Some secrets never sleep: Home Before Dark by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir tr. Victoria Cribb #bookreview #HomeBeforeDark

Struggling to separate her dreams from reality, a young woman investigates the disappearance of her sister ten years earlier … worried that she might be next. A breathtaking, twisty standalone thriller from the international bestselling author of the Forbidden Iceland series…
November, 1967, Iceland. Fourteen-year-old Marsi has a secret penpal – a boy who lives on the other side of the country – but she has been writing to him in her older sister’s name. Now she is excited to meet him for the first time.
But when the date arrives, Marsi is prevented from going, and during the night her sister Stína goes missing – her bloodstained anorak later found at the place where Marsi and her penpal had agreed to meet.
November, 1977. Stína’s disappearance remains unsolved. Then an unexpected letter arrives for Marsi. It’s from her penpal, and he’s still out there…
Desperate for news of her missing sister, but terrified that he might coming after her next, Marsi returns to her hometown and embarks on an investigation of her own.
But Marsi has always had trouble distinguishing her vivid dreams from reality, and as insomnia threatens her sanity, it seems she can’t even trust her own memories … and her sister’s killer is still on the loose…
Twisty, dark and utterly chilling, Home Before Dark is a breathtakingly accomplished psychological thriller where nothing and no one are what they seem, and smouldering secrets from the past reach into a present where everything is at risk, including Marsi’s life……

💜💜💜💜.5

Hi and welcome to my review of Home Before Dark!

I always enjoy Eva Björg Ægisdóttir’s writing and the synopsis of Home Before Dark sounded so good, I just knew I would love it, and I was absolutely right!

Home Before Dark is told from the POV of two sisters, a decade apart. In the present storyline, set in 1977, Marsí is trying to make sense of what happened to her sister Stína a decade ago. The past storyline is from Stína’s POV, allowing the reader to piece the past events together.

I think the common denominator of this author’s books is the irresistible urge she invokes in me to play armchair detective. Home Before Dark was no exception. Marsí might be desperate to find out what actually happened to her sister, but I was too! I did manage to put two and two together a couple of times and figure things out before their reveal, but there were more than enough red herrings to keep me second-guessing myself. I feel it never got predictable, there was only that thrill of satisfaction when one of my theories actually panned out.

Home Before Dark drew me in from the start and had me hooked throughout. I found it very addictive, and I stayed up longer than I probably should have just to be able to reach that final reveal.

Home Before Dark is a compelling, atmospheric thriller that has it all: a mystery at its heart, a small-town vibe, secrets galore, intriguing, well-rounded characters, and all the little twists and turns this genre requires. I had a great time with it and I would happily recommend it.

Home Before Dark is out in hardback and digital formats on 17 July. Preorder it directly from Orenda Books here.

Massive thanks to Orenda Books for the DRC. All opinions are my own.