
Member Reviews

If Riley Sager has a new book coming out, you can bet your bottom dollar I will be reading it.
The good about this one - I read it super fast and it definitely held my attention. There were a few twists I didn't see coming and although the ending seems to be pretty polarizing among reviewers, I really liked it.
The bad - I'll be honest, I'm pretty over the unreliable female narrator storylines. I also felt like the believability in this one was severely lacking. I'm normally someone who is fine suspending belief for a thriller, but in this case I felt like Sager wrote Charlie not logically thinking how a female would act. You're telling me your best friend has been murdered and the killer is still on the loose and you're hopping into a car with a stranger? Yeah right.
Overall, not Sager's best but I'll still be reading his next one.

Thank you to @duttonbooks, @netgalley, and @riley.sager for the gifted copy of Survive The Night, which published on June 29.
In November 1991, there is a killer on campus at Olyphant University. Charlie’s friend Maddy is the latest victim. Reeling from their last exchange before Maddy’s death, Charlie is riddled with guilt and desperate to go home. She meets up with Josh at the campus ride share board and agree to share the drive to Ohio. While on the road and when Josh’s story just doesn’t line up, Charlie begins to suspect she’s riding with the Campus Killer. Although, it could just be her mind playing tricks on her…
I read 40% of this book in one sitting. The cat-and-mouse game playing out in a car, on nearly deserted roads at night (in an age where there were no cell phones) is the stuff of nightmares. I lived without a cell phone until well into my teens, and when I got one, you had to press the 7 button 4 times to get the letter S—am I showing my age? I’m so used to technology at my fingertips today—I can’t imagine having to find a pay phone to call for help. I really enjoyed this latest thriller from Riley Sager. It was atmospheric and kept my attention throughout. The story was mostly propelled by dialogue, but the last bit is where it really picked up and got exciting. I didn’t expect the ending, but I loved how it ended.

Survive the Night by Riley Sager was a thrilling read. I was kept guessing through the majority of the book with Charlie being such an unreliable narrator. Just like Charlie, I had trouble distinguishing between the imagined and reality. I was convinced I knew the truth until the last third of the book where everything was sent into a tailspin. This was my third Riley Sager book and I look forward to reading what he comes out with next.

Uuuugh yeah this is so unfortunate. I’ve loved everything I’ve read from this author thus far but this one was a miss!! When I saw other reviewers updating on goodreads saying “omg she is so stupid” I didn’t know what to expect but holy were they ever telling the truth. Everything about this was unbelievable and stupid. ): so disappointed because I normally love his stuff and the premise sounds very intriguing but the plot was poorly executed, the plot twists we bland and the characters were one dimensional at the most.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Another great book by Riley Sager. I had a hard time putting it down and just needed to know what was going to happen next. Lots of suspense and action. A few of the twists I predicted, but I still had such a great time waiting to see if everyone was going to make it out alive.

One sitting read...yep. 90's era nostalgia...yep. My favorite Sager...nope but a close second.
Two strangers on a road trip, and one of them may be a killer, oh yes, I am in!! It was a bit campy in the beginning. I felt like I spent a lot of time going "No Charlie. Don't do that. Horrible Idea." I loved the cat and mouse between the two and honestly I had no clue where this one was going but I was so there for the ride.
4.5 stars for me.

I thought this was a fine addition to Riley Sager's books. It's not my favorite and it wasn't as engaging until halfway through the book. I was actually quite surprised by the twist so I'll give it that. It just took a while to really get going. Charlie's 'movies' in her head were twee and made her an unreliable narrator so that was frustrating.
The most unbelievable part of the book is that she became an archivist at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science Library. Just because she LOVES movies? Where is her schooling?! Where is her 3+ years of library experience? Or her archiving experience? Does she know preservation techniques? I think NOT. Hell yes this is nitpicky but I'm a librarian and this is a pet peeve of mine when characters randomly start working in a high position in libraries.

The best thing about “Survive the Night” may be the title. I was frustrated by how slowly the first half unfolds, and I was never convinced that someone as anxious and nervous (for good reason) as Charlie would behave so stupidly — except to set up the premise. The ending almost redeemed the whole thing, fortunately.

This is a different type of review that I normally do, because of the way I feel about the author.
I love Riley Sager. Like, REALLY love his books. He's fast becoming my new all time favorite, up there with Harlan Coben - and while this book wasn't my favorite among the others he's done, it did NOT disappoint! I'd give it a solid 4.5 stars. Just when I thought he had wrapped it up all nice and tight in a pretty little bow - BAM!!! - he hit me with another couple of twists. That's what I love about him!! I won't rehash the synopsis of the book since I'm sure you've all read it, but if you love Sager, I think you'll enjoy the book. If you've never read him before, start with another of his books, then move on to this one. If you don't like Sager, we can't be friends. (Kidding.) (Not really.)
Thanks to Riley Sager, Dutton and NetGalley for the ARC.

QUICK TAKE: I'm hit or miss with Sager, but I actually dug the hell out of this one, probably my favorite thriller of his since THE LAST TIME YOU LIED. Set in 1991, the book follows a movie-obsessed college student who finds herself trapped in a car with a potential serial killer. I enjoyed the author's use of classic movie tropes and unreliable narrators to tell this locked-room story, and while it goes a little off the rails near the end, I ultimately had a great time with this one and recommend to anyone looking for a fast, fun beach read.

Whew, Riley Sager has done it again. Twist after turn after twist in this one! Kept me hooked from start to finish. I love the way the author is able to create such intense suspicion in almost every character, and also the way that Charlie weaved in and out of reliability throughout this book. Loved this one!

This fast-paced thriller was a lot of fun to read and hard to put down. The main characters were interesting and I enjoyed guessing and/or criticizing their next moves. The movie references where great. This is the 4th Riley Sager book I've read. My favorite is still Lock Every Door but this was excellent.

i’m a huge fan of Riley Sager (@riley.sager ) so i was sooo excited when i received an eARC of his latest release!!! thank you to @duttonbooks & @netgalley
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I really liked this book!! This was everything i look for in a book, it was fast paced, twisty, played mind games & had surprises i didn’t even see coming!!!! Now I did predict the one major thing at the end of the book (i texted and told taylor my prediction super early on) and i’m very glad to say, i was indeed right. It wasn’t extremely important, but i still figured it out. Anyways, if you’re a fan of Riley’s other books please grab this one!!!

I liked this book well enough and it was a pretty quick read. I wasn't totally buying some of the character motivations, but overall a good summer read.

I can't get enough of Riley Sager. I loved "Survive the Night" and it's throwback to 1991 when cell phones weren't around and people couldn't track your whereabouts. This thriller is exciting and I also loved the nod to films throughout. While this was not my favorite Riley Sager book, I did enjoy it and fans of thrillers and Sager will enjoy.

An absolutely fun horror book which reaches nearly comic proportions in light of the authors use of this oh wait, not yet vehicle. I loved it, a real honest to goodness page turner - almost in spite of common sense which alerts you to the silliness without inhibiting enjoyment of a good tale, charmingly told.

Survive the Night was a wild ride (pun intended). Charlie Jordan met Josh Baxter met at a ride share board on campus, and she will be catching a ride home to Ohio with him. But Josh is a stranger, and Charlie starts to suspect that he is a serial killer….
This was a unique plot for me — I haven’t read anything like it and that made it all the more exciting. I thought it was a nice touch that Sager made Charlie a movie fanatic. Her inability to identify if something happened in real-life or if it was just a mental movie playing in her mind added another element of suspense. I’ve seen mixed reviews about this one, but it was a page-turner for me, and those are my favorite kinds of thrillers! Even better that this one took place over the span of one night. Some of the twists were harder to guess than others. There were some chilling moments and plenty of twists that kept me engaged. Survive the Night is a grippingly suspenseful thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat.

I tried, but I just couldn't get into this book. Part of it was the non-Gen X language at times, which is me being very picky - but we didn't overuse super or shady back then. But mainly it was a lack of connection to the characters. I felt bad for what Charlie had been through, but it didn't translate into me caring what happened to her in the way it should have. I'm sorry, I know this isn't particularly helpful, but it just didn't happen for me.

Well, it hurts me a little to say this, although it was bound to happen, this is my least favorite Riley Sager book. I love Riley Sager and of course one of the books will have to rank last but I was hoping it wouldn't be this one because the premise was so good and I was so excited to receive an ARC from Netgalley. While I did enjoy the book, I found some of the situations that our narrator put herself into so ridiculous and hopefully unrealistic. This was not my biggest gripe though because maybe she was meant to be written that way. My biggest shock and surprise was how quickly suspected the things that I felt were supposed to be shocking twists. Now...I can admit that maybe I just read so many psychological thrillers that it takes more to surprise me so don't take that as a reason not to read it. I am still a huge fan and will anxiously await the next book. I recommend this book to fans of Sager and if you are newer to psychological fiction, I think you will really enjoy this one. The rest of you can enjoy it too...just maybe not as much as you would his other books.

Main character Charlie had some pretty significant issues, so I didn’t blame her for wanting to head home. She didn’t go about it in a smart way, though. Think of every possible bad decision she could make, and she pretty much made it. I was frustrated with her, as well as scared for her.
In the hands of any other author, this story could have been a complete bust; however, it’s Riley Sager so the writing is superb. There are enough unexpected moments to keep the momentum all the way to the end. Although I figured out the twists in advance, it was a fun ride.