I had heard really good things about this author so I was excited to be able to read this. It started off ok, a bit slow I thought but was hoping it would pick up. Unfortunately it didn’t, and I was left feeling really disappointed. What was the hype about and have I missed something?

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Survive the Night is my fourth book by this author. It is a mystery/thriller.

The book takes place in 1991. And the main narrator is Charlie (female - 3rd person POV). She loves movies.

The book started off a bit slow for me. And got better in the middle. From 70% on I thought that there was much more happening. And I enjoyed that part of the book so much.

This book has a bunch of 3rd person POVs. The main character is Charlie (20 years old). She is away at college. Something bad had happened and she is now heading home (from New Jersey to Ohio) to see her grandmother.

Most of the book takes place over one night. And much of it takes place in a car.

This book is super creepy and a bit scary. The mood is somber for much of the story.

The title is quite perfect for the book. The story has to do with a Campus Killer. And I really enjoyed all aspects of the book to do with the serial killer. And the whole premise of being in a car with a stranger was fascinating.

I'm not exactly sure why the book had to take place in 1991. Truthfully I forgot about this for most of the time. It seemed like a contemporary novel except for the use of pay phones (and them not having cell phones).

Most of the story was told from Charlie's POV. But I actually really enjoyed all of the other POVs as they really helped move the story forward.

As mentioned I really enjoyed the last part of the book. But I'm not completely sure how I feel about the actual end. But overall this was a super twisty read. And I absolutely loved the last third of the book.

Survive the Night is a thriller set in the early 90s, as a college student accepts a ride home from a stranger with dangerous consequences. Charlie is leaving college in the middle of term, dealing with grief and guilt from her best friend's murder, and accepts a lift from Josh, who she meets at the ride share board. As they set off in the late evening, she starts to feel like something is off, especially as her friend's murderer, the notorious Campus Killer, was never found, and the road trip becomes a battle for survival.

I've never read a Riley Sager book before, but as I was a big Point Horror fan as a kid, this sounded like something I'd like (and I didn't even realise before starting it that it's set in the 90s, making it even more fitting). The premise is pretty simple, and the book has a limited cast of characters, making it easy to keep up with what's going on. Each chapter starts with a film-like note about if the scene is INT or EXT, and combined with Charlie's love of movies, the book will definitely make you think of films. It's hard to talk much more about the plot or twists, as I don't want to give anything anyway, but I will say that thanks in part to the small cast of characters, the revelation about the killer was easy to guess.

The tension was kept up well and I did find this to be an engaging horror/thriller about a serial killer. However, I did think that the depiction of Charlie's mental illness (it's never openly stated what it is, but at the start you know she's stopped taking her medication for it, and experiences 'movies in her mind') was a bit questionable, and seemed mostly to be used to make her an unreliable narrator. The ending is a bit weird, and maybe too neat of an explanation for the unlikelier elements of the plot, but I still did quite like it. The other thing I found confusing was the repeated references to it being weird that Charlie could be a girl's name, though presumably in early 90s America that was the case?

Overall, Survive the Night was what I was looking for: a slightly ridiculous thriller which reminded me of some of the Point Horror books and which gave the reader enough clues that you could guess what was going to happen. It doesn't necessarily do very well in depicting mental illness, grief, or female friendship in ways beyond what is useful for the plot line, which might make Charlie unlikeable to some people, and the final revelation about the plot is perhaps not given enough to flesh it out, but it was a fun and tense horror story.

I really like Riley Sager and I’ve been looking forward to reading this book since it was first mentioned that it was coming out this summer, so when I realised I had been chosen to read it free from NetGalley, I was so happy! BUT, I hate to say it - I was a bit disappointed…. and I really really didn’t want to be!! It’s not bad, and the beginning is good - you’re happily going along the right track - and then …. the train is derailed and crashes … and then bursts into flames 🔥 I figured out who the real killer was pretty early on - with such a small cast of characters, who else could it be? The waitress thing was just confusing to start with a so out of nowhere that it just didn’t quite fit. Wasn’t keen on the ending wrapping everything up with a nice little bow. 😞 I really wanted to love this book, it was only ok!! 😢

I was given a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review; thank you NetGalley and the publisher.

Survive the Night takes place over the course of… well, one night. After Charlie Jordan’s best friend was murdered by a serial killer, she decides she needs to leave campus as quickly as possible – so quickly she doesn’t want to wait for her boyfriend to take her home. Instead, she accepts a ride from a stranger: who is maybe less of a stranger to recent events than is safe.

I stumbled across another of Riley Sager’s books slightly accidentally last year and really enjoyed it, so I was really excited for this one. I liked the premise too, I think it’s always interesting to see how an author uses a largely ‘one scene’ setting, particularly for something that promises to be as grippy and twisty as this book. It definitely didn’t disappoint, the use of setting was excellent – it did mostly stick to the ‘one scene’, but that was rooted in the campus vibe, and the most was made of American road trip liminal spaces too. Added to the fantastic use of 90s reference, it was a very eerie, atmospheric read.

Survive the Night was really interesting because some of the plot elements were predictable – and yet they still had me gasping. It was the perfect blend of plot that is expertly foreshadowed, yet still somewhat of a surprise. I wish I could read it all over again, just to get all those OMG moments.

It definitely did have some weaker moments. I’m not entirely sure how I felt about the portrayal of Charlie’s mental health – it felt like it could run the risk of being too much of a caricature. However, that’s not to say that it might not ring true for some people. I also think that the handling of the gaslighting was done really really well, that was an absolute stand-out for me personally. I can see some people feeling that some of the twists were too obvious, and/or that a couple of the plot points were a bit ridiculous, and I can definitely see that! I also don’t necessarily think that the ending was necessary, it didn’t really add much to the plot I didn’t think, other than feeling a little cliched.

Overall, this is a great read – I know I’ve already discussed the atmosphere, but again, it is truly utterly excellent for that! Would definitely recommend.

So far this summer I’ve been disappointed with the highly anticipated blockbuster type thrillers I’ve read, so I was wondering why I was reading yet another one, but I was pleasantly surprised

The unique twist to the plot is that the main character is a film studies major and there is a running theme of old movies throughout the book. I love old movies and love how the author is able to tie these old classics into the story he wove. I will say I’m not sure everyone will connect with the choice by the author if they haven’t seen or appreciated any of the referenced movies. North by Northwest. Shadow of a Doubt.

Charlie is a student at Olyphant University and has decided to leave school after her roommate is murdered. It’s 1991 and she needs a ride home, so the solution is the school ride board, where she agrees to a ride with a stranger. I know your senses are already a tingle right? While the book never references 80s horror movies, it reminds me of screaming don’t do it, while watching Halloween or Friday the 13th. There are many moments throughout the book where you’ll question Charlie’s decisions, but I never thought it was too much. I like that to explain Charlie’s questionable decision making and her reliability in general, she has a past that is fraught with grief and regrets, that are slowly revealed during the book.

I’m also a fan of the time period of the novel. I loved the references to music and other small details. And by choosing the previous century, it pains me to write that, it is pre cell phones, when you really were out of contact at times. I don’t want to go into too much detail and risk spoiling one of the twists and turns. But I’ll say I saw a few of them coming long before the revelations and still liked the book. And there were a few that made me go whoa.

While I’ve seen mixed reviews on this one, I think anyone that liked Sager’s earlier work, The Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied, will enjoy this novel.

Although Josh is a stranger, Charlie is desperate to get away and gets in the car with Josh – escaping her student life and the murder of her best friend. At first, the long journey seems pleasant enough but after they get talking

Charlie realises that Josh might be the campus killer, and she is in real danger.

What a claustrophobic, chilling, twisty masterpiece!

I have to hand it to Riley Sager – what a rollercoaster ride. I loved the characters and the plot had me on edge the entire way through. Charlie’s movie fanaticism was brilliant, and I loved all the movie references.

So intense and the danger felt so real.

Superb!

My first Riley Sager book and I was overwhelmed with the suspense he has written in this book. I read the book in one sitting and was mind blown.

The process of changing the story process, as a reader you learn how thrillers work and read confidently. Sager breaks all the unspoken rules in suspense writing and had be questioning everything I had just read.

A superior suspense thriller that has rocked my world. I have all Riley Sagers previous books I must experience his writing again and again.

After reading survive the night by Riley sager I can confidently say this and home before dark by the same author are some of my favourite thrillers. I couldn’t put the book down even for a moment until I’d finished, it has be on the edge of my seat the whole time wondering what was going to happen next. This book had some of the most amazing plot twists after plot twists that I’ve ever seen. And I highly recommend that anyone looking for another thriller or book by this author to please pick it up ASAP.

So this book reads kind of like a 90s horror movie. Charlie is just so naive and it takes her awhile to get anything. She just is one of these characters in a movie where you just wanna yell why? She is probably the best character for this type of book. But as a reader i was annoyed by her the whole time. I wish she actually got things and actually thought things through. I wasn’t a fan of the flow of this book. I don’t think it made sense a lot of the time. It’s sad because this story had literally all the potential to be an amazing book but it wasn’t executed very well at all. I don’t know about this author. Only the second book i have read by him but i was hoping this one would have been better.

Trigger Warnings: blood, car accident (mentioned, also happens on page), grief, loss of parents, murder (mentioned multiple time, brief description of how it was carried out), stabbing (on page), suicide (attempted & committed, both mentioned briefly of how it happened), threat of kidnapping/kidnapping, torture (brief - tooth pulling)

This is my first book by Riley Sager, and certainly not my last (immediately after finishing this book I downloaded and read The Last Time I Lied). If you know me, you know I am a giant wuss, and can only really take thriller novels in small doses because I get freaked out sooo easily and get filled with paranoia! But this one sounded good, and not *too scary* (The Last Time I Lied, however, that had me sooo jumpy!).

I'm really glad I requested this (thank you for the arc, Netgalley!) because I did enjoy it, it was an entertaining way to pass the afternoon, keeping me enthralled in the mystery of 'who did it?' and 'What's going to happen to Charlie?'

Charlie was an interesting protagonist with an unreliable narration. This narrative style helped layer in the mystery to the novel because you just didn't know whether what Charlie was thinking was 'real' or was it part of her hallucinations? Charlie too felt herself to be unreliable, so it really took both us - reader - and Charlie on a journey of trying to piece the puzzle pieces together with the limited information amongst the deception being put on by others & battling the hallucinations. I was worried at times that it would become too confusing, but Sager brought everything together nicely at the end, that you left the book with a clear narrative of how things went down (whether you enjoyed how it all went down, well...)

Despite this unreliable narration trying to throw you off, and making everyone (everyone!!) seem suspicious, I did guess who the murderer was. This didn't really impact my enjoyment of the novel too much, but obviously I did not experience any shock at the reveal.

I enjoyed the car ride setting. Isolated in the car and in scene (highways at night) really set the atmosphere. (This is also great to think about when you read the ending and get *that* reveal, and realise the author made the conscious choice to do that to give the reader a more 'cinematic' experience).

Overall, a decent murder mystery novel! It gets a 3 stars from me, as I was let down by the predictability of it & I think we could have spent just a bit more time on characterisation and unfolding the plot (while it did all come together, I was just like 'oh. That's it, huh?').

Thank you, as always, to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

There’s a good reason that women are told not to get in the car with a stranger, even if they meet up at the college ride board. This should be especially true for our main character, Charlie, her roommate is the latest victim of the Campus Killer.

Against her better judgement, Charlie heads out from New Jersey to Ohio with Josh driving. Her roommate’s death has been too much and she’s leaving for Thanksgiving. There are countless red flags for Charlie, but she also has a strange condition where she sees movies in her head, so she has trouble distinguishing what is real from what is the movie playing in her head. As a film major, she knows a lot of movies!

This one becomes a major cat and mouse game, and I wasn’t sure Charlie would survive the night. Her boyfriend becomes embroiled in the drama as well.

This premise works because it is set in the days before cell phones when pay phones were your only option on the road.

This one had a clever ending and then the whole structure of the book made sense to me. This was great to read in one sitting and I found it compelling, not perfect, but I couldn’t put it down!

You think you can guess the story from the blurb? Guess again! There were so many plot twists that I didn't see coming and some I guessed, but only after enough clues were dropped! I think with the last twist there could have been more clues to indicate the reveal.

The book starts as a typical cat and mouse game between Charlie and Josh/Jake. You know they both know and you're waiting for the climatic ending but so much happens when it does that the book becomes a real page-turner.

The action and suspense begins pretty early on so it hooks you almost instantly. If you enjoy a thriller, this is definitely a must-read for you.

Well, this feels a like dropped ball of a book - the premise of a car ride with a potential killer sounded brilliant. The reality, not so much unfortunately. It feels like I can't say much about this novel without spoiling plot points which, for me, meant the book was a bit too full of plot if that makes sense? A little bloated for the fact that this was supposed to be based over a 24 hour period. Anyways. I've read other Riley Sager novels and loved them, sometimes even the best drop the ball.

Gripping novel by an author who puts his readers in some very scary situations. Take this one - a student fearful of the campus killer at her university decides to return to Oregon. Bit of a journey so she needs a lift. Someone from the university is also heading that way so he offers a lift. Brilliant you think, we're going the same way and it'll be good to have company.

If something happens, if you need help however, you are in the car with a stranger on the motorways crossing the USA. This is also the 1990s so there's no modern technology or phones and the highways are dark....

Now that is one good premise, right? IT's a cracking thriller I really enjoyed. Fast, tense and you can tell he had a great time working on it.

A Pre-Readers’ Guide to Riley Sager’s latest thriller, Survive the Night:

1. Picture the absolute stupidest female protagonist you have ever come across in fiction. Do you have her in your mind?

2. Recall a villain from another book or movie with the most ridiculous motive in the history of stories. Got one, and I mean a reeeaaalllly redonculous one?

3. Brush up on the terms “unreliable narrator” and “gaslighting.” Are you fired up to see some extreme examples?

4. Clear your schedule. Did you block off enough time to read this bonkers book all in one sitting?

And there you have it! Survive the Night is a page-turning thriller set in 1991 where the stupidest female protagonist ever decides to do a ride share road trip with a strange man just two months after her best friend was murdered by a serial killer still on the loose. Because she’s such an unreliable narrator, both she AND readers are prime targets for gaslighting, all at the mercy of a cray cray antagonist with a truly laughable agenda.

Despite all that, could I put the darn book down once I started? No.

Have I rated all 5 of Riley Sager’s suspense novels 3 stars now? Yep.

Will I read his next one? 100%.

My thanks go to Hodder & Stoughton for providing a gifted advance readers copy for review via NetGalley.

WOW WOW WOW is all I can say about this book.
This was my first Riley Sager book and hearing so much about this author I wasn't sure if it would live up to the hype. But it exceeded all my expectations! I was hooked from the very beginning and now I'm going to be reading all the rest of Sagers books immediately.

I never knew who to trust all the way through this! Is Josh really a killer or is Charlier hallucinating all of these details. Some things that came about from their conversations was so creepy and I was on edge waiting to find out more. I read this book in one sitting and it is 100% a 5 star read for me! Amazing!

Riley Sager wrecks my brain. Every. Time

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<i>Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.</i>

<b>CW: Disassociative behaviours, gaslighting (these are the main two)</b>

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As with all things Sager, this one has so many twists and turns with some easily predictable elements sprinkled to lull you into thinking you have it all figured out.

This one plays out like a movie, complete with scene tags and all. It's the perfect formula for a cult indie horror flick - the heroine who doesn't know who to trust, the sketchy and suspicious side characters, the tension and buildup. It won on all points.

Of course, we also need to acknowledge that Sager is the king of unreliable narrators, so this one had me so unsure of what was reality and what was a side effect of Charlie's disassociation. You also became so invested because I needed to see if justice will ever be met. Or at least some sense of closure.

The overall experience is very much worth the price of the ticket. Read it.

Riley Sager can do no wrong. But her characters...well, wow. That was one helluva car ride. And it had me screaming at the protagonist, Charlie, a young college student recovering haphazardly from trauma. Leaving behind a caring, concerned boyfriend and a dead roommate, Charlie gets into the car with a relative stranger.

There was a lot of suspense and twists, and I WISH it had been a little less...confusing. Sometimes too many ingredients ruin the pot and that almost happened here. The saving grace? Riley Sager's writing is always fun.

Thanks for the ARC!

The writing was just perfect the build up was brilliant. How can you build something up so tensely with mainly being in a car? Honestly the twists and turns in this were perfect I was on the edge of my seat reading it and I could not put it down. 5 stars as the atmosphere and plot were 🤌🏼