Survive the Night is a slight departure from the story structure we've become accustomed to from Riley Sager. Instead of the jumping between different timelines, we get a story written like a movie. This change definitely works, and fits right in with the movie obsessed main character Charlie. This twisty tale of murder will leave you questioning along the way. I felt just as confused as Charlie did throughout the ride, and feel like this a book that deserves a reread. It's a tale that will have the same effect as watching a movie multiple times to pick up little pieces you didn't notice when you weren't aware of the plot. It's a quick, suspenseful read you won't want to put down. The only complaint I have is that the revealing of the killer, and conclusion of that part of the story seemed a bit rushed. Ultimately though, the last couple of pages brought a smile to my face, and helped me get over the slight disappointment from the killer reveal by giving a different perspective to the story as a whole. If you like being taken on a twisty ride, where the person in the driver's seat just may be a serial killer then you should pick up Survive the Night.

We have a lot of sayings about time – life can turn on a dime, life can change in an instant, time heals all wounds, time flies – which all point to the fact that time plays an important role in the human experience. In Survive the Night a young film student learns that six hours is all it takes to completely change everything.

Time may heal all wounds, but two months has been too short a period to affect college junior Charlie Jordan’s grief in any way. The eight weeks that have passed since her roommate and best friend Maddy was murdered have not alleviated Charlie’s pain and guilt. As a result, she has decided that staying where all her memories of Maddy are strongest is slowing her recovery. Desperate to feel better, Charlie determines to go home to her grandmother’s house, where Nana Norma can spoil and care for her. With that goal in mind but having no car or other way to get there, Charlie walks over to the university’s ride board, where students looking for a way home leave notes, and gets ready to post a flyer offering gas money in exchange for a lift. While there she meets the handsome Josh Baxter, who happens to be driving to just where Maddy needs to be. He hadn’t planned to leave as early as that evening, but Charlie urges him to reconsider. Josh agrees to try and rearrange things so he can depart that night and takes her phone number so that he can contact her if he’s successful. He is able to makes some changes to his schedule and calls Charlie to arrange a time and place to pick her up.

Charlie’s boyfriend Robbie (rightfully) thinks she is behaving rashly. If she can wait until the weekend, he’ll drive her home, but his work as a teacher’s assistant means he can’t leave that day. Charlie ignores his pleas to reconsider but reluctantly agrees to use code on her phone calls to let him know how her drive with a strange man is going. If Charlie says “Things took a detour” that will be the signal she’s in trouble. That’s if she gets the chance to call. It’s 1991, just a few short years before cell phones were easily accessible to everyone. Any calls Charlie makes will have to be from a pay phone.

Charlie hasn’t even been in the car with Josh an hour before she realizes she’s made a terrible mistake. It’s not just that she’s traveling on a deserted highway in the dead of night with a complete stranger – it’s that it’s crystal-clear Josh is lying to her. Or at least she thinks he is. Several years before, Charlie’s parents had died in a car accident. Charlie and her grandmother had spent the days after their death watching old movies – not really eating or sleeping, just viewing one film after another. At her folk’s funeral, Charlie had slipped mental states – rather than seeing the actual burial, she had imagined a grander, more meaningful ceremony, a “movie in her mind” which allowed her to escape the emotional pain of her reality and turn her life into something glamorous and beautiful. She’s experienced these “movie” episodes ever since, and Maddy’s death has exacerbated the problem. So now, Charlie’s unsure if the conversations she’s having with Josh – which point toward him being the infamous serial murderer the Campus Killer, the villain who slayed Maddy, – are real or are part of her “movie moments”.

Let’s stop right here for a moment and talk about this ridiculous situation. Slipping in and out of reality on a regular basis is extremely dangerous for many reasons. To name just a few – you could walk into traffic, trip down a steep flight of stairs, drown in a bathtub, kill someone you think is attacking you when all they are doing is saying hi, and last but not least, not see what is right in front of you. The latter is precisely what happened the night Maddy died. Charlie had likely seen the killer talking to Maddy outside the bar they had gone to, but her mind had slipped into a movie fugue, where Maddy and the killer were in a 1940s film noir. Charlie could give the police no details about the man except that he had been wearing a suit and fedora, two things they very much doubt. The police get her medical help; Charlie is treated with some little orange tablets and released back into the world where she experiences longer and longer episodes of these blank moments where she is catatonic as a movie in her mind replaces the reality right in front of her. The people who allegedly love her – Nana Norma and Robbie – apparently don’t find this a problem. I remain completely baffled by how mental health issues are viewed – and handled – in our nation.

My issues with Charlie’s problem aside, Survive the Night is a complete thrill ride of a story with two extremely well-drawn and intriguing characters in Josh and Charlie. The author does a spectacular job of making Josh both extremely likable and completely creepy. We are entirely unsure if he is a great guy stuck in a car with a crazy woman or a sadistic psycho whose veneer of normality is about to break wide open as he tries to murder our innocent heroine.

Lurking behind Charlie’s mental incapacity and questionable life choices is a lovely, intelligent, strong young woman. While it would have been easy to judge her for getting into a car with a stranger while someone named the Campus Killer was running around murdering coeds, we come to understand her reasoning as the story progresses. I’m not going to give away any spoilers but let’s just say I was sympathetic to her thought process.

The plot is more than just a touch ludicrous but it’s also oddly mesmerizing and engrossing, probably because we want to know just what it is that is happening between Charlie and Josh. Will they arrive at Grandma’s house or will one of them wind up murdering the other along the way? I was deeply invested in the answer to that question.

Survive the Night has been named a New York Times Book Review’s “summer read guaranteed to make your heart thump and your skin crawl”; An Amazon Best of the Month Pick; a must-read summer book by The Washington Post, Vulture, BuzzFeed, Forbes, Entertainment Weekly, CNN, and a long list of other publications. While it has some eye-roll inducing flaws and plot twists, it’s nonetheless a really intriguing story that will keep you up all night obsessively reading. I recommend it to fans of the thriller genre.

I am such a fan of Riley Sager books and Survive The Night is no different. He has such a unique writing style that takes you back in time to another place - the early 1990's in this book! The story will stump you. I had no clue whether the leading lady was just being paranoid or should be fearing for her life. Five stars. Great mystery to add to your collection.

As someone who doesn't read a lot of thriller (Though, does horror count?!), I really enjoyed this book. To say that the story starts to put the pedal to the metal once you reach halfway is an accurate catchphrase - I even said, "This is getting GOOOOD!" aloud to my partner sitting next to me.

Riley Sager does a great job of transitioning from flashbacks to the present state, weaving them into the story in a natural manner. As a movie buff, I particularly enjoyed all the references to movies and 90s pop culture. The 90s setting is also important because smart phones aren’t a thing in this time, which means no “Find My Phone”, no easy way to call 9-1-1, and well, you get the idea.

The trope of the potential unreliable POV of the MC is alluded to early, which I unexpectedly welcomed — I think this trope is better upfront and known than to serve as a twist later on.

Even though it’s told in third person from Charlie’s perspective, you still feel her tension, her neurotic thoughts and fear. The revelations had me gasping aloud many a times. And sure, there are moments when her emotions can be over-the-top and back-and-forth, but I truly felt that this only enhanced the fact that it's who Charlie is as a person.

Other than the main plot, the author introduces some backstories and occasionally POV chapters from other characters, which I think helps mix up the otherwise straightforward storyline and also adds a needed depth to the reason why the characters react and do what they do, which I appreciate.

I loved how the book kept me guessing, and at the edge of my (car) seat (I can say that since I read this while at a cottage and couldn't put it down when we would take trips to pick up food!). I would definitely recommend it to other thriller readers, people who like horror tropes, and anyone who enjoys a good trip back to the 90s.

The ending was alright. I won't reveal much because of spoilers but I felt like I wanted a little more and it fell just a touch short. It wasn't terrible but it was enough to bring my otherwise 5 star rating down to a 4. Still, it was an awesome and fun read!

TW: Gaslighting, Murder, Parental Death, Medicine/Drug Usage, Suicide

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the opportunity to read this eARC for an honest review!

Thoughts: Okay, readers, buckle in for this one. Just when you think you know where this story is going... Bam! Sager takes you in a whole new direction! I'm usually not one for cat-and-mouse-type thrillers (I prefer a high body count - shrug) but Survive the Night is not your typical chase. Sure, Charlie's suspicious of the stranger she decides to hitch a ride with to get home and blanket herself completely in grief over the murder of her roommate and best friend, Maddy, but what makes this all the more intriguing is that Charlie can't trust her own instincts -- due to a childhood trauma, she now copes with difficult situations by playing movies in her head. Her brain is constantly playing tricks on her as a mode of survival. So that suspicion she feels towards Josh? It might not be real. Is she truly in danger, or is she the dangerous one? Throw in lots of tense situations, possibly real or imaged events, and two huge twists, and Sager has created quite the suspenseful thriller. I've been a fan of Riley Sager's work since reading his first book, Final Girls, which had been my favorite of his titles to date. Readers, this one tops it. To be honest, about halfway through the book I thought I knew where the story was going and felt like the chase might not be worth it, but I was totally wrong. This ride (pun intended) is absolutely worth it and readers will be surprised at how things turn out. And I adored the epilogue -- probably my favorite part! Congratulations, Riley Sager, I think you have another bestseller on your resume!

**Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.**

I loved how this book was written as a screenplay. Each chapter gave you the location and setting and then went on about what was happening. Charlie is just trying to make it home. After her best friend and roommate is killed by a serial killer on campus she just needs to get out of the area and go home. She is looking for a ride and post something on the rideshare board and meets Josh. Josh is cute but she has a boyfriend and is just trying to get home as soon as she can. She believes that Josh is just another student at the university but when things start not adding up she believes she may have gotten in the car with a killer. Can she survive or will she be another victim of the serial killer who she happens to see the night of the murder of her best friend?

"Buckle up, readers; fans of Riley Sager are going to be delighted with his latest offering!"

Full review on FreshFiction.com

4,5 ⭐️

Thanks to PRH International and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Survive the night was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I’m so glad to say it delivered everything I was hoping for. I’m usually not a huge fan of stories taking place in such a short span of time cause I feel they usually tend to drag along but, in this case, the tension was at a high the whole time and I could not unglue myself from my Kindle.

Charlie is a movie buff so there are lots of film references that added a nice layer to the story. And, as it happens in movies, the main character makes plenty of stupid choices, but oh boy, weren’t they fun!

I’ve read some reviews saying the first half was drawn out and boring but I found myself enjoying it the most. I loved when Charlie and Josh were the only two characters in play. They were both pretty unreliable; add the movies Charlie experienced in her head and it was so much fun trying to guess what was real and what not and who, if any, was telling the truth.

Around the 65% mark there was a twist I did not see coming at all and once revealed it made for several pieces to fall into place.

The resolution, although a bit predictable, was really enjoyable and I found it very cinematographic. In fact, the whole story was and I can really see it being translated to the big screen.

And what to say about the actual ending! I thought it was a genius move! I loved all the parallels it established.

Super entertaining and fast paced story that made quite an addictive read. Highly recommended.

I received this and as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for giving me access.

I love Riley Sager's way of writing, he has to be my favorite thriller author. Automatically I knew that whatever I thought I knew, I should toss that out the window because I would be WRONG. Survive the Night kept me guessing the whole time. When I thought I knew what the twist was, I was wrong.....but was strangely right. The road to the end was so twisted and eventful, you won't want to put it down. I know I didn't.

This may be even more twisted than his previous works and I need them all in movie form.

I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This is the first of Sager's novels that I have read... if the others are as twisty and crazy as this one is, I look forward to reading them! Charlie was an interesting and different main character. I loved seeing such a flawed main character who knew she was flawed and still attempted to kick some butt. All in all, this book was just the right amount of thriller and horror and what if.

UGH I’m torn with this one. There were aspects of it that I loved and then there were aspects of it that didn’t work for me.

Here we are following Charlie as she accepts a ride from a stranger she meets on campus, willing to take her to her grandmother’s house in Ohio. They are both headed that way and so they become road trip buddies. Everything is fine and dandy until she starts noticing some discrepancies between who Josh, the stranger, says he is and who he really is. You see, there is a killer on the loose at her school, the Campus Killer, and he has recently killed Charlie’s best friend, Maddy. Charlie starts suspecting that Josh is the killer. She needs to get away quickly. Now all this sounds amazing right? Yes! Obviously this being a thriller there are going to be reveals and this is where the story started going downhill for me. I wish this story would’ve really gone a different direction. I absolutely adored the formatting of the novel, I thought it was really unique. The beginning was captivating, and it was exactly like watching a movie. The ending was absolutely great. The way this novel closes really did something for me. Unfortunately the reveals were anticlimatic and left much to be desired.

This was a fast paced, exciting thriller like we've come to expect from Riley Sager. Home Before Dark is still my favorite, but this is one of his better ones.

Thanks @duttonbooks & @netgalley for my advanced e-galley!

This was my first book by Riley Sager, and I think I'm a fan for life! I'd heard mixed reviews, so I was cautiously optimistic. I'm not usually really into thrillers, but this book had me hooked from the first page. The atmosphere was perfectly creepy. The setting gave me No Exit vibes-- one of my favorite thrillers. I loved that this book was set in the 90s, because it totally added to the isolation that the MC felt throughout the story.

The idea that the MC sees stories in her head and couldn't tell reality from fantasy was a cool aspect of the story. There were a good amount of twists that left me gasping, and I had a hard time putting this book down. I can't wait to read more by this author!

This book was great, until the end. Without providing spoilers, I didn't buy how everything worked out and how everyone was connected. Just like Lock Every Door, I felt let down by the ending.

The Gist: It's November 1991 and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.

My Thoughts: This is admittedly my first Riley Sager novel, but I think I maybe…don’t like traditional thrillers?? People make fun of romances for being predictable and trope-filled, but so is this genre!! Just with much more violence and much less humor!!

With a few exceptions, all of the thrillers I’ve read have been the same. There’s an unreliable narrator who makes dumb choices. A predictable killer. And 1-3 “twists” that aren’t actually that shocking.

I should have known I wouldn’t jive with this when the main character made fun of anyone who likes The Sound of Music. And don’t even get me started on the whole conceit, and some of the reveals.

Not for me.

This was my very first read from Riley Sager and while I struggled with some parts of this book, overall I thought it was really great. This is an entertaining and thrilling read where our main character, Charlie, is a very unreliable narrator... and knows it! She is still reeling from the murder of her best friend some months back and is grappling with the fact that she believes it was partly her fault.

In their college town, Charlie cannot get past the unsolved murder, knowing the killer is still out there and that she was unable to assist in their capture. She needs to get away and go back home. So, leaving her school and her loving boyfriend behind, Charlie shares a ride with someone who is also heading in the direction she is going.

Josh sees Charlie at the ride share board and offers to take her home to Ohio. And here is where I began to start doubting the book... There is a campus killer on the loose and Charlie KNOWS she suffers from regular hallucinations. So, why in the world would she just take this total stranger's offer to share an HOURS long ride alone? But, then again, I liked Josh from the beginning.

So, through their journey, she begins to doubt Josh more and more, believing him to not be who he claims to be and fearing that he may be out to hurt her. What ensues is a wacky road trip that takes many twists and turns. There are ups and downs and enough drama to make me a gasp a few times.

This was just my first taste of Riley Sager's work, but I think I may have to binge soon because this book was so much fun!

Even though this one isn't my favorite by Riley Sager, I'm still glad that I stuck with it. I was initially pretty bored with the first half of the book. There's only so much that can happen when two people are stuck in a car together. I figured it had to be leading up to something so I stuck with it. I'm glad I did because it delivered in the end. All the twists happen in the last half of the book and they had me so surprised. I even loved the ending which wrapped things up really neatly.

So the first half of the story I felt like I was in a fog. Everything just didn’t make sense, the parts where Charlie sees “movies” in her head had me confused on what was actually happening in the story or if it was all in her head. I’m not one to think too hard when it comes to thrillers so I pushed through, hoping it would all come together. It kind of did... after 60-65% in and thats when all the action happened and I was waiting for that signature WOW moment I’d get from Sager’s books but I don’t think it happened? I might have missed it from all the back to back twists happening in that short bit of time 🤦🏻‍♀️

I know I’m prob in the 1% but I know this will still be a summer hit! I will say now that I know what I know, I bet if I re read it it’ll actually make more sense and I’ll enjoy it more 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thanks @duttonbooks & @netgalley for my advanced e-galley! Swipe for synopsis.

Let me preface by saying this was my first book by Sager & I seem to judge thrillers the toughest, but I just didn’t love it y’all. I didn’t hate it by any means, but found myself rolling my eyes so many dang times at the absurdity of some of the plot lines and being so frustrated with the main character and some of her poor decision making skills. OPEN YOUR EYES, CHARLIE! Your roommate was murdered & the killer is loose but you want to get in the car with a stranger for a long road trip?! Crazy girl.

The story got a little monotonous as so much of it is just two characters in the car. There were a few minor twists that surprised me but I guessed a lot of them and I prefer to be surprised as much as I can in thrillers. I did enjoy the 90s references and did think it was a quick read, so I still recommend to the right reader.

I’m a big Riley Sager fan. The first book I read of his was The Last Time I Lied and the creepy camp atmosphere really was what sucked me into the story. This book definitely got it right with the creepy atmosphere. Trapped in a car on dark roads with someone who is maybe a killer. Pre-cell phones and Google maps. So good. Other parts didn’t do it for me as much. The plot device where the MC can’t always tell truth from reality was unique, but got a little bit old. There was a couple “big twists” that I didn’t quite see coming but also weren’t shocking and felt a bit rushed in the final chapters of the book. Overall, this was a page turner that I was compelled to finish in a few hours.