Survive the Night was one of my most anticipated reads of this year, what after thoroughly enjoying Riley Sager's writing and plot ideas. Naturally, the plot of StN had me very intrigued - I mean, being stuck like that is scary.

We have our MC Charlie who is leaving uni with a stranger because she's unable to deal with the trauma of her best friend's murder, which she blames herself for. To get away for a while, she strikes it up with a stranger and they leave for hours long journey in the lonesome night. The ride is terrifying as it keeps revealing more and more secrets about her stranger driver, but since she keeps having zone outs where she completely loses herself, she's unsure of what to believe anymore. Things take quick turn when they arrive at rest stop and more secrets start spilling.

Honestly, though, this book had an interesting plotline. A cat-and-mouse chase as indicated, there's enough thrill here that kept me moving the pages so fast, and I finished it in a day. It was definitely a past paced book, and had the clever RS plot-climax moments. Despite this, I don't think this was Riley Sager's best work. It was, well, a bit of an underwhelming experience at the end.

The thing is, this book was kinda sloppy. Maybe I was expecting a bit more at the end, especially with Marge's storyline. It was also pretty evident who the actual killer was - I guessed it from the moment they were introduced. And moreover, the reasoning behind their actions sounded pretty slack, easy. Not enough crazy as it was deemed to be.

Charlie as a character I think was smart enough until she wasn't. It was toxic level of friendship she had going on with Maddy, is what felt to me. Maddy was the popular one, of course, and coaxed Charlie into events she wasn't comfortable with. Adults blaming Charlie for Maddy's death seemed so unreasonable. But I also understand the emotional trauma that she must have gone through because her one single decision led to her best friend's death. I liked her willpower at the end and the way she fought through.

I think the end resolved very easily without much confrontation and stakes. It did build up real well but the actions and the reasons behind them were sloppy and I at times couldn't take them seriously. It was still a decent thriller at the end, gave me a good reading experience as it kept me very engaged. The writing was smooth and the suspense build up was swift. The climax didn't have any surprising element for me, to be honest. It was an okay thriller for me, nothing as spectacular.

This book had incredible potential for me. I've only read one Riley Sager before and I was so excited by this premise. Like, the idea of a badass female choosing to be in a car with a serial killer? Spectacular. Execution? Poor.
For me the first 75% of this was great I loved the unreliable narrator, the not knowing if the driver was the killer and the tension I felt was ridiculous! And then honestly I don't know what happened, there were so many plot twists in the last quarter of the book. Too too many. I found myself angry and confused and not in a good confused thriller way where you read back and wonder how you didn't notice, more in like a wtf way. It didn't make sense to me and there was too much change too quickly.

This feels like Riley was too afraid to do all the wild and crazy stuff in this book and used the 'mind movies' as a 'it was all a dream' replacement which is a pet peeve of mine and once that thought was in my mind I was out unfortunately.

I will say I read this basically in one sitting so I can't fault the writing style at all. It was a quick and easy read for me up until it got crazy. Potentially this story is just not for me but I will continue to pick up books by this author in future.

2/5 stars

Riley Sager's books just keep getting better.

I couldn't put this one down and after initially wondering how it was going to keep my attention (surely a killer in a car with a victim makes for a short book!) I was constantly kept on edge wondering where the story was going to go next.

Several plot twists in the book gave me full body shivers. It worked so well that this book was both set in the 90's and had an unreliable narrator. The sense that Charlie was completely shut off from contacting anybody and unable to corroborate what she was seeing and hearing gave a really creepy edge to the story.

I loved the script details throughout, and the realisation at the end of the book as to why it was laid out in that way. It was such a satisfying ending and really tied up all the loose ends it needed to, which is really important to me when I read a thriller.

One of the best thing about Riley Sager is that each of his novels is a slightly different spin on crime fiction. Whereas Home Before Dark was a spooky suspense, Survive the Night is a cat-and-mouse thriller.

Movie-addict Charlie's way of coping with her parents' deaths is to turn stressful situations into a classic film inside her head. She has pills to prevent these hallucinations but the latest traumatic event in her life has her throwing them down the drain. Big mistake. Because when she decides to abandon her studies and return home, she accepts a lift from a fellow student who isn't quite who he seems to be. It doesn't help that as her suspicions grow, and her stress levels rise, her mind begins its favourite trick of putting a sinister twist on the most innocent of actions. Or maybe her mind isn't playing tricks at all. Maybe she really should be worried...

Survive the Night is an extremely clever thriller that mixes Charlie's fantasies with reality. If the main character isn't sure what is going on, the poor reader doesn't stand a chance! Although I was led up the garden path on a few occasions, I did guess the ending fairly quickly. There are lots of fabulous twists on the way, including the jaw-dropping epilogue. There is also a nail-biting finale and lots of classic film references for movie buffs, and pop culture references for those of us old enough to remember the 90s (er, hem...).

A fabulous read, great fun and thoroughly recommended! I can't wait for the film!

Thanks to Riley Sager and Hodder & Stoughton for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

I am a big fan of Riley Sager, so of course I had high expectations for his latest release. I think this book has been out in the US for a while now because I’ve seen it doing the rounds on Book Twitter and BookTube. I don’t think I’ve actually read a review of it but as an auto-buy author, I was always going to be reading this book anyway!

In late 1991, Charlie is dropping out of college and is in need of a ride home to her Nana Norma’s house in Ohio. After posting an advert on the college communcal noticeboard, she meets Josh Baxter, who agrees to drive her. Charlie is wracked with guilt and grief for her best friend Maddy, who was murdered on campus two months before and Josh needs to get back to care for his ailing father -apparently. But as the dark road stretches ahead and the hours tick by, Charlie becomes increasingly suspicious that she may be sharing a car with the Campus Killer. She’s pretty sure she can escape his clutches if she can just survive the night.

Charlie is a Film Studies major and has an obsession with classic film noir. She has the air of a girl who struggles to make connections with people via normal means, which is why she has few friends. I think part of this is to do with the fact that she has been living most of her life inside movies. These films are her escape from the trauma that she has suffered but it has taken her away from reality.

Charlie has hallucinations, which means that she occasionally blacks out and sees the world through a movie-like lens. SIghts and sounds are heightened and she imagines conversations and events that she later finds out were all in her mind. She has no awareness of what really happened in that time, so there are periods of time where she doesn’t really know what’s real and what’s not. This means that although she was with Maddy on the night she died, Charlie can’t be a reliable witness to the crime that killed her friend, which is extremely painful for her.

One thing that Riley Sager is a master at is creating tension. Most of the book is a very intense stressful ride and this only increases when the twists start unravelling towards the end. Like Charlie, I was on edge for the entire car journey because the car was fizzing with anticipation of something terrible. I was expecting things to erupt and they did -but certainly not in the manner I was expecting!

Josh is an incredibly unsettling, suspicious character from the outset and my jaw dropped when he blatantly tricked and gaslighted Charlie. He knew about her mental state and used it to frighten her further. I was terrified of him and felt him more than capable of cold-hearted murder. I was just praying that Charlie would escape him as soon as she could.

Of course, Charlie is very distrustful of herself and she’s aware of what it would look like if she ran around seeking help. I think she is afraid that the fact she has a mental condition will make her words difficult for other people to believe and there’s no doubt that Josh has reinforced that train of thought during the drive. She is much more vulnerable than even she knows and while I could understand her fears about not being believed, I became increasingly frustrated that she wasn’t more proactive about getting out of the situation.

There is some commentary on the horrifically ingrained normality that is violence against women. Even women have come to accept it as a normal part of life and even internalise some of the blame. I love that Sager, especially as a man, decided to address this within a novel that leans on this issue so heavily. It just serves as a reminder that young girls being gaslit, overpowered and murdered by men doesn’t just exist in books and films. It happens every day in our real world and we need to remember that and do all that we can to fight it.

Charlie starts displaying symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome but I really didn’t understand why. She even fully explains that it’s because she senses that they are both lonely but I really didn’t think this was adequate redemption for the way he’d treated her for the majority of the book. I couldn’t get on board with this ‘kinship’ that she felt with him at all because my emotions had been parallel to hers and I really didn’t feel it myself.

I’m afraid the ending was where it all went downhill. I felt physical anger that things panned out the way they did and it didn’t feel very authentic at all. It felt like a huge betrayal of Charlie and I was left feeling thoroughly confused and bewildered by what I’d read.

Survive The Night is a mostly a very intense, page-turning thriller that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy. It’s very dark, very creepy and the twists are very unguessable. However, I think it’s going to take me a while to forgive Sager for that ending. I don’t remember the last time I felt this let down by a book that I really had been enjoying up until a certain point. It’s by far my least favourite of his books but if you like pulse-racing, twisty thrillers, most of it is very enjoyable!

Set in the 90s, Charlie's not been quite the same since her college roommate was murdered by the yet-to-be-caught Campus Killer. Charlie also decides to get into a ride share with a total stranger, Josh, to get home. Because why would she not? Is he the killer? She's starting to think so. Now she's just gotta get through the night.

Does this premise sound kinda dumb? It is. But I was interested anyway. Thought I could suspend my disbelief just enough to allow for Charlie getting into that car.

It's insulting to women and I find Sager repeatedly does this. I don't think I've ever come across stupider female characters than in his books. I don't know why he insists on writing women when he does so so poorly.

The ending was fully on par with 'and then they woke up and it was all a dream...'. It was god awful. The epilogue was horrid. I honestly hated this ending so so much.

Finally, using mental ill health or mental disorders as the sole mechanism for being an unreliable narrator is lazy at best and dangerous at worst. Stop it.

I'm constantly frustrated because Sager usually has decent premises and obviously can write! His books are very readable and usually well-paced. The content is lacking, if not outright offensive, however.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Hodder & Stoughton for the e-ARC. Sorry I didn't love it.

There is a cinematic feel to the book that would make a terrific movie. Loved it from beginning to nearly the end. The ending fell a bit flat for me tho.

A huge thank you to netgalley for sending me an ARC of this book for me to read and review. I had to pick this up as soon as I was accepted.

Riley Sager is cementing himself as one of my favourite authors and tbh is my favourite thriller author. And he has without a doubt done it again. This book was so so good! I loved seeing the night progress and getting to see the interaction between Josh and Charlie as soon as Charlie starts to realise she may have put herself in one of the scariest situations someone could be in.

I did end up guessing who was the campus killer but not until way past the halfway point in the book and it didn't take away any of my enjoyment of the book. I enjoyed the book so much and read the whole book in a day because I just had to know what happened next. I loved the problems that Charlie had to try and overcome so that she could figure out what was real and what was not.

And oh my lord that ending was just perfect. I loved it so much. This is a 5 star read without doubt and would reccommend not only this book but anything by this author.

I normally love this authorbut I gave up on this book. However, I recommend the book to my brother who would love it x

Very interesting this book.
I recommend for who loves a good read.
Thanks a lot netgalley
#SurviveTheNight #NetGalley

This book was wild! The premise was something that really intrigued me and from the second I heard about this book I knew that I had to read it. The atmosphere was built so well and I found myself genuinely stressed out whilst reading this book. Things were uncovered at just the right moments that I was never bored and found myself so confused as to what the truth really was. It had a pretty slow start, although after all the introduction was finished I was absolutely hooked and struggled to put this book down.

I adored the way that Sager created an almost unreliable narrator. Charlie doesn’t always see things the way they truly are, the situation is often embellished in her mind like ‘movies.’ Because of this, there are so many moments throughout when you’re not sure whether what’s happening is real or not and there were multiple moments when Sager cleverly tricked me as to what the reality of the situation was. I was so impressed with the way this element was done and physically gasped a couple of times with the way I was tricked! I absolutely loved it!

I also felt that some of the characters were just a little bit flat and wanted a bit more from Charlie, Josh and Robbie. There just didn't feel to be a lot going for any of them and I didn't have much sympathy towards them and didn't feel like I was invested in their safety!

Despite elements of this book being predictable, there were enough mini twists throughout to keep me entertained, I did not see any of the stuff with Marge coming until it was too late! I just wanted something extra for the ending, some final twist to keep up with the pace and drama of the book. Whilst I wasn’t disappointed with the ending, I actually really enjoyed it, I did want just that little bit more.

This is was my first Riley Sager and it has definitely left me intrigued to read more.

As I was reading, I felt a little bit of a lack of intrigue as the plot seemed to be fairly straight forward however that did mean that the twists and turns took me completely by surprise. I did guess a couple of the major twists however it is really difficult when a story has such a small cast like this book does.

Overall this was an enjoyable read and likely will be an even more enjoyable re-read now that I know that everything is not quite as it first seems.

Wooow, what was that??? I thought the unreliable character plot would be something related to a mental illness but it was not. That part was really well done. I was a bit annoyed with some decisions made by the main character but overall I really enjoyed this one. Definitely going to read more from this author.

I’ve had a weird reading month where I’ve had a hard time focusing on just one book. It wasn’t until I was more than halfway through the book I finally got into the book and had a hard time putting it down. Up until that point I thought I knew it all, I knew what was going to happen. Then came the first twist which I didn’t expect. It really blew me off. The next twist was more predictable and I knew it long before it was revealed. Then came the ending which I didn’t really expect either, but I did quite like it.

I enjoyed the main character and loved her transformation throughout the book. It was really well written.

This wasn’t my favorite book by Riley Sager. I liked some of his other books better, but I will definitely continue to pick up his books in the future.

OMG, Survive The Night had me reeling!
I literally had to pick my jaw up off the floor because I couldn't believe what I was reading.
This was such a tense read. Suspense dripping of each page!

Believe it or not, this is actually the first Riley Sager book I've read.
Somehow I got the idea his books would not be for me, didn't like the covers either...🙈
However, when I read about this release, the premise and all the buzz surrounding it I was intrigued and hit the Netgalley request button.
Oh and I think this cover really is stunning by the way!🤩

So grateful to @netgalley and @hodderstoughton for allowing me to read and review the arc because this has proven to be one spectacular read!

Synopsis:
When Charlie's best friend and roommate Maddie is brutally killed by the so-called Campus Killer, guilt, fear and despair wash over her in the weeks after. All she wants to do is leave their dorm room and all that reminds her of the tragedy that took place.
Not wanting to waste any more time she decides to share a ride home to Ohio with a fellow student called Josh who's headed out in the same direction.
Although apprehensive about getting in the car with a virtual stranger, Charlie's urge to get away from campus is bigger. She promises her boyfriend Robbie that she will call him if she doesn't trust the situation or when she feels unsafe. And although Josh shows up in a decent car and is a sensible driver, Charlie quickly feels like there is something off about him. When discovering he lied to her, that feeling of unease starts to change into down right terror the farther they drive out... In fact, getting into the Grand Am that night might be the biggest mistake of her life...

I cannot get over the genius plot line and structure of this story. It's so cinematic, well crafted and original. Also loved the early ninetees vibe.

If you are only going to read one thriller this year, you need to get your hands on this although you probably already know that because this one is all over Bookstagram.
Meanwhile, I have to catch up on some of Sager's earlier work...
Any recommendations?

Plot - 4/5
This was a solid story. Of the three main plot twists in the last act, I caught two of them quite early in the story. Mainly because I think the author has foreshadowed it well. I like it when the author foreshadows in such a way that the guess itself acts as a reward for the reader.

But, one plot twist took me totally by surprise. While I enjoy the occasional guessing & getting rewarded game, I like it better when the author surprises me with the twists. It should not be illogical or completely out-of-the-blue, but there's nothing I revel in more than when the clues are hidden in plain sight and the author reveals it. I have read one other book by Riley Sager, Lock Every Door. And I must say I liked this one better than Lock Every Door which I had given a solid 4⭐s.

Pacing - 5/5
The pacing was perfect. Neither too fast as to give you a whiplash nor too slow that you drowse off during the ride. This was a perfect ride at an optimum speed. I am amazed at how the author could pull off such perfection in pacing. It's obvious that at no point was I bored. I read this entire book within half a day. Every time I took a break I was be itching to get back to the story.

Characters - 4/5
For the first time, I could connect with the characters in a Riley Sager book. Admittedly I have read just one other book, but, in Lock Every Door, that was my major complaint. The characters were too two-dimensional and archetypical. Also, I had no love for the heroine who seemed TSTL(Too-stupid-to-live). Riley Sager is known within the book community for creating dumb heroines who lack the sense of survival and plain common sense.
Thankfully I adored Charlie in this. Charlie isn't a TSTL heroine. She was realistic. Her actions, decisions were if not smart, atleast realistic and logical. People do weird things in weird situations. I can't talk about the other characters because it might be spoilery. But I liked the characterizations of the rest of them as well, except Charlie's friend. I couldn't understand their friendship dynamic at all.

Set-up - 4/5
I don't care much about set-up when it comes to thrillers. In fact, in a toss-up between set-up and action, I'll certainly choose action. The set-up here was adequate to move the story and I was happy with that. It did get a little info-dumpy towards the end, but that's not a huge complaint. A movie director might require such information, but I couldn't care less and I simply skimmed over such parts which were thankfully minimal.

Writing - 5/5
Just as in Lock Every Door, I have zero complaints with regards to Riley Sager's writing. The author has a knack of weaving a story and captivating the readers. This was a movie in book form and I for one would be very glad to see this adapted into a good action flick.

Overall rating - 4.4

Objective Rating - Invest grade - Book worth buying and adding to your collection
Subjective Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

All I can say is "amazing" and "READ THIS BOOK"!! you will definitely not regret it. Its on an entirely different level than most thrillers etc I've read recently. I had began to wonder if books like this were still being written and thank god I had requested the pre release of this one because this book is the reason I love reading so much!!I'm quite sure my house could have been burning around me and I'd never had noticed as long as I had my kindle to find out what was going to happen next. Everything about this book from the concept to the characters to the twists and turns just come together to make it *chefs kiss* ..... just incredible

I started the book knowing from reviews that I will read a good thriller. It exceeded, by far, my expectations!

The trope of mentally unstable main character, at the beginning gave me the feeling that it will be a usual story as many others out there. But I was wrong and I’ve never been more pleased about being wrong!

The plot has so many twists and turns, and heroes become the villains when you don’t expect it. You have suspicions but you’re never completely right and then things swift again and your point of view changes.

I found marvellous the way the story is woven in this fast-paced, suspenseful, page-turner read! The book is not long and it doesn’t ‘slouch’ at any point. This is the first book of RS that I read and I’m already looking for the next one!

Riley does it again…..this guy is just an absolute genius with thrillers and misdirection. What would you do if you accepted a lift home from a stranger…..who turned out to be a serial killer? Very Ted Bundyesque….. this is perfect for those dark nights and reading by lamplight just to scare yourself silly

I’ve loved every Riley Sager book, an author that never disappoints, so I was very excited when I got approved for his latest book. Survive The Night is chilling and full of tension. I was able to guess the twists with this one early on so I think it’s best to go into it blind. That being said, it didn’t take away from the enjoyment. Already looking forward to his next!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.