cell phone. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but sometimes feels...off... -
![The Haunting of Rachel Harroway: The Beginning by J.S. Donovan]()
The Haunting of Rachel Harroway: The Beginning by J.S. Donovan
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn 1983, a family of four was murdered in their nineteenth century Queen Anne manse. There were no witnesses, no real investigation, and no survivors.Over thirty years later, the house is suddenly back on the market. Ready to settle down, a young married couple moves from New York City to their dream home in the quiet town of Highlands, North Carolina... -
![Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vikki Wakefield]()
Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vikki Wakefield
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEveryone knows seventeen-year-old Grace Foley is a bit mad. She’s a prankster and a risk-taker, and she’s not afraid of anything—except losing. As part of the long-running feud between two local schools in Swanston, Grace accepts a challenge to walk the pipe. That night she experiences something she can’t explain. The funny girl isn’t laughing anymore... -
![Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King, Richard Chizmar]()
Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King, Richard Chizmar
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsThe little town of Castle Rock, Maine has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told... until now.There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs... -
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![Under the Dome by Stephen King]()
Under the Dome by Stephen King
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 72 ratingsIt's a bright Autumn morning in the small town of Chester's Mill. Claudette Saunders is having a flying lesson and Dale Barbara is hitching a ride out of town. Neither make it to their intended destinations...Inexplicably, an invisible barrier has descended over the town... -
![American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett]()
American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett
Rated: 3.78 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSome places are too good to be true. Under a pink moon, there is a perfect little town not found on any map. In that town, there are quiet streets lined with pretty houses, houses that conceal the strangest things. After a couple years of hard traveling, ex-cop Mona Bright inherits her long-dead mother's home in Wink, New Mexico... -
![Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi]()
Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFollowing the success of his latest novel, Travis Glasgow and his wife Jodie buy their first house in the seemingly idyllic western Maryland town of Westlake. At first, everything is picture perfect—from the beautiful lake behind the house to the rebirth of the friendship between Travis and his brother, Adam, who lives nearby... -
![Mercy Snow by Tiffany Baker]()
Mercy Snow by Tiffany Baker
Rated: 3.71 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the tiny town of Titan Falls, New Hampshire, the paper mill dictates a quiet, steady rhythm of life. But one day a tragic bus accident sets two families on a course toward destruction, irrevocably altering the lives of everyone in their wake.June McAllister is the wife of the local mill owner and undisputed first lady in town... -
![The Invited by Jennifer McMahon]()
The Invited by Jennifer McMahon
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsA chilling ghost story with a twist: the New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don't simply move into a haunted house--they build one . . -
![The Bones of You by Debbie Howells]()
The Bones of You by Debbie Howells
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"An intriguing dark psychological thriller--truly brilliant!" --Lisa JacksonI have a gardener's inherent belief in the natural order of things. Soft?petalled flowers that go to seed. The resolute passage of the seasons. Swallows that fly thousands of miles to follow the eternal summer.Children who don't die before their parents... -
![The Night Visitors by Carol Goodman]()
The Night Visitors by Carol Goodman
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe latest thriller from the internationally bestselling author of The Lake of Dead Languages and The Other Mother, a story of mistaken identities and missed chances, forgiveness, and vengeance.ALICE gets off a bus in the middle of a snowstorm in Delphi, NY. She is fleeing an abusive relationship and desperate to protect...OREN, ten years old, a major Star Wars fan and wise beyond his years... -
![The Ridge by John Rector]()
The Ridge by John Rector
Rated: 3.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“A creeping, pitch-black window into a suburban America like nothing you’ve ever read....You know something is deeply wrong with this neighborhood, and yet nothing will prepare you for the mind-melting final pages... -
![Violet by Scott Thomas]()
Violet by Scott Thomas
Rated: 3.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the lineage of Peter Straub's Julia, Scott Thomas’ Violet is the disturbing tale of a woman haunted by her long-abandoned imaginary friend. For many children, the summer of 1988 was filled with sunshine and laughter. But for ten-year-old Kris Barlow, it was her chance to say goodbye to her dying mother. Three decades later, loss returns—her husband killed in a car accident... -
![The Revelry by Katherine Webber]()
The Revelry by Katherine Webber
Rated: 3.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor fans of Laini Taylor, E. Lockhart, and Holly Black, the chilling story of a girl who goes to a once-a-year-party in the woods... and then must piece together the fantastical things that happened to her after she wakes up with no memory of the night before.Once a year in the woods outside Ember Grove, the Revelry occurs... -
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![My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones]()
My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her forJade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her... -
![Horrid by Katrina Leno]()
Horrid by Katrina Leno
Rated: 3.61 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsFrom the author of You Must Not Miss comes a haunting contemporary horror novel that explores themes of mental illness, rage, and grief, twisted with spine-chilling elements of Stephen King and Agatha Christie.Following her father's death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up... -
![The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude]()
The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude
Rated: 3.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsStay on the roads. Don’t enter the woods. Never go out at night.Those are the rules in Rowan’s Glen, a remote farming community in the Missouri Ozarks where Ivy Templeton’s family has lived for centuries. It’s an old-fashioned way of life, full of superstition and traditions, and sixteen-year-old Ivy loves it... -
![House of Echoes by Brendan Duffy]()
House of Echoes by Brendan Duffy
Rated: 3.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn this enthralling and atmospheric thriller, one young family’s dream of a better life is about to become a nightmare.Ben and Caroline Tierney and their two young boys are hoping to start over. Ben has hit a dead end with his new novel, Caroline has lost her banking job, and eight-year-old Charlie is being bullied at his Manhattan school... -
![Help for the Haunted by John Searles, Dominika Moulíková]()
Help for the Haunted by John Searles, Dominika Moulíková
Rated: 3.58 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt begins with a call in the middle of snowy February evening. Lying in her bed, young Sylvie Mason overhears her parents on the phone across the hall. This is not the first late-night call they have received, since her mother and father have an uncommon occupation, helping "haunted souls" find peace... -
![Disappearance at Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay]()
Disappearance at Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay
Rated: 3.59 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsA family is shaken to its core after the mysterious disappearance of a teenage boy in this eerie tale, a blend of literary fiction, psychological suspense, and supernatural horror from the author of A Head Full of Ghosts... -
![Elevation by Stephen King]()
Elevation by Stephen King
Rated: 3.62 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsAlthough Scott Carey doesn’t look any different, he’s been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn’t want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis... -
![The Lost Village by Camilla Sten]()
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten
Rated: 3.52 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in this brilliantly disturbing thriller from Camilla Sten, an electrifying new voice in suspense.Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl... -
![The Society of S by Susan Hubbard]()
The Society of S by Susan Hubbard
Rated: 3.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"If you ever want to hide from the world, live in a small city, where everyone seems anonymous."That's the advice of twelve-year-old Ariella Montero, who lives with her father in Saratoga Springs, New York, in a house haunted more by secrets than by memories... -
![The Missing Season by Gillian French]()
The Missing Season by Gillian French
Rated: 3.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the author of Edgar Award finalist Grit and The Lies They Tell comes a tense, atmospheric novel for fans of E. Lockhart and Marieke Nijkamp, about friendship, truth, and the creeping fears that can't be outrun. Whenever another kid goes missing in October, the kids in the old factory town of Pender know what is really behind it: a monster out in the marshes that they call the Mumbler... -
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![Impossible Causes by Julie Mayhew]()
Impossible Causes by Julie Mayhew
Rated: 3.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFor readers of All the Missing Girls and You Will Know Me, Impossible Causes is a gripping thriller about isolation, power, and the lies that fester when witnesses stay silent.For six months every year, Lark Island is fogged in, its occupants cut off completely from the mainland. The community is small, tight-knit, and deeply religious... -
![The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian]()
The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
Rated: 3.16 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Double Bind, Skeletons at the Feast, and Secrets of Eden, comes a riveting and dramatic ghost story. In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts. The home's new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters...
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