Title: Survive the Night
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Audience: Adult
Page Count: 352
Author: Riley Sager
ISBN: 978-0593183182
Publisher: Dutton
This review contains spoilers.
"Survive the Night" by Riley Sager is a heart-pounding thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. Set in the 1990s, the novel follows Charlie Jordan, a college student grappling with grief and paranoia after a traumatic event. When she impulsively accepts a ride from a stranger named Josh to escape campus for the summer, she finds herself on a terrifying road trip that quickly spirals into a fight for survival.
Sager builds suspense with every twist and turn of the plot, keeping readers guessing until the very end. The tension is palpable as Charlie navigates the dark highways and isolated towns of upstate New York, haunted by the fear that Josh may be a serial killer known as the Campus Killer. As the night unfolds and secrets are revealed, Charlie must rely on her wits and instincts to outmaneuver her increasingly dangerous companion.
What sets "Survive the Night" apart is its clever homage to classic slasher films and thrillers of the 1990s, complete with nods to iconic tropes and conventions of the genre. Sager deftly balances moments of intense action with psychological depth, delving into themes of trauma, trust, and the nature of evil. The result is a gripping and immersive reading experience that will leave readers breathless and eager for more.
Very much invested into this book, I read it quickly. I was loving every minute of the story until I got to the end. The story as a whole is great, but the ending threw me. At the end, it's basically one of those "all in her head" endings. Not as bad as that, but the whole story is the movie version of what happened to her with just a paragraph or two of what actually happened. I'm not a fan of those kinds of endings because of the overused "it didn't really happen" endings. Though this was not as bad, it was enough for me to drop the rating from 5 to a rounded up 3. That being said, I'll be trying another of Riley Sager's books and hopefully it will have a better ending.
Survive The Night Book Review Ratings and Recommendation
Rating: 3/5
Recommended: A reluctant Yes
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