I have loved all of Riley Sager's books, but Survive the Night is by far my favorite! I loved that it was set in the 90s, and that definitely added to the suspense of the story (no cell phone = no immediate help). I am one of those people who could talk about movies for hours with anybody, so Charlie's obsession with movies was very relatable for me. One I realized Josh/Jake wasn't actually the Campus Killer, it was pretty obvious to me that the killer would be Robbie. However, this did not tamper my enjoyment of the last quarter of the story. I also thoroughly enjoyed the ending and the fact that the entire story was the "movie version" of Charlie's nightmarish experience. Overall, I LOVED this book, and I cannot wait to read more from Sager!

WOW!!! What a wild roller coaster ride this book will take you on! At times it's hard to distinguish between what's real and what's a movie scene playing inside of Charlie's head. You will not believe who the killer is! Great book! Riley Sager never disappoints.

I’m a huge Riley Sager fan! So when I got this ARC from Net Galley I was pumped! His other novels have had me from the start, questioning every turn and twist taken along the way. This one was a little different.....

Charlie decides to drop out of school, or at least take a break for a while. Her best friend, Maddy, has been murdered, and she just can’t seem to get back on track, often times living in a world that isn’t reality.

She heads to the college ride share board only to find Josh, an older student that works on campus, who offers to pick her up and drop her off at home along the way.

As they’re traveling along, Charlie is having a hard time with what really is happening as she and Josh drive, and what might be in her head. She can’t keep her mind focused, and is afraid that she might be in the car with Maddy’s never found killer!

Holy crap!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, and boy am I glad I requested it.

I normally am all about YA. But saw this Thriller and decided to check it out.

Guys, I was hooked! Page one till the end I couldn't stop. Charlie just lost her friend to a campus serial killer. While still grieving her lost Charlie decides to quit college and head home. Robbie her boyfriend doesn't know what will come of their relationship but hopes Charlie returns. Charlie begins her 6 hour road trip with Josh, the mysterious stranger who happens to be going where she is.

See the problem here? Her friend was just murdered by a serial killer and Charlie still takes a ride with a stranger? Oh yeah and the crazy part, Charlie sees movies in her head so as a read you don't know what she is seeing is real or not.

Survive the Night takes a reader on a non-stop thrill ride where they will question everything! Such a great book!

Thank you @Duttonbooks and @netgalley for the gifted e-galley of Survive The Night by Riley Sager!

This was a quick read for me, I blew through it. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite Riley Sager book but it’s a solid read! Momentum is kept up between trying to find out who the serial killer is to the deeper story of grief, guilt, and learning to forgive yourself.

Also that ending… a few parts were a bit unbelievable but I enjoyed the mental health aspect of it as well. Overall a great read!

“Survive the Night” by Riley Sager
7/10 Stars
Releases June 29, 2021
Penguin Random House

If there’s one thing to praise about Riley Sager’s fifth novel, “Survive the Night,” it’s that it moves like a rocket ship.

After the gruesome, off-campus murder of her dormmate and best friend, Olyphant University student Charlie hitches a ride home with a near-stranger. Charlie is a picked scab of a human being — off her meds, struggling with PTSD, and experiencing intense, frequent episodes of psychosis. Even before entering the vehicle, Charlie suspects her travel companion has ulterior motives. But is she projecting her mental illness onto an innocent man, or is there really something more at play?

The whole ride is paced like an edge-of-your-seat popcorn thriller —gas to the floor, with only brief taps on the brakes to offer relief. There are more than a couple of moments (but especially one mid-novel rally set to Nirvana’s “Come as You Are”) that feel like they were written for the big screen.

It’s not a perfect novel by any means —some characters are flat, a handful of scenes are kinda cheeseball, and one or two plot points and story devices are sure to make some readers roll their eyes.

But if you don’t go in expecting high art, you’ll find a razor-sharp genre story that feels like it’s over as soon as it begins.

I have to admit that my relationship with the writing of Riley Sager has been deteriorating the more I read his books. He writes female characters that range from dumb and annoying, to mid level intelligence and *somewhat* competent. He never writes female characters that are believably intelligent, which makes me wonder if he's either intellectually limited himself, or he hates women and doesn't think very highly of them.

This book was a mid-level thriller with a lot of cliches. I wanted to love it but it just didn't make the mark.

Charlie is obsessed with movies and it’s her method of escape. When her roommate is murdered, she finds even her movies can’t help her cope. Leaving campus to go home, she hitches a ride with a fellow student... or is he?

As with any Riley Sager book, you will be very entertained; don’t expect any less. It is a bit over the top and unbelievable. There are twists after twists, that will have your head spinning. Even though I rolled my eyes and said “oh, come on!!” a few times, I still couldn’t put the book down. So make of that what you will, but I still think it’s worth a ride. The 90’s culture and Nirvana music was a bonus.

“People don’t want to admit that there are monsters in their midst, so the monsters continue to roam free and the cycle of violence and blame continues.”

“Life has failed her time and time again. The movies have never let her down.”

Survive the Night comes out 6/29.

You can always expect the unexpected from the consistently-pleasing Riley Sager. A slow start quickly leads to unforeseen twists. The writing was engaging and the storyline unique. The unlikeable, whiney MC was my only gripe; her inner monolgue was cringy and grated on my nerves. A solid 4 stars overall, but The Last Time I Lied remains my favorite of his work to date.

Thank you to NetGalley for offering this eARC.

I really enjoyed this book, it kept me intrigued. I had to keep reading! I could see why maybe some people won't like this because it felt a little forced and it was also very unrealistic but I loved it. I felt like the more the story progressed the more fun I was having. I can't wait to buy a copy for my friends and family!

It’s been a while since I have picked up a Riley Sager book, but oh my, I was very impressed with his newest release (out July 29th!). Survive the Night is a fast-paced thriller about a college student named Charlie who finds herself in the passenger seat of a ride-share with a driver that may be the one and only Campus Killer…the killer that murdered Charlie’s best friend. But Charlie doesn’t want to think that her mysterious driver is a serial killer…it may just be that her mind is playing tricks on her and she is just imagining everything...

Was this book predictable? Yes. Did I love it anyway? Yes. I found myself flipping pages at a rapid pace and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. Some scenes definitely made me cringe, but I never felt bored or thought that the story dragged on. I haven’t read Sager’s more recent tiles (Home Before Dark and Lock Every Door) after having a meh experience with The Last Time I Lied, but Survive the Night has definitely put Riley Sager back on my radar. I think fans of Sager will really enjoy his newest installment.

Content warnings: death of a parent, kidnapping, suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, gun violence, blood, grief, murder, car accident, terminal illness, medical content

After her best friend and roommate is murdered by the Campus Killer, Charlie needs to go home and hopefully begin dealing with her overwhelming grief and guilt. She meets a young man named Josh while putting up a ride request on the community board and decides to take a chance and share the ride and gas money with him. As the miles go by, Charlie's apprehension grows, is she trapped in a car with a nice guy or the vicious serial killer who took her friend's life? Taking place in November 1991, the Hitchcockian game of cat and mouse between Charlie and Josh is heightened due to the fact cell phones were not commonplace as they are now increasing the isolation of the two participants. I was totally engrossed with this book from the first chapter! Being a fellow movie lover, I felt a kinship with the main character, Charlie, who is named after a Hitchcock heroine. Who will survive the night and who will not? I highly recommend taking this book for a ride to find out!

Winner, Winner!!

I was already a Riley Sager fan & probably had unrealistic expectations when I started this book, but they were blown out of the water by the time I finished!

When I read the synopsis, I was excited. As the resident movie junkie in my circle, I immediately connected with Charlie. The fountain of nearly useless information. The wealth of movie knowledge. It serves little purpose in day to day life, but gives such an incredible escape!

There is so much that can be said about this book, but I don’t want to give anything away! I figured it out near the middle, but I did not want to put it down. Basically, read this book ASAP!

"Survive the Night" is psychological terror at it's absolute best, and Riley Sager's best novel yet! Be prepared to stay up all night with this one!

My first thought after closing Survive the Night was- well, people aren't going to like that. But I did. Was it over the top? Yes. Were parts hard to believe? Yes. Did Charlie make multiple bad decisions? Yes. Did I actually chuckle at one of the twists? Yes. Was I here for it all? Yes. I believe (hope) Riley Sager did all of this intentionally to fit a vibe. Survive the Night was fast paced and a fun read that I didn't want to put down. I read it within a day and never got bored which I think is saying something for a book that takes place in a car with two characters for the majority of the book. Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the ride!

A college girl's rideshare in the 90s takes a turn in this twisty thriller.

Charlie knows she needs to leave college after her friend and roommate's murder by a serial killer that has been stalking the campus for years. She just can't deal with the guilt of leaving her friend alone at a party after a fight. Though her boyfriend wants her to stick it out, Charlie decides to leave a week before finals and head back to Ohio. A campus ride board seems the perfect idea to share a ride with someone going that way. She lucks into a meeting with Josh, who says his father had a stroke and he also needs to get back to Ohio ASAP. The two have a long drive ahead of them in the middle of the night, but Charlie is sure it will be fine...

And then Josh starts to be a little suspicious. Charlie starts to catch him in some lies. Though her love of movies has given her some waking fantasy moments during times of stress, she's sure she didn't imagine that she saw a different name on his driver's license. And did he really say something about a clue to the murders only the police know? Is it possible she is in the car with a serial killer? Charlie must keep her wits about her if she's to survive the night.

There are so many twists in this story that it will keep readers guessing and guessing. Pretty much everyone is a suspect, and just when it seems like the case is solved...it isn't. Sager's books are always a thrilling treat, and this is absolutely no exception. How one of these books hasn't become a movie yet is beyond me.

This one was definitely hard to put down. There were so many twists and turns that reminded me of early Ruth Ware books. This was my first time reading Sager, and I will be back for more.

Charlie is college student in the 1990's in New Jersey--years before every college student carried a cell phone. After the murder of her roommate, Charlie, who is deep in a state of guilt and sadness, decides it's time to hitch a ride home to Ohio. She meets Josh, a total stranger, at her school's ride board and decides get a ride home from him. Shortly after leaving the school she realizes that Josh may not be who she thinks he is. He may just be the Campus Killer that murdered her roommate. Or is her mind just playing tricks on her? Ultimately, Charlie knows she needs to survive the night.

I absolutely loved this book. I thought structuring the book like a movie script was a really interesting touch. I enjoyed all of the twists and turns and not knowing how everything would resolve itself until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Is there anything better than a fresh Riley Sager thriller for the summer? This new novel will hit bookshelves on July 29th and is sure to be a big hit for fans of, “No Exit.”

Two strangers end up sharing a ride together and the backdrop is perfectly set in the early 90’s where it is just a little bit more challenging to let your loved ones know where you are.

A college campus serial killer is on the loose and Charlie can’t seem to overcome her guilt that her college roommate was killed. Not only has this incident haunted her, but she has started to hallucinate dream-like sequences to cope, that cloud her ability to know what is real and what is not.

When she finds a ride home with a stranger, she starts to become suspicious when their conversation begins to reveal that he never was a student on campus and that his past may be far more sinister.

The thing is, she can’t tell what the heck is real and what is that movie reel in her mind.

This was fun, fun, fun and a great beach read escape.

I wouldn’t say it is my favorite from this author, but I will say that he always delivers on the perfect summer thriller that can keep you up all night.

quick, heart-pounding thriller. Set in the early 90s which is really cool considering I'm reading this in 2021. Definitely would make a really interesting Netflix show.