I’m torn on how to rate this book. I would give it 5 stars for entertainment value - it sucked me right in and I stayed up waaaaay too late reading it and then picked it up again immediately upon waking up so I could finish it.

Loved the 90s references - remembering that the ride board was a real thing when I was in college makes me surprised we’re not all dead by serial killer - yikes.

Lots of twists and turns and more twists and characters making inexplicably bad choices - and the confusion is amplified x 1000 by Charlie’s hallucinations/movies in her head - so that was fun and weird and enjoyable.

But like 1 star for where it ended up and the final twist was entirely predictable and meh. There’s such a fine line in thrillers between obvious predictability and going too far out of the realm of possibility - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

That said, I will *always* read and recommend a Riley Sager book even though I’ve found them a little hit or miss - the premises are always SO good and the stories are always entertaining, even if they go off the rails.

(Review will be posted on IG @leavemetomybooks closer to publication date)

*I received an advanced copy from Dutton in exchange for an unbiased review*

I discovered Riley Sager during the pandemic and have since read three of his previous four novels. The thing about reading them all in rapid succession is, one begins to notice certain tropes and narrative devices across that Mr Sager leans into quite heavily. Don’t get me wrong, I love these books and I would rank him as one of my favorite authors. But, sort of like the James Bond films, you begin to notice the familiar elements and there is a bit of a “paint by numbers” undercurrent.

This novel, however, is different, and for that reason, I think this is his best novel yet! There are a few departures from his usual formula that are excellent decisions. Firstly, this novel is set entirely in the early 90s, so there are importantly no cell phones to help get our heroine out of trouble. Secondly, much of this novel is essentially a bottle episode, taking place entirely in the interior of a Grand Am car. This grows increasingly tense as it grows even more claustrophobic, very reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith, and the suspense built is fantastic. There is literally no escape.

Thirdly, Sager plays more than usual with psychological thriller elements and the concept of an unreliable narrator. Usually Sager’s heroines are steadfast and possess a clarity that grounds the readers as they uncover the horrors around them. Selective memory loss is a common element in Sager’s books, but typically other than that our main characters are coded as pretty trustworthy. Here, we never know what’s really happening and what is being imagined by the main character. Again, this ratchets up the anxiety, although it does at moments give the author a bit of leeway to play with shock value plot developments that he can then walk back on. Fine, because the end result is so exciting!

The book isn’t without its very minor faults; the romantic element at the end in particular was very unnecessary.

This book was a fantastic, thrilling read. A breath of fresh air for Mr Sager’s canon. I truly couldn’t put it down and I legitimately gasped aloud at some of the twists. If you like psychological thrillers or spooky mysteries, you’ll love this book.

I have a new favorite @riley.sager book and I wasn’t sure that was possible! I read Survive The Night in one sitting (something I haven’t done in months) if that tells you how good this one is.

The book is set in the 90s, which already sets it aside from many recently published thrillers (read: no cell phones, laptops, etc.), and is told through the lens of Charlie, a movie obsessed college student who is looking for a ride home after a traumatic experience a few months before. She meets Josh at a ride-sharing board (hi 90s) and they agree to head to Ohio together the next day. Her roommate was murdered by The Campus Killer, so she is a bit weary of people, especially as the road trip continues through the night. She finds herself doubting the reliability of who she’s actually in the car with.

Let me just start with our main gal, Charlie. I loved her. She’s been through it in life. Her parents were killed in a car accident when she was a teenager and she has since had hallucinations (she calls them movies) that make it hard to differentiate fact from fiction in her reality. Because she’s the world’s biggest movie buff, her knowledge of the classic thrilling / horror movies gives her the ability to think about a dangerous perspective from another view point (like say, a modern day murderino?). I loved the 90s setting so much, especially that the characters couldn’t just text or call when a crisis arose and had to instead use payphones. The twists. OH THE TWISTS. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say read this one with care as it includes hallucinations that make the twists even harder to spot. The ending was quite possibly my favorite of all of Sager’s mind blowing endings, which says a lot!

This throwback thriller takes place in the early 90’s and in true Sager fashion is twisty, suspenseful, and a compulsive read. It reminds me of a campy 80’s horror movie, but I think that’s what he was going for. The movie references were great, but I didn’t really care for Charlie’s movie hallucinations. I liked the ending. Would recommend!

Riley Sager has done it again with this locked room, or rather "locked car" thriller. Ever since Final Girls, Sager has taken horror and thriller conventions and subverted them in interesting and often feminist ways to explore women's friendships, grief, relationships, and more. Survive the Night is as propulsive and exciting as an all night ride with a stranger.

Holy heck, what a ride. I absolutely loved it. From the start, it's DARK. We've got Charlie, a movie-loving college gal in 1991. Her roommate Maddy was just murdered by a serial killer known as the Campus Killer. Charlie handling it... NOT WELL. She decides it's time to go. So, she kisses her dreamy boyfriend Robbie goodbye and crowdsources (via bulletin board lol '90s) a ride home. A fellow student offers her a ride and she takes it, of course suspicious of him considering there's a killer on the loose. Her suspicious grow as they drive.

The first half of this book was so perfectly built up and the second half had me shooketh at every twist and turn. For repeat Sager readers, this one was most similar to Lock Every Door and maybe also The Last Time I Lied. I also LOVED how much music of the time and classic movies were interwoven into the story. READ IT.

I don't read a lot of thrillers but Riley Sager lives near me and used to work at my local newspaper and I was a college student in 1991 so I wanted to read this one.

This one started slow for me, but once it picked up, I could not put it down!! Charlie is a college student, her parents are dead and now her roommate is dead, she loves movies and sometimes sees them in her head as a coping mechanism for stress. She accepts a ride on a ride share board at school and soon begins to think she may be in the car with the serial killer that killed her roommate. The events that unfold next kept me riveted. So many twists and turns that I did not see coming. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

I’m a huge Sager fan, and let me just say this is by FAR his best book. I could tell from the synopsis that this would be amazing, and it did not disappoint. From a quirky and unreliable protagonist, to a charming villain that you love to hate, this book is what thriller dreams are made of! I was on the edge of my seat and read it in less than 24 hours. This has a different vibe than Sager’s other books, but in the best way possible. This one gets 5 stars from me, and all my other reads from him have been 4 stars. Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

Survive the Night was great. In fashion true to the author's previous books, it was twisty and turn-y and kept me so engrossed that I didn't want to put the book down. Also liked the references to classic movies.

This one was a hard departure from its predecessors but just as well crafted & possibly even more compelling!

This book is very different from Sager’s previous books for two main reasons. First, it is written primarily in screen play format rather than first person. That did take some getting used it since it wasn’t what I expected, but it worked out well! This book also is a completely linear time line, which took more getting used to because the flash-black format of Sager’s previous books are so well done and the beautifully crafted stories told in alternating time lines are a favorite of mine. That being said, the story is compelling and the book was difficult to put down. If I didn’t have a full time job and an infant this would have been a one day read like the others.

There were one or two things I didn’t care for. For example the college name (Olyphant) was pretty terrible. Every time it was mentioned my brain read “Elephant” and it messed up the suspenseful mood a little.

Toward the middle of the book it became easy to figure out who the real killer was and I started to wonder if I was going to be massively disappointed since a surprise ending is Riley Sager’s signature. I kept flying through it anyway because it’s so well written. About 2/3 of the way through things started to get a little too unbelievable and I wondered if he was selling out to an action mini series or something.... until I hit the last 15 or 20 pages. Then I just sat there, eyes wide mouth open while I realized that, once again, Riley Sager manages a good shock!!

A love letter to final girls and badass cinematic heroines, Sager’s new tale ripples with taunt pacing, nail-biting tension, and a series of twists that will leave you whiplashed. I devoured this book.

Not what I expected, but in a good way! Charlie’s best friend was killed by a serial killer. She needs to leave, as there are too many memories and too much guilt at college. She gets a ride after looking on a ride share board. As she leaves with Josh, she gives her boyfriend Robbie a code in case the ride with a stranger goes south. As the trip begins, Charlie is sure she is in the car with the actual killer. But can she trust herself? Or anyone?

I became an instant fan of Riley Sager's writing last summer after binging his first 4 books so when I heard a 5th was on it's way I knew I had to read it. Thanks to the team at Dutton for making that happen with an early digital copy. Next to Final Girls, I can safely say that Survive the Night is my favourite Sager yet! My anxiety was through the roof while reading, the entire way through!

The story is set in the 90s, which was so great in terms of nostalgia. The main female lead Charlie, is a true heroine and I think she is a character that readers will love. She frustrated me at times with some of the decisions she made but when it all came together in the end, I don't think I would have changed a thing and can appreciate why she made certain choices. She reminded me a lot of Quincy from Final Girls, another one of my favourite Riley's characters.

The tension in the story builds - literally giving you heart palpitations the entire book. I did not see that twist coming - and even looking back in retrospect, I still couldn't find any clues as to where it ended up which I think is great as a reader. Sager totally delivered in shock value, entertainment and page turning addiction.

This was such a fun read and I flew through it - no matter how hard I tried savouring it. It's definitely one you will want to add to your reading list. It's going to create A LOT of buzz when it releases in June and I cannot wait to hop on the train and join in on the fun.

Well, I have read all of Riley Sager's books and they never disappoint. This one started off a little slow and I am never able to guess the twists and turns they Weill take. This was another compulsive page turner but I do admit, I did guess the ending after Marge arrived. This type of book is the perfect escape from everything we are dealing with these days and its nice to just escape with a book for the afternoon.

Survive the Night tells the story of Charlie and Josh. Charlie is desperate to get back home after the traumatic loss of her best friend. Josh is the man driving her home to escape. Is he who he says he is? As Charlie grows more suspicious, the night takes some drastic turns. Will Charlie and Josh survive the night?

This book had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning. Like a classic Film Noir, the story builds and builds to its penultimate climax that you have so patiently been waiting for. Charlie is a fierce, pained, and tortured protagonist who you can't help but root for. Josh is the enigmatic character who you change your mind on 100 times over. This book is a love story to classic film and the 90's and I loved every second of it. I didn't think I could love a Sager book more than Final Girls but I think this one did it for me. Every breadcrumb is used, even the ones you have forgotten. Every character and setting has purpose and meaning. By the end, I was pacing, pulling my hair out, and gasping at every turn. The adrenaline and stress you feel is so real. You feel as if you are there with them experiencing what is happening. It just doesn't get better than this. I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH.

Survive the Night, the propulsive and electrifying new thriller from Riley Sager shows why he has become a must read author for so many readers. In this book, Charlie, a young college student with a tragic past has accepted a ride from a virtual stranger back to her hometown. As they drive into the late hours of the night, she quickly realizes all is not as it seems with the good looking young man she is traveling with and she will need to use her wits and instincts to survive the night.

There are so many things to love in this novel - the plucky heroine, the pace which accelerates much as Charlie’s heart beats faster as she slowly realizes the direness of her situation, and the numerous twists and turns the reader never sees coming. But my favorite part of the novel was Sager’s incorporation of old films. The book reads like a Hitchcock screenplay and that is a stroke of brilliance. This was a book that made me able to imagine it on the big screen, it was that visceral. I loved that he paid homage to great cinematic thrillers and then created his own dramatic interpretation. This book was a love letter to filmmaking.

The character of Charlie was a really well drawn heroine. She begins the book damaged and vulnerable, but by the end she finds an inner strength similar to that of the movie heroines she so admires. She is a character the reader roots for and that is necessary for the success of the book.

Riley Sager ups his game with every new book and this one has taken him to a whole new level! I will be waiting with baited breath for the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest and fair review.

When I first started reading this book, I was a little apprehensive. This author was new to me but after reading his first book I was hooked. Much like movies however I was worried that this would not repeat. I was wrong at the end of his fourth book, home before dark, I was still amazed how his book still thrilled me and how his twists still amazed me. The fact that home before dark was set in a haunted house per se made me a little weary but by the end of that book I was still a solid fan. He had struck gold four times in a row and when I read the synopsis to survive the night, I thought this was the first time that it was not going to be five stars. I was wrong. It doesn't matter what kind of setting it is, what kind of time passes in the book, or the characters, this author is a master of thriller storytelling and a master of twists and turns. By this book I thought I had figured out his format but just like all the others, I thought I knew what the end was and then found out I was wrong, about five different times. Riley is without a doubt my favorite author and I cannot believe that I have loved his first five books just as much and I'm still thrilled at them. The only sad thing is that I will forget about reading this on netgalley and then when the book comes out in the summer I will get excited and then remember I already read it, but that will not stop me from reading it in print I assure you. And this is all from a guy that never read books but was always into those m night shyamalan twist movies. And I'm telling you he's got nothing on Riley. If you like psychological thrillers at all, you need to go back to final girls and start there and read all of his books. Trust me you will not be disappointed.

I am a huge fan of Riley Sager, who’s books bring me more joy than most, so I had high expectations from Survive the Night. But sadly, it just didn’t cut it. The characters were no where near as compelling as his past books and I couldn’t find myself getting lost in the story until the last scenes. I sometime felt I rooted more for the “villain” than the final girl, which isn’t how his other books were. The final chapters were fulfilling, but predictable.

Yessss! Congratulations !!! We have a big hit in da house!

Whew this book blew the last remaining grey cells out of my mind! What an action packed, exciting, heart pounder, nail biter, eyes popper, jaw dropper, mind number masterpiece!

I’m addicted to Mr. Sager’s books but this one already reserved a special place in my heart. If you ask me why I could say Charlie: nerdy, quirky, movie-day-dreamer, introvert, loyal, self punisher young girl may be one of the characters I’ve read so similar to my younger self! ( yes, I am human movie dictionary who can inform you about entire cast, crew and technical details of movies- what kind of camera and lenses the crew used, where the shooting locations were, how the actors prepared for the roles, set gossips etc.And yes I’m zooming at day time : thinking about alternative movie scenes or watch movies in my dreams which are never produced!)
So it’s obvious I truly loved her quirkiness, her passion about movies, her uniqueness!
Charlie, confused, smart, extra sensitive girl who deals with big trauma of losing her friend’s brutal death by Campus killer. She decides to leave the school to go to the family house she shares with grandmother ( she’s the only family left when she lost her parent at car accident), sharing a ride with a stranger named Josh Baxter tells her he’s janitor at campus, quitting his job to take care of his sick father!

They will share the gas, accompanying each other at the road trip.
But throughout their drive Charlie realizes two things: Josh and she has too much similarities, suffering from personal tragedies and she also finds out he’s pathological liar! She accidentally sees his driver license and finds out his name is different. He might also lied about his job and wait for it: he knows something about her best friend’s killing only the killer or her friend’s family can know! As you consider he cannot be a family member, he can only be.... oh my Gosh! Charlie , you’re so screwed!

One long night: a cat - mouse chase: let the mind games begin: guess who will survive the night? A mysterious man who keeps secrets , a traumatized girl who has hard time differentiate the reality and delusion because of shock she’s enduring.

A killer on the run! Twists are rolling like dices to come to get you! So seat tight, enjoy the action avalanche, glue your jaw because it can drop at any second!

Another magnificent fact about this book who water the mouth of a movie lover also movie maker like me is the story’s pacing, resolution, timings are developed just like movie sequences. You’re feeling like seating at the edge of your comfortable seat, getting more agitated at each scenes, waiting for the last bomb drop!

The author used all those movie cliches, giving the right references at the right chapters, playing mind games with us to distort our reality, making us question what is real what is hallucination in Charlie’s mind!

When it’s necessary he pushes Charlie out of narrator seat and share the perspectives of bad guy/ guys of the story for mess with our heads more!

When I reach the last third after facing a big twist that hit my face so hard, I turned my husband and said, there might be one more piece to complete the puzzle. If the author plays that card to pull the rug out from under me, I will give this book five gazillion stars! And he gave me that twist exactly I expected! It was so good!

As I promised before I’m giving well earned, five blazing, shocking , fast pacing, surprising, one of the best thrillers of the year stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

“The Newcomer” by Mary Kay Andrews

Letty Carnahan is on the run with her four-year-old niece, Maya, in tow. After discovering her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her New York City townhouse, Letty knows it’s her responsibility to get the child somewhere safe. Especially because Tanya recently warned Letty that she was in danger and begged her to do whatever is necessary to keep Maya away from her ex and, strangely, Letty’s ex as well: Evan Wingfield.
Evan is an entrepreneur and through some illegal dealings has more than enough money and resources to track down Letty and Maya, so they take off to Florida and wind up at The Murmuring Surf Motel. They’re welcomed with open arms by the owner of the motel but the woman’s son, who is also the town’s handsome detective, Joe, is suspicious of their motives. Letty knows that back in New York fingers are pointing at her in the investigation of Tanya’s murder and Maya’s disappearance, and she’s not sure how long she’ll be able to keep their whereabouts a secret, especially when the motel’s loveable but nosy guests are determined to figure out just why Letty looks so familiar to them.
A little bit romance, a little bit suspense, and everything you’ve come to know and love from a Mary Kay Andrews story, “The Newcomer” is sure to be a summer favorite!

Reviewed by Abbey Peralta for Suspense Magazine