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Survive the Night

Riley Sager (Goodreads Author)

3.60 · Rating details · 26,816 ratings · 5,312 reviews

It's November 1991. George H. W. Bush is in the White House, Nirvana's in the tape deck, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.

Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons fo ...more

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Hardcover, 324 pages

Published June 29th 2021 by Dutton Books

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Jun 30, 2021 Regina rated it liked it

A Pre-Readers’ Guide to Riley Sager’s latest thriller, Survive the Night:

1. Picture the absolute stupidest female protagonist you have ever come across in fiction. Do you have her in your mind?

2. Recall a villain from another book or movie with the most ridiculous motive in the history of stories. Got one, and I mean a reeeaaalllly redonculous one?

3. Brush up on the terms “unreliable narrator” and “gaslighting.” Are you fired up to see some extreme examples?

4. Clear your schedule. Did you blo ...more

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Jun 25, 2021 daph pink ♡ rated it did not like it

Shelves: mystery-thriller-horror, 1-star

I am going to pretend that I didn't waste 4 hours of my life reading this book.🙄 ...more

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Aug 24, 2021 ELLIAS (elliasreads) rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2021-books, i-own, thriller-mystery

THIS. WAS. NOT. IT.

It was the lack of common sense for me!!

You know that dumb character we yell on screen in a horror movie doing stupid things? yes, enter this bish charlie jordan. this girl literally thinks she's the main character, smh. she would literally get me killed in the first five minutes of any scary movie.

charlie, you SUCK.

BYE.

1 STAR FOR ME
Twitter | Bookstagram | Youtube | ...more

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Jul 19, 2021 Cindy rated it liked it · review of another edition

I had fun buddy-reading this with a friend, poking fun at the characters/situations, and making theories for the plot twists! It’s a simple and quick read, nothing deep, but can be a fun palate cleanser in-between dense books.

As for the quality of the book itself, my main gripe is that the author tends to over-explain everything, almost as if to fill up the book. Every single thought or gesture is described when it doesn’t need to be—this makes the writing redundant and not very creative. There ...more

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Mar 08, 2021 jessica rated it really liked it

im a fan of RSs books. what i enjoy most about them is that, even if i dont care about the content, i sure do love the execution of the story.

so imagine my surprise when, for the first time, its the opposite. i absolutely love the premise/concept, but some of the execution is… just okay. especially toward the end.

i will say that for a story only taking place within a timeframe of 6 hours, there is a lot to unpack with this. i was never bored and i felt like i was flying through the pages. it ha ...more

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Oct 23, 2020 Chelsea Humphrey rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley, from-publisher, bookstagram-made-me-do-it

I think... I'm not meta enough for this book. 😆 Please note, it's best if you go into this book blind to get the full experience for this story.

I'm waffling over how much to say in this review, because so much of Survive the Night's enjoyment depends on the big twist grabbing you. No, I don't mean the identity of the murderer, but another twist, one of omission. There's a fairly small cast for the entirety of the journey, so the final jab didn't hit quite like I'd hoped, but I think fans looking ...more

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Jun 20, 2021 Dorie - Cats&Books :) rated it really liked it

Shelves: edelweiss, psychological-thriller

***NOW AVAILABLE***

Lovers of twisted and abhorrent characters are going to love this one!!! I felt this was more frightening and darker than his last book “Home Before Dark”.

Starting this book my first thought was that this sounded way too familiar. The premise of a girl getting into a car with a stranger and things going wrong is certainly nothing new. The girls always have a reason to do this, they are running to or from something, they are happy or incredibly sad. What makes this one really ***NOW AVAILABLE***

Lovers of twisted and abhorrent characters are going to love this one!!! I felt this was more frightening and darker than his last book “Home Before Dark”.

Starting this book my first thought was that this sounded way too familiar. The premise of a girl getting into a car with a stranger and things going wrong is certainly nothing new. The girls always have a reason to do this, they are running to or from something, they are happy or incredibly sad. What makes this one really good is the author’s ability to get into the reader’s head and make you wonder what is real and what is not. That is the real magic of this novel!!

It’s the 1990’s, not that long ago, when pay phones were the only way to check in with someone or call for help. No cell phones, no texting.

Charlie is a young college student grieving the loss of her friend. She has reasons why she wants to leave campus RIGHT NOW, but they aren’t what you may think they are.

Josh is probably 10 years older but appears at the ride share bulletin on campus when Charlie is looking for a ride home to Ohio. Charlie assumes he is a graduate student, he’s wearing a campus sweatshirt.

No questions asked, Charlie and Josh head off into the night. SILLY GIRL WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!!!!!!!! She leaves behind a boyfriend who isn’t quite sure if this is the end of their relationship or not. Does he really care? Does she?

When the blurb states that this is a game of cat and mouse, that’s exactly what transpires. At one point in this book I was growing increasingly anxious and put the book aside for a while. When I returned, the spell was somewhat broken. I started looking at things a different way entirely.

At 70% I had a pretty good idea what was going on but the twists still kept coming. Evil hides in plain sight so keep your eyes open to all possibilities.

If you love that taut, pit of your stomach tension, read it in one setting. This one has an atmospheric setting but is lacking that supernatural vibe of Home Before Dark which definitely remains my favorite of his books. The characters are really not believable but this is fiction and I was along for the ride.

Mr. Sager’s fans and lovers of psychological thrillers are going to really enjoy this one. Find the hiding psychopath!!!!!!!!

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss. ...more

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Jun 19, 2021 Jayme rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, mystery-suspense, psychological-thriller

This book would make a FANTASTIC movie! 🍿

It is written as screenplay, with each scene, depicted by its camera location:
INT (interior, inside of) or EXT (exterior, outside of)

In fact, this time, I think the story would be better as a movie.

So, after reading some “less than enthusiastic” reviews for this one, I decided to approach it, by actually picturing what I would be SEEING, if this screenplay was on the BIG SCREEN!

And, that worked for me.

It’s 1991-cars have tape decks, and if you want to c ...more

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Jun 11, 2021 Denise rated it it was ok

It pains me slightly to be critical here because I love Sager's books, but this latest one is awful. It's another one of those books that I read all the four and five star reviews and think I had to have read a different book than everyone else. Lately I've read several books where the entire story takes place over a period of 24 hours, and I've come to the realization that I just don't care for those plots. So that is on me, but that being said, this book is just not good for a myriad of other It pains me slightly to be critical here because I love Sager's books, but this latest one is awful. It's another one of those books that I read all the four and five star reviews and think I had to have read a different book than everyone else. Lately I've read several books where the entire story takes place over a period of 24 hours, and I've come to the realization that I just don't care for those plots. So that is on me, but that being said, this book is just not good for a myriad of other reasons.

Spiraling into a deep depression after her best friend/roommate is murdered, presumably by a serial killer dubbed the "Campus Killer," protagonist Charlie Jordan decides that she cannot stay at Olyphant University a minute longer. Despite there being a college serial killer on the loose, Charlie posts a flyer on the college rideshare board in search of a ride home to Ohio. Welcome to the first eye roll moment - I get that it's 1991 (trust me, you won't forget as the 90's references are too numerous to count), but there were buses in the 90's, so the idea of posting on a rideshare board with a serial killer lurking is ridiculous. Of course, in the process of posting her flyer, Charlie meets a stranger who just so happens to be going to Ohio too. Nothing odd about that ....

Charlie immediately packs her things, says goodbye to her boyfriend, and jumps in the car with the stranger, Josh. And here begins the entire narrative, which unfolds over one very long, eventful night. Charlie immediately begins to suspect that Josh is not who he says he is and may very well be the Campus Killer (which should surprise no one whatsoever - except for Charlie apparently), and she begins plotting her escape. Here's where it becomes astonishingly stupid - she has multiple chances to escape, but never does, because she changes her mind every time. The way Sager tries to explain that is by also making Charlie an extremely unreliable narrator who randomly plays events in her mind as if they are movies, so she has "zoned out" moments where she doesn't know if it's real life or a movie. It just didn't work for me though.

There you have the entire first half. The second half is where all of the "action" takes place, and that is also where it moves to the realm of beyond the absurd. There are several twists that you probably won't see coming - mainly because they make zero sense and seem to be thrown in there just for the hell of it. It was all so over-the-top that I was halfway expecting Wishbone the dog, who seemed to be able to solve any mystery in the 90's, to make an appearance and clue Charlie in on what might be really going on. It was seriously that bad! Not to worry though, the ending doesn't deviate from the absurd either, and the final few italicized pages are not worth reading - unless you're looking for a good excuse to chuck a book across the room.

Overall, I still love Sager and will try and forget about this one before reading his next one, but to be honest, I'd rather be stuck in a car with the Campus Killer listening to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on replay for hours on end, than read this book again. 2 stars. ...more

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Jul 05, 2021 Gabby rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobooks-i-listened-to, read-in-2021, lost-interest, 3-star-books, thrillers-or-mystery, annoying-characters, liked-it, own, adult

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, it’s also my book club pick for this month! I have such mixed feelings about this book :(

Can’t wait to discuss this book with everyone later this month! Here’s the vlog where I read it: https://youtu.be/wcbIV0T2QL4 ...more

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Jun 20, 2021 Michael David rated it liked it

Shelves: widget-received

A dark night. Two strangers in a car, traveling down dark roads. Set before the days of cell phones and internet. I thought I was in for an awesome ride, but things took a detour.

The year is 1991, and right before Thanksgiving break, Charlie decides she wants to leave college…most likely indefinitely. She hasn’t gotten over the murder of her best friend, who fell victim to the Campus Killer.

Charlie meets Josh at the campus ride board while putting up a flyer to see if anyone wants to share a r ...more

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Jul 23, 2021 Holly B rated it really liked it

Shelves: psychological-thriller, had-to-finish, read-in-2021, couldn-t-put-down

A binge-worthy, campy joy ride!

Buckle-up, Lock Every Door , and hang on tight for this one!

What you can expect- A campus killer on the loose, A girl (Charlie) meets stranger at ride board on campus, Girl accepts ride with stranger, Charlie's namesake is from a Hitchcock film (could there be a lesson here?), a diner on Dead River Road (wink), twists that may produce vertigo and some fun times spent in Sillyville, nothing too serious here, ignore all the red flags and ride along...

If this trip ...more

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Jul 08, 2021 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: botm, mystery-thriller-etc, 1-star, unhauled, hardback-own

One of my most anticipated books of the year!! I love Riley Sager!! I hated this book 😕

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more

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Jul 06, 2021 Paromjit rated it really liked it

Shelves: thriller, crime-fiction, mystery, netgalley

This is the latest Riley Sager psychological thriller set in the 1990s featuring an interesting unreliable narrator, the traumatised Charlie Jordan, a film obsessed New Jersey student, whose mind is exhibiting cracks when her room mate Maddy becomes the victim of the terrifying Campus Killer. Laden down with grief and guilt, she is struggling to cope and wants to go back home to Ohio and decides to go with Josh Baxter returning to look after his sick father. They are going to be travelling for t ...more

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Jul 06, 2021 Katie Colson rated it did not like it

You know that movie where James Franco gets trapped between a cave wall and a boulder for 127 hours and is slowly losing hope and sanity and has to resort to drastic measures to get free?

Yeah, that's what this book felt like.

description

Reading Vlog/Review: https://youtu.be/UjpEE3uk8Y0 ...more

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Jul 18, 2021 JanB rated it really liked it

Shelves: buddy-read-with-marialyce, 2021-reads, mystery-thriller

If you are in the mood for an homage to campy B-movie thrillers where the pages practically turn themselves, then this is the book for you!

A serial murderer, dubbed The Campus Killer, is still on the loose, and his latest victim was Charlie’s best friend, Maddy. Charlie (named for a Hitchcock heroine) is too guilt and grief-stricken to stay in school, and decides to visit her grandmother. She accepts a ride to Ohio with Josh, a complete stranger. While a murderer is on loose. This is Big Mistake If you are in the mood for an homage to campy B-movie thrillers where the pages practically turn themselves, then this is the book for you!

A serial murderer, dubbed The Campus Killer, is still on the loose, and his latest victim was Charlie’s best friend, Maddy. Charlie (named for a Hitchcock heroine) is too guilt and grief-stricken to stay in school, and decides to visit her grandmother. She accepts a ride to Ohio with Josh, a complete stranger. While a murderer is on loose. This is Big Mistake #1. One of many made by Charlie, but think of a horror movie where you cover your eyes and yell at the heroine and you get the idea. Stupid, but fun nonetheless.

The trip is a 6-hour drive at night along long empty stretches of road. Before long Charlie finds inconsistencies in Josh’s story and begins to not only doubt who he really is, but suspect he is the Campus Killer. The problem? Charlie often lives in a fantasy world where she zones out and sees old movies playing in her mind. So, who is the unreliable narrator? Charlie or Josh - or both? The author keeps us guessing as Charlie debates her next move and finds herself in more than a few binds and missed opportunities for escape.

Trapped in a car with a possible murderer, Charlie has nowhere to go and no way to call for help. I loved the pre-cellphone/internet early 90s vibe, where Charlie has to become a bad-ass and use skills she didn’t know she possessed in order to survive the night. I also loved the nod to all the great movies and music of the past.

This was a buddy read with Marialyce, and we both had fun playing armchair detective, even though we failed once again. Set your critical hat aside and just go along for the ride with Charlie and Josh. The motives of one of the characters was unconvincing and the final reveal of the killer was a stretch, but as an homage, I didn’t take it too seriously. The epilogue was perfection, a rarity! There is a cinematic feel to the book that would make a terrific movie.

* for our duo review please visit: https://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpres... ...more

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Jul 23, 2021 Lisa of Troy rated it it was ok

It's the 90's. Charlie is looking for a ride to her hometown in Ohio when she meets Josh at the ride board going in the same direction. When Charlie hops in the car, she starts to think that Josh might just be The Campus Killer who has recently claimed the lives of some women at her university. Will Charlie survive this car ride?

Ugh....this review is extremely difficult for me to write, because I am seriously Riley Sager's #1 fan. I pre-ordered this months in advance. I even ended up with a sign It's the 90's. Charlie is looking for a ride to her hometown in Ohio when she meets Josh at the ride board going in the same direction. When Charlie hops in the car, she starts to think that Josh might just be The Campus Killer who has recently claimed the lives of some women at her university. Will Charlie survive this car ride?

Ugh....this review is extremely difficult for me to write, because I am seriously Riley Sager's #1 fan. I pre-ordered this months in advance. I even ended up with a signed copy, and the author sent me a faceplate in the mail. He is pretty active on Twitter, and he has acknowledged my support on several occasions. We are also friends of friends so this is a total awkward turtle moment.

One of the hallmarks of Riley Sager books is that they are incredibly page turning. Also, I felt like The Last Time I Lied had a twist that I didn't see coming but made total sense. Also, The Last Time I Lied and Home Before Dark really were so interesting because the characters were trying to remember things from the past, almost with a bit of nostalgia. I distinctly remember being in my car listening to my audiobook, transfixed, arriving at my destination but refusing to budge.

Now, enter Survive the Night. I kept waiting for the page turning part, but I just couldn't get into it. There was too much internal dialogue with Charlie. This book didn't capture the nostalgia of the past. This book had a twist, but I figured it out fairly early on when I was thinking of who could it be.

Overall, this book just wasn't as entertaining as it should have been. The author is clearly talented. I do wonder if the editor has afraid of giving tough review notes. This book really minded me of The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman in a way that this book also did not fit into the Riley Sager brand. It was off brand and just off. I requested this as an ARC awhile back but was rejected. I really wish that I had the opportunity to provide those review notes, because this author deserved better. ...more

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Sep 30, 2020 — Massiel rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021, read-in-english

Riley, jeez. You could've just said you didn't like movies.

Well, I heard you clear and loud now I don't want to watch movies anymore.

Thank you. ...more

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Aug 15, 2021 chan ☆ rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2021, mystery-thriller

honestly pretty bad. the car scenes were kind of eerie i guess but otherwise not very well crafted. starting to think lock every door was an anomaly. need to revisit my home before dark rating…

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Jun 27, 2021 Danielle (The Blonde Likes Books) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley-edelweiss-publisher, thrillers-mystery

Let me just start by saying that I LOVED this one! Riley Sager is one of my all time favorite thriller authors, so I was dying to get a copy of Survive the Night. I’d seen some mixed reviews come in from other early reviewers, but I didn’t read any of them prior to reading the book, because I wanted to go in fairly blind. I’m glad I did, because I ended up absolutely loving this one. Of Sager’s 5 novels, it’s up there at the top of the list with me as one of my favorites of his!

After the murder Let me just start by saying that I LOVED this one! Riley Sager is one of my all time favorite thriller authors, so I was dying to get a copy of Survive the Night. I’d seen some mixed reviews come in from other early reviewers, but I didn’t read any of them prior to reading the book, because I wanted to go in fairly blind. I’m glad I did, because I ended up absolutely loving this one. Of Sager’s 5 novels, it’s up there at the top of the list with me as one of my favorites of his!

After the murder of her roommate/best friend by a serial killer known as the ‘Campus Killer’, Charlie can’t stay at school any longer. The trauma she’s endured between the death of her parents and now her friend has resulted in her seeing “movies in her mind” – she zones out and sees a false reality happening. She wants to go home to visit her grandmother, but since she doesn’t drive, she agrees to ride with a stranger named Josh that she meets at the campus ride share board. As their ride progresses, she becomes increasingly convinced that he’s lying to her, and may actually be the Campus Killer. Remember – this is set in 1991, so there are no cell phones she can use to call for help! That combined with the fact that she can’t always trust what she “sees” happening because of her mental movies lead to a tense, fast-paced, gripping story, and I devoured every second of it.

The novel is told sort of like reading a script or play – you get to see the location of each part of the book through headings, for example “INT GRAND AM”, so you know it’s set inside of the Grand Am car that our main character Charlie is in. In addition to that element, Charlie is a film student who is a big movie buff. There are several movies, directors, and actors mentioned throughout the book – it really is an homage to classic film in addition to being a thriller.

As I said before, I adored this one, from beginning to end (especially the end!) and rated it 5 big stars! I think this would be an excellent mini-series! Lots of twists and turns, a narrator who can’t trust herself, and an element of being ‘trapped’ in a car with someone you can’t trust. What more could you want?! I can’t wait to see what Sager writes next!

I’d like to thank Hodder and Stoughton for my advanced copy of the book. It was my pleasure to provide an honest review. Survive the Night is out June 29th in the US, and will be a great summer read! Be sure to pick this one up! ...more

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Jun 22, 2021 ScrappyMags rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-its-a-mystery, reviewed-by-me, kindle-read-done-finito, make-into-a-movie-please

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kindergarten 101: Never, ever, ever, ever talk to strangers.

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: It’s 1991. After the murder of her roommate and as a serial killer stalks the campus, Charlie Jordan desperately needs a ride home to Ohio from her college in New Jersey, so she enlists the help of Josh Baxter whom she meets at a ride-share board. But the further she drives the further she suspects something isn’t quite right with “Josh.”

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬💭: I feel like I spun on a tilt-A-whirl: dazed, thrilled ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kindergarten 101: Never, ever, ever, ever talk to strangers.

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: It’s 1991. After the murder of her roommate and as a serial killer stalks the campus, Charlie Jordan desperately needs a ride home to Ohio from her college in New Jersey, so she enlists the help of Josh Baxter whom she meets at a ride-share board. But the further she drives the further she suspects something isn’t quite right with “Josh.”

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬💭: I feel like I spun on a tilt-A-whirl: dazed, thrilled, and maybe a little sick. I read this book lightening fast - the proverbial could-not-put-down book that kept me up flying through the pages, up in the night, clutching my beagles (they were ok with it). Fast-paced, surprises, all the twisty bends mystery fans adore. This book makes tension palpable - the tension was like its own character it was so rigid.

The devolution of this book transpired like this: at about 60%, Charlie irked me (but then won me back). If you follow my reviews, you’ll know a pet peeve of mine is the “stupid-but-supposed-to-be-smart-female-protagonist commits stupid acts a smart person would never do.” I soldiered on with my feminist self and was glad I did, because as Charlie’s mental state became more evident - a true state of depression (and more) her actions were justifiable. So that view switched off. See what I mean? What a ride! I can’t say I was COMPLETELY on board, but I was able to suspend a little disbelief for the sake of one enjoyable thriller.

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆𝗠𝗮𝗴𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Mystery (and might I add this would make an interesting premise for a play!!)

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: All the quick-read standard mystery fans.

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: the “weak female lead” could turn off some readers.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Dutton Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and note that I’m sending you money for anxiety therapy. ...more

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Jul 22, 2021 Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) rated it liked it

Shelves: 2021-releases, read-in-2021

2.5ish stars. Entertaining enough, but the ending was meh

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Aug 16, 2021 Irena BookDustMagic rated it it was ok

Shelves: buddy-reads

So... this was a shitshow full of mad people. And I don't mean it in a good way.

Let me start this review on a positive note.
As Riley Sager is a best selling author, I expected to like his writing style, and although I wasn't a fan of all the things he has written in this particular novel, I do admit that his words are easy to follow and the book reads easy and fast.
To give you and example how fast it reads, I will just say that it was our August pick for our book club and instead of planned 7, ...more

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Mar 09, 2021 Dana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Ok guys ... don't come for me ... but I didn't love this 😲 I'm a HUGE Riley Sager fan but this one just didn't do it for me. I just found the premise so hard to believe and clearly that was a me issue, but I just couldn't shake it. If my friend was murdered and the killer was still out there I really couldn't see myself accepting a six hour car ride from a complete stranger. No mam, no sir! And while I realize there couldn't have been a storyline without this, it was just so hard for me to let g ...more

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Jul 19, 2021 Debra rated it liked it

2.5/2.75 rounded up

Well, I survived it! Not for me. while reading this I kept turning to ARC's that I needed to finish but today I did decide to give it the old college try and well.... MEH

It was slow, slow, slow and I found myself looking to do other things (besides to get to other ARC's), the saving grace was that things did pick up at the end and got interesting which is why I rounded up to a 3. I just wish the entire book were interesting. For me, it was not.

For a movie buff, Charlie sure d ...more

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Apr 24, 2021 Estefanía rated it did not like it

Shelves: horror-lit-2020

Tell me your book is written by a man without telling me your book was written by a man.

Survive the Night was infuriating in its complete lack of realism or common sense. The premise is relatively simple: after the death of her friend, a college student decides to return home to grieve and process the trauma. What astounds me is the complete lack of any common sense that follows: Charlie willingly decides to get into a cross-country car trip with a frightening stranger who, upon their first mee Tell me your book is written by a man without telling me your book was written by a man.

Survive the Night was infuriating in its complete lack of realism or common sense. The premise is relatively simple: after the death of her friend, a college student decides to return home to grieve and process the trauma. What astounds me is the complete lack of any common sense that follows: Charlie willingly decides to get into a cross-country car trip with a frightening stranger who, upon their first meeting in his car, immediately demonstrates he can't be trusted ... while the college campus is actively being plagued by a serial killer who preys on young women.

The fact that Charlie only considers that this menacing and untrustworthy stranger- who almost instantly reveals he's lied to her to get her into his car- could be a murderer or rapist half way into the novel was the most jarring, ham-fisted "revelation" I've seen in a long time. There is no woman on earth with half a working braincell for whom this shit isn't immediately obvious. The irony here is that I'm sure a large measure of Charlie's painful obliviousness would have actually made more sense if she were a young man: because men are conditioned to seldom see themselves as victims of potential sexual or gendered violence, they're encouraged and even expected to make riskier choices. When you don't see yourself as someone who can be assaulted, you don't navigate the world thinking it's a possibility for you. I don't think we need more horror or suspense stories that necessitate a woman feeling threatened by the possibility of rape or gender violence, but there are infinitely better ways to go about this tired concept. I sorely wish that this book had been, in some demonstrative way, informed by the experiences and insights of women who have, y'know, some basic grasp of reality.

There's a moment in Survive the Night in which Charlie realizes she can safely escape the predator and get help. She instead decides against her own safety and gets back into a car with him because she suddenly decides to become a "femme fatale" (this is, unfortunately, a quote) who extracts revenge on him for his menacing behaviors and misdeeds. At this point, I just about chucked my eReader across the room with a ferocity that would've given Tom Brady a run for his money. It's a baffling choice in characterization, almost as bizarre as Charlie's obnoxious and incredibly unrealistic way of jamming film trivia into just about every moment of casual conversation. At this point, I thought to myself: maybe some people deserve to get axed actually.

As others have remarked, the last quarter of the novel really jumps the shark which, considering the absurdity of the previous three-quarters of the book, is a real feat in aerobatics. ...more

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Jun 10, 2021 Emma☀️ rated it did not like it

Shelves: 1-star-nope, read-2021, arcs, r-mystery-thriller-horror, r-adult

I had high hopes for this because I enjoyed Lock Every Door and Home Before Dark. Let’s just say my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
Going into this, the premise was interesting. I enjoy a good cat-and-mouse game but it got so repetitive and boring that I wanted it to end. It attributed to the fact that the novel largely took place in a car, which did not work for me personally.

Initially, the book was going to be 2 stars but the ending and cliché plot twist ruined it for me. ...more

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Aug 18, 2021 Allison Faught rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-star, 2021

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 2.5⭐️
And I think that’s me being relatively generous. I was put on the longest queue at the library for this book and received this and For Your Own Good on the same day. Imagine my excitement as I thought ‘Wow! I’m going to read two back to back 5 star reads!’ Well….that didn’t happen. (At least For Your Own Good held up its end of the bargain! 😂)
The first half or so of this book? Incredible. Loved it.
Holy mackerel, that second half just plummeted for me.
Where to start..
🤷‍♀️ The decisions Cha 2.5⭐️
And I think that’s me being relatively generous. I was put on the longest queue at the library for this book and received this and For Your Own Good on the same day. Imagine my excitement as I thought ‘Wow! I’m going to read two back to back 5 star reads!’ Well….that didn’t happen. (At least For Your Own Good held up its end of the bargain! 😂)
The first half or so of this book? Incredible. Loved it.
Holy mackerel, that second half just plummeted for me.
Where to start..
🤷‍♀️ The decisions Charlie made were beyond head scratching. Going in a car with a total stranger while a killer is on the loose is just the first of many questionable decisions. But wait, there’s more! She decides to date him after he set her up to be tortured?? Then, at the diner, she was literally on the phone with the police AND HUNG UP! 😩 She could have so easily faked a conversation with them by pretending like she was talking to her boyfriend and used clues and hints to guide them to her. They are trained to handle those situations.

🤷‍♀️ Grammatical errors. I’m not one to dock for that, but I found a handful. One, even two is forgivable, but not 5 in a published book.

🤷‍♀️ Inconsistencies. ‘I want to die. No I don’t! Wait, yes I do. Nope again!’
Also, Marge demands to know who killed her granddaughter and wants to seek revenge on said person. Then there’s the line ‘pull the trigger. Please. Put me out of my misery. I was going to do it anyway. Right here. Tonight.’ So, you went through all this crazy hassle to torture someone who’s just as much a grieving victim in this loss as you are? I’m not understanding the motive there especially since you don’t have intentions of hunting down the killer anyway.

🤷‍♀️ The POVs didn’t make much sense. For example:
‘He slides the knife into one front pocket and handcuffs in the other. He doesn’t want to use them. But he will if he has to.’ Then later, he’s saying that his intention was never to hurt her. Why the hell would he need the knife then?
Then, Marge… this one bugs me more. ‘Marge was watching the girl when he said it, thinking about how she looked like a hostage and how much that fact worried her.’ ‘These two were none of her business.’ If this is a POV chapter, meaning inner dialogue, why would she be saying this to herself when she’s running this whole deal?
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that thrillers need to trick the audience. But the POVs have to make sense. Especially for people like me who go back and reread sections for full clarity and understanding. You can’t take that chance that the reader isn’t go to backtrack and find a loophole.

🤷‍♀️ Predictable ending much? There were 4 living characters and typical thrillers lead you to believe the obvious when they never are. The only true killer would have been Robbie since it seemed obvious it wasn’t Charlie or Marge and the book wants you to think it was Josh/Jake the whole time. But anyone who’s read a thriller before knows that it’s never as it seems. I’m not one who likes guessing the ending because the surprise is always the best part of the book, but you have to throw a bigger bone than that.

🤷‍♀️ The very end was the biggest eye roll of all. It was just a movie with totally embellished facts and some snippets that never even happened at all. I would have had a lot more respect for the book had the roles been reversed and the story was what really happened and then the changes the movie made weren’t in the story. It seemed like a cop out to excuse all the plot holes.

I did like the character Charlie and I LOVE a badass, hardcore protagonist, especially female.

This book just didn’t give me the hype back that I gave to it. However, I respect anyone’s opinions about the book even if they totally differ from mine! 😊 ...more

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Aug 07, 2021 Joey R. rated it did not like it

1.5 stars—I am not sure what just happened. I was in the middle of a fairly good book when the plot just collapsed. It was like watching a football team take a 21 point lead and then the other team comes back and beats them 63-21. “Survive the Night” by Riley Sager begins with a good premise. The main character, Charlie, decides to leave college after her roommate, Maddy, dies at the hands of a serial killer. Charlie is ravaged with guilt because she got mad at Maddy on the night of her death an ...more

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Jul 01, 2021 Frank Phillips rated it really liked it

I'm going to start off by stating i'm a HUGE Riley Sager fan. Have been since his debut, and undoubtedly will always be. Going into this book I'd read so many mixed reviews I wasn't sure what exactly to think. Needless to say, I was more apprehensive than I would usually be, and went into this with lower expectations than I normally would for a Sager book. As we begin reading we meet Charlie, a college film major, who has recently suffered the tragic loss of her bff Maddy, who was murdered viole I'm going to start off by stating i'm a HUGE Riley Sager fan. Have been since his debut, and undoubtedly will always be. Going into this book I'd read so many mixed reviews I wasn't sure what exactly to think. Needless to say, I was more apprehensive than I would usually be, and went into this with lower expectations than I normally would for a Sager book. As we begin reading we meet Charlie, a college film major, who has recently suffered the tragic loss of her bff Maddy, who was murdered violently on the hands of none other than the infamous Campus Killer, who has yet to be caught. On account of the circumstances on the last night of Maddy's life, Charlie has a lot of guilt and as expected, just can't handle staying at school anymore. Seeing that this all takes place in 1991, what would any broke student normally do in order to afford such a cross-country trek? She posts an ad on campus for a rideshare, which is exactly how she meets the mysterious Josh. Almost immediately after beginning their journey, Charlie has suspicions about Josh and who he might really be, but is she actually reliable? Is she imagining these warning signs, or is Josh indeed the serial killer she suspects?
I really struggled the first half of this novel, as it felt like every couple of pages turned into Charlie imagining the events taking place (she calls this watching a movie in her head) and then suddenly coming back to reality, which became incredibly annoying after about the fifth time! Fortunately, the second half of the book definitely picked up pace and the action began, followed by plot twist after plot twist, which made the book fly by. I just simply could not read the second half fast enough! If I had to rate the first half, it'd be about a 3 Star, and the second half would definitely be closer to vintage 5-Star-Sager, so that's how I came to 4 Stars overall. I know hardcore Sager fans may find this book polarizing, as it's definitely a bit of a departure from his previous work, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I for one, am pleased to see him mixing things up! I think it just depends on your mood and what you are wanting in a thriller/suspense/mystery. If you are not willing to suspend your disbelief while reading, this may not be the book for you. If you want to read a book that keeps you guessing and you can actually see it as a movie one day, this might be the one for you! I'm really excited to see how Sager will follow this one up. What does everyone else think about his compared to his previous work? ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Literally Dead Bo...: Survive the Night \| pg191 - end	52	413	Aug 26, 2021 12:54AM
Literally Dead Bo...: Survive the Night \| pg70 - 191	22	232	Aug 18, 2021 10:30PM
Literally Dead Bo...: Survive the Night \| pg1 - 70	34	310	Aug 18, 2021 12:07PM
Creepy Book Club: Survive the Night Discussion	16	64	Aug 02, 2021 07:44PM
Sad Bitches: Survive the Night \| July 2021	2	1	Jul 21, 2021 10:11AM
YA Buddy Readers'...: Survive the Night by Riley Sager--Starting July 12th, 2021	15	19	Jul 19, 2021 06:01AM
Goodreads Librari...: Please correct page count	2	12	Jul 18, 2021 03:04AM

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About Riley Sager

Riley Sager

12,828 followers

Riley Sager is the award-winning pseudonym of a former journalist, editor and graphic designer who previously published mysteries under his real name.

Now a full-time author, Riley's first thriller, FINAL GIRLS, became a national and international bestseller and was called "the first great thriller of 2017" by Stephen King. Translation rights have been sold in more than two dozen countries.

Riley' ...more