I’m a big fan of Sager’s stuff. Final Girls was probably my favorite so far. So I’m having a hard time coming up with final feelings about this one.

Charlie’s movies in the mind thing just jumped around too much. It felt a little manipulative instead of interesting. I kept thinking....wait, what’s real here? Oh brother, another movie? I get it, that’s the point but it just was a bit too much of it. Certain parts felt too unbelievable. Like will the ending justify Charlie’s ridiculous fear of asking for help from all the people she encounters? The talk about Stockholm Syndrome; it’s only been a couple hours for goodness sake.! And then the Josh progression, too much.

Overall, I enjoyed it but it left me feeling a bit let down. That’s probably just my own high expectations at play.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

My thanks to Penguin Group/Dutton, Riley Sager and Netgalley.
I've managed all these years without reading a Sager book, only because everyone loves his books! The twists! Oh, my God! It's so good!
So, let me just say yes, I almost agree. By half!
My biggest complaint is that I knew who the killer was nearly from the beginning. Next? I really and truly hate unreliable narrators! Especially when they are proven unreliable, yet the author keeps going with it🚽. My worst complaint though, is in fact what I usually love most. A twist. Maybe even two! This story? I was getting whiplash. Too many twists? Probably. I was so irritated that I nearly missed the "final twist." It was annoying and very Hollywood.
Well, I've finally read a Riley Sager. Now I know. 2 1/2 stars. Bumped up to 3, because that's the nature of the review beast!

I was really excited for a return to traditional Riley Sager thrillers, not a paranormal twist on a story. I was HERE for a ride in the North East, through Pennsylvania and the Pocono mountains (where I live and have spent a ton of my life). I was here for it, all parts of it. But, yeah, this didn't work for me. I am not someone who looks for twists. I don't TRY to figure things out because I want to be surprised, and yet I called EVERY. SINGLE. TWIST in this book. And I mean, EARLY on. EARLY! I was entirely unsurprised by all parts of this novel. I wanted to be thrilled, scared, anxious for our main character but I just never got there.

Also, there's a "magical" healing of an ailment that our MC has dealt with and then just...disappears at the end of the novel? Something about our MC kept me from caring about her, maybe it was the grief and guilt she claimed for actions of others. I understand you'd be torn up if a friend died and you felt responsible, but truly, she wasn't. She just...wasn't. Also, there's so much gaslighting and grooming in this novel. It's really not addressed the way it should be, ever.

Was it a bad book? No. But it wasn't what I wanted so much more from this novel. Maybe that's on me? But this wasn't a fave.

A pulse-pounding, adrenaline-fueled thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat during a car ride in the dead of night. It's November 1991, our protagonist Charlie Jordan is grieving the loss of her best friend murdered by the notorious campus killer. Guilt-ridden and in grief, Charlie decides to share the long drive home to Ohio with a stranger named Josh Baxter whom they met at the campus ride board. As the night unfold, Charlie begins to suspect she may be in a car with a man whom potentially could be a serial killer.

"Survive The Night" takes place within a timeframe of about 6 hours. With a short timeframe, the story was anxiety-filled and intense until the end. What made this book even more tense was the unreliable narrator from the protagonist. Charlie is known to experience hallucinations making the readers question in differentiating reality and delusion. As a reader, I experienced a state of confusion, doubt and agitation delving inside Charlie's vulnerable mind that was consistently engaging. It was these psychological mind games and the 90's setting that perfectly produced a fearful atmosphere. Creating a scenario in being stuck in a horrifying situation all alone during a life before cell phones at your disposal enhanced the claustrophobic reading experience with an intriguing premise. Charlie's suspicion towards Josh happens early in the book which helps the tension to build as the story unravels in measured pacing. Filled with many twists and turns, Riley Sager delivers entertainment and its shock value which is considered promising to all psychological thriller fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a digital ARC through NetGalley from Penguin Group Dutton. Riley Sager has become a consistent voice in the horror, mystery, thriller genre. I’ve read all his books and the twists don’t disappoint. Charlie’s college roommate is murdered by a campus serial killer. Needing to get home quick, she takes a ride from, Josh, a student she just met. Charlie doesn’t know if it’s her fragile mental state or if Josh really is someone she should be scared to be in proximity to.

I loved that this took place in 1991, because just like all great horror movies of the 80’s and 90’s we had to rely on finding a reliable pay phone when we were on a road trip. This reminded me of a classic horror movie and Charlie who is also a film student counts Hitchcock and others as her favorites throughout the story. Overall, I finished this in no time and was again satisfied by Riley Sager’s characters and tension building.

4.25 ⭐️

It’s November of 1991 when we meet Charlie Jordan. Unable to handle college after a serial killer murders her friend and roommate, Charlie decides to leave school. Choosing not to wait for the her boyfriend to drive her home to her grandmother when exams are finished, Charlie uses a ride share board to find a ride. In swoops Josh at just the right moment. It’s almost too perfect. Charlie soon realizes there are too many holes in Josh’s story. Can she trust her unreliable brain? Is she overreacting? Or is Charlie now alone in a car with the Campus Killer?

Holy Crap! - These were the exact words I spoke out loud after reading the final page in this book.

As a lover of film, the execution and style of this one really resonated with me. Add to that our quirky movie loving MC, Charlie, who is an unreliable narrator (seeing movies play out before her- losing chunks of time in her real life), and I was glued to the pages.

I was slightly worried at first as to how the story was going to play out. We know from the get go that Charlie is trapped in a car with Josh, a maybe (most definitely likely) serial killer. So where could the story possibly go but to the inevitable. I needn’t have been worried. Mr. Sager knows what he is doing. Twist after twist, the hits just kept coming, and blew my friggin mind!

This book was fast-paced, exciting, jaw dropping, and so much fun, in a really twisted (but great) way!!

*Thank you to Penguin Group/Dutton for providing me with and ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

Riley Sager once again writes an amazing thriller that keeps you intrigued from start to finish. I loved the main character Charlie and all the movie references throughout the story. I also loved the big twist at the end that I didn't see coming.

2.5 stars rounded down

Survive the Night started out strong with a great premise, lots of tension, and a unique setting. However, as the novel progressed, the execution fell apart. While I was never bored while reading, I kept wishing things would go in a different direction than they did and was disappointed in the twists, which I saw coming a mile away. Charlie also started to drive me crazy with her beyond stupid decisions and unrealistic mental health issues, which were referred to constantly with the phrase "movie in my mind". I felt like I read that phrase every other page and cringed every time I did.

I've enjoyed Sager's other thrillers, so I definitely will keep reading his next ones and won't hold one bad egg against him.

I don't know where to start with this one except by saying "wow". For anyone anxiously anticipating Riley Sager's newest release, get ready for a book that not only lives up to the hype, but blows it out of the water.

Charlie sees movies in her head when she is upset or stressed. After her best friend/roommate is murdered, she decides to drop out of college and move back home. Only problem is that to get home in the middle of the semester, she needs to find a ride share. Enter Josh, who just happens to be heading in the direction of her hometown. But during the trip, Charlie starts to wonder if Josh is everything he appears to be. What is the truth and is the movies in her head? Is Josh a normal guy or the Campus Killer? Guess you will have to read to find out ;)

This book was so different than other Sager books, but still had strong characteristics of his previous works: a strong female lead with excellent scene building that included twists and turns around every corner. Every time I thought I knew what happened or was going to happen, Sager pulled the rug out from under me. It has been a long time since I have read a thriller as suspenseful as this one. If you are fan of No Exit or Five Strangers, I highly recommend this one for you!

There was much more internal dialogue in this book than Sager's other works, which made the beginning of the book go a little slow. But after the first third of the book, things picked up and never slowed down. Although different than his other works, this is a really strong showing by Sager proving that he has range. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy this summer. Now I am going to go enjoy my book hangover and anxiously await Sager's next release. 5 stars.

I received a free digital ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am generously giving this novel 2 stars when it probably rates more of a 1 tbh. This book is a page-turner, so points for that. Riley Sager is an engaging author who is usually quite adept at the horror genre, so points again. This novel was, however, disappointing as a fan of Sager's past works. The storyline was hollow, the characters annoying caricatures, and the ending beyond ridiculous and predictable. Insert terrified yawn here. Clearly a novel that Sager phoned in and that reads like something he contrived after watching too much TCM and FX during the COVID lockdown. This reads like a bad season of American Horror Story (are there any good ones anymore?). Cannot recommend.

Say hello to my new favorite book by Riley Sager! After it took me three attempts to make it through Home Before Dark, Survive The Night had me on the edge of my seat and I devoured it in days! Huge thanks to Netgalley and Dutton Books for this early copy of Survive The Night!

I loved the concept of this story, with the inclusion of a serial killer on the loose, a young woman escaping her past, and ultimately ending up in the car with the possible serial killer. It was so interesting to read through the main character, Charlie's, thoughts while in the car with Josh, especially once you get to Josh's POV. Charlie's such a smart young woman who has had to endure a lot of grief in her life. The misdirects throughout the book were so good and I should have known it wasn't going to be so obvious from the get-go of who the antagonist was truly going to be. I had my suspicions from time to time but the misdirects took me off track so I was still super impressed with the climax! And I absolutely loved how it was all tied together with the Epilogue, it made me appreciate the main character even more.

Do yourselves a favor and have this book pre-ordered when it comes out in July, this is going to be the top book of the summer in my opinion!

Ah, unreliable narrator combined with a tangled twist of a tale? Yes, please and thank you! Survive the Night is one of those thrillers that threw out a catchy and horrifying synopsis and I was here for it. As usual, I thought I had it all figured out but nope, not even close. I used to think it was hard to surprise me because I’m highly suspicious of everyone in a thriller/suspense book. Everyone is suspect in my mind but wow! I was expecting some curveballs and maybe a few well-plotted twists; I got that and a whole lot more. Plus, there’s nothing quite like two strangers in a dark car on a lonely highway and ‘maybe’ one is a serial killer that gets me turning pages!

Most people who know me, know that I am a huge fan of thrillers but as it turns out, I’m beginning to question a few things about myself. Like, if I were an actual character in a psychological thriller, I feel like one of two things would be my most likely role and/or ending:

A) I’ll either be the first to die (probably slowly & horribly)
or
B) I’ll be the terribly unimaginative serial killer sitting on death row or you know, just dead because, again, lacking imagination.

Was I expecting a terrifying ride on a dark highway with a potential nutjob? Absolutely! But when it takes a sudden turn into Weirdsville, where I’m pretty much the Mayor, I remembered just why I love thrillers so much! This is where main character, Charlie is so much braver and smarter than I am. Her mental health makes it hard for her to distinguish between reality and movies that play in her head; her brains effort to protect her from strong & overwhelming feelings. But Charlies is a great deducer of evidence and this works out in her favor, usually, but those pesky head-movies that make life a little easier to handle also make her question reality vs. fantasy, leaving her open to manipulation by the wrong people. The setting is perfectly eerie and atmospheric and the secondary characters are well-developed and amplified at just the right times; some are hero’s and some are wolves in sheep’s clothing but finding out which is which is the best part!

Cat meet mouse. But who’s the cat and who’s the mouse! Read Survive the Night and find out! All the stars for this perfectly atmospheric psychological thriller that gave me all the chills with a twisty and brilliantly plotted thrill ride!

Thank you to Penguin Group – Dutton for gifting me this DRC in exchange for my review.

I'm so mad at myself for racing through this so quickly. I wait all year for the new Riley Sager to release, and I went and read this 3 months before its release in one sitting. Now I have to wait SO MUCH LONGER for the next one. Ugh.

I really had such a blast reading this, even if I questioned some of the twists and how much sense they made, in retrospect, as I was reading. But then that tag came up, and it erased my minor quibbles with one final, clever moment. Bravo.

What a wild ride! Charlie meets fellow student Josh near the ride board. at their college The board is meant for students to meet up and get rides home with each other. Charlie has a difficult past, having lost both her parents in a car crash, as well as having her roommate and best friend murdered by the Campus Killer. As she continues with ride home with Josh, Charlie suspects something is off about him, and finds holes in his story. This one kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Survive the Night is Sager's best one yet!

I received a complementary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way.

I have read a couple of Riley Sager books before. One I did not finish and the other I thought was average. I did not know what to expect with this one but I know many people are fans of this author so I wanted to try it. This book is set in 1991 on a college campus. This appealed to me because I was a freshman in college that year. Although there were some musical references to identify the setting I didn't feel like it was totally authentic as early 90's. There were a couple of phrases that characters used that read as more current. I felt like the time period was used mainly to make sure there weren't cell phones available to the characters and not much more. This was disappointing to me but wouldn't bother most readers.

In this book the main character, Charlie, has lost her best friend, Maddie, to a serial killer who is still on the loose. She desperately wants to back home so she takes a ride with a stranger she meets at a ride-share board. As the ride progresses she starts to feel that he may have had something to do with Maddie's death. Charlie is an unreliable narrator because to cope with stress her mind makes up "movies" in her mind that confuse what the truth is. I was not a big fan of this plot point. At first it felt kind of like a cop-out to make writing the book easier for the author and also seemed to exploit mental illness but by the end of the book I didn't feel that way so much anymore. There are crazy twists and turns and several times I wasn't sure if I really liked the book. The end redeemed the whole book in my opinion. The final twist was something that I should have seen coming and in fact it had crossed my mind but the author gave the hint and then masterfully directed my attention elsewhere. That is the kind of twist that I like. When all the pieces come tumbling together in the last few pages. This ending brought my rating up so I'd give this book 4/5 stars.

If you like thrillers with multiple twists you will enjoy this book.

After her roommate is murdered on campus, Charlie is desperate to get away. She posts a notice on her college rideshare board and snags a ride back to Ohio from a handsome stranger. However, Charlie quickly realizes that Josh is not whom he seems. Charlie's fragile state of mind kept me gripped to this cat-and-mouse game. With plenty of twists and turns and a little over-the-top theatricality, Sager's latest psychological thriller will keep his fans content and rightly make its way onto many summer reading lists.

I am always down for a new Riley Sager book. The premise of this one was too good to pass up. I was pretty engrossed with this one for about 3/4 of the book. I enjoyed the cat and mouse game and the constant wondering if things were really as they seemed. I enjoyed the movie references and the idea that maybe the narrator was not so reliable. The 90s setting made the story seem even more terrifying. Going on a road trip in the middle of the night with a complete stranger and no cell phone? No thank you. The last 1/4 of the book really started to disappoint me, however. I just had a hard time believing the story. It just seemed a little too coincidental, a little too bizarre. I love a good thriller but the odds for this one was just too far fetched to me. Without going into spoilers, the mental health of the main character really bugged me in regards to how things ended. It was just a little to simple for me. While I’ve enjoyed Riley Sanger’s previous books, this one was a little bit of a miss for me. Still, this was a quick read and I give the first 3/4 of the book 3 stars.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC of this book!

I have loved every story Riley Sager has written. His storytelling is genius and keeps you captivated. Survive the Night did not disappoint. It kept me on the edge of my seat and kept me turning the pages. I loved the way the chapters suspended the drama even for just a moment. You never knew where Charlie would end up next.

I loved how suspenseful the story between Charlie and Josh kept you wondering where this is going next and when you could put the book down for just a moment. Like all of Sager's books, the twists come fast but you want them to linger a little. Survive the night follows suit and allows the reader to devour the story and sit back when the last page is done and feel completely satisfied by the story.

A highly enjoyable read. Thank you to Dutton Publishing and Netgalley for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for the early digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'd like to preface this review by saying that Sager is an auto-read author for me. I'll literally read anything he writes, and I realize that not all of the books will work for everyone. That's just a fact. I've loved previous novels by this author.

Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me. I thought the beginning was strong, and it made me feel very uneasy. It kept that up to about halfway through the book.

I didn't much care for the rest of the book. It did surprise me, but at one point it clicked. I thought it was just so odd, and not really the ending I was looking for. It just didn't have me on the edge of my seat like Lock Every Door did. It didn't scream thriller to me.
I could definitely see why someone might enjoy this one, though.

This was my first Riley Sager book & I wasn't disappointed. Love a good thriller & this one kept me on the edge of my seat. The whole time I couldn't stop thinking DONT get in the car with strangers. The ending had a twist I didn't expect but overall good read that kept my interest.