Book Review: Survive the Night by Riley Sager

Survive the Night by Riley Sager
Genre: Adult Fiction (Contemporary Mystery Thriller)
Date Published: June 29, 2021
Publisher: Dutton Books

Charlie Jordan is being driven across the country by a serial killer. Maybe.

Behind the wheel is Josh Baxter, a stranger Charlie met by the college ride share board, who also has a good reason for leaving university in the middle of term. On the road they share their stories, carefully avoiding the subject dominating the news - the Campus Killer, who's tied up and stabbed three students in the span of a year, has just struck again.

Travelling the lengthy journey between university and their final destination, Charlie begins to notice discrepancies in Josh's story.

As she begins to plan her escape from the man she is becoming certain is the killer, she starts to suspect that Josh knows exactly what she's thinking.

Meaning that she could very well end up as his next victim.

Survive the Night by Riley Sager was a thriller told from multiple points of view. You're mostly seeing through Charlie's eyes though. I'll be honest, I was aggravated through the first two thirds of this book because Charlie is the Queen of bad decisions. She had sooooo many opportunities for escape or rescue. I was ready to rate it a one or a two, then I got to the last third. This is about where I started figuring out who killed Maddie, but there were so many other things thrown in that you really couldn't predict. There's no way. So, even though I kinda knew some things, the things I didn't know kept the story rolling quite well. This last third of the book is what's responsible for the extra star or two. This is the first book I've read by this author, and I really enjoyed his style and how he helped you, not only get to know his characters, but also get inside their heads.

Hodder Books · SURVIVE THE NIGHT by Riley Sager, read by Kate Handford - audiobook extract

 

Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, most recently SURVIVE THE NIGHT and HOME BEFORE DARK. His first thriller, FINAL GIRLS, won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel and has been published in more than thirty countries. His latest novel, THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE, will be published in June.

A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is "Rear Window." Or maybe "Jaws." But probably, if he's being honest, "Mary Poppins."

To learn more about Riley Sager and his books, visit his website. You can also find him on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Buy this book at: