Another great Riley Sager thriller! As usual, it was a book I couldn't put down and was taken on a ride with lots of twists and turns. The first half was a bit slow and felt pretty repetitive, but the second half was amazing! There were even a couple of chapters that left me utterly confused in a very good way. I had no idea what was going on and had me second-guessing what I was assuming was happening.

The ending in particular was great! I won't say more in order not to spoil it, but it felt like the perfect way to end the story in a satisfying way.

SURVIVE THE NIGHT is a fast-paced and twisty thriller about a Charlie, a college student who is leaving campus mid-semester following her friend's brutal murder at the hands of a man known as the Campus Killer. She accepts a ride offer from Josh, an unassuming stranger. However there is something suspicious about Josh, and Charlie is beginning to suspect his offer to drive her all the way back home to Ohio was no happy accident. However it is not just the very real threat of danger that is troubling Charlie, her own mind is known trick her and, and turn mundane scenarios into cinematic nightmares.

Riley Sager has once again delivered a one of a kind thriller, filled with unique characters, surprising turns, and non-stop action.

What a rollercoaster ride that was.
4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dealing with the aftermath of her best friend’s murder, Charlie decides to drop out of college and leave it all behind so that she can escape the pain that she feels. To get back home, Charlie hitches a ride with a stranger named Josh only to discover that he might not be who he says he is and that his suspicious behavior might mean that Charlie is in danger of encountering the same fate as her best friend.

Although I figured out parts of the ending, I wasn’t initially able to figure out how those parts were tied together, so by the end when I was able to see these connections, I was both satisfied and entertained.

During the first half of the novel, I found myself wanting to scream at the pages like I scream at foolish characters in a 90’s slasher film. I’m sooooo glad that Charlie’s character turns out to be more than a victim and a force to be reckoned with. When she decides to leave the diner with Josh because she wants to exact revenge herself, I was HERE FOR IT.

I’m a huge fan of Riley Sager novels and will read anything this author writes. This book was far from a disappointment and readers are in for a real treat.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this preview copy.
Oh Riley! I enjoyed this book. Parts of it I thought like the typical viewer of a horror film. I was yelling at characters trying to get them to not be naive. Then I recalled that this book takes place in the 80s before every channel on tv had a show about serial killer. More innocent times. The story builds the anxiety with suspicious characters and an unreliable narrator. I don't do spoilers. If you've read Riley's past books you will not be disappointed.

Another page-turner from Riley Sager! I was REALLY looking forward to this one, so I was super excited to get an advance copy! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher! I've yet to give one of Sager's books five stars yet, even though I highly anticipate their release and know they will keep me invested and staying up late at night to finish. There's always been something about his endings that keep me from giving 5 stars. Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed this book! It made my eyes bug out a few times and say "what?!" It also made me want to watch some Hitchcock films. Charlie may be my favorite character of Sager's so far. I highly recommend this book and any of Sager's other titles if you love page-turning thrillers and crazy plot twists!

Wow, wow, wow! Mind-blowing good! A bit of Last Time I Lied mixed with a bit of Final Girls! This book was completely and utterly unputdownable, with its fast paced, chilling storyline! A few times, you may lose yourself as much as the characters do, because Sager has nailed the character development! Original, but realistic and absolutely chilling to the bone! This was a book that truly had my brain spinning and did so long after I read that final page! I cannot recommend enough, as it’s one heck of a thrilling ride! Trust no one! But most importantly do not start prior to cleaning your schedule, and more importantly do not start while trying to get sleep! This unputdownable thrilling, chilling, and absolutely gasp out loud shocking book will keep you on the edge of your seat, with a want to finish and a crying about it ending too!

There is a campus killer on the loose and has already killed 3 people. When Charlie’s friend, Maddy, is found dead after a night out they suspect it’s the work of the Campus Killer. Charlie is struggling with the lose and decides to leave school to go back home. She hitches a ride from Josh, who she found.on campus since she doesn’t drive after both her parents were killed in a car accident.

That decision turns out to be mistake as she quickly fears that Josh might be the campus killer. She quickly she’s signs that she could be in danger. A series of events occur that lead to one wild and crazy road trip.

I was obviously very excited to get an advanced copy of this one as I have loved all the authors prior books. However, I’d have to say this one was not my favourite of his. I think the premise was interesting and there was definitely a lot of unexpected twists. I think the ending was really well done and was surprised by a couple things. I also found myself not loving Charlie’s character for much of the book but near the end my feelings changed. I could definitely see this book making a great movie so hopefully that will happen.

I loveeeee Riley Sager and he didn't let me down.

Let's jump right into what I loved about the book:

- The characters: Out of all the Sager novels, Charlie has been my favorite leading lady. Charlie wasn't an ignorant female in a thriller. Did she make questionable choices? Sure. We all do. What I liked about Charlie is her ability to clearly think of a plan despite the intense level of danger she felt she was experiencing from those choices. The character development overall was great. I liked the way I was able to find something relatable or likable for every character.

- The setting: I am a big fan of an author making a big moment out of a seemingly small thing. Most of this story takes place in a car, which was really unique for me. I think it was intensely creative to string along a twisty plot mostly inside a vehicle. The movie theme through this book was really unique as well and added a nice touch of nostalgia. Charlie was movie obsessed in the best way. I would actually have loved more of this. I also loved that Charlie's mind gave us a setting with characters of its own.

- The plot: Here's the part where you have to trust me. I don't want to write a review with spoilers, so this will be vague. I did not see the twist coming at all. I give major points here for this. When you read a lot of thrillers you get better at guessing, and thank goodness I wasn't betting anything on this ending. It was wild.

Overall, no complaints from me. Another solid thriller from my favorite author.

I was able to ready this book as an ARC from Netgalley. I usually like Riley Sager books, but I just couldn't really get into this one, which was disappointing.

ARC/Netgalley

ARC/Netgalley

Will I probably ever rate a Riley Sager novel 5 stars? No. Will I still read all of them? Apparently yes. They are addictive literary candy. The perfect read in one sitting on a plane or long drive.
This novel basically takes the premise of the beginning of When Harry Met Sally and makes it scary. Although I thought I had the entire book figured out quickly there were still enough twists and turns to make it interesting and entertaining.

** spoiler alert ** I loved the first 70-80% of this book, legit thought it would be one of my favorite books of the year. A few little things that bugged me of seemed obvious, but the rest was SO GOOD I just didn’t care.

I was drawn right in and along for a wild ride, to include being totally convinced Charlie would doubt herself and her decisions over and over, thinking she was being paranoid. I turned page after page because I JUST HAD TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

And then 80% hit and... well, it felt like an entirely different book. As a reader, I felt like I’d been setup for one book and it became another, but not in an amazing plot twist kind of way. The very ending felt like the only possible conclusion with only one other male in the whole book, and since Jake/Josh seemed like the killer for the majority of the book, it clearly couldn’t have been him.

I also cannot BELIEVE someone could feel romantically inclined towards someone who treated her the way Jake/Josh did for the majority of the book, making her think he was the killer... for honestly, no good reason at all. The last few lines of the book alone almost made me drop it to 3 stars. He had her in the car. He could have easily just taken her to the diner no questions asked. It made no sense to me.

I still enjoyed this read. Would still recommend it. Heart pounding and exciting and OMG 😱 ... just wish it had come through on the early promises made.

Thank you NetGalley/Dutton for my early copy in exchange for an honest review. (less)

I have read all of Sager’s books and am very excited to have had early access to this title. I thought very early on I knew where this was going and couldn’t have been more wrong. Full of twists and turns, this is one not to be missed. Add this to your 2021 beach reads!

Another solid thriller from Sager. I look forward to recommending it this summer when it's released! Already have a copy ordered.

I've read all of Riley Sager's books and was so excited to have received this egalley. I loved this book and read it in 2 days. It is suspenseful and creepy and the ending was shocking and completely unexpected. I will be recommending this book once it's available.

This excellent suspenseful thriller takes place all in one night. Charlie, traumatized by the murder of her college roomie/best friend, decides to return home to Ohio from her New Jersey college so abruptly that she accepts a ride from a stranger. So begins her night from hell. One facet of Charlie's personality is quite unusual. When stress overcomes her, she goes into a type of trance, where she sees her actions unfold as if she were in a movie. These trances cause Charlie a lot of problems during this event-filled night. The book is structured as if it is a movie script, with pre and post descriptions and chapter titles reflecting scene locations. Numerous movies are also referenced throughout the story. There are some obvious plot manipulations that must be overlooked when reading, but if you can do that, you will enjoy a fast-paced, focused, well-written and surprising novel. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing an ARC.

I have always enjoyed Riley Sager's work and Survive the Night was no exception!

Charlie, a university student with a strong passion for movies, loses her best friend and roommate to the campus serial killer. Wanting to desperately escape the campus, she accepts a ride from a total stranger, enter Josh. Josh claims to be an former janitor at the university who happens to be passing Charlie's destination. Once Charlie is in the car and on the road, she starts to doubt her decisions. She catches him in small lies and changes in the information he originally stated causing her to question who he really is. Being a movie buff, her mind turns to a stereotypical horror movie plot. She is paranoid and on edge believing that she is stuck in car with a serial killer. Charlie slowly looses her grip on reality as her overactive movie imagination and reality merge into one. She questions every decision except one - she knowns she has to survive the night.

Sager does a beautiful job of telling the classic cat and mouse chase. Charlie wants to catch a serial killer and Josh wants to catch Charlie. As they toy with one another throughout the night, Sager throws in some twists that shake up both characters. Survive the Night is a fun and twisty ride that I enjoyed from start to finish! I cannot wait for what Sager writes next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Survive The Night - Riley Sager

Thank you SO MUCH @netgalley , @duttonbooks & @penguincanada for the advanced copy of my most anticipated book of 2021!

🔪🔪🔪

Two months after the murder of her roommate, Charlie succumbs to the guilt she’s feeling and decides she needs a break from college life. Josh also needs to go home to care for his father after a stroke, and they decide to ride together. However, once their journey begins, Charlie begins to have doubts about whether Josh is who he says he is, and starts to wonder if it wasn’t a coincidence he was heading the same direction after all...

🔪🔪🔪

Survive The Night is Riley Sager’s fifth thriller, and it did not disappoint! I have been a hardcore Sager fan since I read The Last Time I Lied a couple years ago, which is easily one of my top thrillers of all time, and Survive The Night has skyrocketed to the top as well! Having the thriller be set in the 90s with a Film Noir theme REALLY worked for me.

🔪🔪🔪

I know a lot of people didn’t love Home Before Dark the same way they enjoyed his first three books, but I can assure you if you’re a fan of those three, you’re going to LOVE this one!

This is definitely a heart pumping thriller!! With some really epic twists, you’re not going to want to miss this one! I will definitely be adding a physical copy to my collection!

#bookstagrammer #bookish #bookstagram #DuttonBooks #booksta #SurviveTheNight #WhatToReadNext #RileySager #BooksOnBooks #ReadMoreBooks #BookLove #BookReview #ReadersGonnaRead #AvidReader

I am the first to admit that thrillers are not my thing, and not because I don’t like them. Actually, I used to read a LOT of them, to the point where I got way too good at guessing the ending. It didn’t take long for me to figure out the good guys, the nice guys, and the in between guys, and that just made thriller reading…boring.

BUT – I make exceptions for Riley Sager. I’ve read all but one of his books (haven’t read Home Before Dark yet) and have enjoyed them all, including this one.

Here’s 4 things I loved about this book:

1) The character building we experienced with Charlie. I felt like I knew her, I wanted to be her friend, and like I needed to give her a big ole hug.
2) The constant guessing. I had moments where I wasn’t sure if what I was reading was really happening in the story, or if it was a “movie in Charlie’s mind” (basically, hallucinations she has throughout the book). This state of confusion kept me engaged and also kept me from guessing what was happening next.
3) I felt very tense while reading it (especially the second half), and if I don’t feel tense while reading a thriller, something is wrong. This one had me a little creeped out at times, questioning what every noise was in my house as I read it in bed at night.
4) The imagery of the climax was very spooky and well drawn out – I could see the place in my mind, feel the flames from the fire, and felt frantic right along with Charlie.

One thing that I didn’t love about this book:

I guess the killer. While that alone won’t usually make me take off a star, I felt that the motives of this killer were unbelievable and we didn’t get enough of their backstory.
Overall, a solid thriller and another win for Sager, 4 stars from me.

Film studies major Charlie is set to drop out of college following the brutal murder of her roommate and best friend, Maddy. Desperate to get out of town, she accepts a ride from a handsome stranger she assumes is a fellow college student. But movie-obsessed Charlie has a problem: under stress, she experiences hallucinations that make her feel as though she’s in a movie herself. Is she trapped in a car with serial killer, or is it all in her head?

Taking place over the course of one night, this was a fun, fast-paced read. The gore factor is almost zero, with the exception of establishing that we are dealing with a serial killer, so I would be comfortable recommending this for older teens, as well as adults who like a good whodunnit.

There’s something about Riley Sagar. I haven’t particularly liked any of his books but I cannot stop reading them. Sadly this was no an exception to the rule. This book was just as ridiculous with an expected twisty villain reveal that did not feel developed enough in the slightest. The ending was so wrapped up in a bow I had to ask myself if I was watching a Hallmark movie or reading a thriller.