Review: Survive the Night by Riley Sager

Title: Survive the Night

Author: Riley Sager

Genre: Adult, mystery thriller

Publication date: June 2021

Published by: Dutton

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: 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.

My rating: ★★☆☆☆

I've enjoyed all of Riley Sager's books to one degree or another... until this book. It was just dumb and frustrating—I was honestly surprised at how little I liked this book. The main character, Charlie, just kept making one bad decision after another and I could not get over how dumb she was being!

First of all, she gets in a car with a stranger. Granted, it's this sort of ride-share thing, but still! There is a literal serial killer on the loose! One that may have killed her best friend, I might add. She should not be getting in cars with strangers, I don’t care how desperate she is! And then the road trip—the gaslighting, the suspicions, and her lack of inaction almost drove me insane! And I understand that she is not doing well, what with the murder of her best friend, and her overall mental health not being great, but still! Where the hell was her sense of self-preservation?! This Josh person was hella suspicious right from the start, and the fact that she stuck around for so long regardless of that was infuriating! There's only one word you can use to describe this character (and book, to be honest): Dumb. And I hated it!

And speaking, of things I hated, don't even get me started on that fucking ending...

First of all, this whole little trip? NEVER HAPPENED! At least not in the way it was told in the book. Charlie, throughout the book, saw these sorts of heightened versions of what happened in real life AKA hallucinations. So this trip happened, but some of it was exaggerated. What parts? Who fucking knows.

Second, at the end of this trip, after the climax, Josh freaking asks her out on a date! DUDE, NO! He literally kidnapped her and gaslit the ever-loving fuck out of her during the entire trip! Oh but guess what? THEY END UP FUCKING MARRIED! I HATE THIS SO MUCH! UGHHH!

This book was not it. I did NOT like it. I couldn't stand Charlie and all the terrible decisions she made. It was just a very unenjoyable read. It makes me apprehensive to read more Riley Sager books 👀 But since this is the only book I didn't like out of the total five I have read by him, I think I'll give The House Across the Lake a chance and hope that one is decent. We’ll see 😬

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊