Survive the Night by Riley Sager
4.0 / 5 Stars
336 Pages
Originally Published in 2021
Finished Reading on July 10, 2024
Imagine you’re trapped in a car with a stranger. It’s 1991, there are no cell phones, and there’s a killer on the loose. Would you take the risk? As a mom who’s constantly worried about safety, I was immediately hooked on the premise of Survive the Night. It took me right back to the pre-smartphone era, when trusting the wrong person could be a deadly mistake.
“I don’t trust you, and I don’t trust myself. But I don’t have another choice.”
What I Loved
The 90s setting instantly pulled me in with its nostalgic pop culture references and eerie, old-school suspense. As someone who grew up before smartphones, the idea of being completely cut off from help added an extra layer of tension. Charlie, the protagonist, is an unreliable narrator with a tendency to blur reality and fiction. Her perspective made the story thrillingly uncertain. I was constantly questioning what was real and what wasn’t.
The fast-paced suspense, heightened by the confined setting of a road trip, kept me on edge. Every page had me second-guessing whether Charlie would make it out alive.
“Every great horror movie begins the same way. With someone making a terrible decision.“
What I Didn’t Love
While the book kept me engaged, some of the twists felt a bit predictable. I enjoy a good plot twist, but a few reveals didn’t completely shock me the way I hoped they would. Charlie’s decision-making also tested my patience. Though I understand that grief and trauma clouded her judgment, there were moments when I wanted to reach into the book and shake her. Some of her choices felt frustratingly reckless, making it hard to root for her at times.
“Monsters are real. Some of them look like people.”
Final Thoughts
This book dives deep into grief, trauma, and self-doubt, adding an emotional weight to the suspense. Charlie’s internal battle – her struggle to trust herself and separate reality from delusion – felt raw and relatable. The story also plays with classic horror tropes, making it both a nostalgic and unsettling ride. At its core, Survive the Night is about the fine line between fear and intuition, and how difficult it can be to trust your gut when you don’t even trust yourself.
This book is for:
- Fans of claustrophobic thrillers like No Exit by Taylor Adams
- Readers who love unreliable narrators and mind-bending suspense
- Anyone nostalgic for the 90s ear of horror and suspense
While Survive the Night wasn’t my favorite Riley Sager book (The Last Time I Lied still holds that crown for me!), it was an engaging, fast-paced thriller that kept me entertained. If you love good game of cat and mouse with some retro vibes, this is definitely worth a read.
I’m giving it a solid 4 stars!
Would you have gotten in the car with Josh, or would your gut have told you to run the other way?