By Sarah Murray
Content Warnings: kidnapping, murder, attempted murder, multiple car accidents, death, torture, suicide attempt
Survive the Night by Riley Sager is my first by this author and most certainly will not be my last! I have constantly heard so many amazing things about his works that I had to see what everyone was talking about.
Survive the Night takes place in the 90s and tells us the story of Charlie, who recently lost her friend to a terrible murder by the Campus Serial Killer and feels partially to blame. She no longer wants to remain on the campus of the college that both she and her murdered friend attended. This is due to the memories that she has of their friendship at the college as it is where they first connected. Charlie then decides to put her name up on the carpool board in hopes that she can share a ride with someone going the same way as her. Luckily for her, a young man named Josh wants to find someone to drive with him as he makes his way home to visit his sick father. Throughout the night, as Charlie struggles with the movie type visions of what is going on around her, she begins to get suspicious of Josh and believes him to be the Campus Serial Killer, but instances have her questioning herself and Josh.
Survive the Night is told mainly told through Charlie’s POV, but there are chapters thrown in of some other major characters, which add to the story and allowed us to see more of what was going on, especially due to Charlies mental state. Charlie was an unreliable character due to her mental state and the type of “movie” visions she has of what is going on around her. I enjoyed that the story also took place in the 90s. It made the book more suspenseful as Charlie could not just take out her cellphone and text or call anyone when she felt unsafe. I cannot imagine what it would feel like to be in a situation that you feel unsafe in like being in a car with no way to contact help. One thing I did feel a bit confused by was the way Charlie stayed in the car even when she felt something was off. I understand that she felt unsure of her reasoning and mind, but at the same time, sometimes you need to trust your instincts. Having the book take place mainly in a moving vehicle was unique and different, especially as they were driving in such an isolated area.
Survive the Night kept me captivated from beginning to end. I had to know what was going on and didn’t want to put the book down. Even with my disbelief with some of Charlie’s reasoning—when she chooses to stay in a car with someone she does not trust—the middle to end of this book had me in shock with the twists and turns. I cannot wait to pick up Riley’s backlist!
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the ebook copy for my honest review!