Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I have not read other books by this author but I loved this one. There were twists and turns, plenty of suspense, a great premise and good writing. I couldn’t put it down until I saw how it ended! Highly recommend and I’ll be looking for more books by the author.

I found some parts of this a little jarring, for example for half of the book we are seeing Charlie's perspective, and then all of a sudden the perspective changes to another characters for a few pages. It felt like this had been a little ad-hoc and unplanned.
The mind movie flashes were also a fairly strange plot point. I did see some of the twists coming, and others I didn't.
Not his best thriller, but it was overall, an enjoyable read.

I've read all of Riley Sager's books but I've only liked my first one: The Last Time I Lied. After that my experience has been downhill so I wasn't sure what to expect. But I found it to be an enjoyable read!

As always, this one has a great premise. Two people on the road in the night in the 90s, one of whom may or may not be a serial killer. When two people are in a locked situation, it can be insanely difficult to not make the scenes repetitive and I was surprised that that the first half was riveting. It was the definition of a page turner. Things do change in the second half and get predictable in the end (like most thrillers) but I believe it's worth it.

One main complete of mine in this genre is the stupidity of the characters. But the author deals with that very well in the book. What would you do in the same situation? When you're scared and traumatised, completely broken, would you be capable of making rational decisions?

I also admired the way the protagonist's mental health issues have been described. This is a unique read that will be a lot of fun if you're willing to go along. 4/5

Charlie is looking to head home from her university campus and checks the local ride share board where she finds Josh. He's heading in her direction and offers to give her a ride. Charlie's best friend has recently been murdered by a potential serial killer and she's desperate to get out of town. During the drive, she starts to notice some holes in Josh's story and becomes suspicious that she's locked in the car for a long journey through the night with the Campus Killer. I thought this book was completely gripping and totally unpredictable. It's been a while since I had one that I really couldn't put down and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, but in all honesty, I found it a little predictable and underwhelming.
I can’t award it more than 2.5 stars.

3.5/5 stars



That twist saved this novel

I always look forward to when Sager is releasing new thriller novels. I really like his novels except Final Girls. Some may not like his novels but honestly, reading his novels is like a good snack while sitting in front of the beach or having tea on a rainy day. A good read.

But I have mixed feelings about Survive the Night. I do get that his woman protagonist is gullible, sometimes not thinking, or very irrational but the story and plot itself are good. For me. In the case of Survive the Night, the same woman protagonist but the plot is meh. The first part was too suspicious and the twist at the end is okay but very predictable.

Charlie Jordan, filled with grief and guilt after the murder of her best friend on campus, Maddie, decides to leave university early and needs to get home to Ohio. She meets Josh at a ride board, whom she assumes is a student, and decides to share a ride with him. There's a serial killer on the loose...what could go wrong?

Charlie often loses her sense of time because she thinks in movies; she takes medication for it. Alone in the car with Josh, she starts to feel that Josh is not all he appears to be. Charlie's sense of reality starts to fade in and out, and she wonders if she's being driven to Ohio by the Campus Killer himself.

The sense of unease carries the reader through the novel - is Charlie imagining the scenario, is Josh what he seems? Most of the action takes place within the confines of the car, and the claustrophobic atmosphere is well portrayed. When they stop at an isolated diner, the twists and turns come along ever faster, and the intrigue builds.

I read this book in one sitting, desperate to get to the end. The author keeps you guessing, and the plot twists build up to the somewhat implausible ending, but as a keep you on the edge of your seat read, it was quite enjoyable.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

A great contemporary voice with twists and turns on every page! The potentially unreliable narrator made this a nail-biting read!

I've been a fan of Riley Sager since Final Girls and have eagerly anticipated each and every book of his. Once again, my hopes were high and this one did not disappoint!

I love how this book has a minimalistic setting and there are just a handful of characters, but is packed full of tension! As with all of the author's previous books, I was hooked from the very first page. There were quite a few twists and turns that had my head spinning, while some parts had me cheering. I also really enjoyed the 90s vibes, when smartphones weren’t yet a thing and calling for help ain’t that easy.

Some scenes might make you question the protagonist's decisions, but I think the author does a good job in addressing them through his storytelling.

This book also pays homage to old movies and film noir fans will love the references peppered throughout. Even the format and execution is in line with the movie theme, which makes me love that final chapter even more.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC! 💖

who do you trust when you can't trust yourself. who do you trust when you think you deserve to die and that maybe you are riding in a car with a killer. An interesting premise to this new and very tense Riley Sager book, told as scenes from a movie, esp confusing to the main character, a girl names Charlie as she has blackouts that show up as movie scenes. He has the ability to write realistic female characters, which I appreciate about him. Though did wonder why no one seemed to have a cell phone??????

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Net Galley for my advance review copy of this book.

Not quite a thrill ride ★★☆☆☆

Grieving from the murder of her best friend Maddy, Charlie makes the snap decision to quit uni and accepts a ride home to Ohio from campus worker Josh. But has she put herself in danger?

I’m a big fan of Riley Sager and his last two novels Lock Every Door (2019) and Home Before Dark (2020) were both five star reads. However, Survive The Night didn’t quite make the final cut for me.

The division into movie scenes – which we assume is due to Charlie’s obsession with films – is distracting but makes more sense at the end. Charlie’s “mind movies” detract from the tension of the cat and mouse game with Josh which forms most of the plot. Rather than creating suspense, the uncertainty surrounding Charlie’s version of events during the drive – such as whether Josh knew about the tooth taken from each victim – takes us back to square one each time.

When Josh insists on stopping at a remote diner, the slow-burning plot takes several turns. After an unexpected and unlikely detour involving Maddy’s grandmother, the true murderer – a relatively easy guess – is revealed.

An interesting concept and a quick read but the end result is more of a movie script than a novel.

For once it's not a spoiler to use the words 'unreliable narrator' because wow is one at work here! Be warned - don't pick this up planning to 'just read a bit' because you won't put it down until the end. This is a great serial killer/suspense thriller that ramps up the tension throughout to a finale that made my jaw drop.

What a fantastic book!
I am a hug fan of Riley Sager and have enjoyed his other texts, this new book did not disappoint.

The story follows grieving Charlie, who after losing her best friend tragically decided to leave University and to return home.

Charlie finds a ride home with a 'friendly stranger' , but, all is not what it seems.

Many red flags makes Charlie see that her friendly ride is in fact the murderer who killed her best friend and who has now come back for her.

What follows is a game of cat and mouse with roles between Charlie and the killer interchangeable in these roles throughout.

Charlie must get home safe but also stop 'Josh' from murdering other women.

Throughout the story there are potential 'saviours' who could help Charlie but for one reason and another, cant really help Charlie who is left to avenge her friend, whilst staying alive.

I was constantly questioning Charlie's actions, almost like shouting at the TV screen while watching a thriller, and was engaged throughout the story.

Riley is able to write from a female perspective really well and does reference the 'blame' that Women experience from the world and themselves for actions and circumstance beyond their control and how Women when attacked, physically or mentally, are blamed rather than supported.

5 out of 5 from me.

An interesting read for sure. Lots of twists and turns that kept on edge from beginning to end. Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for this read!

An interesting read and not as expected. With some twists and turns and a surprising ending. However, a little confusing at times, and a little hard going in places.

Another amazing Riley Sager book!

When I first heard the premise of this book, I knew it would be completely up my street! As a horror movie buff, it was everything I expected and more!

I absolutely loved it! The whole story had me on the edge of my seat and the twists and turns kept me wanting to read more! The characters (although there wasn’t many) had me rooting for them and I wish there were more books like this out there!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

I am a huge Riley Sager fan and was thrilled to be approved for this book. I immediately jumped into reading it, and I’m so disappointed. While I loved the 90s timeline that this is written in, the main character, Charlie got on my nerves, and was just stupid. I also got bored with the endless dialogue between her and Josh in the car. NOTHING else was happening. I did feel a sense of claustrophobia while reading this, which may be what the author intended. I just did not enjoy this at all.

I have enjoyed Riley Sager's novels in the past but i struggled to even finish this one. What begins as an interesting book, soon becomes repetitive, predictable and even boring. It was hard to connect to the protagonist and the movie script like narrative technique didn't help, evwn though i get it that it supposedly complements the protagonist's love for movies.

The book felt tedious after a point and i skipped many pages and descriptions just so that i could finish it. The idea behind the book is interesting, the execution not so much. Towards the end, i was realky disappointed. The book left me feeling underwhelmed.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me a copy in exchange of an honest review.

5 stars
Enjoyability 10/10

After losing her best friend to a brutal murder, Charlie decides to leave her college life behind and go home to heal. She feels like she can't wait and arranges a ride with a stranger she met on the post board. This is the 90's way before rideshare and cell phones; keep that in mind.

As the drive goes on and they exchange stories, Charlie starts to notice there is more to Josh than meets the eye and panics as she suspects she might be riding with the Campus Killer. Will she survive the night?

Nothing I can say about Survive the Night will do it justice. It feels that with every Sager I read, I think that's his best yet, but seriously THIS is Sager's best novel so far. I kind of feel bad for him. It must have been so painful to wait so long to share this book with the world. Hopefully, his torture has an end date - June 29th.

The opening chapter is one of the strongest I have read in a long while, definitely in my top 10 of all times. I was hooked from the first word. Sager set the pace, and it never slowed down. The quote from All About Eve was eerily accurate, and I am glad I listened and fastened my seatbelt!

Survive the Night is a book that doesn't take itself seriously on the surface: It's a bit campy, and it pays homage to some of the best movies of all time. This book is heaven on earth to any movie buff! As an homage, it is a quilt of the most beloved tropes. In the hands of any other author, this would be a disaster. But what Sager achieve was a novel that, at its core, is tightly plotted, intentional, fast-paced, witty, intense, scary, vertigo-inducing (see what I did there?), and very interactive. I was literally talking to (okay, yelling at) Charlie through the whole book. I believed her, I doubted her, I was mad at her, I worried for her. When I finished reading the last word, I dropped the book started clapping as I thanked Sager out loud for such a fantastic experience.

Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Hodder & Stoughton, Riley Sager, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Survive the Night.

This book would make a FANTASTIC movie! 🍿

It is written as screenplay, with each scene, depicted by its camera location:
INT (interior, inside of) or EXT (exterior, outside of)

In fact, this time, I think this story would be better as a movie, than as a book.

So, after reading some “less than enthusiastic” reviews for this one, I decided to approach it, by actually picturing what I would be SEEING, if this screenplay was on the BIG SCREEN! And, that worked for me.

It’s 1991-cars have tape decks, and if you want to call someone from the road, or CALL FOR HELP-you will have to find some coins and a pay phone….

Charlie is a film theory major who feels like she cannot stay at college for another day! Her roommate and best friend, Maddy was the 4th Victim of a serial murderer referred to as “The Campus Killer” and Charlie feels responsible. The little orange pills aren’t working, and she is retreating into a movie-like World and starting to wonder what is real and what is hallucination.

She searches the Campus ride-share board and as luck would have it, a guy named Josh Baxter is also looking for someone to share the 6 hour drive to Ohio. She says goodbye to her boyfriend Robbie and climbs into the car.

INT Grand AM-Night

The Snow is smacking the windshield, the fog is receding, and as Josh and Charlie begin making conversation, she becomes increasingly convinced that she may have just accepted a ride with the Campus Killer!

In order to SURVIVE THE NIGHT, Charlie must:
BE SMART. BE BRAVE. and BE CAREFUL.

But, sometimes you need to choose one!

Of course, this is a MOVIE and our VICTIM will not always choose wisely, or we wouldn’t have a story.

We wouldn’t have a reason to SCREAM at her, ROOT for her, or PEEK between our fingers while covering our eyes! What fun would that be??

And, the ending…Maybe only in the movies!

So, while I agree that the story doesn’t translate as well to the page as it would to the screen-it did offer some surprises once it got going and it DID kept me entertained!

It’s not my favorite by this author, so if it’s your first time reading his work, I wouldn’t judge his work, by this book alone.

3.5 ⭐️ rounding up!

I would like to thank Hodder and Stoughton for my gifted ARC provided through NetGalley! It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

Available June 29, 2021 in the U.S
Available December 23, 2021 in the UK