I can see why this was a NYT bestseller. It kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't eat, I couldn't put this down. It was a fantastic ride!

This was my first Riley Sager book, and I am now trying to figure out when I can read his other books.
I found this book to be enjoyable, suspenseful, clever, and entertaining. There were true surprises along the way (although I did figure out a big chunk), and it was a great change of pace from the women's contemporary fiction or historical fiction I usually read.
I am interviewing the author and am looking forward to hearing him describe how he approaches such a complex, well executed plot.

Another pulsating thriller that took some intriguing and unanticipated directions. Although, I did call it on the serial killer earlier than expected (like before halfway).

This was a great fast-paced psychological thriller set with a 90s vintage vibe and a whole slew of unreliable narrators. I wouldn't classify it as scary per-say, but definitely thrilling and suspenseful, it kept me turning the pages and up way later into the night than I had planned on. There are plenty of both cat and mouse and twists and turns here that keep you guessing and switching gears throughout.

This was definitely a bit of a mind twister, and heavy on the mystery/thriller aspect (vs scary horror): you've got two strangers in a car at night going for a long drive, and whole lot weirdness as our possibly crazy protagonist begins to suspect, her ride share partner is actually the serial killer that murdered her friend several months earlier. The majority of the story takes place over a couple of hours, and Sager does a great job of keeping the intensity ratcheted up, and then continually building on it. And while there are really only the two main characters for the first half, a couple more weave their way in along the journey adding more layers to the story (our protagonists boyfriend who realizing something is wrong wants to come in riding the white horse, flashbacks to the best friend who died, and an old school diner waitress past her prime all play their roles sublimely).

Loved the setting (90's) and our protagonist's obsession with movies and all the references to those classics, that fast pacing over a couple hours; along with the small doses of alternative viewpoints (which while minimal were so on point - perfect additions which definitely added to the story).

Maybe it was the setting but this reminded me a bit of some of my 90's favorites like Koontz's Intensity, or if Thomas Harris and Robert McCammon had a book baby.

Highly entertaining, psychological mystery thriller - dare I say it was fun? Can I say that about thrillers? I dunno I thought it was a great creepy fun read. Like I said, more mystery thriller than scary horror. I will definitely be reading his other books now.

**Thank you to Negalley and Dutton Books for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review**

I’ve never hated a main character more. The decisions she made were asinine and I was able to predict every step of this book with zero thought. Love riley Sager. Did not love this.

I typically love Riley Seger books this one had me questioning. Well I enjoyed the premise set in the 90s of a ride share I felt the characters that were hard to connect with and the ending i.e. last chapter seemed to hokey for Riley’s typical books. I appreciate the E arc of this book an exchange for an honest review.

So, to really enjoy this story, you really have to suspend reality. If you get into a car through your college ride board and, along the way, begin to regret your decision, and you have plenty of opportunities to get out, you get out, right? OK, well, let's say that there's a reason why you don't just 'get out' along the way, not reality. But, it is what it is, and the story's twists and turns are really fun and overall, I did enjoy it. The narrator did a great job!

I received an advance reader copy of this book through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I had previously read another book by Riley Sager that was a decent thriller, so I didn’t hesitate to request this book from Net Galley. In hindsight, there are several reasons I shouldn’t have been so enthusiastic.

The first reason is the dreadfully slow pace of this book until near the very end. The action (or lack thereof) takes place in a car on a drive from New Jersey to Ohio. Another reason is the unreliability of the narrator, who frequently can’t determine whether what is happening to her is real or if it is part of a hallucinatory movie that she slips into on a recurring basis. Readers will find it obvious that everything isn’t as it seems – I made that conclusion early on and came up with an alternate theory that was fairly close to what actually happens.

I gave Survive the Night three stars on Goodreads. In addition to the slow pace, I simply didn’t find it that interesting, plus it came off as overly contrived and manipulative.

I truly wanted to love this book, but it just didn't work for me! I found the whole book a little bit too predictable and cheesy at times. Regardless of my feelings about this book, I will be counting down the days until Sager's next book releases!

A very solid four stars with a satisfying ending to boot! This book kept me guessing and made me want to read every single word - usually I catch myself skimming for the dialogue at the end of a thriller.

I was completely blown away by this book. I was speechless for so long after finishing that I cannot even write up a review! I thought the pacing was great and the writing (as always) was fantastic. Riley Sager is definitely a new auto-buy author!

So, I've been a Riley Sager fan and I was super excited to read this book. This book had some fun nostalgia and I like the whole road trip vibes. Also there was a fun twist at the end and I think it was a fun ride.

I am probably the last person in the world to post my review of this book.

I'm sure you all know the premise, there's a serial killer on campus. Charlie’s best friend became the third victim of the Campus Killer and all Charlie wants is to go home. So she seeks out a ride to Ohio through a campus board. She ends up in the car with Josh who claims he’s headed home to care for his sick father. But Charlie starts to have her doubts about Josh, strange inconsistencies in his behavior, make Charlie wonder if she just hopped in the car with the Campus Killer.

The 90’s nostalgia, Nirvana, old movie references by the greats of horror all combined to make me anticipate this book. But I struggled a bit, in the beginning, to get invested.
I did eventually get into it but at times I found Charlie’s inner dialogue distracting.

I am a Sager fan, I’ve read all of his books with Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied being my favorites. This book seemed to lack the crazy page-turning frenzy I've come to expect from him. With such a small cast of characters, the final plot twist wasn't as twisty as I expected. I guessed it much sooner than I would have liked.

The parts surrounding the diner were the most nail-biting and tense, I didn't expect all of that at all.

So this one was just okay for me. I just expected to be more shocked. I know others loved this one so maybe it was me. I can be a mood reader.

If you're a fan give this one a go, it might be perfect for you!!

Thank you so much @netgalley and @duttonbooks for my advanced digital copy of the book. My review is later than expected because of my procedures surrounding pub day, my apologies.

Just the idea of this premise is enough to have me looking over my shoulder. It’s strange to think that in a time where we have car services like Uber and Lyft, I can still remember the 90s when you were told explicitly to never get in the car with strangers. And yet we do it anyways, and pay!

This book has a touch of 90s nostalgia, mostly in reminders of how there are no smartphones or modern tech. For me, it served more as a ‘bomb under the table’ story telling device, rather than adding atmosphere to the story itself. On premise alone, this deserves a five star rating, but some of the execution fell a bit flat.

Some might argue that the ending (which I won’t spoil) alleviates some of that, and in a way it does, but it still made the first read through a bit jumbled. It would be really interesting to revisit this book knowing what I know now and looking for clues and hints and tells, so I need to give it points for the reread factor.

It’s actually very difficult to talk about this book without spoiling the ending, but I’m going to try. A lot of criticism I have for it can be explained by the ending itself, but I almost feel like that’s too easy. No, this isn’t a ‘it’s all a dream’ story, but the ending left me with that kind of energy. I’m not unhappy with it, it just leaves the reader in Schrodinger’s criticism: it’s both flawed and not flawed at the same time.

When we get to the story itself, ignoring the ending, I’ll admit that the first half was more compelling for me than the second half. There are a lot of ‘gotcha’ moments where you start to question the narrator and whether you can trust anything you’re reading, and for that I applaud the author. I wish we had more of that.

To dip into light spoiler territory, by the time we get to the full blown kidnapping going on, it reads like a different book all together. The idea of being trapped in a car with a possible serial killer is so compelling on its own that I really wish the whole book had been centered around that. Small spoiler, it goes beyond the car ride at some point.

Due to how it was written, there wasn’t much chance to really attach to any of the characters. The story switches character perspectives a few times, but is written in a way that it was like the author was trying to trick you into reading the story one way instead of how it should have been read. I know this is vague but I really don’t want to give away the ending.

The motivations of the killer seem shallow, especially when on the foreground of such a menacing, near mythological backdrop. There were even hints of Stockholm Syndrome, but not in the way I think the author meant for there to be. Then again, this could also be summed up as not letting us dip deep enough into the characters. Just when a character other than Charlie starts to feel three dimensional, there’s a quick one-eighty and they turn into a trope of their archetype.

All of that being said, it was a quick read, and I enjoyed it. I just wish there was a little more to it than what we got. Would I recommend it? Definitely. It’s fun, harmless for the most part, and the first half is genuinely well crafted. This being the first novel I’ve read by this author, I’m glad it was this, and I’m eager to read more of their work!

As far as thrillers go this one has it all: mystery, suspense, and life and death action. Quick fulfilling read!

Riley Sager has been considered an over-hyped author by a lot of readers, but I have loved his writing ever since I read his first novel Final Girls which is still my favorite of his to date. Some authors can be really hit or miss for me, but I have enjoyed every single one of his books and I will be shocked if I ever read one I don't like at all. Survive the Night did have its moments for me, like all of Charlie's hallucinations grating on my nerves, but overall, I did not want to put this one down and it ended up completely shocking me by the end. I really liked that basically the entire novel is set in a car on a lonely snowy night, with very minimal other locations. It gave me that nice claustrophobic feel and really heightened the suspense for me times. I wouldn't necessarily call myself a movie buff, but I do love to watch them and had a lot of fun with all the movie references throughout the novel.

It took me a minute to get into Survive the Night but once I got into it, I really didn't want to put it down even when I had to. The audiobook which I listened to, is narrated by Savannah Gilmore and I could totally picture her as Charlie. Her voice and narration were completely on point for me, and I would highly recommend listening to this if you like audiobooks as much as I do. A lot of reviews I've seen mention how dumb Charlie is and how many stupid decisions she made. I would usually be really annoyed with characters like that, but for some reason I really liked Charlie and her decisions didn't actually bother me. I could see where Sager was taking her character, and we definitely wouldn't have had this book if she would have made other choices. I was completely blown away with the end and did not see it coming AT ALL. I loved every single one of the twists in Survive the Night and Sager really got me again with his reveals. I am still a steadfast fan of this author and will be over here anxiously and not so patiently waiting for his next book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

With his latest—SURVIVE THE NIGHT—Riley Sager explores a horrifying premise—what if you’re trapped in a car with a serial killer?

This road-trip-gone-wrong story is set in 1991 and begins with college student Charlie Jordan, who blames herself for her best friend’s murder. Guilt-ridden, grieving, and anxious to leave campus, Charlie meets Josh Baxter via a campus ride share board, who is looking for someone to share the drive back to Ohio.

As hours and miles tick by, Charlie becomes suspicious of Josh, fearing he isn’t being truthful. But then again, Charlie is known for forging alternate realities—movies of her own making when situations get stressful. Lost in the chaos of her suspicions and hallucinations, Charlie begins to spiral into her own personal nightmare.

This is Sager’s fifth novel and one of my most anticipated of the year. Sager tends to take a well-known trope and turn it on its head. He’s an inventive and exciting writer and I was so excited to dig into his newest novel.

The first half of the book felt a bit slow to me however, as he used a lot of narrative runaway on Charlie’s analysis of whether Josh was a serial killer or not. Charlie’s unreliable narration toyed with my own interpretations and theories, but it wasn’t until the latter half of the novel that Sager really kicks it into gear. Unexpected twists and a jaw-dropping finale sent me reeling in the best possible way.

Thanks to Dutton Books for my free copy in exchange for my honest review! This one got 3.5 stars from me.

I am a huge Riley Sager fan and I was dying to read this book! Sadly, this one did not live up to the hype for me! It took me awhile to get into this story, but then I became sucked in, not knowing what to believe, and rooting for Charlie the whole way through. The action definitely hooked my towards the end of the book and I did not want to put it down, it just took me so long to become invested in this story. I liked the unreliable narrator aspect, but I was also annoyed by the main character for continuing to make dumb decisions throughout the story, so it was a hard balance to find. This is not my favorite Sager, but parts of it did make me think of Final Girls, which is my favorite by him! I would recommend this book if you enjoy more of a slow burn thriller, unreliable narrators, and a story with a lot of action at the end! This would make a good beach read, and I can't wait to see what Sager writes next!

Thank you to the publisher for a review copy of Survive the Night. This was a very fast read but here were my problems with it:

1. Expected the killer right away. Especially as you continue reading and you only introduce a few characters, that makes it much easier to guess.
2. Charlie was sort of infuriating. She put herself in very unbelievable situations and made a lot of dumb decisions. You can sort of blame this on her way of l viewing life like a movie, but instead of being mysterious or brave, she just seemed stupid.
3. Aspects besides just the killer were easy to predict, as well.

It was a fun enough read, but nothing new here.

I absolutely adore Riley Sager as an author and have never given any of his novels less than a 4 star rating so I had very high expectations for Survive the Night. The setting was amazing and super suspenseful. I immediately fell into the story and read this book in one day which is very unusual for me to read that fast! I vlogged my whole experience and posted it to my YouTube channel: Riveting Reads. I loved the retro vibes, the plot twist was exceptional and I didn't see it coming, and the ending literally made me cry which I have never cried in a book before (I mostly read thrillers and horror novels) but there was something that happened at the end that was so touching and I had been anticipating this book for so long that I was just so excited and emotional. It was my most anticipated read of the whole year. Although there were sometimes when I had to suspend my disbelief a little bit with how the main character was acting, Sager still justified her actions by highlighting that the character was an unreliable narrator and wasn't fully sure if what she was seeing was real. It does not bother me personally though to suspend disbelief though because I go to reading for entertainment and I always find Riley Sager's books extremely entertaining and this book was no exception. I also loved all of the pop culture references to the time period and it made me feel very nostalgic. The concept really worked too being in an older time period because the main character did not have access to cell phones like today so it added a layer to the isolation she was feeling and how stuck she was in the situation. This book read like a movie and I adored it so much. I gave it five stars and I cannot wait to read Riley Sager's next novel! Thank you so much for an ARC.