I so wanted to love this book after loving previous offerings form this author, however it just seemed to fall flat for me. I guessed the main twist pretty early on as it was a little predictable but I was pleased to have a few surprise mini twists throughout.
I didn't connect with the main character in any way, I found her quite annoying to be honest and wasn't invested in her outcome. The story itself was pretty outlandish in parts and I found that difficult to get through.
Overall I'd say its worth a read but perhaps not the top of a burgeoning TBR pile.
Huge thanks to the publishers and netgalley for an ARC of this book on exchange for an honest review.

Oh, my giddy aunt! Yay, I have FINALLY found something to rival All the Missing Girls in my affection! Well, almost...

So, I loved this. What a roller coaster of a ride it was, with twists and turns, and quite a few whammies thrown in. I must confess, I did get a bit mixed up every now and then, not sure if we were part of a movie or real life, but hey, as it turns out it didn't really matter.

I did have an inkling as to who the baddie was, but was never completely sure, not until it became obvious, that is. Charlie was great, I really enjoyed her, and that ending... That's what clinched it for me. It does occasionally stretch the imagination a bit, but so what? That's exactly what thrillers and novels (and movies!) are for.

Thanks to the author and publisher for my ARC.

Riley Sager's novel Survive The Night takes place over the course of one night, where main character Charlie tries to escape her college town and the memories of her best friend's murder, but doesn't quite know what is real and what is her imagination...

I really enjoyed the element of the unreliable narrator in this story, and found the inclusion of stage directions to introduce chapters very original. I almost felt I was reading a screenplay, which tied in nicely with the plot. For me the first half of the book was rather slow going, and the writing seemed quite repetitive, however there were plenty of twists and turns later on which I didn't expect at all, and which kept me reading on to the end. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a thriller which is a fairly easy read but which has some good surprises in store.

What a ride!!!! I totally thought I had this booked sussed about halfway through. Even though I thought I knew where this book was going, I was still so compelled to keep reading. And I’m so glad I did, because I was wrong. This book took some unexpected turns in the second half which moved it from a 4 star to a 5 for me. I did unfortunately randomly guess part of the ending, but the way it was revealed and the action at the end had me racing to finish it. This book would make such a good film.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review,

Don`t you hate when one of your most anticipated releases doesn’t live up to your expectations? Well, that’s the case with Survive the night, the fifth Riley Sager I’ve read and the first one I’ve rated lower than 4 stars. Back when I first read the synopsis I thought this would be and addictive, edge-of-your-seat thriller but it took me more than half the book to get to the “can’t stop turning the pages” stage. First half was slow and quite repetitive, though I loved the numerous movie references. It’s not until the 60% mark that things start to pick up, but after a great scene at a diner, the plot took a turn that I found a bit outlandish and not that believable and the final twist, though nice, was quite predictable.

A quite average read with some suspenseful scenes but a bit of a letdown compared to Mr. Sager’s other books.

So I really really like Riley Sager as an author. I devoured all of his novels and at least liked, often loved them. "Survive the Night" is yet another unique thriller that I couldn't put down once I started reading it. Still, I do have to say that out of all of Sager's books, this is one of my least favourites.

"Survive the Night" has an intriguing and highly claustrophobic premise: Two people in one car, one of them a killer. Sounds great, starts out great, too. Additionally, the whole cinematic concept with the protagonist not only being a film buff, but zoning out to see her own films playing in her mind was an interesting one. I liked Charlie, I liked the whole premise. The pacing is fast as usual, the story gripping and exciting thanks to Sager's awesome writing, but the execution is often a little flawed.

I stumbled upon some parts that simply didn't make much sense, and while the concept is cool, Charlie's... well what was it? mental illness? often seemed too jarringly unrealistic. The cast of characters is relatively small so some reveals and twists didn't really work well because they were just too predictable. I saw almost all of it coming, with the biggest mystery (the murderer of Charlie's best friend and some other girls from her college) being the most predictable one. Additionally, the whole final part of the movie is just an insanely wild ride that felt somehow tonally disconnected from the rest of the book. There is a sort of explanation for that in the epilogue, but I still just didn't enjoy it much.

In the end, "Survive the Night" is a solid, unique thriller with a great concept but a not so great execution. It's a quick, entertaining read for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I have not read other books by this author but I loved this one. There were twists and turns, plenty of suspense, a great premise and good writing. I couldn’t put it down until I saw how it ended! Highly recommend and I’ll be looking for more books by the author.

I found some parts of this a little jarring, for example for half of the book we are seeing Charlie's perspective, and then all of a sudden the perspective changes to another characters for a few pages. It felt like this had been a little ad-hoc and unplanned.
The mind movie flashes were also a fairly strange plot point. I did see some of the twists coming, and others I didn't.
Not his best thriller, but it was overall, an enjoyable read.

I've read all of Riley Sager's books but I've only liked my first one: The Last Time I Lied. After that my experience has been downhill so I wasn't sure what to expect. But I found it to be an enjoyable read!

As always, this one has a great premise. Two people on the road in the night in the 90s, one of whom may or may not be a serial killer. When two people are in a locked situation, it can be insanely difficult to not make the scenes repetitive and I was surprised that that the first half was riveting. It was the definition of a page turner. Things do change in the second half and get predictable in the end (like most thrillers) but I believe it's worth it.

One main complete of mine in this genre is the stupidity of the characters. But the author deals with that very well in the book. What would you do in the same situation? When you're scared and traumatised, completely broken, would you be capable of making rational decisions?

I also admired the way the protagonist's mental health issues have been described. This is a unique read that will be a lot of fun if you're willing to go along. 4/5

Charlie is looking to head home from her university campus and checks the local ride share board where she finds Josh. He's heading in her direction and offers to give her a ride. Charlie's best friend has recently been murdered by a potential serial killer and she's desperate to get out of town. During the drive, she starts to notice some holes in Josh's story and becomes suspicious that she's locked in the car for a long journey through the night with the Campus Killer. I thought this book was completely gripping and totally unpredictable. It's been a while since I had one that I really couldn't put down and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, but in all honesty, I found it a little predictable and underwhelming.
I can’t award it more than 2.5 stars.

3.5/5 stars



That twist saved this novel

I always look forward to when Sager is releasing new thriller novels. I really like his novels except Final Girls. Some may not like his novels but honestly, reading his novels is like a good snack while sitting in front of the beach or having tea on a rainy day. A good read.

But I have mixed feelings about Survive the Night. I do get that his woman protagonist is gullible, sometimes not thinking, or very irrational but the story and plot itself are good. For me. In the case of Survive the Night, the same woman protagonist but the plot is meh. The first part was too suspicious and the twist at the end is okay but very predictable.

Charlie Jordan, filled with grief and guilt after the murder of her best friend on campus, Maddie, decides to leave university early and needs to get home to Ohio. She meets Josh at a ride board, whom she assumes is a student, and decides to share a ride with him. There's a serial killer on the loose...what could go wrong?

Charlie often loses her sense of time because she thinks in movies; she takes medication for it. Alone in the car with Josh, she starts to feel that Josh is not all he appears to be. Charlie's sense of reality starts to fade in and out, and she wonders if she's being driven to Ohio by the Campus Killer himself.

The sense of unease carries the reader through the novel - is Charlie imagining the scenario, is Josh what he seems? Most of the action takes place within the confines of the car, and the claustrophobic atmosphere is well portrayed. When they stop at an isolated diner, the twists and turns come along ever faster, and the intrigue builds.

I read this book in one sitting, desperate to get to the end. The author keeps you guessing, and the plot twists build up to the somewhat implausible ending, but as a keep you on the edge of your seat read, it was quite enjoyable.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

A great contemporary voice with twists and turns on every page! The potentially unreliable narrator made this a nail-biting read!

I've been a fan of Riley Sager since Final Girls and have eagerly anticipated each and every book of his. Once again, my hopes were high and this one did not disappoint!

I love how this book has a minimalistic setting and there are just a handful of characters, but is packed full of tension! As with all of the author's previous books, I was hooked from the very first page. There were quite a few twists and turns that had my head spinning, while some parts had me cheering. I also really enjoyed the 90s vibes, when smartphones weren’t yet a thing and calling for help ain’t that easy.

Some scenes might make you question the protagonist's decisions, but I think the author does a good job in addressing them through his storytelling.

This book also pays homage to old movies and film noir fans will love the references peppered throughout. Even the format and execution is in line with the movie theme, which makes me love that final chapter even more.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC! 💖

who do you trust when you can't trust yourself. who do you trust when you think you deserve to die and that maybe you are riding in a car with a killer. An interesting premise to this new and very tense Riley Sager book, told as scenes from a movie, esp confusing to the main character, a girl names Charlie as she has blackouts that show up as movie scenes. He has the ability to write realistic female characters, which I appreciate about him. Though did wonder why no one seemed to have a cell phone??????

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Net Galley for my advance review copy of this book.

Not quite a thrill ride ★★☆☆☆

Grieving from the murder of her best friend Maddy, Charlie makes the snap decision to quit uni and accepts a ride home to Ohio from campus worker Josh. But has she put herself in danger?

I’m a big fan of Riley Sager and his last two novels Lock Every Door (2019) and Home Before Dark (2020) were both five star reads. However, Survive The Night didn’t quite make the final cut for me.

The division into movie scenes – which we assume is due to Charlie’s obsession with films – is distracting but makes more sense at the end. Charlie’s “mind movies” detract from the tension of the cat and mouse game with Josh which forms most of the plot. Rather than creating suspense, the uncertainty surrounding Charlie’s version of events during the drive – such as whether Josh knew about the tooth taken from each victim – takes us back to square one each time.

When Josh insists on stopping at a remote diner, the slow-burning plot takes several turns. After an unexpected and unlikely detour involving Maddy’s grandmother, the true murderer – a relatively easy guess – is revealed.

An interesting concept and a quick read but the end result is more of a movie script than a novel.

For once it's not a spoiler to use the words 'unreliable narrator' because wow is one at work here! Be warned - don't pick this up planning to 'just read a bit' because you won't put it down until the end. This is a great serial killer/suspense thriller that ramps up the tension throughout to a finale that made my jaw drop.

What a fantastic book!
I am a hug fan of Riley Sager and have enjoyed his other texts, this new book did not disappoint.

The story follows grieving Charlie, who after losing her best friend tragically decided to leave University and to return home.

Charlie finds a ride home with a 'friendly stranger' , but, all is not what it seems.

Many red flags makes Charlie see that her friendly ride is in fact the murderer who killed her best friend and who has now come back for her.

What follows is a game of cat and mouse with roles between Charlie and the killer interchangeable in these roles throughout.

Charlie must get home safe but also stop 'Josh' from murdering other women.

Throughout the story there are potential 'saviours' who could help Charlie but for one reason and another, cant really help Charlie who is left to avenge her friend, whilst staying alive.

I was constantly questioning Charlie's actions, almost like shouting at the TV screen while watching a thriller, and was engaged throughout the story.

Riley is able to write from a female perspective really well and does reference the 'blame' that Women experience from the world and themselves for actions and circumstance beyond their control and how Women when attacked, physically or mentally, are blamed rather than supported.

5 out of 5 from me.

An interesting read for sure. Lots of twists and turns that kept on edge from beginning to end. Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for this read!