Survive the Night
Table of Contents
Survive the Night
Survive the Night is the latest novel to be checked off my to be read list. I’ve made it a goal of mine in the new year to read everything that Riley Sager has written. I’ve become a big fan, and the more I read, the more I enjoy his writing. I was excited to check another of his novels off my list, and this one sounded like it would be interesting and unforgettable.
Do you have any authors that you automatically buy and read their books? I have a few, and Riley Sager is definitely high on that list.
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Survive the Night is the sixth book from Riley Sager that I’ve read. I love a good thriller novel that keeps me on the edge of my seat, wondering what is going to happen next. That is what drives me to keep reading.
Have you read Survive the Night? Come on in and let me tell you about it!
About Survive the Night
It’s November 1991. Nirvana’s in the tape deck, George H. W. Bush is in the White House, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.
Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the shocking murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh, it’s to help care for his sick father—or so he says.
The longer she sits in the passenger seat, the more Charlie notices there’s something suspicious about Josh, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t want her to see inside the trunk. As they travel an empty, twisty highway in the dead of night, an increasingly anxious Charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the Campus Killer. Is Josh truly dangerous? Or is Charlie’s jittery mistrust merely a figment of her movie-fueled imagination?
One thing is certain—Charlie has nowhere to run and no way to call for help. Trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse played out on pitch-black roads and in neon-lit parking lots, Charlie knows the only way to win is to survive the night.
Thoughts on Survive the Night
“Sometimes you can’t simultaneously be smart, brave, and careful. Sometimes you need to choose one.”
Riley Sager, Survive the Night
In Survive the Night, we meet Charlie Jordan. She is reeling from grief over the loss of her parents in a car wreck, and then her roommate/best friend was murdered by a serial killer. That is enough to make any normal person snap and start a downward spiral. Which it seems like Charlie has done exactly that, snapped.
She meets Josh Baxter, who she gets a ride with from her college to home. They are complete strangers to each other. Josh could be absolutely anyone, up to and including a serial killer. Is he the campus serial killer? It’s possible.
With a serial killer on the loose and losing her best friend to said serial killer, it doesn’t exactly make sense to get into a car with a stranger, especially at night. But Charlie makes some questionable choices throughout the book. But without stupid choices, we wouldn’t have a novel. Where is the fun in that? With that, I tried not to be totally annoyed by Charlie.
This book starts out slow and a bit dull. We’ve all seen the movies and true crime shows where a woman gets into the serial killer’s car and is never heard from again. Same shit, different day, right? Getting into a stranger’s car is about as intelligent as the victim running up the stairs in her house in the movies to escape the crazed killer.
That is exactly what things look like here. However, I’ve read enough Riley Sager novels to know that nothing is ever as simple or predictable as it seems. This is why I kept reading and didn’t give up on it.
As I said, in typical Riley Sager form, nothing is as it seems. It takes a solid eighty percent of the book for things to really heat up, but once they do, it is excellent. I loved that last twenty percent of the book.
What made the book interesting was the feelings that Charlie was experiencing. Grief is tough to deal with, especially when we are younger. I certainly felt a lot of empathy for her.
Trying to figure everything out had me scratching my head the entire way. But the ending was kind of perfect, I must admit. Especially when Charlie finds out who the serial killer is, and what she does next.
It is seriously hard not to spoil the ending by talking about it here. But trust me when I say that the ride is totally worth it.
Survive the Night is written like a screenplay for a movie. When you’re reading it, try to imagine it exactly like that. Like you’re watching a movie that someone is describing, or you’re the director telling the actors how to go about things, what emotions to show, and explaining everything. If you read it with that mindset, you’ll likely enjoy it even more.
Final Thoughts on Survive the Night
“Women need to do that, you know. Look out for each other. There’s a special place in hell for those who don’t.”
Riley Sager, Survive the Night
I’m calling Survive the Night a four star read. It was good, but I needed something great. The ending didn’t quite make up for the slow speed of the majority of the novel. It is still a good book, don’t get me wrong. I will admit that I loved the ending. It actually gave me the happily ever after conclusion that I wanted. This surprised me, but it was a great surprise.
I also took the time to listen to the music and watch the movies that were mentioned in the book. It was a fun bit of nostalgia to go with the mood and vibe of the book. Which I do recommend. It can be a lot of fun.
If this is the book you’re considering for your first Riley Sager novel, I do not recommend that. Pick something different. If it is your first introduction to his writing, I guarantee that you’ll end up bored, and I don’t want to see that happen for you. I want you to enjoy Sager’s writing as much as I do.
I’ve read enough of his writing to know that nothing is ever as predictable as it seems, and judge based on my familiarity with his writing. But it is definitely not a good introduction to Sager’s writing.
I’ve done this before, with other authors, and it ended up being impossible to pick up another novel from them. Freida McFadden’s The Teacher is an excellent example of this. That was my first and last Freida book.
If you want a good introduction novel to Riley Sager’s writing, I highly recommend The Last Time I Lied and Home Before Dark.
Discussion
Have you read Survive the Night or any other novels from bestselling author Riley Sager? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
About the Author
Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, most recently Home Before Dark and Survive the Night. His first novel, Final Girls, has been published in 30 countries and won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel. His latest book, The House Across the Lake, will be published in 2022 by Dutton Books.
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.”
Purchasing Survive the Night
- If you are interested in buying the paperback version of Survive the Night, click here.
- For the hardcover version, click here
- Click here for the Kindle version.
- Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.
More from Riley Sager
Did you enjoy my review of Survive the Night? Need another great Riley Sager novel? Here are my favorites!
- Final Girls
- The Last Time I Lied
- Lock Every Door
- Home Before Dark
- Survive the Night
- The House Across the Lake
- The Only One Left
- Middle of the Night
- With a Vengeance
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