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

I love Riley Sager. This book is no exception. It’s literally a thrill ride that last for 300 something pages. Heart palpitations, quick breathes, and all consuming anxiety until I read the last page. This book is an absolute masterpiece.

Holy shit, this book had me tied up in knots and staying up way too late on a work night to finish it. Edge of my seat the entire time, literally yelling OH MY GOD at _that_ twist and scaring my cat.
It's gonna be a hit, for sure.

Me one page into Survive the Night: the boyfriend is the serial killer.

Spoiler alert: I was right.

For anything else about this book it moves, I read it in a few hours and couldn’t put it down. Charlie is an appealing main character who makes some very dumb choices but they seem driven by her actual character and not because she needs to be an idiot to keep the plot going. The conceit of the whole thing is well done and the final reveal works. Twists are plentiful but not completely outlandish. A solid thriller where I could predict the end but not the entire path to get there.

Hang on tight and buckle up, because this is Riley Sager at his absolute best. Survive the Night will give you all the 90s nostalgia feels, and will take you on an epic ride, all in just one night. Previous to Survive the Night, Final Girls had been my favorite Sager, but move over, Quincy Carpenter, because there's a new final girl in town. I promise that you will love Charlie, and you will be absolutely riveted as she takes this twisty, winding drive, just trying to "survive the night". I feel so privileged to have had the chance to read this phenomenal novel early, Huge thanks to the publicity team at Dutton for my advance copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

3.5 stars
I've read Riley Sager's other books and enjoyed the suspense and mystery within those pages. It took a bit for me to get into Survive the Night, the story of Charlie, seeking a ride home after the death of her best friend. She decides to accept a ride with another college student, that she doesn't know but meets at the ride board. One of my pet peeves in books is when the narrator is unreliable to the point that it plays tricks on the reader. In this case, Charlie is obsessed with movies and sometimes sees life as a movie. So there are portions that may have happened...? Or may just be a scene in Charlie's imagination?
Overall it was a good story and I don't think Sager's fans will be disappointed. It's not my favorite of his, but it had some good twists at the end that redeemed the parts I wasn't a fan of.

Riley Sager knows how to write suspense. Survive The Night follows Charlie as she finds a ride with a stranger from college to Ohio. I loved how you didn’t know if things are really happening or if she was dreaming it. As soon as I thought I knew what was going to happen, it quickly turned out I absolutely had no idea.

There's few authors I get more excited about than Riley Sager. When I read the premise for Survive the Night, I was instantly excited to get my hands on a copy. Charlie, a college student, secures a ride home with a stranger on campus, but as they hit the road, she realizes he might be a serial killer.

Let me tell you, the TENSION and suspense that Sager builds literally had me having to put the book down at night - I was SCARED - and I thought nightmares were coming - in the best possible way. I have read and enjoyed all of Sager's books thus far, but this one may be a new favorite for me. Not that I need to say this, but definitely grab your copy on June 29th!

Thank you to Dutton Books & NetGalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Sensational and immersive. This is the best Riley Sager book to date and proof that with Sager's writing capabilities that no one can keep readers on the edge of their seats like he can.

I've been a fan of Riley Sager's for years, ever since I read his first book. I've enjoyed all of them; this one is my favorite.

A big part of it is the fact that Charlie loves old movies (like I do) and I enjoyed all the references she made. (I haven't seen Shadow of a Doubt yet, but I hope to fix that soon, ideally this very weekend.) Like Charlie, I also tend to process things with movie references and I definitely over-related.

But a lot of it is also the situation she's in. She may or may not be in the car with a serial killer. And it's the early 1990s, so her options aren't great. She can't send a pin with her address to anyone or sneakily call 911 or even make sure anyone knows where she is and who she's with. All she has to rely on is herself.

As you would expect, there are a ton of twists, turns and red herrings. I didn't expect any of them and it was the best ride I could possibly imagine. Highly recommended.

I should be used to Sager's twisty-turniness by now, but it smacks me dead in the face every. dang. time. I will say that I liked the others a bit more than this one, but it was still awesome. Now the long, long wait until another one appears.

Riley Sager is always at the top of my Must Read list and “Final Girls” is the novel that I always compare his other novels against. “Survive the Night” managed to become my second favorite, mainly due to Sager’s twist ending.

The novel reads incredibly fast and the plot (while always somewhat far fetched) was fun to follow. The characters were engaging and I found myself really rooting for Charlie. Sager is always known for a twist, and while certain plot points became evident, that last twist wasn’t and really made up for the moments where I thought “really?!” I also really liked that it was set in the early 90s.

Sager does have this habit of making all of his male characters charming but so obviously guilty...but this time it worked (similar to “Final Girls”).

Can’t wait to suggest this one to people this summer. It was an incredibly fun ride.

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 ride and gas money to her home in Ohio. It just so happens that he’s going that way as well, and he’d be happy to take her along for the ride.

They begin their trip late at night, and as they get to chatting, Charlie suspects Josh may not be a student like she originally thought. Further incidents lead her to believe that she is in the car with the actual Campus Killer.

On a quiet night with nobody on the highway and nobody to hear a scream, who will survive the night?

There was an early indication that I wouldn’t enjoy this as much as I’d hoped. Early in the car ride, Josh asks if Charlie would like to play some music, and says, “You’re my guest. What do you like? And please don’t say Paula Abdul.” Well, excusez-moi, but I happen to own and still listen to all of Paula Abdul’s albums, so that line didn’t fly with me.

In all seriousness, the story is fine. I was never bored. Riley Sager’s last book, Home Before Dark, was on my top of 2020 list. I think my expectations were way too high. While the writing in this one is still fantastic, it’s not oozing with atmosphere the way I hoped it would. There’s also not a lot going on in it that gave me 90’s vibes, and I really wanted that.

I don’t post spoilers, but I will say the last 20% was a bit too convoluted for me. The motives and character actions weren’t very realistic, and I personally expected something with a bit more depth. There is also a gimmick used to possibly trick the reader, but I wasn’t a huge fan of it.

Overall, this is a decent read that kept me engaged...but just didn’t WOW me. I have a feeling many others will love this one, so keep an eye out for other reviews.

I’ve come to the conclusion that for every Sager book that leaves me wanting more, I end up loving his next one. Following that science, I am excited to predict that his NEXT book is going to be a 5-star stunner for me.

Thank you to Dutton for sending me a widget for an ARC. This book will be published 6/29/21.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com